Sunday, August 16, 2015

Fake Hate? Was Hari Kondabolu's Mugged?

Here is an article from the Bangor Daily News in which Hari Kondabolu describes an incident of being mugged and robbed.

Is it true?  With so many "fake hate" accounts seeking personal gain from exploitation of the public, we examine his language to learn the truth.

If it is not true, why is it stated?  All liars have their reasons, and since liars hold the world in contempt, as seen in their expectation of being believed, it is generally something of personal gain to them.

Statement Analysis of victims of assault can indicate if the account came from experiential memory (true, reliable) or did not come from having experienced it firsthand.  Memory of what another told, or a movie, or book, will not connect the subject to the attack, personally, which is then evident in the language.  When one is physically attacked, it is traumatic and the subject will use language that will directly connect him to the trauma.  Statement Analysis is added in bold type with emphasis added to the quotes.



Bowdoin grad’s lessons in ‘white privilege’ fuel tough talk on race


BRUNSWICK, Maine — Hari Kondabolu, a 2004 Bowdoin College graduate, has built a career on the punchlines he has used in standup comedy routines around the world, but he pulls no punches when talking about race relations in the U.S.

“I don’t understand people saying this isn’t a civil rights movement when people are being murdered, when police are openly murdering black people on camera and getting away with it,” Kondabolu said Tuesday by phone from Los Angeles.

Kondabolu joins DeRay Mckesson, who graduated from the Brunswick college in 2007, as a Bowdoin graduate giving worldwide voice to the experiences of people of color in 21st century America. That voice is powerful, insightful and often angry.

The 32-year-old son of Indian immigrants — “one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today,” the New York Times said — has shared his sharp, intelligent humor on Late Night with David Letterman and Conan O’Brien. In 2014, he released an album, “Waiting for 2042,” a reference to the year the U.S. Census Bureau predicts whites will become a minority in the United States.
Kondabolu is quick to distinguish his comedy from Mckesson’s work “in the trenches, documenting things with risk to his body” and being arrested Monday during a peaceful protest in St. Louis.

“DeRay’s on a mission to expose truth, to save his and so many people’s lives,” Kondabolu said. “My intent is to be an entertainer. I’m speaking my truth. My mission is to create the best possible art that’s honest with myself.”

Note the subject gives us his "intent" which is to be an entertainer.  Closely tied to this is the wording, "my truth", which is not "the" truth.  Pronouns are instinctive.  He recognizes here, in context, that his goal of being an entertainer may involve words that are "his truth" but not necessarily someone else's truth, nor "the" truth.  This is a signal that the subject may give us some information that is not "the" truth. 

That art regularly includes biting, satirical takes on current political — Kondabolu majored in comparative politics — and cultural differences that fuel racial tensions in the U.S.

‘Outnumbered’ in Maine

Kondabolu’s years at Bowdoin figure prominently in his act and largely shaped his outlook on the world, he said Tuesday.

“My experience in Maine, my time at Bowdoin, are probably the biggest reason I am the way I am with regard to my career and the way I talk about race,” he said. “I knew what I was up against at that point. Before, I thought [Queens] was like the whole country. Then you go to Maine and you see how outnumbered you are.”

He does not say how outnumbered he was, but "you" are; this is second person, distancing language.  

As a college freshman, he came to Maine from Queens, “arguably the most diverse place in the world,” he said Tuesday.

“I remember the admissions office telling me, ‘Don’t worry, Hari, there will be a surge of diversity when you get to campus this year,’” 

A subject can only tell us what he remembers.  Recall:  the average person has a vocabulary of 25,000 words.  When he recalls 'what happened', he cannot tell us everything that happened, but must edit his account. Therefore, 
out of 25,000 words he must choose:

a.  which words to use
b.  what information is most important
c.  which words not to use
d.  the verb tenses
e.  placement, or syntax, of the words

All of this takes place in less than a micro second in time, for the brain to process.  This makes Statement Analysis reliable.  

