Racism: An Educational Seminar/Workshop

[artgoddess]

The thread in TAO was closed or review a month ago. Is the seminar ever going to happen?

[Cynthia Mosher]

Hopefully so but I'm not sure we can offer it as a web seminar as we had wanted to. After looking into the options of a web interactive seminar we found the expense of doing that is beyond our reach at the moment. So we decided to do something for the mods as a training workshop and then see where we want to go from there. We still might offer a workshop of some kind here on the boards in a thread of discussion with persons of knowledge and practice. Karen Salt will be helping us organize and present but she is a bit busy right now. So once she is able to do more we'll see what we can offer. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the inquiry.

[Mighty Jalapeno]

Conversation with my son on Halloween:

Son: "I should go up and knock on the door, and say Trick or Treat with my eyes closed!"
Dad: "Why with your eyes closed?"
Son: "With my eyes closed, I can say I'm from China."
Dad: *a little appalled* "What? That's not nice, you know. It's not nice to make fun of people from other countries, like China."
Son: *ponders for a moment* "Is that not allowed in Canada?"
Dad: *smiling now* "That's right, it's not allowed in Canada, because it's a mean thing to do."
Son: "Ok, I won't do that."

He is also adamant that we're pink, not white.

[artgoddess]

Has the training for the mods already taking place?

[Cynthia Mosher]

Not yet. Why do you ask?

[artgoddess]

I don't know, just nosy I guess.

[Missy]

I'm getting really, really tired now. We needed that training and we needed that seminar yesterday. People are leaving and my own patience with some of the bigotry I've seen is gone.

[artgoddess]

This really needs to happen. The board has a racist meltdown on a monthly basis now. If it's too difficult to have a large total board invited seminar, then at the very least all the mods need training on how to deal with the issue today and them set up the larger seminar for tomorrow.

[Cynthia Mosher]

If it were up to us it would have already been done. Unfortunately, we must work within what others are able to do for us.

Perhaps what we need here is to restrict discussions of racism. If the topic is one that is too volatile for our community and does not result in any productive discussion but rather more issues and concerns then I can't see that moderator training is going to improve the situation. I'll discuss this further with Ms. Mom, abimommy and the mods and see what we can do for now.

[Calidris]

Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher

Perhaps what we need here is to restrict discussions of racism.

Oh yeah, now there's a solution.
If we don't talk about it, it'll all go away, right?

[Cynthia Mosher]

I don't think it will go away nor am I implying that it will. But if discussion cannot be had in a productive manner we will not continue to host threads that create adversarial tension in the community.

[bright]

Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher

But if discussion cannot be had in a productive manner we will not continue to host threads that create adversarial tension in the community.

I believe it is the actual *racism* that creates the tension, leading to the hot threads.

[CrazyCatLady]

I have to say that I've always thought the censorship about certain topics on this board was dumb and excessive. : But these racism threads really do shock me with how pointless they become. Everybody's always right, nobody is ever wrong. Nothing ever gets solved and not too much is ever learned in all that chaos. It just goes back and forth until the thread is finally shut down. I also think it causes fights among people who wouldn't have argued otherwise. I don't think I'd be opposed to it being a restricted topic. I just wish it didn't have to be that way because it is somethng that should be discussed (but with some manners yk).

[bright]

Originally Posted by Melaya

Everybody's always right, nobody is ever wrong. Nothing ever gets solved and not too much is ever learned in all that chaos.

I agree with this. I wish there was a better way to address the issue. I don't have any great solutions, though.

[artgoddess]

Originally Posted by bright

I believe it is the actual *racism* that creates the tension, leading to the hot threads.

Absolutely I agree with this. We have been talking about a racism seminar for months now. At least for the Mods, can there be something mandatory today? This way racism will be recognized by those who can edit, close threads, redirect and halt posting privileges to those who post racist remarks. Also frankly there are some Mods, who inadvertently encourage or approve racist post, simply because they, the Mods themselves are uneducated on the issue. I know I've pm'd a mod about stuff only to be told I was wrong, things weren't meant in a racist fashion and then watched the thread crash and burn the next day in anger. If the Mods had the training they would be able to stop this from happening.

[gethane]

I've had to compromise my morals to remain within the UA (and part of this community) more than once. However, as the mother of 3 biracial children, if you restrict the discussion of PERVASIVE racism on this site, I will gladly leave to greener and less racist pastures. Cynthia, the very suggestiion is offensive beyond belief and I'm ashamed for you that you suggested (or is it threatened?) it.

