The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

THE GOOD:

Washington D.C. becomes the 6th place in the nation where same-sex marriages can be performed and legally recognized! Hallelujha! Hallelujha! Shout outs to Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont (Oh California, why aren't you on this list???!!!).

Let me just quote from this New York Times article, because it really says so much about why same-sex marriages are critical for so many:

“I became a naturalized U.S. citizen in mid-’90s,” said Cuc Vu, a native of Vietnam who held the third position in line with her partner of 20 years, Gwen Migita. “But this is really the first time that I feel like I have the full rights and benefits of citizenship.”


THE BAD:

Please check out Tami's excellent rant at What Tami Said about the annoying verbal tics that non-African Americans insert into their conversations with black Americans (you know, the "Girlfriends!" and "No she didn't!" and "Holla!" type comments that the interlocutor somehow mistakenly believes make him/her hip and down with black vernacular culture. FAIL!)


THE UGLY:

For professional reasons (remember, I'm pre-tenure) I can't divulge the specifics of this scenario, but I can say that the following interaction happened at the end of a talk recently and was made by an Older White Woman (OWW) who is not affiliated with any university. At a certain point in the Q&A I had brought up a topic that lead me to talk about institutional racism and the ways in which eugenics were used as a means of perpetuating biological racism against non-white poeple, specifically black people, in this country. I had also, at a different point in this talk, self-disclosed that I had grown up in California.

OWW (to me after the talk is over):
"You know when you teach your eugenics class you should tell your students who the REAL racists are: people from New York and CALIFORNIA! (she looks pointedly at me)

Me: (speechless) WTF???!!!!

OK, I didn't really say WTF, but I think I expressed it with my eyes and with the brush off I gave her by turning away from her and speaking over her head (she was kinda short) to an undergraduate standing behind her. After all, when someone has just called you a racist because you are from California, what are you supposed to say? The woman was in her 70s--it's not a fair fight. Better to just ignore her, I thought, then to create a scene in which I am accused of elder-bashing.