Kondabolu said in a performance recorded in May for The Moth Radio Hour podcast. “I didn’t know I was the surge they were talking about.”
He spent four years at the college as “one of the few people with pigment on campus,” answering questions about where he was from — Queens — and marveling at the “privilege” of the nearly all-white student body.

The things people would say in and out of class — racist, homophobic, sexist things — and not feel any responsibility,” he said. “There was this idea that everything was given to you, you don’t have to work hard.”

Note his entrance into the conscience of others.  This is to know what they are thinking, internally.  
Note these are things people "would say" and not what people "said"; which reduces commitment.  

Kondalobu said he’d think to himself, “I can’t wait to graduate” — he went on to earn a master’s degree in human rights from the London School of Economics.
But then I realized that is the world — that is power,” he said. “That reality taught me what things were going to be like. It prepared me for the future more than [a more diverse college] would have.”

Double standard

He found that white students were defensive when he talked about race but would be open to the same idea when a white student raised it. He attributes this to guilt.

I think people intrinsically have a sense of what’s fair or not fair,” he said. You got something easier , and you feel bad this is happening. … It’s not just about race; it’s about everything. I’m a man, I’m heterosexual, I’m cisgendered — I’m privileged. I didn’t earn that privilege — I was born with it.”

note the change from "you" to the stronger, "I" pronoun. 

Here is his account of the mugging:  

During his senior year, Kondabolu was attacked as he walked home along Maine Street in downtown Brunswick.

Three white dudes I’d never seen before chased me down a street and cornered me,” he told The Moth. “And one guy put his arms around my throat, and they asked me what I was doing here: ‘What are you doing here, why are you here, what are you doing here?’ 

1.  Note the number "3" is used.  This is the "liar's number" (McClish) and is the most frequently used number in "fake hate" or false reporting of crimes.  When one is going to choose to be assaulted and deceptive in the story, they are likely to choose 3 assailants.  There are a number of examples of this, including Charlie Rogers, Tiffany Hartley, ect. 
Note the additional and unnecessary "I'd never seen them before" in the negative. 
Note that they are "dudes" who committed a hands on assault.  This type of assault is very personal, and the language of veracity will show "intrusion" that is "up  close and personal" and not any form of distancing language.  

Note the "dude" becomes a "guy", but when given voice, he is "they"

Note the soft communicative language of "asked"


Over and over for 10 minutes. They they finally let me go and started laughing.

They didn’t go for my wallet until it was like five minutes in,” he said. “They just wanted to see the look on my face and see where this would go … they had this idea of, ‘We can get away with this and there’s nothing anyone can do.’”

Note he reports what they didn't do.  This is a skip of time for 5 minutes.  
Here he enters into the "three white dudes'" thinking process, including a desire to see the look on his face.  This is strongly suggestive of editorializing rather than truthful reporting. 



What was almost worse, he said, was telling his white friends the next day.
For a mugging victim, nothing is worse than the intrusion, the feeling of being unable to escape, and having strange, violent hands upon oneself:  these are the elements that show up in victims' statements.  


I said, ‘I can’t believe after all this time in town I was a victim of a hate crime,’” he said. “My friends said if they didn’t use slurs, it wasn’t a hate crime.

Note that mugging, assault, etc, do not appear in his language; instead, he classifies himself as a "victim" and the crime as the "hate crime" and not robbery.  

The racial element was obvious,” he said Tuesday. “But, ‘Why are you here’ is vague enough that you could argue it wasn’t [a hate crime]. But when you are the one being oppressed, you have to make a case — you can’t just deal with your trauma. You’re always testifying about your experience.”

"Obvious" in the statement means to accept without question.  Yet we listen, rather than interpret. 
Note the 2nd person language with "you" and "your trauma"; this is unexpected in a mugging in which hands on put upon the victim.  For the victim, it is very up close and personal, and distancing language is not expected.  
Note "oppressed" and not "robbed"


Kondabolu didn’t report the incident for nearly a week, and after all that time, the police said they couldn’t do anything, he said. Bowdoin set him up with “someone very sweet in the diversity office,” but, he said, “she didn’t quite get my experience.

