the privilege of the oppressed...

Edit

the privilege of the oppressed...

by Erin Spencer Upchurch on Wednesday, September 22, 2010 at 1:11am

tonight, as i contemplate with the failure of our government to protect its citizens i am simultaneously challenged with thoughts regarding my community.

are we arrogant, idealistic...or a little of both?

i too feel angry about DADT, DOMA and ENDA. i remain frustrated regarding the EHEA in Ohio and the lack of safe schools for our children. i continue to be hurt by the pastor of a church i attended in college who used the word 'faggot' at least once a month. i hate that hiv/aids continues to ravage our community.

to be clear, i am not diminishing your anger, hurt, frustration, disappointment, poverty, isolation, etc...

i write this as someone clothed as a multiple minority who is educated and fascinated with community, social movements and the revolution. i write this as a concurrently marginalized and privileged womyn...

we are lazy,spoiled brats.

we are a community that attends fancy dinners and galas, we gather signatures via email and communicate through multiple mediums of social networking. i can't think of one movement for social justice that succeeded in such a cozy manner.

people have given their lives (literally and figuratively) so that i have the freedoms i experience today. folks have gone hungry for me to use non segregated bathrooms and water fountains.

today i ask you...

• when is the last time you signed a paper petition, better yet got your ass from behind the computer and collected signatures yourself? in the cold? in the rain? after a 12 hour work day?
• how much money did you spend on your clothing for the last gala you attended and why do lgbtq youth make up such a large portion of the homeless community?
• have you volunteered yet for this midterm election?
• how often to speak out against discriminatory and hateful speech?
• when is the last time you participated in a condom raid?
• when is the last time you stopped eating to make a point?
• what have you risked to make a difference?

we use facebook invites to build for a rally or protest...there was a time when folks had to secretly plan such things for fear of death or imprisonment. calling legislators and sending letters are great-and necessary; but what about sitting outside of said lawmakers office until they make the change we desire?

we worry so much about what we look like, whose giving what, whose chairing what, who makes what, what martini we will have this weekend and don't worry (in my opinion) enough about our rights and our equality.

a movement moves...a revolution revolts.

this will mean different things for different people. not everyone can do the same and we weren't created to so.

all i'm asking is that we take a moment and think about what it is that we are doing.

could my money go elsewhere? could my gossip turn into planning? can my creativity be a wave?

this is not judgment. this, is passion.