panhandling against racism ii (with idea)

i got a comment at my previous post, which points to this interview with damali ayo and tim wise. i highly recommend listening to it, for an exploration of such issues as the pros and cons of the term "ally" in the anti-racist movement, tolerance and multiculturalism, new orleans and racism," "color-blindness," attention paid to inocuous surface problems and blindness to real racism, how we know exactly what race a person is, the tendency people have to draw clear lines around their races, white supremacists, the absurdity of race relations, using humor and irony in anti-racist work. the whole thing is just awesome. for instance:

"i'm always fascinated with the liberal language around this... listening to you guys talk about being "allies"... that at times is a really powerful term, and then at times isn't. because it still makes it feel like it's up to people of color. ... that it's our struggle. when really it's a white struggle to end racism as well..."
"you know, white people don't feel guilty. white people may be feeling lazy, but not feeling guilty. because when you're feeling guilty you do something about it."
"i'm less interested in having white allies, i'm much more interested in having white activists. so i can sit down and have a break."

"the only danger in that... is that when white folks take it upon ourselves to be activists, oftentimes because of the privileges that we have and because of the arrogance that whites are frankly encouraged to develop and inculcate as part of our personalities we tend to go in and sort of remake the show in our image and do things that we're comfortable with, and a lot of times not only does that step on toes, but it undermines some of the work that's already been done. ... i think the bigger issue really is accountability."

one book mentioned in the interview is who is white?: latinos, asians, and the new black/nonblack divide by george yancey. (also check out some basics on "passing" and the resources given there)

now, in that context and as a follow up to my own comment that it's white people who should be doing the panhandling as well as the paying up for reparations, i have another idea. for the romanians!

so, hey, what if we did some actions where we panhandle for reparations for romas? i've always always wanted to have the guts to do something like this. i'm just worried about the implications - especially since in romania the issue of panhandling is so convoluted with racist attitudes already. also, because a lot of ethnic romanians have convinced themselves that both romas in general and any panhandlers they see are secretly or not so secretly obscenely rich, and therefore shouldn't be "encouraged." and there actually isn't much guilt with regards to slavery in romania, partly because in school we learn essentially nothing about our country's slave-owning past. all of which of course points to the magnitude of the problem. but i do think that an action like that, if it was done properly and together with roma people, could be incredibly powerful. just the kind of kick in the ass that's needed. (as background info on this issue: "from the gypsies to the african americans" by mihaela mudure & about "reparations")

what do you think??

image source | about romanian slavery: [eng] & [ro]

ps: 2nd erase racism carnival: very good.