Said the poet Nikki Giovanni, quoted in "Nikki Giovanni Has Made Peace With Her Hate" (NYT).
December 29, 2021
"As a little girl, I shared a bedroom with my sister. And I got to sleep on the side of the bed facing the outside wall, so there was a window, and I would look out at the stars."
"I thought if I ran into a Martian and the Martian said, 'Who are you?' what would my answer be? The only answer could be 'I am an Earthling.' I realized — and have continued to realize — that it would be illogical if I were to tell the Martian I’m a Black woman. That’s because a Martian doesn’t know what Black is, and they don’t know what a woman is. So we know that race is illogical. It is a construct that is destructive. So I’m watching, for example, the transgender kids now, and I think they’re doing something wonderful, because they’re saying about their gender what I had already recognized — and I’m not the only one; don’t misunderstand — about race. They’re saying they will not be blocked by what somebody else thinks they are. That’s a hell of a step. And if I could start Earth all over again, I would always make sure that if you had to answer the question, 'Who are you?' then you’d have to say, 'I’m an Earthling.' That way you don’t get trapped in what somebody thinks is your gender and your race. If Earth survives — there’s a good chance we’ll blow ourselves up — gender and race are going to go."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
27 comments:
Is she missing her own point?
Nobody cares what you are.
But transgender people aren't getting rid of gender, they are insisting that their self-proclaimed gender be recognized and acknowledged by everyone else. Getting rid of gender would mean campaigning for unisex bathrooms and co-ed sports across the board (rather than limited to equestrian, as now). That's not what's happening.
Wow.
If cognitive dissonance produced light, this article would blaze with the light of a thousand stars.
I actually tried to go read the whole article based on that blurb. That's a hell of a step!
The NYT's is just a trash publication. People that give it money need to look in the mirror.
Yeah, like pretty much everyone above said, she seems to have missed her own point.
Her viewpoint about the Martians not seeing race depends on if we are talking about Blue Martians or Green Ones.
-Loren
How dumb are these aliens supposed to be? Are they colorblind? Literally colorblind? And I’m pretty sure while they aliens are doing their stereotypical anal probing, they’d notice a difference in genitals.
But “Earthling?” How on, uh, Earth know what the name of our planet is called to US? I sure as hell wouldn’t know what name of their planet is to them.
"If Earth survives — there’s a good chance we’ll blow ourselves up — gender and race are going to go."
If we blow ourselves up, that should also take care of race. Quite possibly gender as well, since gender is a property of words. But it will take more than a measly thermonuclear apocalypse to get rid of sex.
Must have been navel contemplation day in poet land.
The only answer could be 'I am an Earthling.'
That's the Only Answer anyone could give
BUT, that's NOT the answer people DO give; they say:
I'm a Chick with a Dick, and I DEMAND that you refer to me as Xee!!! (or i'll sue!)
They do things better on Barsoom.
"I got to sleep on the side of the bed facing the outside wall, so there was a window, and I would look at out that stars."
Hmmm ... Outer wall privilege.
Presumably, the aliens won't know anything about the cultural meaning of race and gender for earthlings. I'm sure that Rod Serling and Gene Roddenberry had a lot of fun with that idea.
On Mars, if you are half-Black and half-White, maybe your face is literally half-black and half-white, like Frank Gorshin's, and if your left side is white and your right side is black you fear and hate people whose left side is black and right side is white.
Maybe if they find out that she is female they will fear that she will mate with them and then kill them.
OF COURSE Martians know about race and gender... they are little green men, remember?
She can't possibly be as dumb as she sounds.
Martians would study the biology of flora and fauna and figure out that male and female are needed for reproduction of the species.
It's kind of basic scientific fact on earth.
When a poet gets high
On her own supply
She'll talk about stars
And beings from Mars
For whom race and gender
Disappear in the blender
Of poetic conceit: a
Potion more potent
Than six Margarita's
This is stupid. More stupid than usual from the social justice crowd. Race possibly wouldn’t matter to another intelligent species just as the color of a cats fur doesn’t matter to us. Though other species may differentiate amongst themselves based on color or other outward appearance or even segregate based on these characteristics.Reality isn’t that any space faring species is Star Trek Next Generation. They are more likely to be an aggressive and authoritarian species from a planet with extreme challenges. Intelligent animals excel when there is reason to over come challenges and get lazy and fat when they are safe and have plenty of resources.
Getting back to the original article our first contacts’ individual sex they would understand and be interested in. All higher organisms we have encountered reproduce sexually. So if you were the sperm bearer or the womb bearer would be of interest to any sexually reproductive species. Though their experience of the sexes may be different. Maybe the female is larger and stronger in their species as it is in some animal species on earth. That would make our evolution very interesting to them if they gather knowledge for the sake of knowledge or to subdue or exterminate us.
Your sex, and your diversity [dogma] (i.e. color judgment, class-based bigotry) breeds adversity.
That said, diversity of individuals, minority of one. Men and women are equal in rights and complementary in Nature/nature.
So we know that race is illogical. It is a construct that is destructive.
Tell that to your doctor.
"Man has cried a billion tears
For what, he never knew, now man's reign is through
But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight
So very far away, maybe it's only yesterday"
She is projecting what she believes would be her motivation if she were transgender. There is no evidence that the trans people actually think anything like this. It is similar to the 2000s, when people would speak about foreign countries and say "You know why they hate us?" and then state what they themselves thought America's faults were, as if that could be the only possible reason. It works. Michael Moore made a fortune off that kind of thinking.
Thumbs way up, Owen.
The best way to take down a "poet" is with verse composed for the occasion.
One of my personal mottoes, never trust a poet who misunderstands logic.
Martians prefer dark meat. I don't think they care what gender they're eating, though.
"An Earthling," might be a good reply to, What are you?
Queastor @ 10:16: "...One of my personal mottoes, never trust a poet who misunderstands logic."
All poets misunderstand logic. Logic and poetry are antithetical.
But I forgive you. Anybody who wants to trash on a moron like Nikki Giovanni, is worth my vote.
Except that the Martian will almost certainly have a sex and may very well have a race, as sex and race are present in all known animal societies.
Post a Comment