[Maru]

'Dismantle Whiteness' Mural Installed At USC
https://www.dailywire.com/news/29321...-usc-paul-bois

'Dismantle Whiteness' Mural Installed At USC
"The installation is intended to spark dialogue"

The University of Southern California (USC) has joined the fight to "dismantle whiteness" by erecting an artistic mural designed to spark a conversation on "racism, sexism and xenophobia."

According to The College Fix, the "dismantle whiteness" mural was erected by the "feminist artist collective When Women Disrupt in conjunction with students in the class 'Women: Designing Media for Social Change.'"

"Recently installed at an entrance to the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism building, it depicts large sketch drawings of four women of color on walls flanking the doorway with the words 'DISMANTLE WHITENESS AND MISOGYNY ON THIS CAMPUS' posted on the ceiling above it," reports The Fix.

Communications Professor Alison Trope told The Fix that the mural, which castigates white people in a way that would be racist if applied toward blacks, is designed to spark a dialogue.

"The installation is intended to spark dialogue,” Trope said. "To that end, the signage is meant to offer grounding of terms and ideas. There is no expectation that everyone agree with the statement offered by the artists, but hopefully viewers can acknowledge the experience of peers on campus around these issues."

“In fact, the text was derived from conversations with students about race, gender and class issues on campus. There have already been many generative conversations prompted by the work—by those who align with the sentiments and those who do not,” she said.

The group responsible for the installation, When Women Disrupt, describe themselves as “an intersectional feminist artist collective.”

“Since the summer of 2017, WWD has traveled all throughout the United States installing small and large scale art which call attention to racism, sexism and xenophobia," says a flyer describing the group. "By confronting communities in the public space with art that uplifts the voices and sacredness of people whom history has often rendered invisible and less than human, WWD’s intention is to provoke greater discussion and thinking about the institutionalized and everyday systems of power and representation that reinforce racism, patriarchy, and inequality."

Displayed at the exhibit is an information flyer that explains exactly what it means by "whiteness."

“Distinct from being white, whiteness refers to an unmarked and unnamed place of advantage, privilege or domination; a lens through which white people tend to see themselves and others; an organizing principle that shapes institutions, policies, and social relations," says the flyer.

While certainly provocative on its own, an article in The Daily Trojan says that several students were upset that the mural was not placed in a more-traveled area, accusing the administration of concealing it.

“It’s placed in a very hidden area of campus where it’s not usually seen and I think that speaks to the administration and how they want to frame and direct the conversation and the impact — the fact that it is inward-facing not outward facing — all of these factors are intentional from the administration and I think this project would have been much more powerful if the artists were given more freedom,” said one student.

Trope feels the administration should have put the installation on Watt Way, a more public area. “It’s disappointing to me because I think it could have had a great impact on our community in terms of spurring dialogue and conversation about race and gender and campus climate,” Trope said.

[Oliver_W]

How embarrassing that a place of education endorses crap like that.

[LeatherTrumpet]

[Cherie]

The idea that people find this acceptable

[bitontheslide]

if it had been any term other than whiteness there would have been riots

[Scarlett.]

I honestly don't get what this is supposed to achieve, do they think people will see this and think "Lets have a calm rational discussion"? It's just childish divisive tactics, it actually makes it more impossible to have calm rational debates.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Cherie

The idea that people find this acceptable

Some people think only white people are capable of racism, it probably comes from that train of "thought".

[jaxie]

This is the type of thing that causes problems, not solves them. The word whiteness smacks of racism really.

What they could have said is let's support inclusiveness and equality, but nooooo, they didn't.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

Some people think only white people are capable of racism, it probably comes from that train of "thought".

incredible really, two wrongs don't make a right

[bitontheslide]

i tell you what is most wrong with this sign. They are condoning racism with something that should be outlawed (misogeny) It's not a rational sign.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i tell you what is most wrong with this sign. They are condoning racism with something that should be outlawed (misogeny) It's not a rational sign.

They don't even see it as racist though, because they believe in the "power+privilege" thing. It's just a really stupid sign. At least the administration placed it in a quieter area of campus.

[Tom4784]

Terrible choice of words that will cause people to disregard what they have to say regardless of if they have a point or not. They should have replaced 'whiteness' with 'racism' tbh.

[Northern Monkey]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

Terrible choice of words that will cause people to disregard what they have to say regardless of if they have a point or not. They should have replaced 'whiteness' with 'racism' tbh.

Exactly.You can’t fight racism with more racism.

[parmnion]

The jocks are a traditional part of campus life in the usa so they can forget mysogyny..

Whiteness is a good one, is that like no bad dancing, larger penises for the boys and nice big bootys for the girls.

Sounds not to bad to me.

[Jamie89]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i tell you what is most wrong with this sign. They are condoning racism with something that should be outlawed (misogeny) It's not a rational sign.

