Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[misko27]

Human Privilege: Yes, it Exists

As a newcomer to Tumblr politics, I thought that a good place to start my blog would be to write about, what I believe is, a largely overlooked social justice issue. There is a lot of talk about privilege and oppression and the effects that it has on all of our lives, but the scope of these discussions is always limited to human problems. Although our cause has been branded as taboo and thus silenced for most of human history, Otherkin are a systemically oppressed group that deserve a prominent place in social justice politics. Our issues are ignored simply because they are much more complex than the problems of other marginalized groups.

Whether you like it or not, if you were born in a human body in alignment with a human mind, you have privilege. With that privilege comes the moral responsibility to stop and listen to the experiences of those who are subordinated under you. This means not dominating the conversation with your opinions, because frankly, you will never fully grasp what it means to be otherkin. We welcome human allies but there are also boundaries that need to be respected. Humans should not assume, stereotype, invalidate, or interject where they have no business doing so. It derails the focus from otherkin and reinforces human privilege.

In order to provide a better understanding of human privilege, I have written a checklist outlining some of the ways in which humans hold privilege over otherkin.

Human Privilege Checklist:

Everyone assumes you are the species you are.
Society encourages you to live as your species.
Society is built to accomodate your species.
Your body is correct for your species’ needs.
You will never be questioned for being your species.
You are raised and educated in alignment with your species’ instinctual behavior.
You can turn on the television or open a newspaper and see your species widely represented.
You can easily buy posters, books, and magazines featuring your species.
Beauty standards are based upon your species.
You can expect to go into a supermarket and have the staple foods of your species stocked.
You can expect your parents, family, educators, and bosses to be your species.
Your failings are not attributed to your species.
Your species is not categorized as inferior to any other.
Your species is represented in all positions of power.
You can expect to be able to interact and connect with your species.
You are taught the history of your species with a bias in favor of your species.
Your mental health is not questioned for being the species you are.
Societal customs, culture, and norms are created for only your species.
You can sleep in accordance to your species’ internal clock with no repercussions.
You are never asked to speak for all members of your species.
Mainstream entertainment caters to the preferences of your species.
You can expect your doctor to know how to care for your species.
You are rewarded for honing talents specific to your species.
Social groups are structured based on your species.
Homes and buildings are built to accommodate your species.
You are not forced to assume a walking position that does not fit your species.
It is not a social stigma to be the species you are.
You can write with the expectation that members of your species will be able to read it.
You can expect politicians to address the needs of your species.
Your species’ population is not threatened by another species.
You have the option to reproduce with a person of your species.
Progress towards inclusion only include those of your species.
Your government and justice system include rights for those of your species.

There are many more privileges. The list can keep going. I hope that if you are a human you can use this list to reflect upon your privilege and learn something you might not have been aware of. You can use your newfound knowledge to be more sensitive to those who are not of your species in the future. Remember humans, check your privilege!

That's it. I'm going to write a letter to Rick Santorum warning him about the otherkin agenda and how we need to start witch hunts.

Start a petition.

[Blargityblarg]

There's being disadvantaged by society, and then there's hitting yourself with a brick and moaning about how nobody understands how lucky they are avoiding indiscriminate brickings.

[cerapa]

I call Poe's Law on that.

[FearfulJesuit]

I call Poe's Law on that.

Alas, even if this particular 'kin was a troll, there are many who really do think they're a fucking flying panther or some shit.

[The Darkling Wolf]

Shock horror, people can be strange. This news must be disseminated to the masses lest they be surprised when they find out that some of the 7 billion people on the planet have stranger outlooks than they.

[MagmaMcFry]

Since I never quite figured out how to hate on social minorities, I find this conversation slightly disturbing.

[Slayerhero90]

Since I never quite figured out how to hate on social minorities, I find this conversation slightly disturbing.

[The Darkling Wolf]

Clearly they offended him by posting things on their blog that one has to go and specifically search for to find.

[FearfulJesuit]

Yes, but they're not actual social minorities, they're lunatics and attention whores. Otherkin don't actually exist; their identities aren't based on anything that is actually there. They're special snowflakes.

[The Darkling Wolf]

And who gives a fuck? They're not rolling around here spamming it all over the place.

[Sirus]

This conversation has the potential to go horribly wrong if y'all aren't careful.
._.

[Siquo]

This conversation has the potential to go horribly wrong if y'all aren't careful.
._.

Hmm.

*deletes response*

[GlyphGryph]

Or they are people with real mental problems? (Well, at last the ones who take this kind of tack with it anyway. Up until that point its just a quirk.)

The sentiments directed against them make me pretty uncomfortable with their similarities to the sentiments against many transgendered individuals, who I've also seen accused of being lunatics and attention whores because what they believe is "impossible".

If all the trans-conversations have accomplished is moving acceptability from "can only be approximated with surgery" to "impossible", well... I dunno. I think the lesson was that we should stop caring so much how people self-identify.

[Greiger]

I agree with Darkling here.  In most cases they are not hurting anybody, lets save the name calling and stuff for folks who actually cause trouble for others before Toady locks the thread for some housecleaning.

[MagmaMcFry]

Or they are people with real mental problems? (Well, at last the ones who take this kind of tack with it anyway. Up until that point its just a quirk.)

The sentiments directed against them make me pretty uncomfortable with their similarities to the sentiments against many transgendered individuals, who I've also seen accused of being lunatics and attention whores because what they believe is "impossible".

If all the trans-conversations have accomplished is moving acceptability from "can only be approximated with surgery" to "impossible", well... I dunno. I think the lesson was that we should stop caring so much how people self-identify.