You know how it is.
You’re enjoying yourself, kicking back and relaxing at the pub or maybe at the
library; or maybe you’re in class or just casually surfing the internet,
indulging in a little conversation. The topic of the conversation is about a
pertinent contemporary issue, probably something to do with a group of people
who fall outside your realm of experience and identity. They’re also probably
fairly heavily discriminated against - or so they claim. The thing is, you’re
having a good time, sharing your knowledge about these people and their issues.
This knowledge is incontrovertible - it’s been backed up in media
representation, books, research and lots and lots of historical events, also
your own unassailable sense of being right. Yet all of a sudden something happens to put
a dampener on your sharing of your enviable intellect and incomparable capacity
to fully perceive and understand All Things. It’s someone who belongs to the
group of people you’re discussing and they’re Not Very Happy with you.
Apparently, they claim, you’ve got it all wrong and they’re offended about
that. They might be a person of colour, or a queer person. Maybe they’re
a woman, or a person with disability. They could even be a trans person or a
sex worker. The point is they’re trying to tell you they know better than you
about their issues and you know that’s just plain wrong. How could you be wrong?Don’t worry though! There IS something you can do
to nip this potentially awkward and embarrassing situation in the bud. By
simply derailing the conversation, dismissing their opinion as false and
ridiculing their experience you can be sure that they continue to be
marginalised and unheard and you can continue to look like the expert you know
you really are, deep down inside!
"Conversing with Marginalized People."
Don't argue, just trivialize.