Tag: civil rights

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Becoming an Antiracist

Introduction

Since last summer, we have heard a lot about being antiracist. The 1619 project, which was released in 2019, was given new life in classrooms and workplaces across the nation as a way to correct the historical record. I am happy to see these moves to remove the whitewashing of history in our public schools and I am hopeful that the States with pending bills against the teaching of the 1619 project will be voted down or removed altogether, but being antiracist is not something that kids will learn from just one history lesson. Being truly antiracist comes from a bigger understanding of the world around us and, for white people, an understanding of how our ancestors in America brought terror to Indigenous and Black populations through settler colonialist and chattel slavery practices.

On an individual level, white people need to have a moment in which things click in order to understand why it is important to be an antiracist. For me, that moment came when I was in college in the 1990s. At the time, we didn’t have the terminology of antiracism to use for the practice, but a visit by a professor in one of my classes started me on the path to becoming an antiracist. It would take many more years of reading, listening, and learning in order to continue the process of becoming an antiracist but what follows is the story of my ‘aha’ moment. I truly believe two things – becoming an antiracist is a continuing process and as white people, we need to STOP asking Black people to hold our hands to get there. We have the capacity to learn others’ stories without burdening them with a retelling. Reading books and taking classes where these stories are offered willingly will give context for the personal work that it takes to decenter whiteness and move forward into abolition.

Inculcation

As a kid growing up in a predominantly white part of Niagara Falls, I thought that everyone’s lives were the same. I went to school with Black classmates whom I considered friends, but we never hung out at each other’s homes. I assumed that because we all went to school together that we all had the same experiences in life. That we all lived the same way and had the same stress and worry of any teenager. What I didn’t understand was that as a white girl, I was able to walk freely in the world without much fear.

Any fear that I did experience was rooted in the fear that is passed down from white person to white person. The myth of Black bodies being dangerous. The coded language that equated the city with danger. The idea that white women were to be protected from the forces external to our bodies. These fears are all rooted in white supremacist mythology re-instilled in white women as we go out into the world, to keep us in line and to be sure that our fear continues. Fear of walking across a college campus at night and fear of the other. In this sense, the fear that I experienced was crafted in myth. Of course, there are dangers in the world and there are bad actors, but most of the dangers that white women are taught to fear are rooted in white solidarity and upholding the goals of the white supremacist patriarchy. The danger myth is rooted in power. If we were not afraid, white men might lose their power. This is where the intersection of race and gender meet.

What I did not learn in high school was that my Black schoolmates were already having to stay vigilant each and every day that they attended school or went to the mall or a dance or the grocery store or walked down the street in a predominantly white neighborhood. Anytime they were riding in a car, they could potentially be pulled over and questioned, or worse, and I had no understanding of this. I was in a space that I see many white people in today – that space of being a ‘good white person’. I never used the ‘n’ word and I was nice to my classmates, which made me think that I was not racist. I did not yet realize that being truly not racist was an active thing. The only way to be NOT racist is to be antiracist.

Realization

As I mentioned, when I was in college I had a professor who opened my mind to the way Black people moved through the world. He told us a story about getting pulled over by the police several times, calling this phenomenon ‘driving while Black’. This had never dawned on me until I heard a personal story from someone who lived it. Suddenly I started to understand that people who are not white have very different lived experiences. Just because we are all Americans, does not mean we all get treated in the same manner. This was just the tip of the iceberg for my understanding. I would go on to graduate and start work with an open mind, but my true antiracist self would not emerge until many years later.

After my first career job ended, when the bank I had spent 7 years working for closed, I went back to school for a second BA in Sociology. During this second time at Buffalo State I was reacquainted with the professor who told the story of ‘driving while Black’. This time I took classes from him that were full semesters long. Had I not had the interaction with him my first time in college, I probably would have felt strange taking classes from him in 2009-2011. Having been exposed to new concepts in my first college experience, I was ready to keep my mind open in this second round of study.

For 2.5 years, I worked with this professor, as well as several other wonderful professors in the department, on projects and classwork and general research. I honed my qualitative and quantitative research methods and I learned all kinds of new concepts I would have never been exposed to in the workplace. My second bachelors experience, although half as long as my first, was so much more rewarding because my mind was truly open to new ideas and concepts. This time around I was able to unlearn some of the ideas I had held throughout my life and relearn the actual facts. This was the start of my true antiracist training.

