Swaggy J yo

Bringing an objective and academic voice into political issues!

[fallaciesandmilktea]

Letters of “The Oppressed”

Below is sections of my letter I had wrote for an assignment I had for class, we were to address our opinions on the safety pin issue and I had taken it upon myself to write about that and more. I have edited my letter since then (names I have used will either be edited out or censored for safety purposes):

To Whom it may concern,

What are safety pins? Originally they were just simple spring and clasp invented by Walter Hunt and are used to fasten on articles of clothing, diapers, togas, or fabric in general. In the wake of the election of Trump, many people panicked. People were supposedly in danger. Not just illegal immigrants because Trump said specifically that he would deport them, but the people in danger were people that would supposedly be harmed by his presidency.

Amazing Atheist, a popular youtuber known for his ‘offensive’ videos, dissected a video by Marina Shut-up where she stated that “women, people of color, Muslims, disabled people, gay people, bi people, trans people: people that are branded as different” are scared that Trump is president. The fear has sparked a social justice movement characterized with none other than: the safety pin. People who stood in solidarity with the groups Marina had stated wore safety pins as a sign of support and solidarity. Those ‘affected’ by Trump could look to those wearing safety pins for support  and understanding in time of need. However, there have been critics of the movement that claim that the safety pin is not even close to comforting or relieving anyone.

Ijeoma Oluo is an African American woman and editor at large at The Establishment. She had written one such critique on the safety pin movement as an empty gesture on behalf of white people because apparently it has mostly been white people wearing it. To her credit, bashing on white people for being apathetic isn’t the only thing she does in her article. She does talk about how she was harassed on the internet for stating her opinion on the movement and how one person even went so far as to try to doxx her out of employment. Before we talk about how this is just an example of ‘white people oppressing colored people’ let me make two things clear: first off, people get harassed on the internet all the fucking time. Its one of the many things to expect. It’s no ‘conspiracy against minorities or women’ it's people on the internet can be assholes- harassment is not an experience exclusive to one or a few ethnic groups. Also, she is not the only person whose employment and family have been threatened by disgruntled people on the internet (Thunderfoot and Blaire White are such instances); this is one of the sad consequences of being a person on the internet with an opinion.

Aside from that, her article essentially calls out white people wearing the safety pin as bandwagoners who probably do not genuinely care for the struggle of marginalized groups. She assumes not only that white people wearing safety pins “would never wear a Black Lives Matter t-shirt” but also that they were not showing the solidarity they “should have always been showing”. Oluo also demands that instead of a “silent symbol of support” that these white people wearing safety pins should instead be support in the form of “words and deeds”. While I agree with her on the fact that no one should force anyone what to or not to wear, her argument that white people only wear safety pins to feel better about themselves is bullocks. There are white people out there that genuinely want to sympathize and help marginalized groups and go out of their way to help people that struggle in their everyday lives. Confirmation bias is a powerful psychological phenomenon that can prevent those who voraciously believe in the narrative Oluo describes, or those like it, to ignore these people and their deeds.

Social justice however has instilled a sort of catch-22 on white people that is difficult to follow: in the event that white people make attempts to show support or solidarity they are told to “stay in their line” as they “can’t possibly understand” the struggles of African Americans or to shut-up and listen. This conundrum leaves white people with the eventuality of being blamed for not speaking up or that they’re speaking over ‘voices of the POC’. In this dynamic of “social justice” it is no longer about white people “using their privilege accordingly”. Their sheer existence, the color of their skin, is sheer proof of the sins of their people. Their color is a supposed ‘privilege’ but it silences and condemns them in the name of ‘social atonement’. White people, minorities, any person who believes this divisive and detrimental social rhetoric spend their time and effort blindly reinforcing it. Time and effort which could be used towards moving away from regressive thinking is used to either baptizing themselves in their own guilt and self pity if they’re white or helping these baptisms with actual gaslighting if they’re ‘POC’. 

