I took a break from blogging out or respect for the protests against racist police violence. As I start to blog again I want to be clear that work is crucial and far from over, and to start with some resources predominantly for my white readers:
Here is a list of scaffolded anti-racism resources created by Anna Stamborski, Nikki Zimmermann, and Bailie Gregory:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PrAq4iBNb4nVIcTsLcNlW8zjaQXBLkWayL8EaPlh0bc/edit
Here is a list of ways to fight racist police violence, including places to donate:
https://www.thecut.com/article/george-floyd-protests-how-to-help-where-to-donate.html?fbclid=IwAR0qifVza4APQxEWhMrONxGa_jFlE4x1CdyXA9LkYIxX2FkXfz-vQawZJHk
Here is a list of vetted and updated bail funds that we can contribute to:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1X4-YS3vFn5CLL9QtJSU0xqmTh_h8XilXgOqGAjZISBI/edit
Here's a link celebrating Black Fat Activists
https://danceswithfat.org/2020/02/23/celebrating-black-fat-activists/
As people pointed out the issues with Nancy Pelosi's fat-shaming, and those who didn't want to deal with that made excuses for her, a lot of the conversations devolved into the defenders of fat-shaming insisting that "we'll just have to agree to disagree."
Of course this doesn't just happen in fat-shaming, it happens all the time when people's racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and other bigotries that they are either actively perpetuating or quietly harboring is called out and they try to shut down the discussion by suggesting that our only option is to "agree to disagree" and we need to do that and move on.
Except it's not, and we don't. I think we can agree to disagree about things like whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza, but when used in contexts of oppression "agree to disagree" is often a tool of oppression that gives power to the privileged, and makes those they are oppressing seem unreasonable.
When it comes to equality, oppression, and human rights, when someone in an unaffected group suggests that we need to "agree to disagree," what they are actually doing is asking oppressed people to agree to continued oppression and also stop talking about it. Fuck that. If you want me to stop talking about fat-shaming, then you need to stop fat-shaming, stop supporting others who fat-shame, and start speaking out against it. When it stops, I'll stop talking about it.
I think this is even more important when we are acting in solidarity with groups we're not a part of. Allowing someone who is arguing for oppression get out of a discussion with a "let's agree to disagree" says that we literally agree to them continuing oppressive behavior.
There are not two valid sides to every issue. Fat-shaming is wrong. Someone either agrees with that, or they are wrong.
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Published by Ragen Chastain
Hi, I'm Ragen Chastain. Speaker, Writer, Dancer, Choreographer, Marathoner, Soon to be Iron-distance triathlete, Activist, Fat Person. View all posts by Ragen Chastain