Note he called it an experience, not a crime.  This is not expected language in a serious, assaultive crime. 

The college “did the best they could with what they had for resources,” he said, but he wishes they offered more.

What resources did he want after a "mugging" that he did not report in a timely manner?

“If you’re going to bring all these kids of color who don’t have any money to campus, you have to make sure you give them the resources they need,” he said.

There are enough linguistic indicators to show that Hari Kondabolu was not mugged, but has invented a "hate crime", in a long list of "fake hate" crimes commonly reported for personal gain. 

On Wednesday, Bowdoin College spokesman Doug Cook said students of color comprise more than 30 percent of the student body, and the college has made many changes to support those students, including the addition of an associate dean for diversity and inclusion and a director of the Center of Multicultural Life, as well as an “Intergroup Dialog,” in which 15 students are trained to meet with campus groups to hold workshops on race and “difference.”

Honest dialogue is uncomfortable

Kondabolu also shares his humor and insight off the stage, with a devoted Twitter following of nearly 56,000 fans.
Of the civil rights movement that has grown in the past year following the death of Michael Brown Jr. and deadly police actions against other unarmed black men around the country, Kondabolu said, “it’s not new. The only thing that’s new is videos get passed about quickly. For years, we’ve had our black friends tell us, ‘this is our experience, this is happening.’ We said, ‘you’re making it up, the police are there to serve you.’ And now all of a sudden we’re confronted with the truth, ‘Oh my god, they were right all the time and I didn’t listen’ … So many people are like, ‘I can’t believe this is the country I was living in.’”
Kondabolu suggests those who are watching the new civil rights movement from afar learn as much as they can by reading — he pointed to Bell Hooks, James Baldwin and Ta-Nehisi Coates — and “listening more than you talk. Sometimes you don’t need to have an opinion on something. When people of color say something, you don’t need to talk about your experience. Maybe sometimes you’re not the expert.”
He also suggested people “drop their guard” and “be willing to listen to stories that make you uncomfortable. Even if they don’t seem logical to you, listen to where that person is coming from. There are key pieces of information you don’t have because you don’t have that certain lived experience.”

The account of the mugging is a "story" and not a factual recall made from experiential memory.  

40 comments:

BallBounces said...

I once stood in a long line in Beijing for what turned out to be Mao's tomb. When I got near the entrance, a Chinese official stopped me and directed me out of the line; this was for Chinese people only. I now realize I was a victim of "yellow privilege". It should have damaged my psyche but somehow it didn't. I suppose I should have made a career out of this experience and spent the rest of my life bemoaning the horrors of yellow privilege as a highly-paid diversity consultant. Problem is, only predominantly white countries are willing to pay people generous sums to criticize them. Such is the privilege of persons of color in America.

Lis said...

Clearly, he was not mugged. Why does he feel he needs to have this experience in order to have credibility as a comic? His credibility (such as it is) now stands upon a made-up story.

It's interesting how some members of ethnic groups do fine among people of different ethnic groups and others do not. I think the first group are those who see people as human beings, the same as they are, intrinsically, and they have no problem identifying with and relating to people of other races. The second group see themselves as different and cannot bridge the gap. They make assumptions about other peoples' lives, feelings and conscience that are inaccurate.

Anonymous said...

He can be lying or not. His statement about white priveledge is BS!

Sus said...

I knew how this was going to end when I read, "Kondubu joins Deray McKesson..."

Wreyeter72 said...

I've become so disgusted with the "race wars" lately, I've been avoiding reading related news stories. Sometimes I wish I could grab someone and shake them, screaming "you didn't get bad service at the restaurant because you're black, you got bad service because you had a crappy waitress! White people get shot, mugged, bad service, treated unkindly, abused and such every single day by the same people who victimized you! Quit pulling the race card unless they used a racial slur or wore a white pointed hood, you can't just assume it has to do with your skin. There are crappy people victimizing everyone they come across!" Of course, there are racist, supremacists victimizing minorities. But every bad experience you have is not racially motivated.

