Just in the vein of talking and sharing and encouraging, I thought I'd mention this.

I was on the train to a friend's house last night, and a woman got on and was crying a little. I couldn't easily get to her at the time, but when I got off the train I asked her if she was okay, thinking that if she needed I could make sure she had money for a taxi or something.

She said that she'd seen her daughter for the first time in years that day, and that the daughter's father wouldn't let his daughter go home with her mum (the woman I was talking to). She said that she was okay, just a bit upset and that her husband was picking her up at the other end.

I wished her well and said that I was sorry that it had happened, that I hoped that with her family's help they'd be able to make something work.

One of the things that I want to mention about this is that here in Australia, our racism is insidious and obvious all at once, and that if the woman I spoke to had been a white woman, I am sure others would have gone to speak to her. But because she was indigenous she was invisible. There is a strong tendency to turn a blind eye to the indigenous people in our community, and I didn't want to be one of those people. I didn't want to hesitate and not back her up if she needed it.

So, I was looking through various links re: the whole mess that got this started, and I am thinking, there are some racial issues that we might want to think about, right up-front. & of course I do not know what all of them are, but I'd like to have racial issues and implications be part of the consciousness of this work. Maybe then there will be less tripping over Skanky Race Issues? I don't know.

I do know that I, personally, would like all Persons of Color who wish to participate to be able to participate, and I would like Women of Color to be able to rely on the Backup Project for assistance, that it's not the White Women Back Up Other White Women Project.

Here are some things that might be problematic -- I cannot take credit for thinking of these, because most of them came up in other threads.

- are white Project participants more likely to back up a white woman than a woman of color in general? (I guess: yes.)
- what about if the man in question is a man of color and the woman is white? (I guess: much more likely to try to back her up -- in the US, esp. if the man is black.)
- what about if the woman is a woman of color and the man is white? (I guess: less likely to try to back her up, maybe *much* less likely)
- do WoC Project participants face additional risks when backing up other women? (I guess: yes.)
- what about men of color in the Gentlemen's Aux? (Let us call them Gentlemen of Color?) What are the risks that GoC face in challenging white men on their behavior? GoCs could be looking at situations where if they try to assist a white woman (whether by challenging the man who is making her uncomfortable or some other way), they would run into some pretty ugly assumptions.
- what about white G.Aux members and WoC? Are WoC likely to feel additional threat from white men in situations where the G.Aux member is challenging the man making the woman feel uncomfortable? (I guess: yes, because there's a lot of loaded history around about white men feeling they have rights to WoC's bodies.)

What other issues can people think of? Are any of my framed issues wrong/dumb/so very wrong/some dumb crap you said, white girl?

Is just being aware of & explicit about racial issues enough (I am guessing: no)? What actions can Project & G.Aux members take to mitigate some of the risks that PoCs face in participating, and so that WoC can feel the Project & G.Aux can be relied upon?