White Supremacy is so insidious that even if you’ve spent years working to eliminate anti-black beliefs from your subconscious, there will always be more hiding under the false pretense of reason and logic. Denny Upkins is here to keep us on our toes, make sure we check our biases at the door, and to direct us toward the beliefs we should actively be trying to incorporate into our understanding of the black experience, instead. CN: …Read More
Tag: critique
Western Media and their Continually Racist Depictions of Africa
CN: extensive discussion of media-based manifestations of racism, and the impact of the pandemic; general discussion of the myth of “white genocide”; mention of 45. I had been aware for a while that the portrayal of Africa that most folks from the US encounter in encyclopedias and on documentaries is heavily influenced by white supremacy and white savior narratives. But despite this awareness, I am not immune to the effects of modern media on …Read More
Ableism Bingo: Things to Never Say to a Disabled Person
Note: In addition to being a source of education, this post announces Yopp’s brand new merch stores on Zazzle and Redbubble! To start buying, check out our new merch page or skip straight to buying products that support Yopp on our Zazzle store. CN: Extensive and detailed discussion of social ableism and victim-blaming & gaslighting regarding health and ability; use of ableist language & slurs for educational purposes, and mention of suicide. If you ask …Read More
The Complexion For The Protection: White Privilege in Media
CN: extensive discussion of racism and white privilege, brief discussion of fictional instances of stalking, murder, sex, illegal drug-use, abusive/manipulative relationships, false rape accusations, war and mass violence. Brief discussion of real-life murder, mass violence, and racially-motivated violence. Assume potential spoilers for all media mentioned below. As always, the beauty of guest posts on this blog is that they enable Yopp to include subjects and types of content that I could never hope to create …Read More
Good People: Race, Not Racism, Is the Social Construct
CN: extensive discussion of the mechanics of racism and white supremacy; discussion of apartheid era South Africa, denial of racism, islamophobia, and racially motivated violence; mention of anti-Semitism. All I have to say about today’s guest post is that I’m so glad that thanks Thandiwe I have an excellent resource to point to anytime I run into someone claiming that racism is a social construct. She’s going to break it down for all of us. …Read More
How Physicians Can Be Better Mental Health Resources
A note before today’s guest post: Today’s article was submitted and written before the Covid 19 crisis reached the US. At this moment, all medical health professionals are maxed out on what they are giving to the public to keep us safe, and we are deeply grateful to them for the risks they are taking and sacrifices they are making daily. This advice, as most things on this blog are, focuses on looking at longterm …Read More
Article on Medium: When the Heck are Women Going to Get a Shot at the Presidency
On Thursday, I received the news that Elizabeth Warren was ending her campaign for president. I had intended to write an article about why Warren had my vote, but I never got to write it and I never got to vote for her. I had a lot of grief and anger around the circumstances of her campaign ending. I expected that the news would be a blow to my spirits but what I didn’t expect …Read More
Redefining Disability: An Identity of Adaptation and Creativity
CN: extensive discussion of ableist cultural narratives Before 2014, I knew very little about the concept of disability or disability activism. Believing myself to be able-bodied, I had been protected from the whole world of problems disabled people face as a result of a society that isn’t built for them. My journey to identifying as a disabled person was anything but clear cut. Before the injury that flipped my life upside-down, I thought that my …Read More
White Privilege at Work in Social Activism
CN: in depth discussion of racism and white supremacy including specific examples of racist behavior; mention of 45, domestic violence, George Zimmerman, the Parkland students, and pedophilia. I want to keep this intro simple and just remind my white readers of a few good practices of allyship: 1. Listen more than you talk. 2. Expect and embrace discomfort as part of your learning process. 3. Remember that the biases that we all have don’t feel …Read More
When Charity Masks Injustice: Thoughts from an Ex-Missionary
CN: in depth discussion of christian culture and religious institutions, othering and neglect of marginalized groups, stigmatization of mental illness, abuse of power. One of the things I love about the Voices section of this blog is that it creates an opportunity to share guest writers’ life experiences that are so incredibly different from my own. I can research a topic, break it down, explain it to you, but I can’t tell you what it’s …Read More