Saturday, December 10, 2011

Why do white people...

Why do some white people think that they are being silenced, when people of color and white allies call them out on their racism?

Rather than thank people of color and white allies for educating them -- ie., the white person who is unaware of their conscious, unconscious and unexamined racism -- they scream about damage done to their first amendment rights; accuse their those who critique them as ganging up on them, and shaming them; in sum, they locate themselves as victims of angry, confused people of color.

Now, I know that, for a white person whose racial denial is challenged or shattered for the first time, that the path to becoming a white ally is a long one. And I praise those white people, who are courageous enough to embrace the journey to racial enlightenment (which, if they become white allies, they understand they will never achieve; but the pursuit of enlightenment is still worth while).

But when white people reject becoming allies to people of color in the struggle against racism, and locate themselves as the victims of angry people of color who "just don't get it"... those white folks are more than annoying.

They are dangerous.

Because those same white folks are the ones that perpetuate white supremacy in the U.S., and around the world, to their benefit.

In other words, they are a pain in my queer, black ass.