[Kajira]

Originally Posted by bright

I believe it is the actual *racism* that creates the tension, leading to the hot threads.

Correct

But my question is if race discussion is banned does that mean that there will never be a multicultral forum, because MDC will not host discussions on the topics which effect english as a second language speakers, moms of colour (latina, asian, black, mix), mothers with children of colour?

I'm feeling very unwanted at MDC, after nearly 3 years , over 3000 post total, I may now lose the ablity talk about the racist issues that arise in my daily life? I may be asked to restrict talking about my life because some posters here hold the same views which make my life difficult and we all believe are wrong, can keep more noise than I can?
:
I've been disappointed in MDC before, but this takes the cake

[joesmom]

Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher

If it were up to us it would have already been done. Unfortunately, we must work within what others are able to do for us.

Perhaps what we need here is to restrict discussions of racism. If the topic is one that is too volatile for our community and does not result in any productive discussion but rather more issues and concerns then I can't see that moderator training is going to improve the situation. I'll discuss this further with Ms. Mom, abimommy and the mods and see what we can do for now.

Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher

...But if discussion cannot be had in a productive manner we will not continue to host threads that create adversarial tension in the community.

This makes me sad. If we can't have the racism seminars, in some form or another, & if you instruct the mods to close all threads relating to racism, it seems to me that many, many POC will leave. Many white women who abhor racism (like me) will leave. Guess who will be left? The racists. : Whee. That is not what MDC is about to me.

Originally Posted by gethane

I've had to compromise my morals to remain within the UA (and part of this community) more than once. However, as the mother of 3 biracial children, if you restrict the discussion of PERVASIVE racism on this site, I will gladly leave to greener and less racist pastures. Cynthia, the very suggestiion is offensive beyond belief and I'm ashamed for you that you suggested (or is it threatened?) it.

[artgoddess]

Originally Posted by Cynthia Mosher

If it were up to us it would have already been done. Unfortunately, we must work within what others are able to do for us.

Perhaps what we need here is to restrict discussions of racism. If the topic is one that is too volatile for our community and does not result in any productive discussion but rather more issues and concerns then I can't see that moderator training is going to improve the situation. I'll discuss this further with Ms. Mom, abimommy and the mods and see what we can do for now.

Cynthia I am sitting here trying to find a way to word my response politely and not come off as attacking. In reading this post, it is very clear to me, you are not a mother of color. Because if you were you would know how damaging this could be to MDC. I understand in the past hot topic issues like abortion have been pulled off the discussion floor. I'm not agreeing with that, but I know it has happened. You simply can't make the same policy about Racism. This is a mothering community where women (and a few men) come to expand their parenting, in a world that is tough. Yes there are those who feel passionately one way or the other about abortion. However that is a discussion that can be left out of a mothering community. People don't wear on their bodies everyday how they feel about abortion.

Somebodies teenager isn't going to come home from a day shopping with her friends crying that she's never going to the all again because security guards followed her into each and every store, making her feel like a criminal because she had a pro-choice t-shirt on that day. No-body is going to ask for advice on how to deal with the anti-choice words they heard come out of their 5 year olds mouth he must have picked up at the neighbors house. The banning of some topics here at MDC may bother some because they feel censored (myself included) but unlike racism, they are not tantamount to parenting

As Missy said in a thread earlier, she can't just pull the zipper on her kids skin, and make them white. Discussing Racism is as important as discussing breastfeeding to a mothering community. It is part of being a other, no matter what your skin color happens to be. If you are going to ban discussion of Racism here, you may as well change the name Mothering Dot Commune, The Natural Family Living Community for White People Only. And I'm not being sarcastic with that.

Please, Please, Please do not even further the idea of banning Racism from discussion at a mothering community.

[eclipse]

I think if MDC banned discussion of racism, all of our MOC and mothers in multi-ethnic relationships/marriages would not be able to speak (at all) freely about their lives. I would imagine that these women experience racism directed toward themselves and/or family, both blatant and covert, in their daily lives.

Also, what would banning it entail? If someone says something racist (whether intentional or accidental) would we no longer be able to point it out? We would just have to let it stand? In what way would that be helpful? Or we report the post, and a mod gets to decide if it's "too" racist to be on the board? I think that's a horrible solution.

I'm also offended that the idea of banning talk of racism is even being considered. It boggles the mind.