Understanding Racism, Sexism, and Heterosexism (Rebel Youth)

Understanding Racism, Sexism, and Heterosexism

Published in Rebel Youth 2009

Based on talk on understanding Racism, Sexism, and Heterosexism given at YCL Ontario school in 2008

by Asad Ali

1. Why this understanding racism, sexism, and heterosexism important: do we reflect the full potential of a revolutionary org as we are here today? Does racism, sexism, heterosexism exist outside the YCL? If you think it does, are we immune from it? No one is immune from the racism, sexism and heterosexism that exists outside. We can't overthrow capitalism in Canada by ourselves as we exist today, the revolutionary movement will need to include broader sections of people of colour, women, and queers if we're going to have a chance. This talk is about some of the things we need to understand so we can grow even further than we already have.

2. We need to understand racial and patriarchal supremacy, and the liberation from it, as historical and social processes. These aren't arbitrary oppressions that divide the working class. For example, there is discrimination against left-handed people too, but why don't we find capitalists dividing workers into right-handed workers who oppress left-handed workers? The processes or racism, sexism, and heterosexism aren't arbitrary but are historical processes like capitalism, that predate capitalism. Marx wrote to Engels that they got the whole idea of “class struggle” from the theory of “race struggle”, which said that the ruling class before capitalism was the conquering people and the working class was the conquered people, and the classes of capitalism aren't the only classes we have. Engels in “The Origins of the Family, Private Property, and State” explains how these processes developed with private property and pre-capitalist economic systems, how patriarchy developed so men, fathers specifically, could keep control of private property and the state developed so one people could dominate other peoples. Similarly the movement to liberate ourselves from these historical and social oppressions are also historical and social, like the class movement against capitalism it is rooted in our development as humanity.

There are social processes that maintain racial and patriarchal supremacy and social processes are trying to break out of it. It's not a zero sum game. Capitalism uses these pre-existing systems of oppressions and transforms them, but they do exist apart from capitalism because they are rooted in pre-capitalist systems of production that haven't disappeared even though capitalism is the dominant one.

Be aware that religion is closely tied with different forms of racism in terms of why some peoples adopted certain religions throughout their communities. It's no accident that the northern Germans and Swedes are protestants while the French, Spanish, and Italians are catholics. Religions were adopted by different people as part of a historical and social process as well.

3. Recognize denial and dodging admission of privileges as a defense mechanism, slow down to take a breath if you feel the defense mechanism kicking in and consider where it's going. When we're getting screwed over we can usually feel it in our gut even if we don't understand how we're getting screwed over sometimes, so it's good to trust your gut in those situations, but if you don't fully understand racism, or sexism, or heterosexism don't trust your got as it might bes better not to say something is not racist, sexist, or heterosexist even if you don't see why it is. Avoid jumping to an opinion as you might not get it yet, avoid giving uninformed opinions. Realize your own role in the historical systems of racism, sexism, heterosexism to check yourself before you dodge an uncomfortable responsibility.

4. What are the ways white, male, and straight supremacy are perpetuated? What ways are people of colour, women, queers kept in their place or threatened, even if it's just a suggestion that things could get ugly for them? Could we be reproducing or repeating stereotypes, jokes, behaviors, references? What is the role of the news and media in perpetuating white supremacy, and how might we be playing into that? Putting racism, sexism, and heterosexism out of an analysis of any news event or event can give twisted results that are the opposite of what's going in. Marx said "there is something in human history like retribution: and it is a rule of historical retribution that its instrument be forged not by the offended, but by the offender himself." (The Indian Revolt, New York Tribune, Sept. 16 1857). What Marx is saying is that there is such a thing as payback, and it's in the same coin as it was first dealt. In this particular case Marx was criticizing the British public for being horrified at the tactics of Indian revolutionaries when if they wanted to see the source of the horror they should look instead of how the British were treating the Indians and others before the revolution. If you took the sexist and male supremacist attacks Thelma and Louise went through in the movie, you might end up blaming Thelma and Louise for the violence instead of what they are just giving payback to.

5. How can we perpetuate anti-racist, anti-patriarchal, and queer liberation? We should support the development of leadership of people of colour, women, and queers, and orient ourselves towards the organizing happening within communities of people of colour, women, queers. If we're not aware of the organizing happening in these communities it's not because it isn't happening, but it just seems that way because we're not paying attention. In personal interactions be aware of interrupting and listen - pay attention. What's here today is not what could be here tomorrow in terms of different movements. This is different from tokenism which is just including a representative for formality instead of connecting with the process of change, revolution.

6. Conduct meetings, events, and ourselves everywhere not just for today's YCLers but for future YCLers who will be joining us from communities we haven't reached yet. Would we act the same way if they were here today? Would the people of colour, women, and queers who will be joining the current YCL people of colour, women, and queers find our group to be different in terms of racism, sexism, heterosexism than other groups out there? We should make sure that we don't tell jokes or make comments that perpetuate the racism, sexism and heterosexism that exists outside the YCL and not echo the subtle and open threats that reverberate outside.

7. Get the people, issues, and communities of color, women, and queers on your radar: if it looks like nothing is going on it probably means you're not looking deeply enough or with the an orientation that works with what is developing. As we build relationships with each other and learn to recognize each other our ties will come in handy when the shit hits the fan and we need support from people we can trust.

8. Initiate solidarity and support when people of colour, women, and queers are under attack and initiate corrections and challenges within the YCL and workplaces and other organizations. Do the capitalists have a better sexual harassment policy than we do? Would we initiate disciplinary charges against someone for racist sexist homophobic remarks? Initiate criticism and self-criticism, don't leave anyone hanging alone to fight for themselves as that will be a mortal danger to our organizations.

9. Privilege is not the same as power. True solidarity is when it counts, when you have to sacrifice privilege/comfort to defend those who have no comfort in the current situation and pay a price alongside those who don't have a choice. Solidarity is empty if it doesn't go into action when it's needed and is just words said from comfortable positions. Trust is built only when it counts. If you hold back support because it makes you feel uncomfortable, who is winning: white/patriarchal supremacy or liberation from it?

10. Keep reading and discussing current events as an exercise. Is a certain news story part of a racist, patriarchal, sexist, or heterosexist project? Be aware of the stereotypes and how you might be perpetuating them.

11. Don't be silent or passive or accepting of anything just to avoid dominating if you are white/male/heterosexual, play your role in liberation because no one else will play it for you.

12. We are part of the social change we are fighting for and things don't stay standing. If you are not developing forward on these questions the chances are that you are developing alright, but not in the direction you choose – in the direction the boss chooses for you! Stay on top of these issues because you might not realize it if it's racism, sexism, and heterosexism that is staying on top of you and using you.

additional readings:

(1) http://colours.mahost.org/org/whitestudents.html

Ten Things to Remember:
Anti-Racist Strategies for White Student Radicals

by Chris Dixon

(2) http://colours.mahost.org/org/whatiwish.html

What I Wish I Knew:
My Own Goals for Anti-Racist Practice

by Catherine Jones

(3) http://colours.mahost.org/articles/karens.html

The White Collective (a blinding glimpse of the obvious)

by Barbara Karens

(4) www.nccri.ie/cdsu-cop.html

Anti-Racist Code of Practice Printer Friendly Version

National Community Development Programme

Equality in Community Development

An Anti-Racist Code of Practice

December 1999

(5) From the classics: Engels Preface to Origins of the Family Private Property and State

www.marx2mao.com/M&E/OFPS84.html