Posts tagged people of colour
married to trouble
How did your brain even learn human speech? I'm just so curious.
Decoding Racist Language
This is for POC that still don’t get it. I pity yall, so we’ll try this again.
- “I don’t see color.” - I don’t give a fuck about realizing my white privilege or the challenges you face because you are not white. I am saying this in a deceptive way to make it sound like I’m not racist, but in fact, what eventually happens goes as follows.
:Sees disproportion in color on college campuses - Well those niggers must be lazy or stupid, or both, because I got here!
:Sees disproportion in arrests against the general population - Well, those niggers must be dangerous criminals, because I obeyed the law and police officers don’t bother me.
- “I have Black People in my family/as friends.” - My racism is so apparent that I have to resort to the measure of bringing up a cousin by marriage on my aunt’s husband’s stepson’s side or a guy my science teacher made me do a project with as evidence that I don’t discriminate against Black People. And you know, slave masters and colonizers totally didn’t procreate with their victim.
- “There’s a Black History Month, but no White History Month” - So, get this lawls! We actually do have a White History Month, but we’re just so fucking selfish that we decided to branch it off into subcategories (German, Italian, Polish, Italian, etc.) but you know, we’re still going to play the victim role here. Also, you have plenty of history that we either neglect or steal, so we’re just going to not discuss you in any of our history books, but get mad when you actually try to celebrate the history of yours that we’ve distorted.
- “Not all White People are Like That” - Du U SEE WHUT I DID HERE!? I just made myself the victim, even though you’re the one in pain. And clearly, you don’t think all White People are like that, because if you did, you wouldn’t even be wasting your breath with me anyways, but I’m still going to pretend you generalized against White People. I don’t like to listen to your pain, it’s not fun, so I’m just going to shut you up. Good luck with your shitty life, come back when you have nice things to say about White People, okay?
- “I’m not Racist, but (insert racist shit here)” - So, obviously I am a racist because I just said something incredibly racist, but totally don’t want to take the title racist, so guess what, I’m just gonna say I’m not a racist and hope you’re stupid enough to believe me. Don’t call me out though, you see, we have this thing called Reverse Racism that we made up and we’re gonna use that on you.
- “That’s Reverse Racism” - Although my reasons for disliking you are completely about my belief that you’re inferior and your reasons are out of being made inferior, I’m going to call them the same thing. I’m going to tell you that Affirmative Action is an example of Reverse Racism, but get this, Affirmative Action was created to level out the centuries upon centuries that I have had a head start in comparison to you and it hardly exists anymore, but I’m still going to use it.
- “You can say nigga, but not me, that’s not fair” - Neither is the fact that I’m much less likely to get pulled over by the police and I can be a felon and still have a better chance at getting hired against your crime-free record, but hey, this isn’t about me! I’m more concerned with taking the one thing you can do that I can’t, which by the way, came out of centuries of oppression and cruelty. I don’t like that you can use a word that has historically hurt you, but I can’t use the same word, even though I’m the one who used it to hurt you.
- “Appropriation? No, I just love your culture.” - I just really saw some cute headband feather shit at Urban Outfitters and was completely unaware that it was your culture until you pointed it out. But keeping up with a summer trend is way more important than your people and the sacred meanings behind your accessories. come fall, new shit is gonna be out and your culture is going to be in my trash can but hey , I’m still appreciating you! Feel appreciated, damnit!
This is an amazing post.
(Source: maarnayeri)
If you’re white and you don’t admit that it’s great, you’re an asshole. It is great and I’m a man. How many advantages can one person have? I’m a white man, you can’t even hurt my feelings. What can you really call a white man that really digs deep? Hey cracker … oh ruined my day. Boy shouldn’t have called me a cracker, bringing me back to owning land and people what a drag.
(Source: ddelcur, via lavenderlabia)
36 notes &
I know I wont live to see 25.
I just know it.
Looking at some of the comments to this kills me. Do people really not know why it’s so common for black folks to say this, especially black men and boys? It’s because a shit load don’t make it to 25.
I used to have this same feeling. Like 25 wasn’t going to happen for me. It got to the point where I turned things into I’m not going past 25, that’s too old, just to comfort the forbidding in my stomach. One minute til my twenty-fifth I wrote my sister and told her I had just made it to the point in my life when I used to say I would die and for the first time I was genuinely happy with myself.
