#i should have sth like oppression masterpost to just link idkk xD

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Will all good intentions, you and other blogs like yours should stop wasting your time writing whole ass essays to racist strangers online as if they care. I can assure you people of color and ethnic minorities have countless of stories to tell when it comes to entitled racist people who always try to justify their shitty behaviour by blaming minorities for not wasting their lives "teaching" them like elementary schoolers, why racial nasty jokes are not "ok" and coddling their ego.

These people don't lack any knowledge of Greek myth, in fact, it literally requires zero knowledge of Greek mythology to know basic stuff like how stupid fantasy books with Greek elements will never make you learn anything about Greece or that being vile to a non-abrahamic religion is one of the worst types of blatant religious racism. They are terrible towards ancient Greek elements because no one sees Greece as a real country nor Greek people as real people with actual emotions who can actually see them and hear what they say, so they know can get away with racist reactionary content that gives them tons of notes and clout.

Thank you for the support, really. At the same time, the condescending tone about minorities and poc feels out of place when speaking to a Greek. "I can assure you, people of color and ethnic minorities-" Yes, we know. We are in these categories.

Greeks have been historically considered non-white, "barbaric" and "ethnic" in many countries (still are, in a lot of places). In the US we started being seen as white after the 1950s and it's been a slow progress since WASP USians saw us as the same "race" as them. Before that, Greeks faced segregation and extreme violence by White communities and police. (Lots of WASPs still see us as "primitive" when they actually learn how our customs and Christianity look, btw). But we also exist in other places and the othering about how we look hasn't stopped.

Greeks have been considered "poc", "ethnic" and "wog" for a looong time in the west. We know bigotry not only because of how we look but also because of our ethnicity (hence the progroms and genocide and cultural erasure, you can Google all about anti-Greek sentiments and Greek caricature figures on posters). And of course, we have ethnic minorities everywhere and have faced forced cultural erasure like state punishment when speaking Greek (Turkey), changing the names of Greek towns in other countries to erase the Greek history there (Russia), and more. Recent research shows Greek names in the US are discriminated against as much as Chinese names.

Let me remind you that although Middle Easterners and N. Africans are categorized as White in the US legislation, it doesn't mean that they are exempt from racism and bigotry. The case of Greeks is similar. In northern and Anglo countries our appearance is commented on and looked at with suspicion, our customs and our food receive negative comments, there is hiring discrimination, etc. There is a reason we say "the only Greeks foreigners like are the dead ones". When you don't show them syrtaki and feta, they can turn to bigotry really fast.

So, we've been in the dance for a looong time. Try the "barbaric" from Charlemagne's time. Try NW Europeans basing their national identities around a superficial image of idealized ancient Greek culture, the NW Europeans stealing our antiquities because we weren't "worthy heirs" of our own culture in their eyes, the "disappointed" Nazis with how "non-white" we looked, etc etc.

What makes you think Greeks had aaaany say in this? What makes you think we don't know how it is to be ignored while other nations make bank and base their whole new-age spirituality and our stomped-on heritage?

It's clear you are on our side here and I don't mean to interpret your message in bad faith. Most of your statements ring true, anyways. But I feel that, while you correctly identified people who don't take Greeks' accounts seriously, you kiiiinda did the same? I mean I wouldn't need to write another essay if you had dignified us with the thought we know how it is to be in marginalized spaces, that we know how it's to not be heard, or that we know the reasons people online don't respect us. Example: I and most Greeks have verified with our own experience that the following statement is actually false.

"These people don't lack any knowledge of Greek myth, in fact, it literally requires zero knowledge of Greek mythology to know basic stuff like how stupid fantasy books with Greek elements will never make you learn anything about Greece or that being vile to a non-abrahamic religion is one of the worst types of blatant religious racism."

We've been in this discourse for at least a decade and you'll be surprised by the great number of adults who are absolutely confident that PJO taught them everything and that gods hold no value for worshippers or Greeks whatsoever. I invite you to have that discourse on our behalf and see for yourself.

Bottom line: Please let us handle the situation however we see fit. We take nothing from other people and nations when we express annoyance about how our culture has been treated.

#yeaaah another long post but what can you do #like.. it's needed #i cant just say a statement and leave cause then half the site will fall on me #answered #i should have sth like oppression masterpost to just link idkk xD