Source: Shutterstock

Racism sucks. I think we can all agree on that; well, all of us who are aware that it is still a prevalent problem that affects everything from an average jail sentence to whether or not I’m going to be followed around in a clothing store. Unfortunately, some people who see themselves as very progressive and anti-racist are doing more harm for victims of racism than good. That’s why I’m going to talk a little about something that I think is the most destructive concept that supposedly anti-racist people adhere to: Color blindness.

How many of you have heard this: I don’t see color! It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white or green or purple.

If you’ve used this line before, know this: You’re doing it wrong. Like, really, what are you doing? Stop, right now. Please.

I get why the color blind approach to racism is popular. Color blindness suggests that the best way to end racism and racial discrimination is by treating everyone the same. It sounds nice, right? We can all agree that people should be treated equally, so what’s so bad about color blindness?

Here’s what’s bad about it: Color blindness thrives on the notion that racism isn’t really a problem anymore, and that everyone and everything is judged purely on merit. The problem is that that’s a bunch of crap and isn’t true whatsoever. Studies have shown that color blindness actually makes people more racist. Color blindness is really just an easy way for people who don’t experience racism (i.e. generally white people) to feel a little less squirmy about the possibility that racism is still a problem. The best way to feel less squirmy is to ignore it, because we all know that the more you ignore something, the faster it’ll go away, right?

Right?

Source: Tumblr

Well, I’ve tried that plenty of times with dirty dishes, and it hasn’t worked yet. The same can be said for racism.

Our generation has been raised to embrace equality, but many of us take the concept so far that we fail to acknowledge basic facts. For people who embrace color blindness, fighting racism is no longer about acknowledging existing inequities in society. Nope, now it’s all about pretending that it is no longer a problem because we have a black president and because one of your best friends is Mexican and you really love Korean food, so everything is all fine and dandy and you can’t possibly be racist.

Does that sound as ridiculous to you as it does to me? Well, I’ve heard people say ” I don’t see color and my best friend is [insert race/ethnicity here] so I can’t be racist” so many times that it makes my head spin.

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If you still don’t see what’s so wrong with color blindness, look at it this way: By claiming not to “see color” you’re refusing to acknowledge the fact that race still matters in 2013. For example, I’m black. Telling me that you don’t see me as black is not only a lie, but it is also incredibly dismissive of my experiences as a young, black woman. How am I supposed to share stories about dealing with racial insensitivity when I’m talking to someone who believes that racism is merely a product of the past, and that race isn’t important as long as I don’t make it important.

I’ve had to deal with plenty of friends dismissing my personal encounters with racial insensitivity. People say that I’m exaggerating, or that I’m only seeing something as racist because I want to. Newsflash: Nobody goes out of their way to experience racism. We don’t look for it, we’re not swapping stories about racism like they’re Pokemon cards, trying to one up each other for fun.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury to be color blind. I don’t have the luxury to ignore race. I don’t have the luxury to assume that everyone will see me as a fellow human being instead of a black chick. When I wake up every morning I see two things when I look in the mirror: First, I see Ashley. Second, I see a black woman.

Which brings up another reason why I hate the idea of color blindness: It suggests that acknowledging my blackness is shameful. When you say that you don’t see my color, you’re saying that you don’t see a pretty big part of my life. Well, despite all the negativity that comes with it, I like being black. So I don’t want it to be something that someone can decide to ignore because it makes them uncomfortable. My blackness isn’t like the wilted piece of lettuce you find in your salad and quickly discard.

If your non-white friend decided to open up to you about someone calling her a racial slur, telling her that we all bleed red isn’t helpful. You might think that coming up with arbitrary crayola colors (Robin’s Egg Blue, anyone?) is somehow making your friend feel better, but if they’re anything like me you’re making them feel worse. Dealing with racism is bad, but having your experiences dismissed is even worse.

Instead of being color blind, allow yourself to acknowledge the fact that racism is still a problem that hurts a lot of people in a lot of different ways. Some acts of racism are violent and obvious, others are more subtle and even unintentional. If you want to really be an ally for people who experience racism, listen to them. That’s all you have to do: Listen.

Source: Tumblr

And please, if you do happen to run into somebody who is purple, take them to the hospital immediately; they might be choking.

What do you think about a color blind approach to racism? Do you experience people dismissing your experiences with racism? Tell us in the comments!

ACK! Are You Wearing One Of These Offensive Costumes?

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Really?!

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be Asian or Native American? Do you want to find out by using racist stereotypes through images that will offend pretty much anyone ever? Well, problem solved! There’s an app for that.