Anyway, I hope you make it way past, and that when you do there are enough good things in your life that makes that shit worth it.
Yea the comments are rude as shit. I just turned 25 in june and let me tell you, I am fucking amazed. And I didn’t even live in poverty or an area where there was constant violence. But… shit can really take a toll on you and I thought it would be by my own hand or by not having any regard for my safety or life.
I do hope you do live to 25 but the feeling you have is real. And it aint wrong to have. No amount of “positive thinking” will get you out of your circumstances without resources to back it up and niggas preaching to you can shut the fuck up. I know you been going through a rough ass time. And how you’ve felt down a lot. I can’t tell you what will or won’t happen. but you are loved. And tho people are assholes, this is your blog and you can express your feelings however you need.
Reblogging for commentary.
White privilege: taking for granted that you will almost certainly live past 25.
I really do enjoy your posts and reblogs, but I’m just truly curious what it is you have against vegans? I’m a vegetarian on the path to becoming a vegan one day and it just seems that you’re another person shaming for our choice to abstain. I know you’re not like that, though, so could you give me some insight into this? Maybe we can help enlighten each other on this constant conflict between what I call the ‘tarians’ (vegans, vegetarians, pescetarians, etc.) and the society normal diet.
Thanks for your question (if you’re not happy with this being published, let me know and I’ll take it down).
There are many things I have against vegans, namely most of the core tenets of the vegan belief system (I’m talking about those beliefs that go beyond mere dietary choices). I’m rather exhausted tonight, so I’m just going to briefly explain the main problems I have, and then link to a few other places in my blog instead of going over it all again. If there’s still anything that’s unclear just let me know.
Racism: believing that all cultures and races should adhere to a value system that completely erases their beliefs, practices and needs; trivialising PoC’s history by using terms like slavery to describe farming or eating meat (the people who do this are usually the same people who evoke rape or Holocaust comparisons) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9).
Classism: ignorance of the difficulties lower socio-economic groups face when sourcing food; perpetuating bullshit tropes like “beans are cheap, you can live on beans”; failing to recognise that food deserts exist (1) (2) (3).
Ableism: refusing to understand the reasons many people cannot maintain a vegan diet (eating disorders, autistic/OCD textural aversion, digestive or gastric issues, etc) (1) (2) (3).
Hypocrisy: valuing animals over people and perpetuating the falsehood that vegan diets are “cruelty free” (when they are only “animal cruelty free” and even then it’s arguable they aren’t because of things like deforestation) (1).
PETA: this should be self-explanatory (1).
Self-righteousness: same as above (1).
To summarise: I’m not shaming someone’s choice to abstain. I’m shaming the choice vegans make to shame those who aren’t vegan, who don’t want to become vegan or can’t become vegan.
Here is another excellent summary.
And to pre-empt someone derailing this with “but not all vegans are like that” let me say: I know that. And if you aren’t like the vegans described above, then I’m not talking about you and we’re cool. My issue with vegans is as a group, not on an individual basis.
If anyone has the energy or patience to contribute other links or commentary, please do.
The “When” is Huge (Ally)
I see a lot of questions around “when” an ally should speak up. I would never be able to go over each and every possible scenario but I can give you a few rules of thumb. As with most “ally” discussions this can often be applied to other areas but in keeping with theme, this will be about anti-racism allies:
Speak up when the offended party is not around - You and your friend are hanging out. You are both white, they say something racist. Speak up. You need to speak up for two reasons. 1-To let them know what they said was wrong and 2-To let them know that YOU don’t think it is okay. Always remember, silence is acceptance.
Speak up until you are told otherwise - You (a white person) your friend (a white person) and another friend (a Black person) are all hanging out. Your white friend says something racist. Speak up. For the same reason’s as listed above. However, if the Black person says to let it go, let it go. It does NOT mean that the Black person agrees with what was said, it (more often than not) means that they feel like the argument is both futile and will single THEM out. This is not an easy place to be in, especially if you are the only person of color in the room. In many cases, you will be asked to stop just so they can not have to be the center of attention anymore. Please comply with the wishes of the PoC.
