Read on Twitter
People need to trouble their liberal (mis)understanding and (mis)use of identity. Here& #39;s an example:
Tomasa Yarhui is an indigenous Quechua political "voice" from Bolivia. She& #39;s also a center-right Christian Democrat, here mourning the death of a violent coup-supporting cop. https://twitter.com/TomasaYarhui/status/1194301813710819339">https://twitter.com/TomasaYar...
Tomasa Yarhui is an indigenous Quechua political "voice" from Bolivia. She& #39;s also a center-right Christian Democrat, here mourning the death of a violent coup-supporting cop. https://twitter.com/TomasaYarhui/status/1194301813710819339">https://twitter.com/TomasaYar...
For some, like craven coup-supporter @clairefrwordley, this is what "listening to a Bolivian indigenous voice" might look like. And that& #39;s true. If, of course, you don& #39;t consider ideology at all relevant.
One could, I suppose, tick off all their personal, liberalized identity grocery list boxes on the *correct voices* to "listen to" and find Tomasa Yarhui.
√ indigenous Quechua
√ Bolivian
√ woman
√ indigenous Quechua
√ Bolivian
√ woman
But Tomasa was a minister in narco-dictator Hugo Banzer& #39;s own protege& #39;s - IMF/World Bank consultant and former Bolivian Vice President & President Tuto Quiroga& #39;s - regime. She also ran alongside him in 2014. https://www.eldiario.net/noticias/2014/2014_07/nt140711/politica.php?n=87&-tomasa-yarhui-y-jorge-quiroga-conforman-el-binomio-por-pdc">https://www.eldiario.net/noticias/...
When someone says "listen to x voices" without admitting that these voices have complicated *intersections* behind them and *ideologies* that emerge out of those experiences and shape how those voices envision their world - they& #39;re always selling something.
Here& #39;s another example and one I& #39;m far more sympathetic to (which is really what we& #39;re all doing when we "listen to x" on anything.) This is longtime anarcha-feminist Maria Galindo on recent events in Bolivia: https://www.lavaca.org/portada/bolivia-la-noche-de-los-cristales-rotos-por-maria-galindo/">https://www.lavaca.org/portada/b...
It doesn& #39;t fit neatly into a pro-MAS/Morales or a "pro-this-was-not-a-coup-but-peaceful-protest" narrative, either. It& #39;s highly critical of Morales and MAS while also terrified of the violent rightwing frenzy unleashed in recent days.
Now, I can know Maria Galindo has done a lifetime of serious work as an anarchist in Bolivia. But I can also know she comes from an upper class family (her own brother was a minister in a rightwing government.) So I take all that into consideration when reading her analysis.
And I share it with you anyway, because it& #39;s an important perspective *to me.* Even if, for me, I& #39;ve determined *my* role is to be *more critical* of my own massive, world-scorching superstate (the USA) than other states actively in its sights.
But what many of us are doing when we claim to be "listening to x" #onhere - if we& #39;re brave enough to admit it - is amplifying voices that are already in harmony with our own worldview. Or, perhaps more generously, trying to learn & bring ourselves into harmony with theirs.
As someone who tries to spend most of their time on here sharing other people& #39;s thoughts and ideas, I can say that I& #39;m trying my best to learn from them all. But a lot of times, what I& #39;m doing is amplifying things I agree with said by people in communities other than my own.
Fuck if social media itself isn& #39;t tailor-made for this. That& #39;s what "likes" and "reactions" and "shares" have always been about. That& #39;s why professionals painstakingly still say, "RT& #39;s not endorsements" in their stupid, blue-checked bios.
Ideally, I& #39;m learning from them. Letting them speak for themselves. Using this tiny platform I have to give them more attention so others hear them, too. But it would be a lie to say I& #39;m not filtering them through my own perspective as a conduit in this space.
I& #39;m trying to amplify anarchist and communist perspectives. In that mission, of course I& #39;m going to tend toward voices that reflect my own conceptions of what those ideologies have to say about any topic. How could it not?
But I& #39;m also *engaging with them* in a huge conversation because... wait for it... they& #39;re fucking humans just like I am and nobody owns the one, shiny single-bullet for how to make the world immediately just and equitable for all of us.
I would really doubt the sincerity of anyone who suggests they are entirely neutral (what human being doesn& #39;t have their own ideas?) and acting as good-faith amplifiers of "voices." And I think that entire project is liberal bullshit, easily weaponized by power itself.
Do I agree with everything I share? Hell no. Or everything someone I have shared in the past says later or has said before? Of course not.
At least I& #39;m willing to be honest about what I& #39;m trying to do. You aren& #39;t going to get that from people who are trying to shut down conversations using "stop speaking over x" or "listen to x voices."
They& #39;re committed to a far different project.
They& #39;re committed to a far different project.
Update | Jhanisse Vaca Daza is *actually* a direct descendant of a 19th Century, military-coup-installed former President of Bolivia. Her claim here then is... interesting: https://twitter.com/OLAASM/status/1194708061870538758">https://twitter.com/OLAASM/st...