Ugh, no seriously… there is an app for that. One that I hope will soon disappear because it’s awful. I’m having a hard time even wrapping my head around why it exists in the first place, but it does.

Google Play, which sells apps on your computer similar to the apps you can buy for an iPhone/iPad/iPod, is selling two apps called “Make Me Indian” and “Make Me Asian”. Basically, you upload a picture of yourself and then you can add things to your image that will make you look Indian and Asian, and by that I mean it won’t make you look Native American or Asian because this is ridiculous.

In fact, there’s even a Change.org petition (sign it!) trying to get rid of these horrible apps. Why? Because they’re incredibly offensive to anyone who is Native American or Asian. As the petition says, “These apps overlay dated and racist stereotypes onto your photos: rice paddy hat, fu manchu mustache, slanty eyes and yellow skin – and voila, digital yellowface!  Or you can pretend to be a Native American by slapping your picture with war paint, feather, and broadened nose, because we all know that that is all that it takes to represent “Indians”.  These apps perpetuate hateful and offensive stereotypes that are used to this very day to marginalize and humiliate Asians and Native Americans.”

It’s hard to believe that we’re about to enter the year 2013 and stuff like this is still happening. You would think people would learn, especially after celebrity scandals like No Doubt using Native American stereotypes in their music video or Victoria’s Secret pulling an outfit from their annual fashion show because of the outrage surrounding it. Unfortunately, it looks like there are still some people who just don’t get it – stereotypes like these are wrong.

What do you think about these apps? Do they offend you? Are you going to sign the petition? Have you ever felt like people put you in a stereotype? Tell us in the comments.

This high school encourages racial jokes

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Have you worn any of these? Don’t do it again. | Source

Don’t know if you’ve seen the “We’re A Culture, Not A Costume” campaign posters that have been going around on Facebook, but they’re popping up like wildfire in my feed, and I’m loving it. In the posters, normal people hold up pictures of people wearing super offensive costumes that depict their race or culture in an exaggerated, stereotyped way–like a cute guy from what looks like Middle Eastern descent holding up a photo of some white dude dressed as a “Middle Eastern terrorist” with a bomb strapped to his chest. The copy reads, “This is NOT who I am, and this is NOT okay.”

It’s a great statement and one I couldn’t agree with more. A lot of cultures and groups of people have had to live through hell just because of the color of their skin or their beliefs. To masquerade as part of another culture to be funny (I think the terrorist was meant to be funny, but um, NO, it’s not) or to be “sexy”, like in a geisha costume–which carries out the stereotype of Asian women being sex objects, is gross.

I have a sense of humor about a lot of things, but racism isn’t really something that we can excuse or say it’s okay because someone is just “having a little fun.” Stereotypes suck, they hurt people, and they keep us from actually getting to know each other and everything that makes each of us so freaking amazing.

Remember that awesome show Pepper Ann? Right, well, she learned this lesson in one of my favorite episodes. Wanna watch? (of course you do):

So, let’s all agree on something, okay? Please don’t paint your face another skin tone this Halloween to try to be someone of a different race (I shouldn’t have to say this, but blackface and brownface aren’t funny, people!), and avoid being a walking stereotype of ANY kind. I mean, we all know you’re a lot more creative than that, anyway.

What would you do if your friends wore offensive costumes like these? Would you say something? What are you going to be for Halloween this year? Tell us in the comments.

This School Encouraged Kids To Be Racist!

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Jon Hubbard thinks having slaves in America wasn’t so bad. He also thinks genocide is a cool way to deal with immigration. | Source: jonhubbard4arkansas.com

A lot of people got up in arms when it was revealed that Loy Mauch defended slavery in America back in ’09 with a letter to the editor (it resurfaced this week). Since we can’t even begin to explain how absolutely insane this is, we’ll let him do the talking. These are Loy Mauch’s words. About slavery. And how slaves in America weren’t so bad after all:

“If slavery were so God-awful, why didn’t Jesus or Paul condemn it, why was it in the Constitution and why wasn’t there a war before 1861?”

Wait, what? First of all, Jesus and Paul probably wouldn’t have been fans of slavery in America (America didn’t exist back when the Bible was written), considering the guy presumed to be Jesus’ dad–you know, God–helped Moses and the Jews escape from slavery in Egypt. Second, “slavery” as a term wasn’t in the Constitution until it was outlawed in the 13th Amendment, because even the framers were like, “You know what? This doesn’t sound so great,” and thus used phrases like “importation of persons” to describe the slave trade. There wasn’t a war before 1861 because many, many more elements went into the Civil War aside from the abolition of slavery–it was, arguably, a war about the power of federal law trumping state laws, with abolishing slavery as an extra cherry on the sundae (ask your history teachers). The Constitution also didn’t include things like letting women vote back when it was written. Should we go back to that too, asshat?