As a supposedly ‘marginalized’ person in American society, this article is exactly what is wrong with modern race relations. When one faction paints another with misconceptions and generalizations, it creates a sort of figurative mirror effect.. The glass shows the other side but blocks and deflects the noise on the other end; each side can only hear themselves like an echo chamber. Both sides cannot communicate efficiently, preventing relating experiences and empathy. The saddest part of this mirror effect is the lack of the mirror or the thing in this echo chamber that can help the opposing sides reflect upon themselves and the causes of the issues affecting them. This figurative mirror effect is the cognitive dissonance that is preventing race relations from improving, fueling this aggression on either and all ends.

As a ‘POC’ I hate being fucking called a POC. I have a name. I am my experiences and beliefs and I don’t want to be labeled merely as having color in my skin. Everyone has fucking color in their skin, even white people have small traces of it- that is a scientific fact. This type of asinine identity politics is exactly what is keeping us from moving forward. We moved away from the term ‘colored’ long before because we have fought and acknowledged that people are more than just the color of their skin. And don’t give me that bullshit about ‘being connected to my culture’ by acknowledging my ethnicity and skin color. People can acknowledge the culture of the ethnicities without needing to label themselves as a ‘POC’ and focussing on the color of their skin. What someone is, is not who they are. If you are gay, queer, trans, non-binary, have a physical or mental disability, black, asian or white what ever the fuck you are is not who you are. Your triumphs, struggles, ideas and experiences define you. So if you want to wear a safety pin, or don’t, so be it. If you want to show solidarity with struggling people go ahead. However, don’t help these people because they’re ‘LGBTQ’ or ‘Muslim’ or ‘disabled’- these individuals are not their labels. They are individuals with struggles that you can relate to because you are a person and they are too.

Another thing I would like to address is intersectionality and why as a person who should technically be oppressed on many levels has so many objections to it. Christina Hoff Sommers is a speaker on Factual Feminist and author of “Who Stole Feminism?”. In her video “Intersectional Feminism: What is it?| Factual Feminist”, Sommers discusses her objections to the way people on college campuses discuss and practice intersectional feminism. I think the safety pin issue addresses intersectionality in a way where groups that are marginalized according to such intersectional feminist theories can look to those who are less oppressed for help. While the concept of intersectionality can help understand how certain social identities overlap and interact, it has also been used as an all-encompassing theory for human reality. Out of the three mentioned in her video, I think this consequence has the most impact on the regression of our society because it indoctrinates those who fit within such ‘matrices of oppression’ to believe that everything no matter what they do can not be helped. In other words, society is a fixed wheel always weighing to make the  marginalized lose. Not only is this farther from the truth, but this hurts those fighting to succeed and move away from their previously unfruitful dispositions. Society, the world, is much more complicated than that. People are much more complicated than that. If you paint the world in black and white, you never see the gray- the very complicated and esoteric concepts and struggles that define the human experience.

So to whoever reads this letter wear the safety pin if you want to- or don’t. Heed my words though, I am not oppressed- as a woman, as a minority, as a bisexual, as a human who just exists: I am not oppressed at all. Everyone has a fucking voice, so use it. 

Sincerely, “The Oppressed”  

[fallaciesandmilktea]

No one gets me :(

[fallaciesandmilktea]

Doxxing and Censorship on Modern Media and the Internet

OED definition of dox (v): “ Search for and publish private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent:hackers and online vigilantes routinely dox both public and private figures”

OED definition of censor (v): “ Examine (a book, movie, etc.) officially and suppress unacceptable parts of it:my mail was being censored” 

OED definiton of freedom of speech (n):  The right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. 

U.S. Constitution states freedom of speech: “Amendment I-Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Before I begin I’d like to address the fallacy, appeal to definition which is defined by (https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/27/Appeal_to_Definition) as “Using a dictionary’s limited definition of a term as evidence that term cannot have another meaning, expanded meaning, or even conflicting meaning.  This is a fallacy because dictionaries don’t reason; they simply are a reflection of an abbreviated version of the current accepted usage of a term, as determined through argumentation and eventual acceptance.  In short, dictionaries tell you what a word meant, according to the authors, at the time of its writing, not what it meant before that time, after, or what it should mean. Dictionary meanings are usually concise, and lack the depth found in an encyclopedia; therefore, terms found in dictionaries are often incomplete when it comes to helping people to gain a full understanding of the term.” 

