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I'm going to talk a bit more about why this common ""reason"" why systemic racism/sexism etc doesn't exist is q bullshit, you often hear this when you talk about systemic XXX: "oh can u cite me a law that discriminates against u" or "what RIGHT or LAW do u not have that __ has??"
I ask all of you, whether or not you agree with me or not, to read this with an open heart and mind.
This is super common if you observe conservatives or alt-righters or some libertarians try to """use loGiC n FaCTs to DESTROY libeRaLs!!!"""
They often try to where they try to "embarrass" and "defeat" their opponents by:
- telling them their lived experiences do not matter when talking about systemic stuff
- try to ask for StAtS.. where r the StATs!!!!!!
- asking them for "hard" evidence of whAT LAW SPECIFICALLY??
- telling them their lived experiences do not matter when talking about systemic stuff
- try to ask for StAtS.. where r the StATs!!!!!!
- asking them for "hard" evidence of whAT LAW SPECIFICALLY??
Here is what I think these people are missing:
1. Lived experience INFORMS data. Data and statistics literally ALL come from lived experiences lol like how else are people supposed to fill up survey forms, or how do statistics come about w/o the actual lived experiences
1. Lived experience INFORMS data. Data and statistics literally ALL come from lived experiences lol like how else are people supposed to fill up survey forms, or how do statistics come about w/o the actual lived experiences
2. Similarly, data also INFORMS lived experiences. Policies, laws and legislations all have a real life impact on the ways in which people live, talk, act etc. They cannot be separated from one another, and are definitely not mutually exclusive!
3a. That being said, this whole thing about "stats" being somehow more "factual" than someone's lived experience is bs. Stats are often seen as "cold" and "hard" but stats are also fallible, and often can be misinterpreted or just collected wrongly in the first place?
It could be that stats are taken out of context to fit a certain rhetoric, or that stats were derived from biased surveying. Most times this is due to the fact that the survey questions themselves are biased. Lived experiences can never be fully captured on a numeric basis.
For instance, there might be stats that show that Black folks seemingly "commit more crimes" BUT this is because they forget to mention that Black communities are much more policed, and therefore the rates of crime will seem a lot higher?? Pls watch 13th on Netflix
And read this: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/29/heres-why-we-dont-see-protests-when-police-unjustly-kill-white-people/
Whenever there is stats to seemingly ""prove"" something, there is always lived experiences and other data to show you more complexities than just purely NUMBERS. Stats do not exist in and of themselves, they need to be looked at alongside other stats and also lived experiences.
4. Ahhh, coming to talking about "formal legislation that "enforces or produces (intentional or unintentional) consequences of racial discrimination", and the misunderstanding that that is somehow separate from talking about social systems (aka "a different definition").
5. Okay so, what are laws if they are not made to be interpreted and enforced? Why do people like this talk about legislation as a vacuum separate from the "broader definition" or whatever. Legislation and lived experiences are so incredibly intertwined w/ one another.
Even if the laws do not specifically discriminate against a minority group, this does not mean that by your own definition of 'systemic', such systemic racism does not exist. These consequences are in people's everyday lived experiences.
Like sure, you can say, oh sexual assault survivors can seek justice through the system (by law), so systemic sexism doesn't exist. BUT you forget that in order for law to be law the social systems have to be welcoming to that access in the first place?
Sexual assault survivors and sex workers are often mocked, disbelieved and not taken seriously by the Police, many of whom fail to seek justice through this because of how misogyny runs deep in so much of our everyday lives, making such a law difficult to really be implemented.
6. Implementation and interpretation of these formal laws are the ones that affect the everyday lives of people. Without this, law is just a bunch of words strung together.
7. Yeah sure, there are laws that say you cannot be discriminated in jobs, and cannot be rejected purely on the basis of your race, skin colour, gender etc. But get this, these are often the everyday lived experiences of minorities. The worst part is that
it is so insidious because you can overhear it, something can be said in conversation, a colleague can tell you "oh you didn't get the job because you are ___", but it is so difficult to prove to others because they can always switch the narrative to say it is bcuz of smth else
8. Also, lol, the process of reporting + having to go through with the lawsuit requires money, time and mental capacity, but not every person is privileged to have all three lmao
9. Also, also, laws are also shaped by lived experiences of people. How else do you think laws and legislation came about?? How are they changed (for the better or for worse)? These are all greatly intertwined with lived experiences of people.
So, you cannot look at formal legislation in and of itself? Just doesn't make any sense without also looking at and hearing about lived experiences... It is also dangerous because when you separate the two, it invalidates the everyday and systemic struggles minorities have
that are often so tied with the implementation and interpretation of such laws.
As i've mentioned previously, just bcuz there isn't specific racist/sexist laws doesn't mean shit in themselves cuz it's like saying oh, this random book of WORDS doesn't have any racist stuff thus systemic racism in society doesn't exist??? ya, makes little sense doesn't it 
Please do not take anything I've said here out of context, thank you. Yes, I am talking to YOU.
oh yeah better tag u @donovanchoy before u claim again that i, a "gen z kid from twitter" (do i look THAT young?? lol), have no intention in "having a conversation about race". Hope it's not "disgusting" and "disconcerting" for someone who "values free speech and open discourse".
You can say the same about you not engaging with folks from minority groups who have responded to ur article I find it DISGUSTING and DISCONCERTING also.. thank god i dont need anyone to validate me so i never take ur shit out of context and post for my fb friends to see
I find it DISGUSTING and DISCONCERTING also.. thank god i dont need anyone to validate me so i never take ur shit out of context and post for my fb friends to see
Also, why are some of ur friends so upset I have pronouns in my bio lmao?? hi to the few of u who dropped by... relax lah no need to get so offended by it 
