Hey, let's have a quick chat about white fragility, white tears, and racism. Have a look at the screenshots below first:
I've highlighted a couple key parts.
These screenshots were part of a 6 reply rant that a commenter wrote out in response to someone answering their question. The answerer did not at any point swear or insult them, they did not use personal attacks or CAPITAL LETTERS or excessive exclamation points. They answered in clear, plain language.
Being told, calmly, that they were incorrect and that Indigenous people do not exist to answer their every question brought on some REALLY BIG emotions for this commenter. Look at the language the commenter is using: attack, lambasted, accusation, make me feel like shit, charge me
That's pretty intense language for a casual conversation. Why do you think they chose these words?
I see this happen on tumblr, and in other leftist spaces, regularly. Someone Black and/or Native is treated like they are being angry, aggressive, or unfair because they corrected or disagreed with someone. Often, but not always, someone white.
Black and/or Native people do not get the luxury of high emotion in conversations about racism. We are treated like the aggressors in conversations regardless of how calmly we respond. And when we refuse to submit to their opinion they melt down.
This is an example of racism. Racism doesn't just mean overt hatred and slurs, racism seeps into our every day interactions.
When we talk about white fragility this is what we mean, when white people (or people who have more access to white privilege than we do) are incapable of interacting with people of colour without acting like a football player with a stubbed toe. White tears is a phrase used to describe the way that white people (or people who bla bla bla you get it) will publicly act like they've been harmed in an attempt to gain sympathy from other privileged people, or to get themselves out of trouble.
These microaggressions are part of the greater structure of racism that makes leftist spaces so frustrating for people of colour, and especially for Black and Native people. When we can't even answer questions that have been directly asked to us without being treated like criminals.
On tumblr this often manifests as Black and Native bloggers being accused of bullying, ableism, transphobia, or even other forms of racism by white users over disagreements or differences of opinion.
Callout posts for me, but not for thee, hey?
No one is exempt from perpetuating racism. I am a light skinned mixed Native, and I need to be aware of this in my interactions with darker skinned people, because despite being Native I still carry more privilege than my darker cousins, and I am absolutely capable of using that privilege against them without knowing it.
All of us, as anti-racists, are responsible for dissecting our internal biases.
Keep this in mind as you tumble.
