Let’s be clear: discussion of so-called discrimination without attention to contextual power dynamics & histories of oppression is meaningless & counter-productive.
Asking privileged folks to be aware of their privilege & to be responsible for their guests’ behavior in a space for marginalized people is not discrimination. It is asking folks to attend to & be accountable for power dynamics & histories of oppression that benefit them.
Further, someone being made to feel uncomfortable is not inherently discrimination. Accountability is uncomfortable. Being made aware of (let alone relinquishing some) of your privilege is uncomfortable. One’s feelings of discomfort are not facts/evidence of discrimination.
Applying discrimination rules or laws without regard to power dynamics & contexts/histories of oppression is lazy, foolish & anti-progressive. It re-centers privileged voices & frames marginalized people seeking refuge from discrimination & oppression as oppressors.
This doesn’t just apply to a single situation. See, for example, Syracuse where all frats were suspended including historically POC ones which had not participated in the racial harassment & hazing of the historically white frats. (see new episode of @QueerWOCpod for more info)
Universities must do better. When discrimination policies harm those they were intended to protect, we must re-write the policies to attend to power dynamics & histories of oppression rather than approach change as if we all arrive on campuses on equal social footing.
