So I am having a tough time getting on the internet, but a quick update. Our panel was fantastic. We discussed the "politics" of being a person of color on the internet and what can be done both in terms of content and software development to better facilitate conversations about race, ethnicity, identity and gender.
So the question is, what can be done? We are operating in a blogosphere and a world of technology that tends to be dominated by certain voices, in fact those voices are normalized. So when you write outside of them you are marked, "oh the woman of color writer. . . " Is that necessarily a bad thing?
The internet is not a neutral place. But we can utilize these same technologies to have our often silenced voices heard. And we can also see those technologies be used against us (trolls, hateful commenting, inequitable labor, etc.)
So how do we use internet/blog/social networking technology to further our conversations about the issues we care about and have it be effective? Or will we be perpetually caught in *the system*?
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No idea, but here's some nearly real-time photo coverage.
Thanks! Let's hang soon, norbizness.
This is a rather serious question. The internet can obscure parts of someone's identity like race, gender, sexuality but allow people to speak more honestly about things they wouldn't talk about in real life. I'm now convinced that unless progressives and Democrats have a paradigm shift in their minds and speech that is truly revolutionary and all-inclusive, we will mimic the status quo and Republicans. The Democrats want equal status of Republicans but how are we different than Republicans by mimicking the same hierarchies? We learned in this election that alienating certain groups such as Latinos is a losing strategy and that an inclusive 50-state strategy that pays attention to marginalized races wins elections. So what are Democrats and progressives waiting for? It's time to take the leap because it works!
Technology that obscures one's gender, race and sexuality is good for women and minorities because it makes it easier to speak up when they can't in real life. It is bad when men and whites pretend they are women or poc to oppress women and poc. Technology allows honesty which is good for women and minorities because it's harder to speak up honestly in real life about issues that matter to us. It tends to be bad overall when men and whites use the internet to take out their frustrations by making sexist and racist comments.