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how to be a real nice persyn
Published by vegankid | Filed under 101
Takanji over at The Official Shrub.com Blog has just produced a great list called How to be a Real Nice Guy (and Nice Person). Although it was written to address issues specific to male gamers , it is easily extrapolated to include anti-racism. I do take issue with some of the chosen language (its no secret that i don’t like the term “minority”), but overall i’d suggest checking it out. There’s some good insight for allies.
March 8th, 2006
March 8th, 2006 at 7:44 pm I think the word "minority" is used ironically--perhaps from the nice guy's POV--since it isn't a word I usually see tekanji use. I would like to see her meaning clarified since we "minorities" literally are the majority.
March 9th, 2006 at 11:55 am I use the term "minority" in the sense as we are treated as if we are minorities in terms of rights conferred to us (ie. significantly less than "majority" groups). It tends to be one of the terms of choice* for the groups I read and participate in.
If you wouldn't mind, I'm curious as to the reasons why you don't like the term "minority"? Also, what words do you use in its stead? I ask because I may want to modify my language when I update the post (which, given the responses already will probably be done in the next few days) but I don't really have an appropriate substitute for "minority" that I can use.
Thanks for the link, the praise, and especially the critique. ^_^
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* For my post, I didn't want to use the term "oppressed groups" because the word "oppress" and its corollary term "oppressor" tend to be hot button issues, and just using the term "privilege" is enough to push much of the target audience onto the edge.
July 15th, 2006 at 4:38 am [...] Don’t Use the Language of Opression Against Minorities I cannot stress this one enough. Your foray into identity politics will inevitably give you a new set of vocabulary with how to define oppression, discrimination, prejudice, etc. This can be a powerful tool if used right, but can also can turn you into a Grade A Asshole if used wrong. Don’t forget that, with many groups, a sincere apology and inquiry as to the correct terminology will go a long way. And remember that you will find that different groups have different definitions of what language is acceptable. It can be annoying to keep the rhetoric straight, but do your best and you should be alright. [...]
April 24th, 2007 at 12:30 am I was going to write about the use of the word "minority" also. It has pejorative tones now. Especially since the majority of the world is brown NOT white and the majority of the world is female NOT male. I can't argue that the majority of the world is homosexual as opposed to heterosexual, but I can argue that the majority of the world has a sexuality that is somewhere on a scale between all straight and all gay that is closer to the middle than all the way at either of the extremes.
The term "targeted groups" is one option.