#norms — Public Fediverse posts

'Europe’s narrative is constructed on the exclusion of colonialism from its history, allowing the ideology of Europe’s racelessness. […] The disremembering of the colonial past shapes the contemporary perception of Europe as a progressive well-intentioned neutral mediator. Moreover, this colonial amnesia produces Europeans of color as outsiders and “aliens” threatening to the liberal continent’s identity.'

'Thus, racialized Europeans are forever “just arriving” and forgotten in the construction of a contemporary European identity. The book gives examples of continent’s Roma and Sinti populations who have resided in Europe for half a millennium and are constantly marginalized as foreigners.'

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#activism #culture #identity #norms #normality #Europeanness #whiteness #raceMaking #racialization #ElTayeb #Europe #postColonialism #racelessness #colorblind #raceMaking #colourblind #racism #diaspora #Belgium #France #Netherlands #NL #Germany #Austria #Italy #Spain #Portugal #Hungary #postNational

"I’ve had a wonderful life. I have a loving family. I’ve had good friends, work that I consider satisfying and important, reasonably good health except for the above-mentioned problems. So what if I’m very short?"

I've known from reading Reich over the years and seeing him on videos that he has this condition. But it never occurs to me, as I read him, to think, "Oh, he's that short man writing this."

#norms #normality
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Robert Reich discusses how Fairbanks disease, which affects bone growth and has caused him to be very short, has affected his life. The genetic odds of passing on the condition to children are slim, so he married and has had sons who turned out normal.

Then he writes,

"But what’s 'normal' anyway? And why is normal so important?"

#norms #normality
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https://robertreich.substack.com/p/why-im-so-short-140