#1) assimilation is not safety if you’re poc

[francisforever2014]

three separate white people pissed me off bad in class today can y’all be quiet tomorrow to make up for it

[matan4il]

5 Points Regarding Pittsburgh

The shooting in Pittsburgh shook me to the core. I’m glad there are a lot of good people speaking up against it and taking some action, whatever that action may be. I’m glad there are those who make it clear they stand with Jews and denounce antisemitism. Still, looking at what’s being said, here are some issues that worry me: (1) This isn’t about Trump. It’s true, his presidency is tied to some people who are antisemitic and certainly its atmosphere has encouraged all forms of hatred to raise their ugly heads, antisemitism included. That being said, Trump didn’t invent antisemitism. Nor is it going to disappear after he goes home. And he’s not the sole factor in what happened this past Saturday. In fact, the shooter himself seems to have been motivated in part by something Trump did right, by the fact that the president condemned the marchers in Charlottesville. To put it in other words, he felt compelled to take action because he felt Trump wasn’t antisemitic enough. Let that sink in. To add to that, the 1999 LA anti-Jewish attacks happened under Clinton. The 2009 attack at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and 2014 Kansas anti-Jewish shootings happened under Obama. True, they weren’t as deadly, so it makes sense people talk about this attack more. But the effect for Jewish people, knowing we are being targeted, is not just about how successful the attacker is. If you’re only shaken by the attack that happened under Trump, if you only speak against that one, then what you care about is criticizing Trump, not the Jewish communities targeted. And when Trump inevitably goes home, will you still be there for the Jews who will continue to be attacked? (2) Also, this isn’t about gun control. I get why people go in this direction, gun control is an issue American society is heatedly debating at this time. I’m not American, so it’s not my place to comment on the debate itself. However, this is about antisemitism, not just gun control. If guns weren’t there, Jews would still be targeted and attacked. We can still be lynched, our synagogues and community centers can still be bombed, we can be murdered by a mob and then have the scene falsely reported by the press as one of mutual violence, we can be stabbed and burned, thrown out of the windows of our houses to name but a few forms of violence against Jews that involve no guns. The ADL records hundreds and thousands of antisemitic incidents happening each year in the US alone and these are just the ones being reported. Most incidents don’t involve guns and while they are not as deadly for the most part, they all feed into the normalization of antisemitism. Please care about the safety of Jews even when no guns are involved. (3) This may be the deadliest antisemitic attack on US soil, but it is not the most deadly consequence of American antisemitism. When people hate Jews, that has effects beyond just taking a gun and shooting at people. I would say the worst consequence of American antisemitism, specifically of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his virulently antisemitic State Department was a consistent policy of turning their backs on Jews who could have been saved from the Nazis before and during the Holocaust, including choices like turning Jews fleeing Hitler away, not bombing Auschwitz and trying to derail the private efforts of American Jews to save their European brethren. A modest estimate of how many Jews could have lived and didn’t due in part to American antisemitism would be hundreds of thousands. (4) While antisemitism has a lot in common with other forms of hatred, such as racism and homophobia, and we should all rally together against them, it is not right to erase Jewish identities when talking about antisemitic attacks. We can’t fight racism if we pretend, as just one example, that the 2015 shooting in Charleston wasn’t targeting specifically black people. In the same manner, we can’t fight antisemitism if we fail to talk about Jews being the ones who were specifically targeted in this case. Trump actually came through on this one, recognizing immediately this to be a specifically antisemitic attack and denouncing antisemitism (while Obama under less demanding circumstances failed to recognize the Paris attack on a Jewish supermarket as specifically antisemitic, only speaking about “a bunch of folks”). Yet where the president once came through, I see some people constantly pushing to universalize this at the expense of remembering that this is a crime that specifically sought to turn Jews into victims. It might not be done maliciously by some, yet it can have awful consequences. Please don’t do this and please, also remind others kindly not to do it either. (5) I’ve seen right wing antisemitism called out, as it should be. But this is about all types of antisemitism. Left wing antisemitism needs to be called out too, just like what’s coming from the right wing, because in normalizing antisemitism, all sides of the political spectrum are complicit to some degree. Jews are just as commonly attacked for being capitalists as they are for being communists. This fails to see that Antisemitism is not about what the Jews do or are. Here are a few examples: when we look different, we refuse to integrate. When we assimilate, we try to trick people into thinking we are like everyone else. When we are rich, we are stealing other people’s money. When we are poor, we are stealing that money and not spending it either to keep from being found out. When we are strong, we are a threat that must be eliminated. When we are weak, we are worthy of contempt and deserve to be eliminated. It doesn’t matter what we do or are, those who choose to hate us, will. Because antisemitism is about serving the needs of the person targeting the Jews, whatever those needs may be and since those needs greatly vary from person to person, it serves people from all sides of the political map. Just like I expect racism toward black people to be condemned everywhere, no matter who’s expressing those vile sentiments, I expect the same with antisemitism. So just like we reject white supremacist antisemitism, we need to call out antisemitism among POC. Just like there are Christian antisemites, we must also point out antisemitism among Muslims, which has its own long history in Muslim countries when Jews were a minority there (not so much the case now as there are almost no Jews left in those Muslim/Arab countries, most have been expelled). Leaving any of these out of the condemnation of antisemitism is dangerous. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