Juliet said...

I think I should go and take a cynicism break because I read only as far as 'Fake Hate - was Hari Kondabolis mugged?' and thought 'No, but he should have been...' That's not very nice. I did then carry on to read the rest of it. He comes across as one of those annoying people who keep telling others to 'check your privilege' and who hark on about cis-gender and all those fashionable tedious 'issues' which very privileged young people have the time to obsess over. He felt he needed a bit of street-cred, so he invented the mugging. No-one gets mugged or robbed for that length of time, he would've been flat out within a minute if there were three of them.

New England Water Blog said...

He has a master’s degree in human rights from the London School of Economics so obviously he knows more about this subject than any of us peons and common folk. Such a degree is based on a perceived lack of human rights. So it is important for him to identify and catalog abuse of human rights. Having found none he had to make up some of his own.
He's like the glass shop that hires a kid to go out and break windows to jump start business.

Lemon said...

It's obvious that the post prior to this one is pushing white privilege.
It's a white puppy. A. White. Puppy.
Don't think we don't know white privilege when we see it!

Tania Cadogan said...

LOL Lemon, and not only a white puppy, have you noticed the background of the text is white?

How dare we allow the presence,nay,the existence of the color white!

Let humans sue mother nature for such blatant racism.

White light exists because of the existence of 7 other colors who have to combine togeather to be worth as much as 1 single color!
It doesn't work if you try and get the color black!

Equal rights for ALL colors, no color is worth more than another color.

Placards and posters are available for a small fee from my new organization

Rent-A-Rant.

No cause is ignored, if you can't find one that fits your needs, for a small fee i can come up with the perfect cause for your needs.

My new organization

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My team can come up with a perfect fit cause every time.
Simply tell us how you felt offended/ignored/insulted/mocked/misunderstood/belittled/hard done by/overcharged (accidental or deliberate)/underpaid (accidental or deliberate)/ untipped/not tipped what you think you are worth/not tipped triple or quadruple figures like you read in the news/ under educated/over educated/ single/married/anything goes/animal lover/animal hater/allergies etc.
You name it we can have a cause created within 24hours.

If you are still unhappy with the result of your chosen cause created by us, for a very large fee, you can hire my new organization

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We will pursue your case to the highest court in the land, and, if that doesn't get you your expected result and oodles of free cash, you can, for an extremely large fee and your soul, you can hire my new organization,

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I will personally have god/satan/religious deity of your choice/religious deity of our choice/brand new religious deity and invoke them to testify on your behalf.

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No one dares to deny a deity as the resultant hellfire and damnation/global flooding/visitation of random planets/asteroids/comets/gamma ray bursts/plagues of whatever etc tend to cause everyone to have a really bad day (myself excepted of course)

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Have a great/terrible/good/normal/abnormal/usual/unusual/your chosen feeling day (delete as applicable - if you are offended by anything written here, please call me on 0800-ineedmoneyfastfordoingnothingexceptbeingbroke and ask for our
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Tania Cadogan said...

Off topic BBM

Prosecutors have begun an appeal against the verdict in the Oscar Pistorius case, arguing he should have been convicted of murder.

The athlete was convicted of culpable homicide - equivalent to manslaughter - for shooting dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013.

He is due to be released on parole on Friday after 10 months in jail and is expected to wear a tracking tag.

Pistorius was sentenced to five years but will be freed in accordance with guidelines for non-dangerous inmates.


He was not found guilty of murder because the judge said the prosecution had not proved he intended to kill when he opened fire on his toilet door.

Prosecutors disagree and say the verdict should be changed to murder because he did have that intention.

Pistorius said he believed there was an intruder in his property but during the trial it was claimed he deliberately killed Ms Steenkamp after an argument.