Continuation

So, from 2011 to the present, what have I done to continue learning and how can others do the same without going back to college to acquire additional degrees?

  1. Continue listening, reading, and researching.
  2. Ask questions in a constructive manner.
  3. If you disagree with someone on the merits, do research before responding.
  4. Make space for voices different from your own.
  5. Always be questioning the structures of society.
  6. Keep an open mind.
  7. Practice empathy (not sympathy) for others.

Keeping an open mind is often the missing piece. Many people shut off from learning and they will only believe the ideas that fit into their narrow world view. When new ideas are presented, they tend to shut down, but it does not have to be that way. Everyone has the capacity to learn. Critical thinking is not a skill that only college educated folks have. We all use critical thinking skills to make decisions daily, we just need to apply these same skills to bigger concepts like race and sexual orientation and gender. When we ask questions and TRULY listen to the answers, we will grow from the experience.

Becoming an antiracist is about giving up the myth of white supremacy that has been perpetuated in America throughout history.

Becoming an antiracist is about actively seeking out the true history of our country and learning the ways that the structures we currently base our society on are corrupt and discriminatory.

Becoming an antiracist is about listening to the stories of people different from yourself and truly absorbing the information.

Becoming an antiracist is about working to release everyone from the past and moving toward a future that is truly equitable.

When Black people are free, we are all free. And until Black people are truly free, none of us are free. Black Lives Matter. Today, tomorrow, and forever. Ultimately, saying that phrase, believing it, and not feeling like it diminishes your own worth means you are becoming antiracist. As white people, we can either be racist or antiracist and each of us have a vested interest in becoming antiracist. Being racist does not serve the greater good. Antiracism is the active approach that we will allow us to do and be better.

Becoming an antiracist is not the end, but the beginning of the journey. Once we have come to better understandings around race, we can move forward into the work of abolition to tear down the oppression of our structures and build them back up with equity. If we all work together, we can make change happen. Drawing on the history of civil rights and abolition, we can make a better tomorrow for all.

Action

Talking about becoming an antiracist is good, but what are the actions that we can take to continue learning and growing in the abolitionist tradition. Here are a few books, shows, and podcasts to get you started.

Readings

Watch

Listen

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Last Night

Exhaustion. I know that you feel it and I certainly feel it too, but we cannot let it stop us from moving forward. We cannot stop fighting for what is right and fair and equal.

After the despicable performance of the man who calls himself President last night, as he metaphorically stomped around the stage, threw temper tantrums, cut off and talked over both the Democratic candidate and the moderator, and tellingly put the White Supremacists on standby for election day, he showed himself to be unfit. We already knew that he was. His performance as President, so far, has been just that – theatre. He has no demonstrable qualities that would make him a good leader and his lack of decorum and distaste for rules of order seal the fact that he is not someone we can afford to keep in that office going forward. 

He should have never been elected. After the tapes came out proving he is a misogynistic piece of shit, he should have lost votes. But as we all know there are forces at work that prefer to ignore the White Supremacist and Misogynistic aspects of Trumps personality and go all in for the Patriarchal stuff. Holding on to the consolidation of White, cishet, affluent, dude power is all that mattered in 2016 and the display that we saw last night was the natural outcome of that rhetoric. You wanted a bully? You got a bully.

He should have been removed from office after being impeached. But the Republican Senate majority is also a collection of White, cishet, affluent, dudes, who are grasping at the last straws of that power structure. 

He should not be re-elected. But this is where YOU come in. You who are exhausted and turned off by the display of machismo and general lack of respect for rules that came across last night. You who are angry that the person who calls himself President of the United States, rather than denouncing White Supremacy in our country, put the White Supremacists on standby for election day and beyond. I mean, this is not a surprise to any of us who have been paying attention to the history of the American Republic, but it should be a wake up call for everyone else. So, you who know that keeping this horrible, disgusting, human in power for another four years will not be good for the country and, in fact, will be the demise of democracy as we know it (no hyperbole there, only truth) need to vote.

