Welcome to Colour Outside the Lines, The Avocado’s weekly discussion space for people of colour. I apologize for getting this up a day late.1Should I just move the thread to Sunday? I seem to get it up on Sunday more often than I do on Saturday.
Thread Rules
- We ask that only those who identify as people of color participate in this discussion. White Avocados, while valued members of this community, should remain in ‘lurk’ mode.
- Shaming and hateful speech are unacceptable.
- Please keep potentially traumatic content safely behind spoiler tags.
- Nobody on this thread is more or less a person of color than anyone else. (We will not set clearly delineated boundaries on who qualifies as a ‘person of color.’ As a starting point, this thread uses the definition of ‘non-European heritage of sufficient prominence to affect one’s navigation of a society built on white normativity.’ However, we recognize that there are identities which skirt either side of the divide. If people feel that they meaningfully experience the identity of being a person of color, then they are welcome to participate.)
[spoiler title=’Additional Guidelines’ style=’default’ collapse_link=’true’]1) The term ‘people of color’ encompasses a broad range of experiences. We are not a monolith. Therefore, we ask that participants respect each other’s experiences during the discussion, and refrain from promoting one particular experience as being more true to our shared identity as people of color. Furthermore, we ask that participants attempt to voice their own experiences as opposed to generalizing on behalf of the community as a whole. Of course, there are some exceptions. Participants are welcome to interrogate how shared experiences like marginalization help to forge common bonds within our community, but please remain courteous towards others in doing so.
2) We ask that participants remind mindful of the following: we would like to keep this space as safe from white privilege as possible. Even people of color can help to perpetuate systems of white privilege. For example, people who enjoy passing privilege may not understand the experience of being a visible minority. What people of one ethnicity know about people of another ethnicity might operate through the proxy of whiteness. We simply ask that a conscious effort is made to acknowledge white privilege. Likewise, we ask that visible minorities consider the unique challenges of passing privilege when posting. Again, we are only asking that participants keep this in mind while commenting.[/spoiler]
The Prompt
Much political discourse about people of colour, especially in the West, seems to take their opinions for granted and see them as a monolith. It’s common to see white people speak on our behalf and treat us like assets or weapons to be wielded against each other in their own internecine conflicts. And often times, if we push back against this treatment, then we’re labelled as turncoats or self-haters. How do you respond to this, if at all? What steps can we take to ensure that our voices aren’t co-opted?
As always, the prompt is just a suggested discussion topic. If you’d like to discuss any other racial or ethnocultural issues, this is your safe space.