[bookgeekconfessions]

(1)HI. First of all, I would like to say this: Lots oif things that you mentioned happened a long time ago. As far as I know, nobody today had a slave, or was a suffragette. So why does it matter? I think you're awesome for standing to be equal! I want to help everybody be equal too, but as a white girl, I am not going to apologise for things that happened in the past that I was not involved in. Another thing I've noticed is that while black people can be proud to be black,

(2) White people cannot be proud to be White. Also, the slave trade was originally started by Africans enslaving other Africans, so you can't blame everything on white people. Its still racism when its directed at white people! As of today, there are racist white people and racist black people. Finally, I would like to note that I am only 13, and I apologise for anything I've got wrong. Please correct me if I'm wrong. 

(3) Also I'm British, and don't really know too well whats happening in America so again, my apologies for anything I've got wrong.

Hey Anon,

I would usually ignore a message like this, but you say that you're thirteen and if that's true it will be easier to get my point across to a young brain over a 33-year-old brain that has been steeped in privilege for decades.

First of all, whoever told you that slavery began in Africa catered the truth to their whims. Those are "alternative facts," if you will. The truth is that slavery in some form or other has existed probably since the dawn of humanity, but I think it will take someone more than me to trace it back to its origins. That being said, the ancient Greeks had slaves, as did the Romans, the Egyptians (yes in Africa) and the Vikings had slaves just to name a few of the ancient societies. These slaves were usually spoils of war and were not based on racism as we know it now, meaning it was based on army strength.  If the Vikings raided your lands and you were not strong enough to stop them(few were) they would take your women and children back with them as slaves.

While slavery is not Ok in any form those wounds were very different as the ancient Viking, Roman empires, etc fell.

The transatlantic slave trade, which is the slave trade that polluted the western world started with the Portuguese in the 1600s and continued until the 1800s on record, but really it was around 1900s when the governments of the world were forcefully policing their laws.

The transatlantic slave trade was one of the most evil practices in the world because it happened purely because white people of Europe and later America decided that Africans were not humans. I have yet to hear of any other group having slaves for this reason. There were slaves based on religion, based on the outcome of wars, etc but to look at a set of people who bleed, feel pain, reproduce in the same exact way and say "well, they're not human so we can do ANYTHING we want" is a kind of evil so deep it can't go away quickly. Especially, because unlike the Roman Empire those societies did not fall.

Instead, freed slaves were expected to assimilate into the very slavery that enslaved them. Unfortunately, hate doesn't just disappear because of law. White peoples owned black people, is it realistic that the same generation of ppl would be able to look at their old “property” as equal? No. Could the next generation? No, they were raised by the slave owners. So for around 100 years black ppl had a sort of freedom but no real rights or opportunities. They were put into societal Cage  of "this little bit of the world is for you while the rest of it is for white people, because your skin was dark."

Then in the 1960s black Americans began to fight for their rights. We had a new branch of young people who decided that they were not ex-slaves or less than, they were equal and so they decided to fight.

Remember, I am talking about less than 100 years ago. My grandmother was alive when black people couldn't drink from the same water fountain as white people. My mother was raised in early integration America where white people had to grudgingly live side by side with her and they didn't like it.

So really, my siblings who range from 34-16 and I are the first in our family to grow up in a world where black people and white people living side by side is normal.

Saying that these things happened sooo long ago is oversimplifying a complex issue. I don't know where in England you live but I have family in London and they have stories of racism and injustice just as we do in America.

I am black, college educated and work on a  Netflix television show. I am one of three black people in the office of writers and editors, the crew of the show is more diverse. I had my first internship when I was 16 years old and since then I have always worked with a majority of white people. My classmates at NYU film were 150 in my class and five maybe ten of those students were black and none were black men.

I tell you this to give you an example of what I am working with as a person of color in this country. A person who looks like me achieving success is still not the rule, I am the exception to the rule. And, that's because the inequality from slavery still trickles down. Our hair that grows naturally out of or our head is very kinky, and for some women (like me) our hair is difficult to take care of so many of us get things like dreads. Dreadlocks are cultural and also practical and yet businesses are allowed to fire us for our hair and the way it naturally grows out of our head. Why? Because we are still seen as savages. Our hair styles seeen as less than, or improper.  Imagine if the government said it was ok to fire someone because their hair is black or brunette. Think about how much work goes into dyeing your hair blonde. There is bleaching and color dye that are the opposite of healthy for your hair. That is the same for the practices that help black people straighten their hair.

