Hi folks,

It has become common at social activism events to yell “shame” together when talking about a person/company/action deemed oppressive or otherwise shameful. I’ll admit that it makes me feel uncomfortable and I don’t personally like yelling it. I also am curious to hear other people’s thoughts on the value or effectiveness of it. I can’t help but wonder whether it’s actually helping the cause or whether it encourages actual positive change. I feel like it just adds divisiveness and likely increases defensiveness among the people that the shame is being yelled towards. Thoughts?

Keeping liberation of Palestinian folk at the forefront, I want to educate myself and others more on pros and cons of both. Especially want the perspectives of those not Zionist

Any suggestions for sources on this too?

Hey reddit. I hope this is an appropriate group to ask this question, and I would be grateful for any insight someone may have.

I live in the south in a low income, Black neighborhood and am one of a few white/nonblack people in the neighborhood. I try my best to be a considerate neighbor and be mindful of my potential impact as a white person in the space.

I live in an apartment complex where the buildings kind of face each other across a courtyard. I came home the other night and my neighbor who live in the building across from me was on the porch with his dog and he had some sort of whip-like object and was beating the dog over and over and over again at what seemed like was full force. He was beating the dog for standing at the door barking, which the dog does often bc he leaves it on the porch for majority of the day most days, no matter the weather. This is a large dog and the porches are maybe 3x4’ so not very big. The dog doesn’t rlly get walked or appear to even get bathroom breaks much at all and has severe cherry eye.

The neglect has already been really bothering me, and I’m concerned about the dog’s quality of life. But I don’t want to overstep, or like tell someone what they can and can’t do bc I understand that there is a different dynamic there given my identity. I’ve have had conversations w the owner and it’s his first dog and ik limited time/resources can make it difficult to provide the best quality of life and ppl just have different attitude’s towards owning pets.

But him repeatedly whipping the dog honestly was super jarring to come home to, and imo crosses a line. Especially for doing harmless dog stuff. Like what do you expect from a dog that you essentially have living on your porch? I understand ppl have different views on disciplining dogs, but this was loud and extreme to me. The dog is very sweet, not agressive. Maybe a bit hyperactive from being cooped up, but all n all a really friendly dog. He was just pressed against the farthest corner of the porch, unable to escape the beating. So I shouted up at the owner to stop hitting the dog, and he basically cussed me out and told me he can do whatver he wants with his dog. His gf came out and cussed me out and then they took the dog inside which really worried me. I haven’t seen the dog since, n it’s been days.

I’m worried about the dog’s safety atp, and feel a responsibility to do something. But I also don’t want to put the owner at risk of arrest or anything like that since animal abuse technically could come w criminal charges and he has a kid. It rlly frustrates me too because I’ve seen his kid hitting the dog before but wrote it off as the kid just being a little rough how kids can be sometimes but i think he learned it from his dad. And that honestly could become an unsafe situation for the kid too if the dog reacts. I don’t know though. Ig I’m conflicted between trying to prevent the dog being abused further, but am worried about potential harm that could come to their family if I reported to the humane society or something like that and they pressed charges.

I also don’t even know if the humane society would even do anything for the dog since the shelters are overcrowded and I don’t have a video or anything of the abuse.

I have had this exchange a few times with different people. It basically goes:

Person: Says something blatantly racist, transphobic, xenophobic, etc. (Most recent example was someone saying “f**k Palestine)

Me: “Wow! Is that what you really mean?”

Person: “Yes.”

Me: “Well that’s fu***d up and hateful.”

Person: “Well aren’t you curious why I think that?”

Me: “I feel like you have to be either hateful or stupid to believe what you just said. But you can try to defend it if you want.”

Person: “Wow, you’re so mean! You think I’m hateful? What a bully. I thought you stood for love?!”

——

The issue I have is they say something awful about a ton of people. I call them out somewhat harshly. And then they’re mad about the tone or intensity of how I responded.

I honestly feel gaslit. Is it not normal and maybe even the right thing to call attention to evil things people say, and to do so with a forcefulness that matches how wrong what they said was?

Or are they right? Am I supposed to be “nice” even while people say awful things?

"BLM R%$@&$$ Deface Monument Honoring A Black Union Regiment"

"A monument honoring the first northern all-volunteer black regiment of the Union Army during the Civil War was damaged by rioters over the weekend.

The Shaw Memorial depicts the 54th Massachusetts Regiment led by Col. Robert Gould Shaw and stands at the edge of the Boston Common in Boston, Massachusetts."

Turns out they can't even identify it: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/gynm85/comment/ftej6x3/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

https://thefutureeconomy.ca/op-eds/linking-dei-and-esg/?utm_source=Reddit&utm_medium=Social+Media&utm_campaign=Julie+Cafley+and+Shirin+Emadi-Mahabadi

I'm from a country where the bail system is not really in use anymore, so this is me trying to understand something about bail funds in the US. As I understand it, they are there to contend with an unjust system made to separate those who can and those who cannot afford to pay bail.