What’s horrifying is that Loy Mauch is far from the first guy to defend slaves in America, but he’s one of two defenders (that we know of) running for re-election in Arkansas. This means that people had to elect him and another jerk once already.

Who’s that other jerk? It started when a real genius named Jon Hubbard made the following really, really, ignorant statement, basically saying that slavery was helpful to black people. Wait, what? We’ll let him explain, because, honestly, we can’t wrap our heads around it:

“The institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise. The blacks who could endure those conditions and circumstances would someday be rewarded with citizenship in the greatest nation ever established upon the face of the Earth.”

Okay. So if you could endure being yanked away from your home and family against your will, packed into a ship like cattle (but in way worse conditions), then sold as property, raped, whipped, beaten, and owned by a white person, all you needed was a little endurance to make it worth it eventually? And that slaves who didn’t endure that just weren’t strong enough to survive and didn’t deserve to have the opportunity to decide for themselves whether they wanted to come to America and become citizens? Sir, what planet do you live on? If you’d also never thought of slavery in America like that before, congratulations! You’re probably not ignorant, racist, nor absolutely insane.

Hubbard, who boasts about his main priority being to “maintain our Christian heritage” (because eff that whole “separation of church and state” business in the Constitution, AMIRITE?) didn’t stop there, though. He also noted that black people don’t “appreciate the value of a good education” have not yet “established themselves as inclusive and contributing members of society.” Hold up. Wait a minute. Did he skip school every February so he didn’t get Black History Month (which is something that shouldn’t be relegated to just one month of celebration, but that’s a whole other issue)? Does he not know who’s in the White House right now? Like, right this second? Should someone tell him? Maybe we should tell him.

Loy Mauch says as long as slaves in America weren’t denounced in the Bible, it probably wasn’t so bad for them. Because obviously. | Source: loymauch.com

It’s not just black people that Hubbard has issues with, though. Basically anyone who isn’t a white Christian needs to be done away with, per his stance. As in, ethnic cleansing. As in genocide. Really. He said it himself: “The immigration issue, both legal and illegal … will lead to planned wars or extermination. Although now this seems to be barbaric and uncivilized, it will at some point become as necessary as eating and breathing. [Meanwhile] American Christians are assuming a similar stance as did the citizens of Germany during Hitler’s rise to power.”

Loy Mauch and Jon Hubbard sound a lot like Hitler did. Considering the people of Arkansas elected these macadamia nutcases to power, maybe where Jon Hubbard lives, he’s right about comparing his constituents to those who gave Hitler his power.

Do you think there’s any defense or justification for having slaves in America? How do you think Jon Hubbard and Loy Mauch got elected in the first place? What would you say to Jon Hubbard and Loy Mauch about slaves in America? Sound off in the comments!

Scary stuff: There’s still slavery going on worldwide.

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So . . . WHY are the white princesses so much bigger again?!

All that said, I’m pretty pissed about the new Disney Princess Candy Land game that’s coming out this winter. I got a preview of the cover art in the mail yesterday, and um, there’s something pretty disturbing about it. Rapunzel and Ariel are featured super-prominently in the left corner, looking all princessey and stuff. Cool. Whatever. But then when you look closely, on the right side, you see a super tiny Tiana and equally minuscule Jasmine peering out from the balcony of a tower. Wait. What? Why can’t they party up front with Rapunzel and Ariel?

I love that half of the princesses included are minority princesses (such a huge improvement from the ’80s when there weren’t even any princesses of color at all!), but why are they like–an eighth of the size of the white girls? Couldn’t they have had four big pictures of princesses and made them all the same size? As it is now, it’s like they just included Jasmine and Tiana as an afterthought. A kind of crappy, half-done, not so great afterthought at that.

Obviously a ton of you are going to say that I’m overreacting to something that’s just meant to be fun and cute, but really guys, stuff like this reinforces the stupid thought that women of color aren’t as important as white women. That they’re supporting characters and not the stars. It sucks, it’s sad, and It bums me out.

What do you think about the Disney Princess Candy Land box? Do you think it’s racist or do you think it’s fine? Sound off in the comments!

Have You Seen The Real Life Disney Princesses?

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A California high school encouraged students to make jokes about Latino stereotypes. For real. | Source

A high school in Anaheim, California is in hot water following complaints about what was, until recently, an annual event. The “‘Seniores’ and Señoritas” event, in which students sported costumes that were essentially depictions of derogatory Latino stereotypes, has finally come to an end. The event inevitably ended in a litany of racist jokes, with guys marching in wearing sombreros, students dressed as Border Control officers, gang members, and pregnant women. Because, you know, all Latinos are capable of are making tacos and babies.

