[moocow]

i think you should be very careful with using the civil war to say that emancipation was done for moral reasons, it was done purely for political reasons

also what followed emancipation was Jim Crow

again, this reflects back on my comments that while you can be well educated on general topics regarding oppression, your knowledge will always be limited compared to those who exist in those spaces and have lived through those experiences (and the consequences of the past)

My original thought in my post wasn't emancipation. It was more the help that black Americans received from white Americans in the Underground Railroad during the time of abolition. I was also thinking about good ol' American hero (and abolitionist) John Brown who helped (or at least attempted to help) the slaves at Harper's Ferry. And I don't think that emancipation was done solely for moral reasons. Of course there were other factors like politics (Lincoln was running for reelection the year after the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect, and I'm sure there were other factors at play). There were also a few fun years of Reconstruction before James came to town.

I don't even know how we got here. Anyway, my point is that people of all creeds, backgrounds, beliefs, whatever can come together and create safe spaces. We don't need safe spaces that consist of people of only one group. That's not a safe space, that's an isolation chamber. People who aren't in the minority can still help those who are in the minority with the resources they have. That was my point. Will they know the entire story or situation? No. Can they still empathize and help? Yes.

American history aside (I love American history), I do understand that my knowledge will be limited compared to those who lived through horrific experiences. If I ever need a reminder of a small portion of history, or want to know what things were like before I began to exist on God's green Earth, I think I'll pick up the phone and call one of my many black relatives and get their story :)

yes, its true that there were white people who helped aid in the liberation of slaves, im not denying that and they were vital pillars of the underground railroad, but in reality that was an extremely small portion of the population, and unfortunately not always as effective as i wished they could be, slave recaptures were extremely common, but thats no fault to them, just that they were battling against a much bigger and stronger force

we got here because in the calling for tiefling's demotion, the demographics of the admin team were brought into concern because if she's removed then the TTT admin team, as far as i am aware, becomes a space of only one group. while this certainly isn't going to cause the destruction of the server, it does pose concerns of how effective they would be at catching bigotry that may not be overtly obvious to people outside of the demographic.  

this is why in my original comment regarding this i mentioned that there was an incident where an admin was using a derogatory term to refer to black people, again he probably just didnt know as it is one of those covert uses of bigotry that worked its way into society over the decades, but again thats exactly why the representation is important, because he didnt know, but a person who is in or is closely adjacent to the marginalized group would know.  i bring this up specifically because i have had that same term used maliciously against me in the past, so i am able to speak on personal experience, had there been a staff member there who knows of those experiences, the concern of these groups being effectively protected wouldnt be in the question 

i love american history!! history is the only topic i've never struggled on, but unfortunately because of that i know exactly how much depth that history lacks when taught at most education levels, im glad that you have relatives that are able to offer their perspective for you, being open minded to learning new things is not only important but exciting!! we should want to learn about experiences around us past what we already know, its how we become well rounded people! but im just rambling at this point

**i hope its obvious but considering how much fighting has been happening lately i want to clarify, i dont mean for this to be an argument or trying to throw anyone under any buses or such, im just hoping to give perspective on the concerns people are bringing up regarding representation and hoping to provide a tangible example of how this has presented itself in the staff team, i dont mean for this to be a personal attack on anyone because it is not, but i just want to clarify