Culpability shouldn't be a sticking point

I see racism through the same prism that I see colonialism (aka globalism).

We cannot claim not to be colonialist. Just because we didn't set up this system of exploitation doesn't mean we're not participating in it every single day.

Just because we didn't create globalism doesn't mean we didn't - and aren't continuing to - profit by it.

And to the degree that we participate in, and worse, actively encourage such systems, we have some real, honest measure of culpability.

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I guess that for some folks they need to believe themselves to be pure victims. That they had no hand in anything and are not responsible for anything that has happened to them or to others in their lifetimes. They're pure white snow, unblemished, not-responsible.

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For me, I see that as a cop-out - a lie. You are responsible for everything you are and have done and will do, even as I know that nobody has pure choice and liberty to just unilaterally decide to go off the grid and not be racist and not benefit and not have a job...

Most of us have little to no control over our lives in any practical sense - i.e. we could choose not to participate should we be resigned to homelessness and begging...

But if we have kids or spouses or even aging parents or even self-love and wish to care for ourselves and minimize our own suffering - then we are beholden to participate in this nation's economy - which by definition makes us complicit participants in its colonialism, its racism, its imperialism, its patriarchy.

These things are inseparable.

That doesn't mean you get to do that and still claim zero responsibility. Not in my book!

Sure, I have compassion for you and the tough choices you face - just as I have self-compassion for the tough choices I face.

But I want to hold you accountable for what is real. For the degree to which you are making a choice - even if you refuse to see it, I cannot unsee it.

I hold myself accountable for the real choices I am making as well, even as I struggle with all of the implications.

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Many people, in my experience, look at all of this and decide either:

A) If I'm evil then fuck it all I don't have to worry about it because we're all evil so it's all meaningless and I can be without guilt as I take every advantage of others that I can to be selfish and ignore other's plight in life.

-or-

B) I am in no way responsible for any of this so you cannot hold me responsible for any of this whatsoever. So I am pure and not-a-racist and not-a-colonialist and not-a-capitalist and not-a-classist and not-a-sexist etc. I am truly blameless (yet I hold all of a certain group responsible and blame them for all evil things but only them).

Both of those positions are disingenuous.

I see it as

C) I am not an evil person by nature - almost nobody is - but I am - due to no fault inherent in me - born into a very mixed system full of its evils - that I have personally benefitted by - my parents benefitted and I - the opportunities I had - the resources I had - all derive from all of the history of exploitation and slavery and capitalism and colonialism and native genocide. But because I don't wish any of that on anyone - because I have the personal desire to be a better person - to do right by my brothers and sisters on planet Earth - because I wish to leave this place better than I found - I will hold myself accountable for my choices - I will offer myself and others compassion for our crazy fucked up situation - but I will not pretend that hard realities don't exist just to soothe my ego - so that I can claim innocence, nor will I cave to the evils of the world and become a willing enthusiastic narcissist myself.