Sunday, July 5, 2020

I'm judging you by Luvvie Ajayi


This 228-page book is filled with love, hope, snarky humor, and a whole lot of wisdom from a young activist.  This is a library copy and I have a ton of pages "ear-marked" for re-reading or talking points. I'm gonna have to iron it before I return it to our library. Speaking of our library they are opening tomorrow for browsing by appointment!  Masks are required and very limited amount of people at the allotted time. We have one hour in the library with like 5 other people. For the last month or so they've been doing holds with curbside pick-up, which has been great but how nice to browse...I'm reminded of all that we've taken for granted.

I follow Luvvie on Instagram and thought about ordering her book but money being what it is I checked the library and was very grateful they had a copy. I love that she refers to herself as a "professional troublemaker"!  She blogs at Awesomely Luvvie and has a podcast as well. This book published in 2016 still touches on all that we are experiencing today. If she could add on a chapter concerning Covid-19 I'm sure she would. And she has a new book coming out in 2021!

I just want to give you a little taste from I'm judging you...

"Racism is not just perpetuated by the people in white hoods. It's also the well-meaning "I have Black friends" people who help it remain upright and unmovable. They refuse to see the part they play in the system because they're two busy making sure everyone knows how NOT racist they are. 
Listening to Black music and loving Beyonce does not give you a free hall pass out of the system of structural racism. Just because I enjoy a salad from time to time doesn't mean I'm a vegetarian. Being able to live w/out having to be defined by your skin color is the hallmark of privilege." (84-85)

and another: 

"So saying you don't see race is saying you have nothing to fix. 'Colorblindness' and cultural erasure help perpetuate this crappy system of oppression, because forced politeness and fear of the 'race card' trump actual work and progress. In the words of my beloved cousin (in my heart) Kerry Washington, "I'm not interested in living in a world where my race is not a part of who I am. I am interested in living in a world where our races, no matter what they are, don't define our trajectory in life." (88)

If you think at this point I'm going to quote most of the book it is a little like that...Plus I'd like to think Kerry Washington is my distant cousin as well.

In the feminism chapter she questions why can't we all get along, why do we need a dip stick to test out who can be a "real" feminist and that it isn't just reserved for white women.

"By the way, fellas, you can be feminists, too. We need more of you to say you are. That's sexy. I mean, don't say you are just to make it a pickup line. Actually believe it. Hey, boo. Call me sometime, with your respectful ass.   
Become a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Stay at home and raise your children. Keep the name you've always had. Change your name to your husbands. Hyphenate it. Refuse to cook because you hate it. ...Be Martha Steward, Be Oprah.  ...Wear short shorts. Wear a cloak. Wear heels." (128)

and in the homophobia section: 

"...many of those who are yelling about the sanctity of marriage are married men who are so far in the closet that there's a lion and a witch by their favorite wing tips. Their wardrobe of denial is so deep, it can get you to Narnia. How many conservative, publicly and boldly homophobic male politicians have been found to have side dudes? More than we can count." (136)

And then there is a whole amazing chapter about religion and Luvvie identifies as Christian but definitely not the sanctimonious kind. And that's as far as I've read; I still have a couple of chapters left. I'll leave you with this last thought on who we are:

"There's power in believing that there's God in each of us because if we are made in His/Her/Their image, then aren't we all like good Horcruxes for God, because a piece of Them is in us all? (144)

Beautifully said and if we all felt that in our hearts and souls we could see each other as humans worth love and kindness and treat each other as such. I hope you had a good holiday weekend, resting and taking care of your well-being. 

I, for one, am not a champion of this holiday for to me it's like Columbus Day and why in the heck would I celebrate him.  I think we should have some new holidays and some new positive statues like John Lewis, William Monroe Trotter, or James Baldwin. 

1 comment:

Lisa said...

Thanks for those quotes, definitely adding this to my (already incredibly long!) list.