We are given the option of damaging our hair with products that have chemicals in it that can cause cancer or not hold down a job. This is a very small aspect of what we live with but this is racism and white supremacy in modern times.

Oh! And to answer your question...No, black people cannot be racist. Neither can Native Americans, Latinos, etc.  That is a myth that white people like to use in order to make themselves feel better. Racism is a system that disadvantages people based on race. It says that certain people are better, because of the color of their skin and therefore are superior and deserve to live superiorly. POC can not be racist in our current society because they do not have the power to be superior. Everyone CAN be prejudiced. But, my prejudice cannot affect the livelihood and safety of a white person. Which is why the term “reverse racism” is false. 

Black Pride is about having pride in your culture, in your history, in your past and how far you have come. It’s saying yes, we do not have all the opportunities and we have a horrible history, but look, we are overcoming! Sure, white people are still saying that we’re not as beautiful, that our looks are not the ideal and that our hair is nappy and ugly, but we are made of magic and we are beautiful. White pride says that you are better than other races. You can be proud to be British, you can be proud to be American, you can be proud to be Irish, you can be proud to be Jewish, or Catholic, etc. But, if you are proud to be white, what does that mean? What is the shared history of white people? What exactly would you be celebrating? 

Anon, I hope you read this whole message as I wrote it specifically for you and I hope you understand a new point of view. We are still a long way from equality because the descendants of slave owners still do not see us as 100% equal.

Sincerely,

Naomi

[indoafrikanqueen-blog]

I can't "Get Out" - This is my life.

Spoiler alert - come back after you've seen it. So I saw get out this weekend and not only am I shook as fuck, it is hands down the best horror movie EVER - I mean within the first ten minutes the soundtrack featured Childish Gambino's Redbone. I mean COME ON. Yasssss. More seriously, however, the reason it's so good is because of how real it is. I am no expert on film or the arts but as a PoC I can tell you that this movie is the track and redemption song to every PoC's life. And these are the reasons why:

The Micro Aggressions are so real. Such an integral part of the existence of being black is the emotional toll that microaggressions take on us. Microaggressions are ways in which people are racist but they are unaware of this racism, and it is this unawareness that makes it so difficult to bear. Microaggressions strike at any time and always tend to catch you with your defenses down making them all the more impactful at chipping away your humanity. Then, if you confront the perpetrator they can't see anything wrong with what they've said since they're ignorant, and you are erased further in your identity as a POC. Get Out portrays these so well, and in a way that we know resonates with all of us.  The main microaggressions that validated our trauma in get out are as follow (to be fair I'm working from memory because I don't want to read other critiques and be biased in what I write so this is list is by no means comprehensive):

When Rose's brother talks about how Chris could have been good at UFC because he's black, then goes on to say that jujitsu is a different game, because it uses strategy implying (1) that because Chris is black he is going to be a good fighter, (2) that Chris is dumb and only defined by brawn, (3) making the link that black men are intrinsically violent. NO. NO. NO. Can not. 

No. No. No. 

No more microaggressions says Georgina.

Related to that point was the consistent reference to black genetics as being superior for manual labour - linking back to the objectification of black bodies from the time of slavery. DISGUSTING. 

The overt sexualisation of Chris at the lunch party, and the implication that he may have a big dick but also the crude assumption that he will be into getting into a threeway with a horribly unattractive couple. This eroticisation and  fetishisation of black people is neverending. I mean come on. The movie couldn't have made it more explicit. We don't want to be your sex slaves, BLACK PEOPLE ARE NOT FUCKING NYMPHOMANIACS. 

We have all experienced this one to some extent: The comments on Chris's skin colour being a result of the turning of the tables of power dynamics changing. No white people, white skin was in power and will always be that way. Stop saying black is in fashion and in vogue, or that everyone will be beige one day. Stop denying how you fucked us up based on the colour of our skin.   

Wah, wah, wah. No microaggression is clearer than the policeman asking for Chris's ID on the way out of town, then being challenged by a basic white woman who commands respect just by the colour of her skin. 

The continual mentioning of Obama as if support for Obama automatically implies you could never be racist.

The unsolicited defensiveness the dad makes about having black people on the grounds and the way he feels the need to be a white saviour for giving the housekeeper and groundskeeper jobs, like he is a benevolent god. 

Tiger woods! Why you mentioning him yo? All black people don't know each other and don't care what you think of the one black person you know who is your only reference point to blackness.

