Who gets to determine what is political?

That rule about not posting anything related to race, religion or sexual orientation still needles me. I originally wrote more in my discussion post, but felt a little hesitant, and yes afraid, to post something that others, including the teacher, might strongly disagree with (even though I myself strongly disagreed with the rule.)

But I think this idea that talking about say sexual orientation or race is 'inappropriate' is often used to silence marginalized voices. It's true, when you bring up certain topics, it can be uncomfortable, but usually for those who are part of the dominant group. If you're part of a marginalized group--gays, or poor people, whatever, you always have to deal with discomfort of having to hide who you are, and adapt to the norms of what's considered 'good.'

For example, some people think it's rude to talk openly about how much money you make in social settings outside of business. But I think it's also because talking about money in an honest way with people who have a lot less, makes us face our own (unearned) privilege. Poor people are always thinking about money. Not talking about it doesn't make it disappear. It just means that the power of money (or race or gender or whatever) goes unexamined, at least in a collective way.

I know some people might say "oh, we just meant we don't want people to make posts that are trying to convert people to their religion," but in that case, you can just write that. The inclusion of race and sexual orientation conflates honest discussion of society, power, and who we are with religious proselytizing.