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The incidents put forth on the Pet Sins page are not meant to be general indictments of entire identity groups. These are individual incidents of/opinions on interracial (or other) interactions.
Much of the media focus on race relations (whether in fiction or non-fiction) in the US centers on Europeans Americans vs other ethnic groups. We hear a lot about white and black, white and Asian, white and Latino, white and Native American relations, and much less about black and Native American, black and Latino, Latino and Asian relations etc.
Because media attention focused largely on white racism, many white people have become more circumspective and made an effort to be culturally sensitive and avoid oppressive behavior. However, there has been much less attention paid to the internalized racism of people of color, (how people of color perpetuate white supremacy by discriminating against other people of color in favor of whites) or the bigotry of people of color. (people of color against other races, against sexual minorites etc)
This lack of spotlight on minority racism/bigotry has created a climate in which many people of color who see themselves as non-bigots are absolutely comfortable saying or doing bigoted things that white allies won't do.
The purpose of Pet Sins is to turn the spotlight on how people of color and members of other oppressed groups are hurting each other. The incidents may be uncomfortable for some to read. Some may say that it can foster hate but we believe that hate is ALREADY here in our everyday lives. Not talking about it, sweeping our problems under the carpet, pretending our cruelty does not exist, will only make old wounds fester to explosion point.
Why the focus on seemingly trivial incidents? Most of us cannot identify with the kind of people who dragged James Byrd to death or killed Matthew Shepherd. However, many of us do commit daily "pet sins" which fuel the larger problems of society's racism, homophobia and other "isms".
We need to recognize ourselves, or members of our communities, as part of the problem before we can dismantle the wall of prejudice one individual at a time.
We hope this site can bring awareness and promote dialog.
We wish you well.
Your friends at ColorQ
The editor does not know all contributors quoted in Pet Sins, is not necessarily friends with them or even agrees with their views as put forth. Any flames will not be forwarded to the offending party because the editor does not have the contact information of all contributors.
All incidents take place in the USA unless otherwise noted. If any group is omitted in this zine, it is due to our ignorance and lack of exposure. Your forgiveness is requested.
Readers are welcome to contribute experiences. Due to space shortage, we may not be able to post all submissions. ColorQ reserves the right to not publish any submission. ColorQ editors will not post full names or other personal identifying information in an article. ColorQ reserves the right to edit any submission received.
Statements published at www.colorq.org are solely the opinions and perspectives of individual contributors. ColorQ does not endorse or take responsibility for any views expressed. ColorQ makes no representations or claims of any kind, express or implied, as to the accuracy or factuality of materials included on this site. ColorQ.org will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of this site, or through email communication with ColorQ, including, but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and consequential damages.
Since part of the site's purpose is to provide a non-judgmental platform (as far as possible) for people of color and other minorities to air their ideas and problems, ColorQ sometimes posts contributions from sources that are not directly verifiable. ColorQ makes no claims about the truth or falsehood of any statement on www.colorq.org and its sub pages. Let the reader be aware that the materials on this site are meant to generate thought and discussion, and are not necessarily proven to be factual or current.
ColorQ reserves the right to not post any submission received. We will not post personal names or other personal identifying information. (unless the article is an informational piece about a historical personage and ColorQ deems it appropriate) ColorQ reserves the right to edit all submissions. By submitting an article or comments to ColorQ, you grant ColorQ.org a non-exclusive, royalty-free right to reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate and display this material on www.colorq.org or any other site that ColorQ may own.
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