The judgment of Chris's smoking habit, I don't know if this is reaching but it felt like they were implying he has control issues and is less of a person for that dependency.

The Gaslighting!! Rose unconsciously gaslights Chris by denying that any of these microaggressions are real and he is made to feel he is going crazy!

The Not-so-micro Aggressions: This was deep. The  extent of  the overt racism in this film was unreal.

There was the scene where the mum sends Chris into a state of altered consciousness without his permission. Can you tell me about something more violent, entitled than this? Chris then sinks into a deep state of helplessness

This is a metaphor for what it is like to be a person of colour living in a white society. You feel helpless, like you're sinking. You're not heard, you're not seen, you're not given the space to exist. You are floating in some kind of limbo, a fresh hell.

Then there was the scene where there are a whole lot of white people and one japanese guy, and the japanese guy, who you think would know better being of a persecuted minority groups asks chris to answer a heavily loaded question on the plight of black people in America? Like as POC tell me you have not been here? I was at a lunch date at a table of black girls a  couple of weekends ago when a white women steps up, doesn't greet and says "What do you all think is going to happen to the future of this country?" We were stunned into silence. One friend literally burst out laughing. Moral of the story - hold up and check yourself,  I am not the representative of all black people, the president of the association of blacks. Fuck sakes. Also, and importantly other non black POC can enforce microaggressions too.  

The part where the mother asks Chris where he was when his mother died!!! I was not ready. This bitch is implying that he may have had something to do with it, you know black kid and all. This isn't a microaggression to me. Its EXTREME racism. And what will a white person say to this, "you don't know that that's what the mother meant?". Well this is my lived experience and I think I know when I am being profiled. Thanks.

Other reasons that this movie is a stellar representation of the lived experiences of POC are:

The accuracy of the depiction of the  characters. Can we just talk about how realistic this all is? The dad is the classic intellectual white liberal who uses intellect to be "above" racism. The mom, who is passively aggressively racist and tries to protect her daughter from the black man. The brother who wants to assert to Chris, that he is superior, physically, mentally and intellectually - who wants to show Chris that he (the brother) will come out on top no matter what. 

The perfect depiction of the way in which white families treat black significant others! The constant undermining and double checking, and the piqued interest, trying hard to box you, and the innumerous and unpredictable microaggressions. The family members who won't stop pushing buttons no matter how much your partner asks them not to. 

The way in which whiteness is depicted in general. Especially with respect to Rose, the girlfriend  - at the beginning of the movie you are convinced that she is woke, and then just when you think you have a bond that transcends race, boom - race strikes. You can never transcend race in an interracial relationship. 

At the lunch party there is this way in which the numerous white people all merge into one. This actually happens when you are the token person of colour in an environment. The constant microaggressions and violence become too much to handle and you eventually can't distinguish between who said something worse and what's okay and what isn't.

Another thing I noticed, before the big plot twist at the end, was the way in which all of the grounds staff and domestic help was expected to assimilate to whiteness and not ruffle feathers. In so doing they lose track of who they are and become complicit in their own oppression. 

Linked to this, is the way black people have to constantly fucking play up to whiteness. You don't have the choice not to and it becomes exhausting.

God damn, I could write a thesis about the universal black truth about this movie.

It is a masterpiece. It is a validation of the literal horror of black existence, black beauty and black creativity like no other. What an excellent year for black cinema!

The social commentary is excellent too, for instance the way in which the role of police is seen. At the end as the viewer, you resign yourself to the fact that this black man is FUCKED when you see that cop car roll up! This is huge. If you are white, what you should be asking is, why am I scared for this innocent black man's safety when I see this cop car?

Other poignant themes, that were revealed later were the way white people prey on black people for their own benefit. This you see most clearly when Rose's modus operandi is revealed but also at the end when the grand plan of the family is uncovered.  We are consumable to them.

Speaking on the uncovering of the grand plan, there comes a point where Chris asks "Why us?", as in, why black people? The man answering says "it's not about race, it is because black is in fashion" but when in actuality we know :

That IT IS about race.

It's about BLACK LIVES DO NOT MATTER!!!!!!!!!!!

But you get to the end of the movie, and have the satisfaction of Chris killing every one of these mother fucker's off and then being saved by his homeboy. And this is our redemption. We are like "Yeah, Chris you made it!!" We were literally applauding in the cinema. 

No Chris, you're not good honey.

Not after that.

But then you realise that Chris is shook. Fucking traumatised. He's disturbed. And we are happy because there was a victory, he wasn't arrested, he SURVIVED. But survival is the bare minimum. He now has to live with the trauma of his experience forever more. 

And so, no. There is no escape. He can't "GET OUT"

We can't GET OUT.

This is our lives.