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Quote by Bell Hooks

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Where We Stand: Class Matters

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Bell Hooks
Bell Hooks

Bell Hooks, born Gloria Jean Watkins, is an American author, scholar, and activist. Her work primarily focuses on issues of race, gender, and social justice, particularly on feminist and black feminist thought. Hooks' works include novels, poetry, academic writings, and autobiographies, and her writing style is beloved by readers for its profound social insight and desire for change. more

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“We have got to call time on the bullsh*t that makes us feel as if we are powerless, the bullsh*t that tells ordinary people they have a defined place in the world and should put up with their lot. The bullsh*t that means the same people always end up with the same jobs. The bullsh*t that says we just have to tolerate a rising tide of hatred and division. The bullsh*t that says the laws are just the way they are and you should live within a system that was designed for someone else.”

“Don't you understand man? The slogans of capitulation can KILL! Every time we say "Live and let live"--death triumphs! Too much has happened, too much has happened to me. . . . That which warped and distorted all of us is--all around: it is in this very air! This swirling, seething, madness that you ask us all to help maintain! It's no good, Wally--your world. It's no--damn--good! You have forced me to take a position. Finally -- the one thing I never wanted to do. Just being for you is not enough. To live, to breathe--I've got to be against you.”

“There is nothing wrong with a traffic law which says you have to stop for a red light. But when a fire is raging, the fire truck goes right through that red light, and normal traffic had better get out of its way. Or, when a man is bleeding to death, the ambulance goes through those red lights at top speed. There is a fire raging now for the Negroes and the poor of this society. They are living in tragic conditions because of the terrible economic injustices that keep them locked in as an "under-class," as the sociologists are now calling it. Disinherited people all over the world are bleeding to death from deep social and economic wounds. They need brigades of ambulance drivers who will have to ignore the red lights of the present system until the emergency is solved.”

“Do you need more data? Do not assume the need for more data -- enough evidence of a problem might already exist to justify the need for action. Also explore who is already engaged in data practices on the topic to see if resources could support existing initiatives rather than create something afresh. The collection, analysis and use of data are resource-intensive. Before work begins, you therefore need to ask if this is the best use of time, resources and energy to address injustices that face LGBTQ people.”

“Do you elevate LGBTQ lives and critically examine the invisibility of majority characteristics? One of data’s strengths is its power to tell stories, which can shifts hearts and minds and encourage others to take action. However, increased visibility alone is not enough. A queer approach also problematizes the distinction between the center and the margins so the invisibility of majority identity characteristics, such as cis and heterosexual, are brought into focus and critically examined.”

“Are your ways of working open, accessible and transparent? Traditional approaches to quantitative data collection and analysis are misunderstood as an objective account of reality; an assumption that masks decisions made throughout the design process. A queer approach to data is also influenced by biases and assumptions; those engaged in queer data practices therefore need to describe how decisions are made, in accessible language, and its effect on the results presented. Openness about the limitations of data helps ensure that an undercount or misrepresentation of data about LGBTQ people is not used undermine political and social advances.”