So I go to the Bay yesterday (don’t ask!) and find that all over the store, also known as soulless place of sweatshop goods for sale, are these signs for “world fashion” and “ethnic chic”. No joke. Here’s the letter I’m sending to the top executives at the Hudson’s Bay Company:

Dear Bigwigs,

I was shopping in the Bay store at Yonge and Bloor in Toronto recently and noticed signs all over the store for “world fashion” and “ethnic chic”. I need to let you know that the notion of “ethnic chic” is offensive, racist and imperialist.

First of all, it’s offensive because in the City of Toronto, 44% of the population describes themseves as “visible minority” according to the last Canadian census (2006). Who, exactly, do you imagine you are appealing to?

And even if there are hardly any people of colour in the communities where your Bay stores are, across Canada, this is unacceptable in the year 2008, when more and more people of colour are living in Canada and deserve respect.

As for racism, the idea that non-Anglo cultures are “interesting” and “exotic” is racist, based on centuries-old ideas of “the other”. Dovetailing into imperialist, this is the exact same mind-set that missionaries used when colonizing Africa, China, the subcontinent of India and, duh, Canada. The dark “other” is understood through a number of racist stereotypes, some framed as “positive” (exotic, hard-working, noble) and some framed as “negative” (savage, ignorant, superstitious). All those stereotypes are racist, and what you’ve done with your ignorant and offensive campaign, is to reiterate these stereotypes into the culture of Canada, once again, just in case people forget about them, or choose to ignore them, or even fight against them.

Shame on you, and stop this campaign immediately. I further suggest that you embark on some intensive anti-oppression work at all levels of your organization. I know some consultants I can refer you to.

Sincerely, Maysie

There’s stuff going on in the blogosphere about allies, based on some intense racist stuff that’s happened for some WOC bloggers in the US.

Links and back links are Angry Black Woman blog: The Seal Press racist fiasco

and

Racialicious: Learning your own biases

So now I’m thinking about allies, especially white anti-racist allies, what we all can do together, and how to keep up the energy when it seems like there are no allies out there.

There are many communities of allies in the progressive feminist circles I work, play and activist in (just made that verb up just now.). I might have to break this down into a few parts.

Part I. Know when to Shut the Fuck Up.

This is the starting place. When one has certain privilege, but one doesn’t know it, or doesn’t pay attention to it, one can make an ass out of oneself by yammering on and on when one knows sweet fuck all. If someone is willing to talk/share about an experience/lived reality/politic that you don’t share: Shut the fuck up!

Think about it. When we ask others to be allies to us, what’s one of the first things we ask them? To listen, right? As allies this is the very least you can do.

Part II. Don’t expect gratitude, or being noticed, when you shut the fuck up in an appropriate manner.

Angry Black Woman talks about this as getting “cookies”. This is hard ongoing work and you can’t expect everyone from the marginalized group to continually give you praise for “getting it”, for being “one of the good ones” or whatever. Doing so takes even more energy and we need to save that for our fights, not making our supposed allies “feel good”. Alliance work is not about feeling good, it’s about an ideal of how we all hope to be together, with each other.

Part III. This is never over, you will continue to fuck up and get it wrong for the rest of your life.

The heading kind of says it all. If you ever, EVER think that you finally understand now, have an aha! moment, or think, god those white folks are so clueless, lucky me that I’m so smart, or any such bullshit, stop and think again.

If you think you know it all, go read some more books, go learn more, go out and not talk and listen some more. Notice how you respond when you fuck up, because you will. It’s a lifelong commitment.