The Acceptability Factor

We spend a lot of time talking about politics, which more often than not means ranting, and as Gypsies and Travellers it is difficult not to. There is privilege in being able to distance yourself from politics, or to not get upset and angry about it. When your very existence is an affront to the powerful majority, then speaking out is an act of survival as much as resistance.

Sometimes what we don’t speak about is the acceptability factor that comes with navigating political activism. There is this idea that we should be palatable with palatable ideas. We should be left but not too left. Critical but not too critical. We should ask (fight) for a seat at the table but we shouldn’t rock it too much when we get there. We should be ‘practical’ and measured in our approach and our contributions. This acceptability factor means that you and your experiences are only accepted if you present them in a way that is agreeable to the majority, to present ideas and experiences in a way that doesn’t threaten the power of the status quo.

The problem is that we do not speak about what is meant by palatable, what is meant by practical and what is meant by this acceptability factor. We need to unpick these meanings to better understand not only why Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic people often fall afoul, but to understand how it contributes to the system that keeps us in our place.

When people talk or allude to this idea of acceptability, they are basing it on the norms of the powerful majority. Basing it on their understanding and idea of acceptable opposition, of acceptable resistance and of acceptable political thought. The frustration for many activists is that these ideas are in direct opposition to the violence they inflict upon us in their systems of oppression.

The politics of change is never comfortable for those already wielding disproportionate amounts of undeserved power. They will almost certainly never give it up willingly. They will fight you every step of the way. When a system sees you as less than, when it oppresses you with every institution, then it is your duty to critique and challenge it. These are not always comfortable choices for us and in doing so we take on risks, most certainly risks to our future careers, but our survival depends on it. Future generations must not be allowed to go through the things that we have. The problem does not lie with us but with the system, so asking us to be measured and practical in critiques and challenges amounts to an acceptance of the status quo. In order to create meaningful change for future generations there is not an alternative route — we must rock the table harder than it has ever been rocked before.

GRT Article Hub — Writing from the struggle. This is our campaign to turn the system upside down. Chelsea McDonagh is an Irish Traveller and Luke Smith is a Romany Gypsy, co-writing blogs from experience. Get in touch if you have any questions or blog suggestions. Twitter handles: @chelsmcdonagh @LukeSmithGRT

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