Now I realize that some of you are too tired to even THINK about this stuff, but you have to keep engaging and moving forward. Last night’s display of disgusting behaviour behooves each and every one of us to stand up and say “WE AREN’T GOING TO TAKE THIS SHIT ANYMORE – THIS GUY HAS GOT TO GO”. And yes, I realize we are trading one White, cishet, affluent, dude for another White, cishet, affluent, dude, to be put in power, but we need to get rid of the first one and then we can move forward with the plans.

And what, you might ask, are these plans? Well – I’m glad you are inquiring of that. The plan is to unseat the tyrant and then move forward with the actual agenda of ALL the people in our society. Move forward with police reform. Move forward with immigration reform that gives all people the chance to become citizens and removes the cages and walls from the border. Move forward with healthcare for all. Move forward with the eradication of a virus that is killing 750-1000 people per day. Move forward with social justice intervention that makes change at a structural level. Move forward with the reinstatement of laws to protect the climate and make a future where we actually still have a planet to live on. Move forward with the restructuring of America into a nation that is truly meant for all of us, not just the White, cishet, affluent, dudes. Move forward.

It will take all of us, after the election, to continue working to hold Biden and Harris accountable to our needs as a nation. It will take us working toward social justice and equality on a daily basis and never stopping because this is the long game. We need to hold our Senators and Representatives accountable. Hold our local officials accountable. Hold their feet to the fire on issues that are important to us and make this system work in the way it should. For the people, by the people. 

So, although that debate was a despicable display of greed, power, and White Supremacist Patriarchal values on the part of the sitting President, let it be a fire under you to do what you can to make this place better. Don’t let it determine your inaction. We don’t want to see a repeat of 2016. Trumps strategy is to exhaust the American people so much that they just don’t vote. Don’t let him get in your head. Bullies can’t bully if we don’t play into their games. We are stronger than his rhetoric. We can make this country a place we are all welcome and all equal. It just takes work. Are you ready to do the work? I hope so. Let’s go!

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Safe Spaces

Let me start off this post by saying Black Lives Matter. I have stated this fact in many previous posts on this site, but I am not certain that I have said those three words in that order and I feel that it is important that I do so here and now. Saying Black Lives Matter is only the beginning, but if I don’t start there, I am doing the whole movement a disservice and I wish to honor the past and help to build a better future in the present.

As a White person, I am actively learning and growing in my anti-racist practice each day. I am interrupting racism in White spaces and attempting to surface and destroy my internalized racism. I make mistakes, but I do not let those mistakes hinder my progress. I admit when I am wrong or uninformed and I keep working on it. This past month has been yet another learning experience for so many White people, that I fear will fade with time. I am hopeful that we can continue to self reflect and grow and I hope to engage more here, in addition to my social media presence with a specifically intersectional, anti-racist message.

Having said that – let us now discuss safe spaces and how White people can learn to be better co-conspirators in the overall struggle for racial and social justice.

At the beginning of June, there was an increase in the follower counts for Black creators online. This, on the surface, seems like a positive outcome. During this moment (after millions of preceding moments that came and went after Black people were killed for no reason) White people are saying we want to learn, but wanting to learn is the only first step. Follow through is also extremely important.

The hope is that White folks will follow these Black creators and take in the information presented to self reflect and become better individuals. White people should be working on interruption of racism in their personal lives, with other White people. If you are a White person trying to learn about systemic racism for the first time, in this moment, my question is ‘where the fuck have you been?’ and my advice in the search for information is to continuously check yourself.

I am glad that so many White people are finally opening up to the possibility that our privilege is the problem, but I am disheartened by the stumbles I see in online spaces. When a Black creator puts up a boundary, White people need to recognize the boundary and adhere to it. You know, the whole, do unto others thing. Yeah – that wasn’t just meant for White people comfort.

Last night, I saw an interaction online that made me question my own presence in a Black creators space and after self-reflection I understood that my feelings on that matter were moot. Not all spaces are for White people, contrary to what White people seem to think. Let me say that again for the people who weren’t quite listening: NOT ALL SPACES ARE FOR WHITE PEOPLE.

When a Black creator puts up a message on their social media account that specifically asks White people not to interact with them, White people need to BACK OFF. When a Black creator voices a boundary that they would like their space to be for Black women only, White people need to step away. But please – don’t use that boundary as a ‘reason’ to stop self-reflecting. Don’t go back into the comfort of Whiteness and stop paying attention to the information that is presented to you from other Black creators. Don’t use it as a way to be lazy, yet again.

