The Oppression Olympics

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Lately I have been feeling really upset because it seems that all everyone on the internet wants to do is compete to be the most oppressed. It feels like unless you aren't apart of EVERY single marginalized group (disabled, gay, trans, female, black, etc.) that you automatically have an easy life, even if you ARE apart of some but not all oppressed demographics like I am.

I am a woman, I am autistic (diagnosed), I am bipolar (diagnosed) and I am also sure that I am not heterosexual (but not sure if gay or bisexual). But most importantly to SJW, I am white. I am not denying the existence of racism, white privilege or oppression of black people in the west, BUT I hate when people online and IRL invalidate my experiences as an autistic person by treating me like my "whiteness cancels out the struggles I face as an autistic person" . Like yeah I have never faced systematic racism, but the people who are telling me this s**t have never faced systematic ableism either! Ableism does not just go "huh this one's white, lets give her a free pass on the whole autism thing". I was still bullied mercilessly as a child by my peers, teachers and even family. Being white did not save me from my older brothers friends taking advantage of my naivety as an autistic child and doing inappropriate stuff to me.

Again I am not denying the fact that I still have white privilege over autistic POC and have less/different struggles than POC autistic, but I do not have the same privileges that an able bodied white person has. One of the most common things neurotypical POC activists tell me is that I do not understand what it is like to be discriminated against. They make that conclusion about me by not even considering that I could have a disability, which is one of the things about autism that sucks, it is mostly invisible to strangers. And not to mention, these neurotypical POC activists have plenty of privileges that I, an autistic person will never have. For one, they can have the experience of going to regular public school with their peers, instead of being homeschooled because my school could not excuse me to miss class for treatment, therapy, psych evaluations, etc. Even if I could go to school, it would still suck because of the death threats I received on the school bus and in the classroom everyday, which the school did nothing about. They also get to be free of many of the struggles that autistics face when making friends, starting relationships, and understanding others. These are just a few of the many things that some autistics struggle with in a neurotypical dominated world.

Anyways, my point is that I am tired of POC activists undermining my accomplishments and casting me aside as just another 'privileged white girl'. Back when I did go to school, I brought my grades up and ended up with top grades in 5 different subjects, to which activists at my school just went *shrug* "of course another privileged white person beat me, a POC, in an educational setting, looks like the white supremacy is at it again, letting her win, and pushing me behind". Why can't marginalized groups just work together and acknowledge that different people have unique obstacles and that this shouldn't be a competition. Because in the oppression olympics, there really is no true winner.

Older activists should understand intersectionality. Point it out if necessary.

You can also say that you would consider it condescending to hold back from doing your best in competing with them, so you should work together to create better opportunities for everyone in the future. It helps to recognize the current vast gulf dividing low and high performing schools in the US, and that it often breaks down along ethnic lines.

ETA I don't know if Canada has similar issues with its schools.

Last edited by jrjones9933 on 03 Jul 2017, 4:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Everything is a power struggle to them, it's the same sort of thinking that says racism = prejudice + power (which is incidentally some of the schlock I was exposed to in some required classes at university). Since everything is affected by and predicated upon the power one has, it's all one big zero-sum game to them based around race.

Acknowledging that everyone has difficulties and strengths in different areas would get too close to shaking them from their victim complex.

What does that symbol on the bottom of you thread mean? It looks like somebody holding something heavy.

You can see a persons race or sex you but you cannot see if a person is autistic, that and the fact that autism is classified as a disease are reasons is why it is harder for us to be recognized as a minority group.

If you are part of a minority group of any kind it is going to be tough not because of massive conspiracy of systematic oppression but human nature.

IMHO group identity is way too important these days. Our groups are part of who we are but they should not be used to define us as they do now. This obsession with defining people and ourselves by our groups is an important reason for the oppression olympics.

It's someone who's shrugging.

Thanks

It looks like a Sweet Pea in a small bowl to me

Exactly. There are some people in a race to get into every oppressed category they can. One of the sickest things I've ever heard of is how some parents get their kids to act up in school so they can get some label that sticks with them the rest of their lives and the parents can get "crazy checks." Disgusting.

Have any of these people ever actually said or implied this, or is it just a "feeling" you get? I mean has anyone ever actually said being white privileged means that a person has no other struggles or doesn't experience oppression or have their experience of other kinds of oppression "canceled out" by their white privilege? What exactly did the activists at your school say?

Back when I used to complain about being different, my parents would tell me how much worse it could have been. I could have been a crippled or be like my old friend who had Down's Syndrome or be severely autistic or be like my crazy aunt who is a schizophrenic. I don't know if this counts as oppression.

Yes they have actually said these things. Especially on the internet, I get messages and replies from activists on tumblr all the time telling me these things. If they had just implied it, I would not have started this thread because I wouldnt care. People (activists) have straight up told me that I should not complain about the struggles I face as an autistic person, because they (POC) have it so much worse. I am not denying that they may have it worse, but that does not mean my struggles are any less valid.

Hearing about how much worse things could be doesn't make me feel better about myself. That just feeds the fire of fear in my heart. I have seen worse and fear someday winding up like that, alone with nobody to care about me, of being a nameless, faceless, number in a nursing home. I hope to avoid that fate if possible.

I am a white person but do not consider myself privileged. I am working class and disabled and being screwed over by the Tory government on a daily basis.

SJWs and intersectionalists tend to disregard the existence of class, which is the very foundation of modern socialism. You can't have a building without its foundations!

So...does that mean that you are like the people that you and the OP are talking about? People who disregard one or more types of privilege? Or do you mean you don't consider yourself privileged in general?

When I first started making contact with the disability community years ago when I was first in a wheelchair, this whole thing was a big shock to me. The "community" playing a big one-upmanship game about who is "more disabled" or whose disability is more legitimate, and basing inclusion or exclusion on social attitudes rather than people's actual needs. I was actually initially enthusiastic about getting involved with disability awareness-raising and activism until I got quickly disgusted with the hostility that some disabled persons level at each other. It's actual possible to be a person with a disability to be accused of insensitivity or even being prejudiced against other disabled persons if you merely question why some advocates are focusing on some disabilities or groups of people at the expense of others.

The "but other people are worse off" argument is a classic one- valid at times, but too often used to silence actual discussions about disability issues or to invalidate someone's experience and perspective. I've noticed how that sometimes plays into biased media coverage, where a problem affecting persons with disabilities is worthy of coverage based on which group was affected the most rather than a problem that needs to be addressed, period.