Canyon High’s yearly Latino mockery took place in senior week each year up to now, when it received two formal complaints from former students. Can we just go through everything that’s so messed up about this really quickly?

One, this wasn’t a random party that some bigoted students threw. This was an official school event, and it was approved by the school administrators. This means that the school was perfectly okay with endorsing racist jokes and bigotry, and had no qualms about Latino stereotypes. Two, this means that taxpayer dollars–which might be your parents or even yours if you have an after school job–are being used to support racism against Latinos. Three, this district has been plagued with Latino bigotry for a while, even shooting down propositions to increase their voter representation. Four, how did they only get two complaints?

How is it that it never occurred to anyone that racist jokes during the event may be, well, racist, and therefore offensive and hurtful? And if it did occur to them, why didn’t it bother them enough to change or stop it from happening?

The biggest part of the problem lies in the fact that since it was a school sponsored event, students may not have even truly realized that racist jokes like these are damaging and hurtful to communities. If your principal or an authority figure says something is okay, it sort of … becomes okay, right? At least in your mind. And that’s why this is so dangerous. Because it’s essentially, even if on a small scale, institutionalized racism: Racism that an authority figure (or your peers) deems okay. Back in the day when blacks and whites had to use different water fountains and sit separately on the bus, a lot of people just accepted it as the norm–and even though it was completely unfair and screwed up, people went along with it.

Another issue is that for whatever reason, this district thought it was okay to promote bigotry specifically against the Latino community, and it worked, because it went on for a few years without a peep. Similar to the public’s reactions to the Sikh shootings, apparently racist jokes against the Latino community are fine because they’re Latino.

Now, just picture an annual school event where students showed up in blackface.

Exactly. This is just as wrong.

Do you think racist jokes should be okay in school–or anywhere? Do you think the district was wrong to host the Latino-themed event? Do you think the school was encouraging bigotry? Tell us in the comments!

Don’t Try To Tell Me My Race When You Don’t Know Me

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Hasan Minhaj has wise words about those ignorant to the Sikh shooting. | Source

When the horrific massacre at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises went down at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, your Twitter and Facebook feeds probably went nuts, right? It was scary, it was dramatic, it was big, and it was semi-related to Batman. But does that make the lives of those lost in the Aurora shootings worth more than those lost in the Sikh shootings in Wisconsin and mosque burning in Missouri?

A comedian named Hasan Minhaj has taken to YouTube to vent about something not so funny: the lack of social media support for the Sikh shooting victims, in which six innocent civilians were killed, and one police officer was injured. Why are we–including us at Gurl–being so quiet about this?

“The fact that certain lives are valued more than others because of the color of their skin or their personal beliefs–that’s a problem,” Minhaj fumes, “and the black community has been talking about this for decades.” He’s absolutely right, and he may not even be voicing the half of it–these same attitudes are what led many to let slavery linger as long as it did.

Minhaj goes on to explain that because brown people were the ones killed, it looks like brown people are the only ones who care about it–and he points out, without explicitly saying so, that most cases of domestic terrorism are committed by off-their-rockers white dudes, yet those men aren’t the ones who get weird looks at the airport. Innocent, civilian lives were lost, and regardless of your color or creed, that’s always a tragedy. Watch what he has to say below:

So why have people been so silent? Is it because a movie theater hits more close to home for some–anyone and everyone goes to the movies, but not anyone or everyone prays at a gurdwara (which is pretty much just a different name for a church), and it may not resonate for that reason? It’s not like we at Gurl weren’t fully aware (and upset) about what happened–but for some stupid reason, it’s like we felt like we weren’t “qualified” to talk about what happened, because none of us on staff are a part of the Sikh community. And that? Well, that’s stupid logic on our part, because we ARE part of the same community of the people who were directly affected by this horrific event. We’re all part of the HUMAN community, and we’re all Americans. No matter our religious beliefs, no matter the color of our skin. And it’s our job to care for each other and support each other in times of crisis.

In any case, we need to talk about the Sikh shootings and why we aren’t talking about the Sikh shootings. The Sikh shootings were a massive hate crime, and there likely would have been even more casualties had the killer, Wade Michael Page, not been stopped so soon. This wasn’t just a large-scale hate crime, it was also a large-scale showcase of our own ignorance and thinly veiled intolerance.

We need to care, and we need to open our eyes wide enough to see past skin color and religion and begin to speak up for one another’s rights to live our lives equally.

