Ziwa

[pjthompson]

Random quote of the day:

“I would find myself in conversation with white peers, and they’d ask me, ‘Are you baiting me?’ No, I’m not baiting you. You were just talking about race, and I’m following up about what I would consider really, really problematic answers. People have always felt uncomfortable talking about race, myself included, and I just want to take that discomfort away.”

—Ziwa Fumudoh, Vanity Fair, June 26, 2020



Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

 

Comments

[rimturse]

You can't use the term "race" in Denmark when talking about human beings. If you do, you might as well just stamp Neo Nazi on your forehead. I have to admit that even though I know it's a commonly used word in the U.S., I still get twitchy every time I see it.

C went to the U.S. once and was asked what race he was, and he got so offended. :p

[pjthompson]

Well, I guess that's progress. Most of the world still has a lot to work on in that regard, and the US has never gotten around to having very necessary discussions like the ones that Ziwa is having. Our legacy of slavery.

[rimturse]

I think part of the progress stems from WWII. The U.S. wasn't smack-dab in the middle of the ethnic cleansing and genocide like Europe was, so the horror of it likely impacted us more.

[pjthompson]

Maybe, but I think Denmark just might be a special place. Certainly, a number of European countries don't seem to have learned the same lesson. Several have burgeoning right wing movements, and the modern day genocide when Yugoslavia broke up was gut-wrenching. The US has certainly not paid the same price in terms of wars and that does contribute to our cavalier attitude in many categories. But...Denmark may just be remarkable.

[rimturse]

Yugoslavia was horrible, I've had some students from there. One was telling me how they got automatic asylum and didn't have to go through the regular case processing--because her husband had been tortured.

I believe Denmark is ahead in many areas, but it's not perfect. There are still a lot of integration issues and some racism. I think the difference is that racism in Denmark is more cultural racism than it is one of colour. It's also more hidden and less obvious than in the U.S. from what I understand through the media.

[pjthompson]

You can't control what goes on in people's hearts, and people always love looking down on others. But you can make it uncomfortable for them to express those opinions openly and pollute society with them. It was that way in the US for a while, but Trump has given the bigots permission to come out of the woodwork so it's really bad now. Mind you, racism never went away (and never will), and there are plenty of internet cabals encouraging its spread, so we're screwed, I guess.

[rimturse]

*nods*
You're right, unfortunately.