Safe spaces are important and when a Black person creates a safe space online, we, as White people, need to honor that space. If we are invited in, we can quietly listen, but we should not engage in discourse in a space that is not meant for us. Safe spaces are sacred and White people cause harm to Black people just by our presence in space. I know that sounds like a lot, but if more White people would really do the work of learning history and engaging with materials on our own, we would come to see why our presence is damaging. We all carry a history with us, whether we like it or not, and that history can bring up psychic trauma for Black people that, although we may not intend it to be the case, can be painful.

Again – we need to honor the spaces that Black people deem as safe and only interact when asked to. When asked to be quiet and reflect, BE QUIET AND REFLECT. And when asked to leave or not come into the space in the first place, honor that request and leave. Don’t come back with a ‘why I’m leaving response’ either. Just. Leave.

We can still do the work of interrupting racism in our everyday lives. We can still do the work of surfacing all the internalized racism that we carry with us from centuries of conditioning to shine a light on it and destroy it. We can still continue to protest and donate and sign petitions and share content that is meaningful for racial justice. But we should tread lightly in spaces meant for discourse between Black people (or Indigenous people or People of color) and White people. We should honor the safe spaces of those who are putting boundaries in place.

After all – they wouldn’t need to put up boundaries if we weren’t still living in a world of White Supremacist Patriarchy. Have a little awareness of your surroundings and proceed with knowledge. Check your privilege, squash your fragility, and stay informed. Don’t just tag out of the game because you feel like you cannot win. Winning isn’t the point. Or – rather – winning for White people isn’t the goal. The goal is to dismantle a system of oppression that has ravaged the lives of Black, Indigenous, and people of color for decades. So keep fighting. We all deserve to live in a world where we are equal.

Black safety matters. Black excellence matters. Black contributions matter. Black Lives Matter.

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The Case For Primary Day

Last night was a lot. Super Tuesday is always a crazy day for the candidates in primary races, and for the voters who support them, but the addition of social media (specifically Twitter) and the media commentary with stations calling winners as soon as polls close made it even more frenzied. And although there are clearly two candidates pulling ahead at this point, it could still be anyone’s game.

On Twitter last night, there was a rash of Bernie supporters (or bots – it is hard to tell the difference between them and bros at this point) attacking Warren supporters. The conversation went basically like this:

Warren supporter: I am so disappointed that Biden is winning.
Bernie supporter: Your candidate needs to drop out.
Warren supporter: There are still 2/3 of the delegates remaining after tonight so, no, my candidate can continue on in the race just like everyone else.
Bernie supporter: Your candidate needs to drop out. She is ruining the race. She is going to be the reason Bernie loses.
Warren supporter: Bernie is the reason Bernie will lose, if he loses. Why aren’t you telling Biden or Bloomberg supporters that their candidate should drop out.
Bernie supporter: …
Warren supporter: I figured. Misogyny. Blocked.
Bernie supporter: One vagina down – 169 million to go

So yes, the above is an over emphasized version of real twitter conversations, but you can see what is happening here, right? Even if these are bots that are interfering with twitter feeds, they are acting as trolls for Bernie. And they are energizing real Bernie supporters to continue the toxic rhetoric.

We saw a surge for Biden last night because many people are not on Twitter (lucky for them) and they are not seeing all the vitriol that gets spewed during online disagreement. But many of the people that are not on Twitter are certainly still on Facebook and that platform can be just as rough when it comes to political discourse.

The solution? Primary Day! Instead of dragging this process out over many months, why not have a few debates, early on, with the full candidate field present and then, in late winter, have ONE DAY where everyone goes to the polls and chooses their candidate based on the information each voter has gleaned from the campaigns, up to that point. This would close the door on Twitter discourse as it is now because the opportunity to smear each other between primary days would be removed.

Voters would have to be informed in the voting booth and truly vote their personal preference, rather than being swayed by earlier primary outcomes.