Do you think the Sikh shooting gained enough media coverage? Why do you think the Aurora, Colorado shooting got more attention that the Sikh shooting in Wisconsin? Do you think racism and Islamophobia play a role in the general lack of support for the Sikh shooting victims? Tell us in the comments!

Racism Even Affects One Direction. No Joke.

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Trayvon Martin's death--and the subsequent scrutiny into his social media--has led to nationwide outrage. | Source: Shutterstock

On the one-month anniversary of his death, Trayvon Martin’s Twitter account and school records are making the public rounds.

Some background for those unfamiliar with the case: On February 26, 2012, Trayvon Martin was walking unarmed through the gated community where his dad’s fiancee lived. He’d just bought some Skittles and an Arizona Iced Tea and was on his way back to her house when he was shot by George Zimmerman, a self-appointed Neighborhood Watch volunteer. The events that led up to the actual shooting–whether or not there was a struggle, whether or not Trayvon was being followed, whether or not Trayvon attacked George Zimmerman first–are debatable and still being worked out by authorities.

Numerous protests have been held in Trayvon’s memory, ranging from anger at the Sanford, Florida police to wider reaching undertones of racial injustice. A member of Congress, Bobby Rush, was even escorted out for wearing a hoodie in support of Trayvon Martin’s case. The more that comes out about the shooting, the more uproar there is, and there are even more protests marking the month since Trayvon’s death, especially on college campuses.

Since the shooting has drawn national attention, Trayvon Martin’s Twitter has been in the headlines almost as much as his death. But why? He took a picture flipping off the camera. So do a lot of other people. He posted some questionable things. So do a lot of other people. Unless he was tweeting about it at the time, what does it have to do with the fact that he got shot when he was unarmed? A lot of people post stuff that they assume people won’t see later on, and a lot of people post stuff that they don’t mean. How is his social media activity relevant to his death?

Similarly, Trayvon Martin’s school records show that he had a penchant for tagging, truancy, and tardiness. Fair enough. But again, what does this have to do with his shooting? He’d been suspended for having an empty marijuana baggie and suspected of jewelry theft (but never charged or actually investigated for it). While it’s not commendable behavior by any means, it doesn’t change anything else about his death.

A lot of people are angered by the notion of racial profiling in Trayvon Martin's shooting. | Source: Shutterstock

To us, pointing out Trayvon Martin’s Twitter and school records and using them to justify his being shot is nothing short of absurd. It doesn’t sound much different from saying a girl wearing a short skirt was just asking to get raped. It doesn’t sound much different from someone saying that since most dollar bills in the United States have traces of cocaine on them that anyone carrying cash should be arrested for drug possession.

We’re not saying Trayvon Martin was a saint. But we are saying he was a 17-year-old kid. If we were all judged by our tweets, statuses, and tagged photos from our teen years, chances are no one would ever be able to run for office ever again. We’d all be asking for it, we’d all deserve everything that came to us, and we’d all have our reputations eviscerated when we were no longer around to defend ourselves.

What’s the most telling about Trayon Martin’s Twitter and his background is that all of this came to light after he was dead. Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by someone who ostensibly didn’t even know about his past–because if Zimmerman’s account of what happened is true, it didn’t include a background check before he pulled the hammer and fired. We think this says more about those trying to destroy his reputation than about Trayvon Martin himself.

Do you think Trayvon Martin’s Twitter and school background are relevant to his death? Do you think social media activity should be monitored? What are your views on Trayvon Martin’s case? Let us know in the comments!

Are your parents racist? Here’s how to deal.

I had already been on one date with this cute guy I met at a cafe and was excited to meet him for a second date. He took me to a museum and to see a movie–then to eat cheesy fondue at one of my favorite restaurants. So fun!

I was totally into the date (and the guy!) until he pointed to another couple and said, “What do you think is going on there?!” I looked over and saw some random white guy in his 20s sitting next to a Korean girl in a cute dress. I didn’t understand what he was talking about, so I said, “Um, I don’t know? They’re having dinner?” And he replied:

“That guy had better watch out. I hate Asian girls–they’re evil!”

I think my jaw must have hit the table. I couldn’t believe he was serious, so I laughed and said, “You must be joking,” to which he went on this crazy rant about how his brother had dated “lots of Asian girls” and been “screwed over” by every one of them.

At that, I grabbed my jacket, laid a $20 on the table (I didn’t want that jerk buying me dinner–eew!) and walked out. Dude actually chased me into the street insisting that he wasn’t a racist, but um, I already knew the truth.

At least it happened on the second date so I didn’t waste too much time with the loser?

What’s the worst thing a guy has said to you? Tell us in the comments!

This guy made this girl feel seriously awkward. Find out how!