I wasn't able to attend this lecture, but there is no lecture I'd rather have attended. This is the reason I started my work, my degree, everything.
There is a lack of accountability for violent and abusive behaviour online and offline. There is systematic oppression along race lines, gender lines, social class, sexual orientation and it is deeply rooted in a hierarchy where white male privilege dominates our society.
Too often, correction, constantly, online are micro-aggressions that are excused by the general public as young people being ignorant. I am no hero, but I have been consistently named as an ally to my female peers. I say this, because I'm going to disclose and link an article about Chris O'Neill who faced harrasment on the street as she was broadcasting the news. The story itself is one of misogyny, assault, and ignorance. But what is unsurprisingly terrible are the comments and dialogue. CBC Misogynistic 'Prank' The majority of the comments and feedback were comments against the reporter, against CBC, but immediately went to discredit her and the value of this story as 'news'. One commenter, pushed to move this discussion to disregard this as a gender issue because statistically the majority of recipients were male. I've attached some screen captures of the comments... some of them are mine- which is why I mentioned my comment about being an ally earlier- this is not about me, but my comments represent my response and opinions in 'action' if you will. I can only hope that it's more than slacktivism on my part.
In one of our early lectures, we were asked what our goals were in terms of creating community. My response was creating an open community where people were able to access and have access to resources and be able to contribute.
In my research, and spoken word practice, marginalized people are excavating, and colonizing online spaces where their voices can be heard. But the conversations and stories are framed and etched into the world of white male straight hegemony. I know many great, awesome straight white males. This is by no means a hate-on against them.
But in response to Audrey Watters, the solution I think is more thank just being part of the right network and finding allies. It's about men, and it's about EVERYONE using what priviledge we have to make space and to listen.
There is a sociologist, Dr. Leeno Karumanchery who has a company that focuses on diversity training. His talks helped me to articulate my early questions in this discussion. He gave an example of authourity and race profiling- in brief: A police car drives into a 'tougher' part of town on patrol, a young man, who has done nothing wrong, sees flashing lights. He looks over his shoulder to see the police and moves faster. The police see an individual look over their shoulder, and move faster, and thus a suspect is born. The reality is, the young man- most likely was raised in a community taught to fear the police. And by nature, we look over our shoulders when we notice something behind us. By society, the police person is already on edge, knows how they are perceived in this part of town, but is also expected to look for suspicious behavior.
I had an incident many years ago in Toronto. I was coming from a (very casual) awards ceremony... where my attire consisted of bright yellow, paisley printed summer shorts, a white collared shirt, and rainbow painted boat shoes... not exactly how I would perceive a threatening person to be. In truth, in all my 5'6, queer, enthusiastic, smaller frame- I didn't think I was a threat to anyone- specifically, that I wasn't ever perceived as one. However, about a hundred metres in front of me were two women, middle aged, and looked like they were not from the city. They gave no indication of distress, glanced back at me once, I may or may not have smiled, but kept my distance. They made a sharp turn into a building, and I assumed they had found their destination. As I walked by, I noticed them waiting, waiting for me to pass, as I continued walking, about 150 metres has passed and they walked out and continued on their way. In that moment, I realized how my maleness- even in my flamboyant costume, and self-perceived demeanor, in the context of the relationship we established- I was a strange man, in an unfamiliar city, and these women- did not feel safe.
Dr. Karumanchery talks a lot about it being OUR responsibility to walk across the street. And I can only think of the number of times that I did not walk across the street, or said something heteronormative/gendernormative... something I picked up here in Regina is the use of the term "guys." And I used to teach workshops on inclusive language. But it's such a pervading term here...
I'm saying that ally education, and creating empathy is one of the only effective ways to establish a safe space for communication so that people can exist without the fear of attack. Because political correctness, online moderators, and guidelines only help protect the space itself from liability, and associates moderation with hampering freedom and punishment. These do not respond well to people who generally aren't "bad" people, but perhaps are just ignorant, and unwilling to listen. And this systematic alliance/support of aggressors is what silences women and marginalized people the most.
Thank you Audrey Watters for speaking. #EVERYTHINGYOUSAYISRIGHT. #KeepSpeaking
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