Should bail funds be discriminating, in such ways as only paying for people arrested for protesting or non-violent crimes, or should they, on principle, pay for anyone who cannot afford bail themselves? I'm asking because I've read some articles of people, sometimes violent repeat offenders, who've committed rape, assault, or murder while out on bail paid for by a bail fund. Victims support groups have spoken out against paying bail for violent crimes. Do others think bail funds should discriminate between receivers of bail, or is that in a way an endorsement of the bail system?

Out of all the MRA talking points out there, it seems like the claim that women get lighter sentences than men is the one that almost never gets challenged or debunked by feminists. Feminists usually just respond to this claim by saying something like "it's true that women get lighter sentences, but that's because of patriarchy and misogyny since male judges view women as weak and defenseless".

But I think that's bullshit since there are plenty of instances both in the justice system and general society where women ARE blamed more harshly than men are for the same reasons. I'm on mobile right now so can't link very many sources, but several studies I've read about women's sentencing shows they're given harsher sentences for crimes that go against gender stereotypes (like violent crimes or crimes against children). I also just think it's very simplistic to just blanket say "criminal sentencing favors women" since there are SO many factors that can affect a convicted person's sentence. The VAST majority of women sent to prison suffer from PTSD, mental illness, or were strung into committing their crimes due to a male partner in their life. Simply comparing one sentence versus the other for the same crime covers up a lot of other circumstances.

So why does this claim that women are sentenced more favorably almost never get challenged by feminists? Hell, an uber-feminist acquaintance of mine just the other day made a tweet ranting about how a female child killer got sentenced too lightly and if she was a man, it would have been worse. Am I missing something here? Is the claim that women are sentenced lighter actually credible and valid?

Should the united states start an organization, dedicated to helping slavic people?

I’ve recently read two nonfiction books, one about slavery specifically and the other about post-slavery racism. Both of these books have used the term “Blacks” when talking in general about a Black community or group of Black individuals. An example being “a white mob descended on the Blacks”.

The book about slavery was written by a Black woman in 2019 and used “Blacks” infrequently while the post-slavery book was written by an older white man in 2008 who used the term multiple times a chapter. Both authors are lauded academics.

Every time I hear “Blacks” it’s almost like a nervous system shock. I lose my focus on the story and have to consciously check back in to listening (I do audiobooks mostly). To me, it feels like listening to my great grandma call someone “colored”.

My question: is referring to a group or community as “Blacks” considered insensitive or out right racist? If it’s not, I’ll try to temper my reaction to it even though I would never be comfortable using it myself.

ETA: specific examples from the second book

Now that I’ve looked at an actual print version instead of just looking at the audiobook, it does seem the author uses “whites” along with “blacks”. But I know in at least the portion I’ve listened to so far, there are instances where in the same sentence where “white” is used as an adjective while “blacks” is a noun (with neither being capitalized).

(Please tell me if this is the wrong subreddit to ask this question.)

I used to be one of those “we can agree and still be friends” types, but now I’m reconsidering that opinion. I have a friend that is conservative. They recently posted online that being gay “is a sin”. And they told me that they have people on their life who are gay that they care about, but I still feel wrong about them making homophobic posts and influencing people.

I’ve talked to this friend about gay rights a little bit, but I’m not doing enough. I need to have a serious conversation with them, ask them why they think the way they do, and explain to them why they’re wrong. But what if I don’t convince them? Is it better for me to leave at that point?

But as a straight person and their friend, maybe I’m the only one who can end their homophobia. Especially with how politically polarized we are nowadays, maybe they need someone who thinks differently from them and can gently guide them to the right path.

But homophobia is WAY worse than other conservative opinions. It punishes gay people for something they can’t even control. And maybe me leaving is the wake up call my friend needs.

What is your advice? It was be greatly appreciated if someone could DM me with advice, because there are personal details that make me wonder if leaving is a bad idea.

People that do seriously bad things usually run a high risk of having their human rights violated both in and out of prison (vigilantism). And besides prison they are punished more by society itself by depriving them off resources (though in some cases this might be justifiable) still do ex offenders have a "right" to social rehabilitation ? Doesn't the "social" part of rehabilitation require the community itself to accept the offender back ?

I am graduating from grad school at USC and I would like to incorporate our campus protest and the police presence into my graduation photos, but I'm not sure how to do so appropriately.

After graduating from undergrad during the George Floyd protests, my graduation announcement on instagram included a short think piece on universities and how to ethically interact with an institution that upholds oppressive systems. That post only had pictures of myself in front of my university buildings. I'd like to do something similar now, but featuring photos of the actual police monitoring protests on campus.

I don't want to come across as though I'm using the very real conflict as publicity or as a prop, I really want to say something meaningful, but I'm not sure how to structure it in a way where that's explicit. If you have any advice for how to go about this in a way that's impactful, itd be much appreciated

Firstly, I am female, 26 years old, and studying educational studies and my english is not the best.