"We filed the appeal today," said National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku.

Pistorius' lawyers have a month to respond.

The Supreme Court is expected to hear the appeal in November, Mr Mfaku said.

If an appeals court finds him guilty of murder, the athlete - known as the Blade Runner for the prosthetic legs he wears on the track - could face at least 15 years in jail.

Ms Steenkamp's family told the parole board in a letter "10 months for taking a life is simply not enough".

They wrote: "As her family, we do not seek to avenge her death and we do not want Mr Pistorius to suffer; that will not bring her back to us.

"However, a person found guilty of a crime must be held accountable for their actions.

"Statistics show that our society is under continuous attack from criminals and murderers.

"Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not enough. We fear that this will not send out the proper message and serve as the deterrent it should."

http://news.sky.com/story/1537103/prosecutors-launch-pistorius-murder-appeal

John Mc Gowan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rob said...

Quote from article “If you’re going to bring all these kids of color who don’t have any money to campus, you have to make sure you give them the resources they need,” he said.
At the beginning of the article he says that 'he' is the diversity. But this statement says it all-'give them the resources they need'

Wreyeter72, I agree with you. I am white. Bad things happen to me all the time. I still have a great life. I make the best of it. I am mistreated by waitresses, of all races, I show my feelings with my tip. I don't go on a rampage against the whole race, or the whole universe of wait staff, because I have also gotten great and so/so treatment by all races.

When people get over the 'you owe me something', and 'I don't have to respect authority' feelings, then they maybe can get on with life and enjoy it.

Unknown said...

Lol, ♡ Lemon ♡

AND, the puppy is sitting on a BROWN couch...placing himself above it, making it bear his weight, and oppressing it by using it to provide for his own white comfort.

;-)

Unknown said...

I. Love. This.

Go Hobs!

Dee said...

As soon as I read the name Deray McKesson, my objectivity went out the window and I stopped reading. I'll have to calm down before I can come back and analyze this.

John Mc Gowan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
John Mc Gowan said...

OT:

Aliens Helped Stop The Third World War Says Apollo 14 Astronaut Edgar Mitchell

Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell has made the astonishing claim that it was aliens, not diplomacy, which prevented the Cold War from descending into the Third World War.

Speaking to the Mirror Online, the veteran astronaut and sixth person to walk on the Moon claims that UFOs were spotted during US military tests, reportedly observing the weapons capabilities of the US at the height of the Cold War.

Mitchell claims aliens were keen to determine the military capabilities of both Russia and America including nuclear weapons testing.

Mitchell is no stranger to the concept of extraterrestrials though, not only did he grow up in the Roswell area but has long been a supporter of the view that aliens not only exist but have been visiting Earth for some time.

"You don't know the area like I do," he said.

In the interview with the site Mitchell said: "My own experience talking to people has made it clear the ETs had been attempting to keep us from going to war and help create peace on Earth."

"White Sands was a testing ground for atomic weapons - and that's what the extraterrestrials were interested in."

"They wanted to know about our military capabilities."

Mitchell's views seemingly coincide with those of another major UFO incident that took place near Rendlesham Forest in the 1980s.

Col. Charles Halt was the commander at the US military base that was currently stationed there and has long talked about the Rendlesham Forest UFO sighting as a case of aliens appearing deliberately within a military base.

More recently the Colonel came forward with what he claims as 'new evidence' which includes written statements from a number of now retired Radar operators at the base which confirm sighting a UFO passing overhead.

Speaking to BBC Radio Suffolk, the former deputy commander said:

"I have confirmation that (Bentwaters radar operators)... saw the object go across their 60 mile (96km) scope in two or three seconds, thousands of miles an hour, he came back across their scope again, stopped near the water tower, they watched it and observed it go into the forest where we were,"

According to Mitchell, Colonel Charles Halt's experience is not unique to the period citing similar stories from those who were also working on military bases throughout the late 20th century saying,

"I have spoken to many Air Force officers who worked at these silos during the Cold War, they told me UFOs were frequently seen overhead and often disabled their missiles."

