Letters to Wordpress

April 5, 2008:

I'm writing to report a blog with extremely racist and
hate-filled content. It's called [name of blog*],
located at [blog URL*]

Section 2 of Wordpress' Terms of Service clearly
states:

"By making Content available, you [the blogger]
represent and warrant that:
"...the Content is not obscene...hateful or racially
or ethnically objectionable..."

I am sure you will remedy the situation.

Thank you!
~ Angel

April 26, 2008

Attached is the e-mail I sent at the beginning of the
month concerning the existence of a racist blog on
your server.

I'm very disappointed that this garbage has yet to be
removed. One cannot argue that it is merely a
conservative blog when categories listed include
"Nigger College" (a euphemism for prison), "Nigger
Fashion", and "Nigger Muddaland"; when titles of posts
are titled "Nigger Wesley Snipes off to Nigger
College", "Count the Deformed Nigletts", and "Nigger
50 Cent Hates Alicia Keys"; and when this blog links
to other blogs called [name of another racist blog*], also
on your server at [racist blog#2 URL]

I'm very concerned that despite your TOS that claims
racist material is forbidden, it is not only allowed
but commended.

I sincerely hope that is not the case.
~ Angel H.

Around the time when The Angry Black Woman's site was recently assailed by White Supremacists, I noticed a comment left by some racist turd with a website URL attached. Since racist trolls rarely leave a valid calling card, I was curious. All throughout the blog was "Nigger"-this and "Nigger"-that. It was beyond disgusting! So I went to Wordpress' main site, searched for the Terms of Service (TOS), and lo and behold Section 2, paragraph 5:

By making Content available, you represent and warrant that:

• the Content is not obscene, libelous or defamatory (more info on what that means), hateful or racially or ethnically objectionable, and does not violate the privacy or publicity rights of any third party...

I'll be watching and waiting to see what happens.

*Please not that I didn't insert the name and URL of the racist blog because I don't want to offer them any more traffic.

What Not to do When Talking About Racism

Ever since the Obama/Rev. Wright incident, people have been talking about ways to initiate a conversation about race and racism. One of the commenters on Karnythia's post at the Angry Black Woman, A. (I'm not censuring; that's her/his handle! ^_^), suggests:

And, strangely, this topic title [How to Derail a Conversation About Race] is so appropriate. This should be put in a list of “What not to do when talking about racism.”

Meme time!!

Title: "What Not to Do When Talking About Racism"

Rules:

• Be constructive: This will not become "The Angry White People Show". Only reply if you are genuine, and not looking for a place to air your grievance about what pisses you off about other races. This goes for POCs, too. Leave the stereotypes at home.
• Be empathic: Guess what? Just because your life is all "buttercups and daisies", doesn't mean it's that way for everyone. Please, conscious and considerate of that fact.
• Be open-minded: ^^^See above.
• And above all, THINK BEFORE YOU POST!

Tag: YOU!!!

**Note: I've gotta run, but I'll post my own list and update as soon as I can! ^_~

Update 4/26/08:

What Not to Do:

Don't turn the conversation into the Oppression Olympics*. When people are having a conversation about racism, don't come into the conversation with stories about how it sucks to be a White woman, or a White homosexual, or a White person who's not Christian, or a White person who's not able-bodied, etc. Of course those issues are important, but that kind of oppression is not the same as racial oppression. It's insulting when People of Color attempt their voice their thoughts on what it means to be discriminated against because of your race, and those who have never had that experience say "I know exactly how you feel." It's even worse when that person belittles your own experiences with reasons why we should "get over it" and attemtpt to turn the conversation onto their own oppression.

It would be ridiculous for me to say, for example, I know how it feels to lives as a disabled person because I had to walk with crutches for a short time during my childhood. It would also be ridiculous for me to say that I personally know of the discrimination felt by those who are LGBT because of my experiences with discrimination as a Black woman. It would be extremely ridiculous for me to say that my experiences as a Black woman trump the experiences of those who are LGBT, able-bodied, lower-class, non-Christian, etc.

There is, of course, intersectionality between the struggles of POCs, women, the LGBT community, the atheist and non-Christian communities, and disabled people. But when entering a conversation concerning racism (or any of the other issues), always remember to check your privileges. One type oppression is not the same as any other.

*Oppression Olympics: Where, instead of a torch relay, everyone just fights over the damn thing.