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Mari, the Happy Wanderer's avatar

I get so frustrated by the claim that we are powerless to change our intrinsic badness and our worse impulses--that because they are “systemic” and “socially constructed,” they can’t possibly be undone. This claim is simply false. We change and improve as a society all the time.

Here’s just one of many stories I could cite: Many years ago I ran a half marathon to raise money for research into congenital muscular dystrophy. One of the team members, Alex, used an electric wheelchair and had contractures and very thin limbs. The wheelchair athletes went first, and Alex’s dad rode his bike alongside Alex to film the crowd cheering him on.

I saw the film afterwards and noticed something very interesting: Everyone in the crowd tended to flinch and look away when they first saw Alex, but then they all overcame that initial impulse of shock or disgust, turned back, and cheered for him. Everyone did this. They couldn’t control their reflexive gaze, but they could control what they did afterwards, and they all chose to be kind, warm-hearted, and encouraging--to do the right thing. In our culture we used to react to disabled people with disgust and horror. We used to hide them away. We don’t do that anymore--and this is only one of many examples where a supposedly systemic and inevitable evil gave way to a more moral and just way of treating each other.

I think we need more stories like this, to remind us that change is not only possible, but that it happens all of the time.

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Carina's avatar

I've had a lot of critical theory education and bought in for many years. Now, I've come to the conclusion that in most situations it's better to just ignore it.

Any time you interact with someone, unconscious bias and power dynamics might influence the encounter in various subtle ways. Maybe that guy interrupted me because I'm a woman. Or maybe I have unconscious bias against him because of my white privilege. Maybe both??? But those things aren't more important than the actual text of the conversation. As long as we treat each other with respect, and avoid egregious behavior (like obvious leering), I believe it's a lot more productive to see people as unique individuals doing their best.

The neurotic obsession with privilege just makes people anxious and weird. Meanwhile, working class people happily chat with coworkers of all races and genders, oblivious to the discourse and probably having much healthier relationships as a result.

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