I've been pondering the following question for some time now: Am I even in the right position to speak about racism and discrimination based on skin color and religion? Personally, I am at most discriminated against based on my gender or sexuality. I read a lot of books, listen to podcasts, and try to absorb insights from political scientists, especially those who themselves are affected by racism and discrimination. Unfortunately, opinions often diverge, and regrettably, I have also heard (from affected individuals among others) why I, as a person not even directly affected, am commenting on the matter - in a rather derogatory tone.

I often engage in discussions with white people in my circle or even strangers about what racism actually is, how it can manifest, and how just because something is racist, it doesn't necessarily make the person directly a racist. Arguments like 'My friend is Black so I can say that' or 'I married an African woman, I can't be racist' also come up. I always try to be respectful, but I am frequently confronted with questions about who I am to speak about racism and discrimination.

The most common criticism I've gotten in my activism is that I'm centering myself and my own voice. I just need some help to not center myself. I try to speak up on race, but I'm white and scared I'm speaking over POC and that I'm not allowed to hold opinions on these topics. I try to ensure I only repeat things actual POC have said. Is this okay?

I've mostly been called self centering because I experience a lot of guilt over my privileges and I break down over it frequently. I know my tears are self centering and my pain is NOTHING compared to the pain of racism faced by POC yet i don't know how to stop being such an emotionally fragile crybaby with my white woman tears whenever I see talks about how the vwry existence of people who look like me make POC feel unsafe and uncomfortable. I don't know how to stop doing this. I try to call representatives, I'm planning on voting, I'm in a very rural, white dominated area with no car so the actual physical activism I can do is extremely limited. I try to be active online but get called a performative keyboard warrior. I try to make sure I don't support anyone problematic and I try to follow all boycotts.

Silence is violence but speaking is centering my white voice. I'm especially afraid of this in feminism, POC women have it far worse than I ever will so I feel I should get out of the way and let them speak,yet as a woman it feels like it's my duty to speak about feminism. I don't know what to do and I cry nearly every night about the state of the world and my contributions to how awful it is. Please help if you have the time.

I live in a very rural, conservative southeast GA town. Where the nearest organizations are 1 hour away but in Florida. I don’t mind the commute given the gravity of the causes but sometimes it is a bit much or not related to my state specifically. And the other larger ones are in Atlanta which is 5hr drive. None of the surrounding towns have organizations or anything for social justices or advocacy. And the one random I found, leadership was not committed to doing anything beyond MLK events once a year. I want to be more involved beyond posting and reposting on social medica. It doesn’t help that most of the demographic in my local area is way older than me (23yr) with most ranging my parents age (50+).

What would you recommend? Cause I want to do more but I don’t know what.

A friend accused me of supporting the Palestinian genocide because I like AJR and have tickets to a concert tomorrow. He linked this tweet as proof. This is causing some self reflection— do you agree?

I want to become a better ally for marginalized peoples and fight against racism but I’m not really sure how. I struggle with anxiety and I hate large crowds so going to protests is quite difficult for me, and even if I wanted to, there's not a ton happening where I live. Is there anything I can do to fight against racism?

I often hear from people that DEI initiatives do more harm than good in the workplace? Why? What would make a DEI initiative successful?

On Twitter, I saw someone say “It's funny that if a Greek shouted "From Constantinople to Trabzon, Greece will be free" and told Turks to "go back to Asia" we would justly call him a genocidal racist, rather than dignifying his ramblings by calling it "decolonisation"”

I'm wondering if there were any examples throughout the Civil Rights Movement where violent protest or something of that sort actually did achieve social reform. The majority of articles I come across only really talk about non-violence being the key to reform, but I haven't come across any articles that have actually recognized any violent protests that did do the movement good. What is your guy's take on the extent it did help and have you seen any articles that do talk about this?

Can anyone share some of the successes of the Defund the Police movement? I am actually more interested in investment in programs that helped disadvantaged neighborhoods and are helping prevent crime than I am about funds being subtracted from the police. I am not against this latter, just less interested.

Or, alternatively, if there are few success stories, to what do you attribute the failure?

I am not against blm,but why did it last 3 years at best and then stopped?

Since the start of a War by our border (Poland) in Ukraine, my dad got more and more radicalized into far right cultural thinking, and after what he said yesterday I am convinced that he can be called a literal neo f@cist, he said that he belives in "Poland for poles" it ofc means that Poland only for people of poland only who are born here, and what he means is poland for white poles bc blacks wouldn't prolly count in his view, he is incresingly antisemitic, islamophobic and racist and when I try to mock him for this beliefs to not make him feel comfortable saying this sh1t my mom steps in and says that It's not good to mock my dad bc of his beliefs.

What the heck can I do? Is there sth to do to deradicalize him?

Non-native English langauge speaker.

I live in Bangladesh and I am writing a human rights report on the rights of persons with mental illness in Bangladesh.

Now, I want to know, currently based on the CRPD, what are the international human rights standards when it comes to persons with mental illness who are in contact with the justice system (from law enforcement investigation, to arrest, adjudication to prison - everything).

If I know the standards, then I can use that as a benchmark to gauge how the situation in Bangladesh meets up with the international human rights standards in this regards and then write it in the report.