a future article/research paper: beyond race: the misuse, co-optation and appropriation of spiritualism and multiculturalism in white society. i am tired of colorblindness rhetoric being used by white folks as an attempt to not see race and only see a human. FYI, to see race does not make you racist, it makes you aware of what has been used to divide us and therefore responsible for using that knowledge wisely. your refusal to see color is an erasure of people of colors racialized lives and histories. furthermore, it is an excuse to not engage with the fact that you are connected to the pain, struggle and oppression of those lived experiences. in order to come together and have solidarity, we must first have a keen awareness and understanding of what has ripped us apart (i.e. -isms). only being seen as human is unfortunately not the life people of color are granted. in fact, thats apart of white privilege, to bee seen as just human. i am over white people using their spirituality and cultural studies as an attempt to not engage with their privilege and social power. i am over white people using their spiritual or cultural studies to tell me how i should feel about their racism and cultural appropriation.it should go without saying but it is especially harmful to use the knowledge of people of colors spiritual bases and cultural practices against us and to silence us. i am over white people using different forms of spirituality to get in tune with themselves while being completely out of touch with the sociocultural history of their practices. i am over seeing the spaces created for and by people of color being forced or coerced to operate under the guise of multiculturalism for white people to access the space without understanding nor honoring its context. i am WAY over new age shops owned by white folks selling dream catchers, smudge sticks, buddha statues, crystals from african coasts, etc. with no mention of how these practices were violently disrupted, stolen, banned and totally wiped out of the hands of those who orignated them thousands of years ago under imperial order (aka white supremacy). because i am tired of people calling reiki, yoga and chakra balancing new age. omgomgomgomgomg. gag me. white people, i want you to understand that it is not conscious to disregard how the social reality of white privilege, norms and domination deeply impacts and informs the spiritual lives of us all. you must know who you are on all levels and all realms to understand the ways we are connected. while the message of oneness and love is universal, it is not loving nor truly connected to negate your race and all of its consequences and responsibilities.
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 20:23:39 +0000
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