Yes – this might ruin the strategies of candidates like Biden, who got a huge boost from South Carolina and the suspension of the Buttigieg and Klobuchar campaigns on Monday night, but it would make it more fair across the board. This would also remove all the media commentary that happens between primary days and unite us behind the one candidate that prevails. Candidates are talking a big game about uniting behind the front runner, but pushing people out prior to even 50% of the delegates being assigned proves that they are not willing to stand behind their claims. Again – this would be alleviated by assigning all the delegates on one day. Primary day!

Also – sidenote – I truly believe that if everyone who likes Elizabeth Warren as a candidate, voted for her in the primary and the general we would have a President Warren. But, unfortunately, people still don’t think that a woman can win. The thing is if we all voted for her, she could, but if we keep believing a woman CANNOT win, she will never win because everyone is too scared to just vote for the MOST QUALIFIED CANDIDATE. You know? Seriously. Disappointing.

I would also like to say THANK YOU to Rachel Maddow for attempting to bring some levity to the discussion on MSNBC last night. When she saw that Biden and Sanders were the only two faces that kept coming up for the visuals during the calls for each State she pushed the producers to show the full field so as not to box out Warren, which is what generally would happen in that case. This also showed the full field, which is important for the country to see. We can’t keep showing two dudes over and over and over on the screen and expect people to ever envision a woman as a feasible candidate. As you know, representation matters.

Primary Day is a feasible plan and fairest for all candidates. It would prioritize party unity over trolling for one candidate. Twitter will always be twitter and the trolling will continue, but at least it wouldn’t effect the one day primary in the way that it has during these staggered events. Also – candidates like Bloomberg wouldn’t be able to jump it at the last minute in order to be on the ballot. Everyone would have the same deadline and have to make the case for themselves in real time, at the same time as every other candidate.

I think this would solve a lot of the speculation and infighting that is caused by the current system and help us all have less blood pressure spikes throughout the election season. What do you think? Let me know in the comments. I look forward to a lively discourse on this. We can’t solve all the issues now, but we can start coming up with plans to fix things and then follow through with the plans. Hmm – plans – what a NOVEL concept, right?

Peace, Chantale

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Be Better

We are all human beings. We live our lives the way we see fit and we move through life with different goals in mind. Some of us judge others and some of us do not. Recently, I have had several interactions with a certain dude on Facebook that is not exactly cordial, to put it very mildly. The topic of discussion is always Christianity and it always ends with me questioning how he can have hatred toward specific groups of people (and see that hatred as an integral part of his religious belief system) and he tells me I am not a true believer.

This does not bother me as much as it might bother others because he is right about one thing: I do not believe in the same God that he does. I am not a true believer in the ways of Christianity that the Evangelical movement would have people believe are right and true. I believe in the beatitudes. I believe in a loving Jesus, that was open to all people and did not judge them even when he saw their sins. I am not an every Sunday Christian, but I am also not an atheist. None of this really matters because it is not his or anyone else’s business what I believe, but he often takes it upon himself to tell me that I am different because I do not believe what he does.

My main issue, during these conversations/debates, is that he does not believe in Transgender people. He does not believe they exist. Here is the thing though – it does not matter if he does not believe in them because Transgender people DO actually exist. His belief system does not make things that actually exist in the world disappear. It simply makes him an asshole for treating people with disrespect because he does not ‘believe’ in them. Just because he thinks that being a homosexual is wrong, does not mean that people in the LGBTQ community will wake up one morning and start being straight, cis, and binary. Just because he does not believe that a woman should be POTUS because she should only be a helpmeet for her husband (because, you know, all women should be married to men and making babies – not working and certainly not being bosses) does NOT mean that a woman will not be President someday. Times change and we should change with them. New information comes to light that changes the way people think and feel and we should adjust for that. Science finds variations in the reality of humanity and we all learn new things about the world. Some of us trust new information and some reject it.