"Other officers from bases on the Pacific coast told me their [test] missiles were frequently shot down by alien spacecraft."

Mitchell isn't the only prominent figure to have made such a claim, former Canadian defence minister Paul Hellyer has long claimed that the UFO files are not only real but have been hidden as part of a major worldwide conspiracy which has been orchestrated by the world's security services.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/08/17/aliens-helped-stop-the-third-world-war-says-apollo-14-astronaut-edgar-mitchell_n_7997056.html?1439809584

Anonymous said...

What the heck is cisgendered?

Juliet said...

Cisgender means you're no longer allowed to say you're a heterosexual, basically, you're cis, well if you are - far be it from me to presume anything.. But self-identifying as hetero, well, big no-no these days, apparently, as it offends some people - I suspect they have too much spare time. :) I have read some of their blogs. What a waste of brain cells.

Juliet said...

Heterosexual, not 'a heterosexual'. Doh.

Unknown said...

Oh Lordy Anon 10:47, answering this will probably get me in trouble, lol!

I just learned the definition of this word myself. "Cis-gendered" is a term that has been coined to describe people who 'identify' as their actual gender.

Meaning that a man who has a penis, and believes he is actually a man is considered 'cis-gendered', and a woman who has breasts and a uterus. and believes she is a woman is likewise, 'cis-gendered'.

Sigh...(and a hefty eye roll, while I'm at it!)

Transgenderism is an issue that effects a small percentage of the population, therefore establishing another divisive social label to be touted as part of one's identity is completely redundant.

It's also ironic, considering the trans community claims to seek an escape from being defined by labels. I guess we all get to be equally defined by labels now? Fun stuff.

lynda said...

I can't even take anything he says seriously because he used the made up word, "cisgendered" It's ridiculous.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Hang in there, Jen, this, too, shall pass. First, we have to wade through the self loathing, first for being white, and then for being male, then female, as being old has gotten old (don't trust anyone over 30) and life has survived some of the silliest notions.

History is going to have more than a few chuckles at us.

I always keep in mind that the day after the world ends people will get up and put their pants on, one leg at a time.

Take this sentence backwards and you'll know why the Beatles were so popular.

Peter

Statement Analysis Blog said...

lynda,

It was a new one on me, too.

I don't know how to pronounce it, so I'll take the safe road. Plus, who knows, anyway, since we can redefine words at will.

By the way, in the discussion of DeOrr (e) --I saw it spelled both ways...

If a sex offender nabbed him, and, let's say, father was stoned on drugs instead of watching him, we would find sensitivity indicators linked with guilt regarding neglect, even though he was not directly responsible.

Some of you may remember this from a case from years back.

Peter

Juliet said...

This should help clarify everything, not.:) from here.
http://www.myhusbandbetty.com/2009/09/17/jeez-louise-this-whole-cisgender-thing/

MHR
September 27, 2009 at 10:13 pm
“That is, those of us who have variable genders, who maybe are gender fluid or gender neutral but who don’t identify as trans, are now somehow cisgender.”

Okay, this sort of thing seems to be the biggest non-privilege-based issue people have with cis- terminology. But the problem is not actually present in the word.

Cisgender does NOT mean not-transgender. (And cissexual does not mean not-transsexual. I’ll be saying just the -gender terms to save space, WLOG)

This is often how the word is described when it’s being explained to people, and it’s nothing more than a simplification. It can cause misunderstandings, sure. But what cisgender comes from cis, “on the same side of” and gender. It is another category like transgender. Having these two categories does NOT mean that everyone fits into one or the other!

Some people are cisgender, some people are transgender, some gender-variant people are neither. If the term does not accurately describe you, then by all means, don’t use it for yourself. Correct other people when they use it to describe you. But don’t jump on the bandwagon of people who want to throw away the word entirely. It is a very useful word.