In order to avoid that fallacy I will establish the context in which I will be using both words. Within the context in which I will be discussing “doxxing” and “censoring” will be in recent events with Blaire White and censorship with Milo Yiannopoulos. 

While the allegations of Blaire White are much less ambiguous than the situation of Milo’s being banned from Twitter, the implications of both situations prove dangerous to freedom of speech. Blaire White is a transgender Youtuber who has made numerous videos in which she discusses topics regarding her transgender lifestyle and issues as well as ones in which she denounces third wave feminism as well as those who support it. In light of her recent video “Black Lives Matter is Trash” she has received numerous threats to be doxxed by those who claim to be part of the Black Lives Matter community. She details this experience in this link with an interview with another Youtuber by the name of Paul Joseph Watson (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LRtnBsx3tc).  Milo Yiannopoulos is an openly gay conservative journalist whose actions are nothing less than controversial- such as his “Most Dangerous Faggot” tour in which he speaks at college campuses for Republicans, his speeches and critiques against third wave feminism, and most recently his recent twitter exchange with the actor Lesslie Jones which led to his permanent ban from the social media site Twitter. 

The origin of the word “hate speech” is within an article of Newsweek written in the 1980′s and is defined as “ Speech expressing hatred or intolerance of other social groups, especially on the basis of race or sexuality; hostile verbal abuse (though the term is sometimes understood to encompass written and non-verbal forms of expression).” In only a few years, the word in itself has begun to ring controversy in every facet of the media, academia and especially within the realms of free speech.  To be clear ,there is a distinct difference between the action of being entitled to one’s opinion and silencing dissent or impeding on another individual’s rights. To be entitled to one’s opinion is to (for example) acknowledge the fact that your opinion is protected by the constitution, and whether expressing it be through lawful means or not, does not necessarily take away the right to have and express that opinion. Keep in mind that the way in which an individual expresses their opinion does not protect them from the repercussions of unlawful actions even if the individual makes the claim that such unlawful actions were done “in the name of belief/opinion/value/etc.”

It has been both and interesting and frightening change in the zeitgeist. When progressiveness political stances now have become more represented in news, media and social media outlets than conservatism- this is interesting to see. However the frightening half of this truth is what scares me now to be typing my opinions on a site that has borne the social justice movement that I’ve opposed. In the day and age where doxxing communities out-rightly harass a YouTuber for her opinions and the owners of reputable social media prevent a controversial individual from even using their site, its important to recognize that in attempting to limit the ability to express freedom of speech we are only hurting the ability for ourselves and others to express the same right. 

The right to free speech does not exist to flourish majority opinion but opinions of every kind. Free speech, liberty, diversity, and other concepts such as this are not exclusive only to those deemed “fit”; these concepts previously stated are double-edged swords, which is why it creates the controversy it does. That misconception can create a self destructive collectivism in a society and weed out individualism. 

With that said there is only one question: “Is free speech really free anymore?”

Frankly bruh, I don’t even know.

[fallaciesandmilktea]

Introductions

Just in case I get people coming on here starting discourse and throwing around ad hominem:

I will not release my name for now but I am a 19 year old female, I am coming towards my second year of college in a Cal State and I am currently employed. I live in Southern California and I am Fillipino. I believe I am in the middle socioeconomic class. I was in a Speech and Debate team for a year and I currently am not aligned or affiliated with any political movement or party with the exception of the ideology of egalitarianism. I am no longer a feminist. This is a sort of disclaimer for anyone who comes on here accusing me of being a “white cis male republican” for whatever my stated thoughts and ideas are on political issues. Insults are not arguments, I will exchange with those interested in a civil, casual or somewhat formal debate on the issues discussed.