The Goat Pen

Racialized Communities Inclusion

Racism, antiBlackness and Indigenous erasure exist so commonly in our lives that even the most politically conscious individuals can perpetuate harm. Here are some tips on how to be an ally:

Assume BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)/Sunkissed people are not available to teach you about their cultures, struggles and experiences without payment.
Remember that everything we are doing is on stolen land and these imposed borders hold thousands of distinct Indigenous nations.
The Indigneous peoples whose land we occupy are still here. They and their cultures are not props, mascots or novelties.
All people who are not white do not have the same experiences, struggles and histories. Do not lump BIPOC/Sunkissed peoples into a grouping and do not use the positions of one person to
challenge the position of another.
While efforts to overcome the challenges of oppression across communities are real, it is important to understand that all communities can perpetuate antiBlackness, including nonBlack
POC.
Racism is embedded in our culture and not always easy to discern. If someone points out your racist behavior, stay calm and listen. Examine your behavior and identify solutions, rather
than defending yourself and your actions.
Respecting boundaries is important. Ask people if they want to be touched or interacted with before doing so. This includes clothes, hair and possessions.
Don’t assume the culture of other groups by speaking like them or engaging in behavior that is not natural to you.
Accept discomfort. Equality feels like oppression to those who have lived with privilege.
Accept exclusion. As people from BIPOC/Sunkissed communities have been and continue to be disempowered in our systems, they can experience harm in white-centered environments
and may need to be away from those who have been closer to the power.
If you see racism, counter it. Step in and carry as much of that burden as you can.
Recognize that you may not recognize and understand terms, behaviors and approaches of people from other cultures. When you see people engaging in and enjoying things that are
culturally different from you, don’t gawk. Other’s cultures are NOT a source of entertainment.
Respect that people experience different levels of oppression based on their intersectional identities. We do not have to compare oppressions to learn from the plights of others.

Transgender & Gender Nonbinary Inclusion

Do not assume anyone’s gender, even people you may have met in the past. A person’s external appearance may not match their internal gender identity. Pay attention to a person’s purposeful gender expression. It’s polite to ask: “What is your name and pronouns?” before assuming and using pronouns or gendered words. And when you learn pronouns, make sure to use them every time. When addressing or speaking about a group, use gender inclusive language like folks, y’all, everyone or guests instead of gendered terms such as you guys or ladies and gentlemen.

One way of acknowledging transgender and gender nonbinary people’s needs is to designate restrooms as gender neutral. In bathrooms, many transgender and gender nonbinary people face harassment, so please let everyone pee in peace regardless of whether or not they are in a gender neutral bathroom. We have designated some bathrooms in the convention space as gender neutral. You can find them outside Caucus Room 123, Screening Series Room 117 and Training Room 120A.

Listen respectfully to transgender and gender nonbinary people’s stories if they are volunteered, but please don’t ask unnecessary questions. Respectful allies who learn from and with transgender and gender nonbinary people and then educate others are important for successful transgender and gender nonbinary liberation.

Bi/Pan/Fluid/Queer (Bi+) Inclusion

Being openly supportive of the bi+ community creates a space where we can all be our full selves. Here are some pointers on being an ally:

Use inclusive language. Instead of “gay rights” or “gay marriage” try “equal rights” and “marriage equality.”
Respect people’s privacy and boundaries. Accept you might never fully understand someone else’s sexuality.
Sexualities outside the exclusively homosexual/heterosexual binary are often erased and delegitimized, so bi/pan/fluid/queer people usually have to repeatedly come out. Many face similar discrimination as gays and lesbians with regard to issues like job security and healthcare.
Do not insist that a gender non-conforming/trans person or their partners discard their identity label.
Recognize that the way specific relationships function is independent of sexual orientation. Be positive about all relationships—monogamous, polyamorous, or anything else.

https://www.netrootsnation.org/inclusion-etiquette/

Doublespeak is language that deliberately obscures, disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g. "downsizing" for layoffs and "servicing the target" for bombing),[1] in which case it is primarily meant to make the truth sound more palatable. It may also refer to intentional ambiguity in language or to actual inversions of meaning. In such cases, doublespeak disguises the nature of the truth. Doublespeak is most closely associated with political language

The term "doublespeak" originates in George Orwell's book "1984" (Nineteen Eighty-Four). Although the term is not used in the book, it is a close relative of two of the book's central concepts, "doublethink" and "Newspeak". Another variant, "doubletalk", also referring to deliberately ambiguous speech, did exist at the time Orwell wrote his book, but the usage of "doublespeak", as well as of "doubletalk", in the sense emphasizing ambiguity clearly postdates the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four.[4][5] Parallels have also been drawn between doublespeak and Orwell's classic essay Politics and the English Language, which discusses the distortion of language for political purposes.[6] In it he observes that political language serves to distort and obfuscate reality. Orwell's description of political speech is extremely similar to the contemporary definition of doublespeak:[7]

In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible … Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness … the great enemy of clear language is insincerity. Where there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, ....

Saint wrote:I'd take Perot over any president since Carter. They've all been disasters