If you are one of those people that truly believe that people you consider different should stop being who they are, on a fundamental level, then perhaps you should also stop enjoying the fruits of their labour. Here is a list of all the things that you cannot enjoy if you are going to denounce other humans because they are different from you in ways that you deem ‘wrong’ as an Evangelical:

  • Musical theatre – The theatre is a place for creativity and openness. Musicals are written by and for people that have open minds. Even if the musical has a religious theme (Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Godspell, Children of Eden, etc.) that does not mean that all the performers, directors, writers, and tech folks are straight and/or cis. The musical theatre community is known for being an open place for ALL people to practice their talents and feel safe. So – musicals are, for lack of a better word, OUT!
  • Pop music – If it is meant to be played on the radio and for the consumption of the general public, then there is most likely at least one LGBTQ member of society involved in the creation of said music. And hey, you never know, so better safe than sorry, right? I guess you have to remove that radio from your car and give up that Spotify account now, eh?
  • Literature – There are books in the canon written by and for LGBTQ people. There are books that have stories that revolve around LGBTQ lives and allow for people in the LGBTQ community to see themselves in these stories. This is a positive step for the literary world as literature should continue to tell the stories of people from all walks of life. I suppose you should stop reading anything but the bible, then – but wait! Even the bible has LGBTQ themes within it. I guess you have to put that book up on the shelf as well. Unfortunately, that will mean that your learning will be stunted, but, then again, it seems like learning is not really something you find important anyway, so start discarding those books! And I suppose you need to stop going places where books exist so that means that libraries, bookstores, and Amazon are now all off limits.
  • Television – This one is probably going to be hugely difficult, but did you know that many writers, producers, actors, and showrunners are actually from the LGBTQ community? There are new shows coming out every season that tell the stories of this community – again a positive step, just like in literature – but for you not so much. So you better shut off that television – maybe sell the television to some sinner to get it out of your life altogether.
  • Movies – see Theatre and Television above. Are you getting the picture?
  • Food – This is a funny one, but did you know that a lot of LGBTQ people actually work in the restaurant industry? When you go out to eat there could be an LGBTQ person making your dinner – or serving your dinner – or making money off the restaurant chain you are eating at – or sitting at the table next to you. Perhaps you should stop leaving the house altogether? You could always order one of those online food service things, but then there could be LGBTQ people putting the boxes together or delivering your mail.
  • All things Disney – This will be especially hard to hear for some Evangelicals out there that are Disney fanatics, but did you know that Disney is a gay-friendly organization? In fact, there are many Disney characters that are actually gay. Disney is also an inclusive company. Oh, the horror. How will you enjoy your heteronormative views around the Disney princesses if you know that a few of those princesses might actually be lesbians or feminists or powerful on their own? Modern day Disney princesses don’t even need the prince to save them because they are no longer damsels in distress. It is pretty awesome, but I guess if you are an Evangelical this disqualifies Disney as well. Better unpack your bags and stay home – no Disney vacation this year!

I think you get the point. LGBTQ people exist in the world. Lesbians exist. Gay men exist. Bi-sexuals exist. Transgender people exist. Queer people exist. Genderfluid people exist. Intersex people exist. Polyamorous people exist. Pansexual people exist. These people are everywhere and they are all a part of the wonderful fabric that makes up humanity. We are never going to go back to a time where people have to hide because of who they are as humans. Those of us who are allies to people in the LGBTQ community will forever stand beside them and fight for their right to be who they are and not have to live in fear. Religious fanatics who think LGBTQ people do not deserve to exist need to change their minds or become hermits. There is really no other option. Sorry, dude, but I’m not going to stop advocating for my friends and if you don’t like it, I guess we won’t be talking much anymore either.

Peace,

Chantale aka hippiegrrl

footnote: Since this post was started (14 December 2017) I hid the aforementioned dude’s feed on Facebook. I also hid his wife’s feed. This means that I will be somewhat out of touch with the goings on in their lives, but it is just easier this way. Eventually, I will unfriend them, but I’ve been lackadaisical when it comes to cleaning up my feeds. I am far overdue for a purge though, so, maybe April or May? Oh, but don’t worry, dear readers, I am still keeping receipts of these interactions which I will be archiving over on my latest tumblr.

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Standing Up To Racism part 1

Last month I decided to jump back into Facebook friendships with a few people that I had lost touch with (aka unfriended). Most of these people consider themselves to be conservative. They are also white and middle class. They have all lived in what they consider to be safe spaces and have not had to struggle to survive. Basically, they are living the American Dream as it has been sold to us. So why would any of them be opposed to helping other people reach their full potential? Why would they dislike people who do not look like them? Why would they argue the opposite opinion on Facebook, even if it looks like they are siding with racists, simply to provoke an argument or, what they perceive as, raise awareness? Why would people who consider themselves Christians agree with arguments made by racists?

