God is in the rain.

I really fucking hate when I get on tumblr (a place of accepting and understanding people, supposedly) and see people blogging and reblogging pictures or commentary that say things like “faggot,” “slut,” and especially “nigga.” It kills me. These are offensive words, whether you mean them as a joke or not. They are offensive. You don’t walk around saying “Whats up, kike?” do you? No. Because it’s offensive. I don’t care what your ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, class, gender, sex, personal life, background, etc. is, you are hurting the progress towards equality of society as a whole when you say shit like that. Recognize your privilege. Learn where these words come from. Stop using them because it’s not okay.

I just woke up in a rage from the dream I was having. I was at a party and some guy made an overtly sexist comment and then tried to play it off with “I am completely for equality. We don’t have a problem with that anymore.” I made some comment back to him about how wrong and ignorant he was and started to storm off. As I walked away he made a side comment about how I should “go get my little cleats on and come back.:

At this point, everyone at the party was staring and silent. I took it in stride, removed the heels that I was wearing and calmly walked back towards him. I looked him in the eye and put him to shame: “I don’t need anymore evidence than that comment to know exactly what kind of person you are. You’re implying first, that I need cleats to kick your ass, because I can only be physical in one context (rugby) where it is socially acceptable because I’m a woman. You’re implying that I wouldn’t be capable of kicking your ass in heels, becaues I’m a woman, which I am also only wearing because I am a woman, because women’s bodies have become so sexualized by the values of the patriarchy that we must be made to look good. That’s all we’re good for anyways, isn’t it? Looking good? You are implying that I am pathetic and weak with the myth that foot size is related to penis size and calling my shoes “little.” This whole myth stems from the patriarchy; the ultimate insult being that I, as a female and having no penis at all, puts me at the bottom of the food chain. You are the reason that this nation is stuck where it is and racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, classism, gender discrimination, you are the reason that all of these are still alive and well. You are the reason we are not making more progress towards real equality in this country and in the world. You are a white, able-bodied, heterosexual, upper-class, male. You are the epitomy of privilege. The reason we aren’t going anywhere is because people like you refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem, let alone do anything to fix it. When you think you can say something to me that is not discriminatory in some way and you want to fix your persepective, then you come talk to me. Until then, you’re just another barrier in the way of progress.”

He had nothing to say. Everyone at the party cheered for me as I turned and left.

This is what happens when you take a Diversity Issues class.