I won’t say that this is because of any particular incident, because rather this post is related to a series of observations I’ve made over a few years.
Does anybody else find it interesting (read with extreme disgust) how the “pulling the [x] card” phrase is used? I have a few reasons for this.
- I have yet to see this phrase be directed towards anyone but those within marginalized groups. It’s never been towards someone leveraging power as the majority. Every single time I’ve seen it, it’s been a jab at a marginalized person talking about their own experiences as a marginalized person.
- And adding on to that, I’m shocked I haven’t heard more about how incredibly dismissive this phrase is. I honestly don’t think it’s pulling any “cards” to apply one’s personal experiences as one who’s faced hardships onto an experience they find themselves able to relate it to. I don’t think I’m making a stretch to say it’s concerning how insignificant and pointless people are willing to frame the struggles of other marginalized people
- It also probably goes without saying, but I never see people using this phrase to criticize people within their own community. It’s usually someone lashing out at someone within a community they know they don’t have person experience within and framing that someone’s experience as a threat to them personally
- Does the “card” of a marginalized population really scare them that much? Does it really infuriate them to the extent I’ve seen people suggest?
- Let’s say someone really, truly was using their status as a marginalized group in a conversation solely to skirt accountability. If this was really so obvious to you*, would it be wrong to assume you would have better ways to articulate that concern? Why respond with such a backhanded jab at their community SPECIFICALLY.
- If your smartass is clever enough to recognize an attempt to escape responsibility, and confident enough to call it out yourself, why not use that intellect to enlighten us on the fallacy rather than a cheap insult?
I understand that this is not very eloquently put together myself, I just really, REALLY felt the need to finally throw some of my thoughts on this out. It is the 21st fucking century. If you genuinely feel like your argument is any stronger because you managed to “one up” an oppressed person for talking about their struggles, I hardly know what to even say to you. If backhanded remarks on their experiences is all you can muster to defend your poor soul from the frightening words of a marginalized community, that tells me all I ever need to know about you.
* general “you” being used here