It's not really meant to be a sign though, isn't it meant to be a piece of art? If that's the case I don't really see the problem with it tbh? I think the point behind it's message is valid (i'm assuming 'whiteness' in terms of a power structure) and I think it's good for people to talk about that stuff. I suppose like Dezzy said they could have worded it differently to appease people, but in the context that I'm assuming it was meant, I don't really get why it's so offensive.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Jamie89

It's not really meant to be a sign though, isn't it meant to be a piece of art? If that's the case I don't really see the problem with it tbh? I think the point behind it's message is valid (i'm assuming 'whiteness' in terms of a power structure) and I think it's good for people to talk about that stuff. I suppose like Dezzy said they could have worded it differently to appease people, but in the context that I'm assuming it was meant, I don't really get why it's so offensive.

If they have to explain what they mean by "whiteness" in a flyer, the message of the artwork fails. The continued existence of "white privilege" is disputable in itself, so just calling it racism would have been the best way forward.

[Jamie89]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

If they have to explain what they mean by "whiteness" in a flyer, the message of the artwork fails. The continued existence of "white privilege" is disputable in itself, so just calling it racism would have been the best way forward.

If it said 'dismantle racism' though I think most people would agree with that and there wouldn't be much of a conversation, just people agreeing at a nice sentiment. And although white privilege has the effect of causing racism, it's still a topic in its own right of which people have a lot of different views and experiences. So I don't see what's wrong with the conversation happening or those people being heard. Like they say, people don't have to agree with the statement. They just want people to think about it.

Also I don't think them explaining what they mean by whiteness means that it fails, the point of the piece isn't to test what people understand the word 'whiteness' to mean. And any art installation in a gallery for example will have a piece of writing attached explaining aspects of it (and it's probably even more necessary when it's something potentially inflammatory where people might get the wrong impression if it's not considered in context).

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by Jamie89

If it said 'dismantle racism' though I think most people would agree with that and there wouldn't be much of a conversation, just people agreeing at a nice sentiment. And although white privilege has the effect of causing racism, it's still a topic in its own right of which people have a lot of different views and experiences. So I don't see what's wrong with the conversation happening or those people being heard. Like they say, people don't have to agree with the statement. They just want people to think about it.

Also I don't think them explaining what they mean by whiteness means that it fails, the point of the piece isn't to test what people understand the word 'whiteness' to mean. And any art installation in a gallery for example will have a piece of writing attached explaining aspects of it (and it's probably even more necessary when it's something potentially inflammatory where people might get the wrong impression if it's not considered in context).

What productive discussions are there to be had about "whiteness" ? White privilege is all-but defunct, and everyone agrees that racism is bad. The only conversations it's sparked so far are about its choice of wording.

[Jamie89]

Originally Posted by Oliver_W

What productive discussions are there to be had about "whiteness" ? White privilege is all-but defunct, and everyone agrees that racism is bad. The only conversations it's sparked so far are about its choice of wording.

Not everyone agrees that white privilege is defunct though, so I suppose the conversations would be about that and people making the cases for and against and sharing their experiences. I really don't see the problem in that tbh.
I agree though that talking about the wording is pretty meaningless. Maybe the students on campus are having discussions about what the piece is saying, according to the article the only complaint is that it isn't more prominent.

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Dezzy

Terrible choice of words that will cause people to disregard what they have to say regardless of if they have a point or not. They should have replaced 'whiteness' with 'racism' tbh.

All VALID points. They may be 'Highbrows' but they certainly lack any 'Common Sense'.

[bitontheslide]

Originally Posted by Jamie89

Not everyone agrees that white privilege is defunct though, so I suppose the conversations would be about that and people making the cases for and against and sharing their experiences. I really don't see the problem in that tbh.
I agree though that talking about the wording is pretty meaningless. Maybe the students on campus are having discussions about what the piece is saying, according to the article the only complaint is that it isn't more prominent.

It should have been focused on equality for all, not attacking a group with a perceived advantage. Its just the wrong message. How can anyone possible describe the sign as art, it is quite clearly a political message and to describe it as art is misleading and disingenuous

[Northern Monkey]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

It should have been focused on equality for all, not attacking a group with a perceived advantage. Its just the wrong message. How can anyone possible describe the sign as art, it is quite clearly a political message and to describe it as art is misleading and disingenuous

Indeed.This ‘whiteness’ is in much the same vain as the lefts antisemitism.The idea of the jews holding all the power,Rothschilds and Jewish bankers controling everything.It’s an excuse for racism.This sign is racist and wouldn’t be permitted if it said ‘Blackness’ with a load of stereotypes listed under.
Racism shouldn’t be tolerated from anyone.You don’t get a free pass cos you’re black or ‘progessive’.

[Northern Monkey]

Originally Posted by kirklancaster

All VALID points. They may be 'Highbrows' but they certainly lack any 'Common Sense'.

Unfortunately where certain ideologies are involved “common sense” is an unwanted distraction.

[Brillopad]

Originally Posted by Northern Monkey

Indeed.This ‘whiteness’ is in much the same vain as the lefts antisemitism.The idea of the jews holding all the power,Rothschilds and Jewish bankers controling everything.It’s an excuse for racism.This sign is racist and wouldn’t be permitted if it said ‘Blackness’ with a load of stereotypes listed under.
Racism shouldn’t be tolerated from anyone.You don’t get a free pass cos you’re black or ‘progessive’.

You certainly don’t. Just the usual double standards.

[Marsh.]

Good idea but silly in practice and will only cause more divisions than it hopes to fix.