Yall, I have to admit Im still trippin! On Thursday evening before I left campus, a white man got in my face to the point that I thought I was going to have to fight. Can you imagine? In the halls of a place thats supposed to be an institution of higher learning, I got a man in my face as if hes going to slap me or spit on me or whatever. I guess I shouldnt be surprised, though. There are good folk at OSU, but its also the same institution where students celebrated by doing significant property damage on their own campus. I guess some professors arent much different. But, let me be precise because this sort of behavior tends to crop up for specific folk, doesnt it? Its especially white men who are never held accountable for what they do, white men who are never labeled predators, criminals, or THUGS, even if their actions too often warrant it. As has always been the case in the USA, they do the most damage because they remain unchecked. It is often made clear to me that I am in a hostile space; this is America, after all. But I usually encounter know-your-place aggression in its discursively violent forms. Its been a while since Ive had a physical version. And it showed me that I dont intimidate easily, whether youre coming at me with hateful words or hateful actions. See, I guess you learn something new every day. (Yes, of course, I immediately reported this incident so that someone other than the one neutral(?) eyewitness is aware of it.) But this is what has me trippin most of all: I am a woman over whom this man has no real authority and who has never given him the impression that he intimidates me, so if he got in my face like that (trying to be threatening, trying to be intimidating), I can only imagine how he has treated others and will treat others. #SMH
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 17:23:29 +0000
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