Also, wrt this:

“So, yeah. I love it as theory, in classrooms. I teach cisgender & cissexual privilege. But as a cissexual person, I don’t want to be called cis, or cisgender. It’s not my identity.”

It’s worth pointing out that cisgender is not an “identity,” but a description. For example, I may not have a white “identity,” thanks to privilege, but that sure as hell doesn’t change the fact that I’m white. I couldn’t deny that and say “oh, but I don’t identify with ‘white!'” It doesn’t matter whether I “identify” with the term white; it is an accurate descriptor of a member of a privileged class.
(I don’t mean to imply that you’re cisgender, I’m just attacking the use of the word “identity.” If the descriptor is INaccurate, then of course you shouldn’t be labeled as cisgender! Still, it is important to make this distinction. We don’t want people going around saying “But I don’t identify with the term ‘privileged…'”)

And just as you said you experience straight privilege, without being straight (I’m in the same boat there), you also can be said to experience “cis privilege” even if you’re not cisgender. It might be more accurate to say “passing-as-straight” and “passing-as-cis” privilege, or to use some other modifier.

“Finally, there’s the whole bottom rung of the ladder issue: cis allies, partners, & gender variant LGBs are not just the natural allies to trans people, but they are also the closest to them. So when trans people use the term “cis” like a curse – Calibanesque – the utility of the term for pointing out the privilege those who are non-trans experience becomes instead fighting words.”

This looks like a classic tone argument, and has absolutely nothing to do with whether cis terminology should or shouldn’t be used.

Anonymous said...

Some of them are quite militant, and go off into the deep-end if anyone declines to accept the cis label. Not sufficient to be male, female and hetero or homosexual, one must also embrace their labelling and identification of oneself. Life's too short, I don't want any more labels, just enough to get by does fine.

Juliet said...

My post at 4.03

Unknown said...

;-)

Juliet said...



It’s worth pointing out that cisgender is not an “identity,” but a description. For example, I may not have a white “identity,” thanks to privilege, but that sure as hell doesn’t change the fact that I’m white. I couldn’t deny that and say “oh, but I don’t identify with ‘white!'” It doesn’t matter whether I “identify” with the term white; it is an accurate descriptor of a member of a privileged class.

Rachel Dolezal would find that bit to be SO 2009 - they must be very busy now, revising all the blogs to accommodate her. :)

Tania Cadogan said...

I am me, take it or leave it, i don't give a darn

Anonymous said...

Don't forget all the "lesbian transgender women who are perfectly happy with their penises".

Of course, many cisgender lesbians, being ignorant, bigoted, privileged, hateful and white, think of this group as "perverted men, exercising male privilege against women". They just don't realize how female a penis can be.

If you think this is some kind of parody on transgender issues, it's time to check your privilege, and read up on Queer Theory.

Juliet said...

My sentiments, too, Tania, why should anyone have to label themselves or accept other's lame attempts to put them into neat little boxes? Control freaks. Bunch of do gooders without a good to do to, all that waste off education. Rant. I like your Rent A Cause, btw. ;)

fed up said...

His comment that we need to give all the low-income students what they need isn't entirely wrong. What's wrong is that he should acknowledge that "white privileged" folks can be poor students too. I'm white, and my income after 25 years of marriage, going to college late in life and working my tail off probably does make me seem "privileged" to those with less money. But it wasn't handed to me on a silver platter, I worked my tail off to get where I am. And where am I? Making $90,000 a year,putting two of my four kids through college partly on scholarships (they worked hard to earn) and my hard earned money, paying $800 a month for health insurance, making payments on two 2007 vehicles, a house payment for a 70s ranch with one bathroom and we just ate hamburger helper for dinner. Meanwhile, my friend down the street gets free college tuition, food stamps, makes minimum wage and works part-time, has three kids, drives a 2013 car, doesn't pay rent on her three bed two bathroom brick home, and just took her whole family on a cruise to Cozumel. Must be nice to live like a king and not have to work for it. But I'm white. So I must be privileged.

