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Kim K is a single individual constantly used as a barometer to talk about and flatten Armenian identity w/o our input. Stop narrowing in on this one small, complicated piece of a famous person's quite diverse background as some kind final explanation about her status & privilege
I am under no illusion about her significance and controversies, but I am respectfully asking that we cease using her as a singular lens. It is lazy and harmful. Be more responsible with your voice and what your readers take away with the info you choose to share.
The fact that there's constant questioning about what she is & isn’t reinforces the ambiguity and fluidity of it all, encapsulating the complex Armenian experience in America,existing both in & out of legally defined racial categories, teetering between privilege + discrimination
We're a small population who have survived genocide, multiple wars, forced displacement, and continue to deal with real erasure and discrimination in/out of the US. No one knows much about us, it's crucial that we are also at the helm of our own stories, which contain multitudes
I've resisted commenting on these things for a long time , because I don’t think twitter is the right place for it. I derive no pleasure from this convo, but what happens here is increasingly influencing other aspects of life, and this week has left me feeling tired and alienated
Many of us are building alliances, standing up for and with communities whose lives are under very real threat, because as citizens and residents of this country, those are our problems to solve too. We bear responsibility as well. But we are also asking to be seen and heard too.
If this intrigues you, this is a wonderful thread by @kavakian9 that truly deserves your time: https://twitter.com/kavakian9/status/1288651045082738689
These debates have harmful ripple effects beyond one group, they impact millions of people, the entire regional population of West Asia, b/c we purposefully choose this focus. We must figure out new ways, language and perspectives to frame these conversations. Thanks for reading
And just so it's clear: Kim K has every right to embrace and express her identity in the ways she wants to, but just because she makes a largely unknown thing accessible for you, it doesn't mean you can make singular judgements about her or an entire group of people because of it