Here is what I think – There is a core of racism that has festered in this country since Columbus arrived and white people that make arguments that are counter to the struggle to move forward out of this racism are also racist. The core of this national racism is with the white supremacist groups, of course, and they make no bones about being straight up racists. They are honest and do not care if people perceive them as such because their agenda is to make America fully and completely white. So – they are horrible people, but they are honest in their views and how they present them. They fly confederate flags in order to let you know that they are a part of a group of people that hate everyone that does not look like them. They do not hide this hatred.

The second ring of racism that exists, around these core racists are the apologists. People that argue against liberation and for the same policies that racists want to see continued or enacted. This second ring of people are more subtle and, until something happens in the country to trigger them, they stay relatively quiet in the face of racism and hatred. They do not advocate for oppressed people, but they also do not speak up for racist whites, until they either feel the pull of an argument or they are potentially in the crossfire of the march toward true equality.

Here are a few comments that fall into the category that I am speaking of above. Comments that will alert you to the existence of a subtle, second ring racist:

  • “Affirmative action is not necessary. Everyone needs to work hard and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”
    • This is subtle racism because it does not take into account the systemic oppression of POC within the history of our country. It does not look at the systems that have been set up within education and industry that work against people of color and continue policies of oppression within institutions.
  • “There is nobody left in this country that was alive during the Civil War, therefore the Civil War is no longer a problem. Everything was solved by the South losing.”
    • This statement does not consider the fact that, as humans, we are all descended from other humans. If you had ancestors who were slaves or slave-owners, you would still have a connection to the atrocities that were done to or by your ancestors. White people that have ancestors who were slave-owners have an even greater responsibility to make the wrongs of their ancestors right. They should be standing up and denouncing the people in their family history that committed these atrocities, calling out everyone in their presence that is racist, and fighting for equality for all.
  • “We don’t need to tear down statues of Confederate generals because sometimes we honor things that people don’t like and they just need to deal with it.”
    • I have no words. This is just. Wrong.
  • “The Confederate Flag is a symbol of Southern pride and people should not equate that with slavery.”
    • The confederate flag is a symbol of the South’s contribution to the Civil War, which was to fight to retain slavery. Due to this fact, the confederate flag is a symbol of hatred and racism. If you fly this flag either in front of your house or in your front window or on your basement wall you are a racist, full stop.

These are just a few of the comments that I have noticed on my travels through these new Facebook friendships that I entered into last month. One of these friendships ended abruptly when the ‘friend’ used the n word on one of my comment threads. I asked her to remove it and rather than doing that she tried to explain it away. She said she was ‘trying to make a point’ and she was, but not the point she thought she was making. The point was that she is a racist. So, I removed the comment and I unfriended her the next morning. When she wrote back to me in a private message I ‘broke up’ with her, which is to say that a friend I have known since I was 5 years old is someone I will no longer be speaking to. Some people change, some people don’t. But we don’t have to connect ourselves to racists anymore. We never should have in the first place.

Another thread (which I luckily took screenshots of before it got removed – more to come on this later) involved a comment made by a friend of an FB friend that was blatantly racist. When I called him out on it, he asked me if I was calling him a racist. I said yes, because he is and he asked me again. I assume that if the thread was not removed that it would have devolved into him attacking me for calling him what he actually is. It is disheartening that these types of exchanges are getting removed in order to ‘keep the peace’ when a way to make the world a lot more peaceful would actually be to call them out. And those that hide or side with these racists are culpable. Enablers are also part of the problem. People have this idea that if they remain bystanders they are safe, but they are not. Bystanders need to stand up and speak out. Racists deserve to be shamed. Perhaps that will change their minds. Or it won’t and at least we know who they are. Shine the light.

I will continue to chronicle the racism that I see in my Facebook feeds and stand up to these assholes. I will call them out for their racism and I will not back down from my convictions. We have to make this world better and that means shaming racists until they either change or go away. I’m not clear, yet, on what ‘going away’ looks like, but I am happy to know that the racists are actually not the majority of America. They might think they are, but they are not. And we will show them this fact by pushing them back into their dark corners.

Peace,
Chantale (aka hippiegrrl)