Never speak up - You (a white person) your friend (a Black person) and another friend (a Black person) are hanging out. One Black person says something about the Black race and the other friend disagrees. This turns into a discussion. Say nothing. You can however speak up if your opinion is asked for-but be warned. If you are the minority white person in the situation, know that human nature will likely cause the person you disagree with to say “This person doesn’t know.” They would not necessarily be wrong about that. Still, this is something that, in this situation I would strongly encourage you to stay out of altogether.
Know your place - This is the one that causes the most problems for allies. It’s really about knowing when to stop. Okay, you (a white person) are in a racial conversation with your friend (a Black person) this is an open conversation and the Black person has let you know that they are comfortable having this conversation. Now, you start asking questions about their experience or their view point as a Black person. This is perfectly fine if you have PREVIOUSLY been given the okay. Where this get’s tricky for some is when an opinion is given that you don’t agree with. It seems to be very difficult to remember that the experience you are asking for is that of the other person’s. The other person who has a vastly different experience than yourself. When they say something you don’t agree with, do not, I repeat DO NOT DISMISS THEIR WORDS. You disagreeing does not make you right. There is a VERY good chance that your experience and their experience are two very different things. The conversation itself (as long as you’ve been given the okay) is perfectly fine. Disagreeing is perfectly fine. However, talking over, dismissing, belittling or even arguing about who is right is a big NO-NO. This is not and never can be a situation of “I am right and you are wrong” because in this particular case, you think you are comparing green apples to red apples when in fact, you are comparing green apples to ice cream. Two very different perspectives and that is SO IMPORTANT to always remember as an ally.
Reblogging because this is a good thing to remember in light of yesterday’s posts about “die cis scum” and self-declared allies.
The above are all good points to remember.
This is extremely helpful to me.
(via lavenderlabia)
(Source: chibambo, via lavenderlabia)
The old antislavery school says that women must stand back, that they must wait until male Negroes are voters. But we say, if you will not give the whole loaf of justice to an entire people, give it to the most intelligent first. If intelligence, justice, and morality are to be placed in the government, then let the question of woman be brought up first and that of the Negro last.
(via lavenderlabia)
White Women’s Tears
“White women’s tears is one of the main ways White American women have of derailing any talk of racism, particularly their own racism. It is part of a more general pattern of white people making their feelings matter more than the truth – something you see too in the tone argument, for example.
White women’s tears can come about in different ways, but here is the classic scene:
- A white woman says something racist.
- A black woman points it out. (It could be any person of colour but it works best against black women for reasons given below.)
- The white woman says she is not racist and starts crying.
- For added effect the white woman can run out of the room.
- Other whites, particularly white men, come to the aid and comfort not of the wronged black woman but of the racist white woman!
- The black woman, the wronged party, is made to seem like the mean one in the eyes of whites.
- The white woman continues to believe she is not racist.
Tables turned! It works so well that it is hard not to see the tears as a cheap trick.
This is more than just a woman using tears to get her way. It is built on a set of White American ideas about race, listed here in no particular order:
- It works best when these two stereotypes can be applied:
- The Sapphire stereotype - black women as mean, angry and disagreeable
- The Pure White Woman stereotype - white women as these special, delicate creatures who need to be protected at all costs. It is what drives the Missing White Woman Syndrome – and, in the old days, lynchings.
- The r-word: to be called a “racist”, however gently and indirectly, is a terrible, upsetting thing for white people – far worse than, you know,being a racist.
- White people and their feelings are the centre of the known universe.
- Hearts of stone: meanwhile whites seem to have a very, very hard time putting themselves in the shoes of people of colour.
- Moral blindness: white people think they are Basically Good, therefore if someone points out something bad about them it must be out of hatred.
- White solidarity: whites are afraid to stand up against racism, particularly when they are with other whites. Also, they do not like it when you call other whites racists – they seem to take it personally for some reason.
All these things work together to help create the scene laid out above. It is why it works best for young, good-looking white women and why black women’s tears have nowhere the same effect in a white setting.”
I just dealt with this shit in my facebook group. Well it was slightly different since I as the moderator felt I needed to call out the person making the statements. All of the ire that this woman and the woman who defended her was taken out on me. They literally only listened to and responded to what I said on the subject, as opposed to the WoC in the group, who quite honestly made much more valid points on and explained why the initial statement was racist. Like somehow only white people know better what’s racist and what isn’t. I can tell you right the fuck now that we don’t.
(Source: abagond, via lavenderlabia)