Juliet said...

Anon at 7.07 - I don't do checking my privilege, as that is so blutty condescending, but I don't find what you say to be parody either. I get how hateful ANYONE is capable of being towards "lesbian transgender women who are perfectly happy with their penises", that's anyone, rather than for example, specifically people in Box No,48 (aka Cisgender Lesbians). Julie Burchill, British columnist, would be my reference point for that as I'm British (aka Box No.412). She hates everyone, it's her job, so nobody takes her too seriously, except some people, the type who obsess over wind-up merchants, which she is. She's a good anyone, though, as sometimes she's lesbian, sometimes she's heterosexual, undoubtedly privileged now, and that despite and not because of her background, and quite often she's bigoted, ignorant, hateful AND white, but she can't help that last one, ought she to apologise? She can be what she likes, and call herself what she likes, and so can anyone else, and I don't care. How interesting that you find many of those you've assigned to Box No.48 to be ignorant, bigoted, privileged, hateful, and white. It all somehow belongs in the same one box, and that's that one sorted. God, life's simple when you just sort everyone into the right boxes, and tape down the lids.

There's no such thing as perfectly happy, by the way - it can help a lot to know that.

John Mc Gowan said...

tania cadogan said...

I am me, take it or leave it, i don't give a darn,

August 17, 2015 at 6:05 PM

There is song in there somewhere lol :)

Lisa21222 said...

Off Topic:
Relentlessly Gay Julie to return GoFundMe money:
http://www.gofundme.com/x6dkw9h?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=cta_button&utm_campaign=upd_n

Juliet said...

Lisa - well, that's a surprise. :)

1111 people like this update
A few months ago a fearful and ignorant act set off an avalanche. The avalanche was a thing of beauty, of support and of love. The snow kicked up into the sun and created a crystalline rainbow. Avalanches are relentless in their movement and breathtaking as they rumble down to the earth, shaking the ground. While thousands donated and thousands more offered support, the truth is that this project went from an artistic snow ball tossed in the face of hate to an avalanche. To deal with the debris, which includes taxes and an overabundance of resources it is with a saddened heart that all donations will be returned. If a time machine were available, it would have all ended at the original requested amount. It was never about the money but being happy in the face of intolerance. Do not for an instant think the support of spirit, art, love and monetary donations were for naught. A statement was heard across the globe, loud and clear was our avalanche. I ask you to take your donations back and give to local artists or educational nonprofit organizations.
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lynda said...

The sheriff in Deorr's case has finally spoken to media. Interesting. Thoughts anyone? Peter?
http://www.eastidahonews.com/2015/08/lemhi-sheriff-opens-up-about-deorr-kunz-case/

Unknown said...

Lol, please foward this to Peter via FB, so he doesn't miss it!

Her statement was definitely heard across the globe...and that statement was, "I'm a liar, liar, pants on fire!"

Juliet said...

I'm not on Peter's Facebook, Jen - if I send him a message it will go into his 'other' folder and who looks in there? Lol. I'm hesitant to send a friend request because a) he might not accept it b) if he did, and he then appeared in my friends' sidebar lists (though I have friends hidden) as 'you may know', and they thought there was a connection they might freak out and think I was analysing them, and they'd never speak to me again. Some of them, if they were reading on here, would know it was me in under five minutes but that's a chance I take, and I think they would get me and know it's not about them, but without reading here they might think it was about them. I have to be more cautious than others might need to be, because my position in life sometimes puts me under more scrutiny than is fair. It's not only my friends I worry about, it's my not friends, who only pretend to be friends, who are of more concern - people can so easily make something into something else, if they want. :-/ So, all that is a pain, and I can't be as open as I would like, but I still want to be able to join in here. Lol, you didn't ask for any of that, I know, but it seems as good a place as any to say it, and as I would like for Peter to read it some time, and to know that. :)