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White people must ask themselves "what am I *doing* to combat racism?"

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L

Lime

Member
Professor David Leonard writing for The Root with "White Anti-Racists Must Be ‘Stone Catchers’ for Oppressed People"

White America, from Main Street to the nation’s capital, from our dinner tables to our textbooks, from the media to the religious pew, created Donald Trump. We must own him and everything he represents. He is a product of white supremacy, and each of us is not only complicit but also has benefited from a society that made his election possible.

We made him, so it’s our responsibility to resist him and his policies of white nationalism, misogyny and xenophobia. It is not enough to have voted against him; it is not enough to oppose his presidency. It is not enough to be horrified by him, wear safety pins and tweet #NotMyPresident. Claiming some identity as an ally is insufficient.
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He is an extremist manifestation of the core ideology that is America. “Racism has existed as part of the United States from its foundation. The peculiar form of racial ideology that exists today in the US was born in the English colonies of the seventeenth century as part of a system of plantation slavery in the south that was integrated into the growth of capitalism on a world scale,” Bill Crane writes. “Racism, in the form of enslavement of Africans and their descendants and expropriation of American Indians has been encoded in the DNA of America since before independence, much as sugar is baked into a cake.” Trump follows a long tradition of whites who get rich and who secure power by peddling sugar to white America.

From enslavement to incarceration, from Jim Crow to redlining, from the Ku Klux Klan to extrajudicial murders, from the Trail of Tears to Standing Rock, from Operation Wetback to Operation Build the Wall, from internment to “enhanced vetting,” from COINTELPRO to Ferguson, Mo., the history of America is based on racial violence. The utility of racist fear in mobilizing whites to cast stones, to empower institutional lithobolos aimed for communities of color, is part and parcel of the history of the nation.
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The question is, what will we do with that knowledge? What will do in the face of daily reports of his unfettered embrace of the politics of white supremacy? Will we sit idly by, congratulating ourselves for not voting for him, for not supporting him or just for not being racist? Or will we move beyond shock to actively oppose this continued history, to be stone catchers? Will we follow in the tradition of white accomplices who engaged in anti-racist work?

John Brown, the Grimké sisters and Levi Coffin didn’t just stand on the sidelines, telling the world, “We don’t own slaves” or “We didn’t vote for a president who supports slavery.” They actively challenged slavery and white supremacy from the Underground Railroad to Harpers Ferry. Lillian Eugenia Smith and Jessie Daniel Ames didn’t find peace in their white silence, citing their opposition to racial terrorism, but actively opposed people and policies that were contributing to lynchings throughout America.
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Anne Braden and Jim Zwerg didn’t ignore the rocks that were Jim Crow because they didn’t draft segregation laws or enforce them with the violence of police batons and water hoses. Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and Viola Liuzzo didn’t sit back because they didn’t design disenfranchisement laws. Peter Norman didn’t walk away from the medal stand because he was not personally responsible for global apartheid, but instead stood side by side with Tommie Smith and John Carlos, catching stones hurled at his Olympic brethren.

It is not enough to say we aren’t racist.

It is not enough to watch The Wire or listen to Jay Z.

It is not enough to don a Colin Kaepernick jersey or have friends of color.

It is not enough to support diversity initiatives or donate to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Simply not supporting Trump is not now, and nor will it ever be, enough.

Standing on the sidelines saying, “I am not racist” is standing on the wrong side of history; it is aiding and abetting racism, racial terror and white nationalism. Silence is violence; standing on the sidelines is complicity.
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Christopher Keelty, in “How to Easily Be a White Ally to Marginalized Communities,” offers specific choices that speak to an embrace of being anti-racist:


  • Be intolerant of intolerance.
  • Seek out marginalized voices and perspectives.
  • Confront your racism and don’t be fragile.
  • Use your privilege to support marginalized movements.
  • Give your time and money.
  • Be proactive about inclusion in your daily life.
  • Avoid segregation.
  • Do the work to be inclusive.
We must be anti-racist! We must ask ourselves daily, what am I doing to combat racism, to live and act as anti-racist? What am I doing to oppose every effort to normalize Trump and his white supremacist ideology?
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Page 1: http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2016/11/donald-trump-racism-white-anti-racists/
Page 2: http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2016/11/donald-trump-racism-white-anti-racists/2/

Of course, this goes for all the types of oppression that the Trump presidency ensues - whether it is LGBTQ, women's rights, immigrants, Muslims, and so on.
 
F

Frozenprince

Banned
It really is time for our "allies" to now take up the mantle of the fight against oppression themselves.

We've been fighting a long, long time. It's time to throw up or shut up at this point.
 
N

n00bsauce87

Member
I hope this thread gains at least half the pages of the Vox article about racism full of constructive conversation. This is truly the answer.
 
A

Africanus

Member
It's why when I saw Katy Perry saying she'll happily enjoy her Trump supporting family's company at the dinner table without some sort of discussion, I knew she wasn't all the way real about it.

White people can't just stand around and say "Isn't my racist Grandma so adorable in her backwardsness?"
 
H

HerbertBirdsfoot

Member
Some good stuff here. When people you know do things that are not ok, push back. And inclusion is very important.

White ally on board. It's not enough to say "hey I'm not racist." I want to do better because I fear America is going the wrong way here.
 
K

Kthulhu

Member
I try to call out racism and bigotry in general when I see it. It doesn't usually work, but I try.

I feel like I'd make a shitty activist, even if I had time.
 
C

cordy

Banned
Gallbaro said:
I generally avoid hiring white people, because they suck as employees.

Does that make me helpful or racist?
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l5q8IN1.png
 
F

fredrancour

Member
yeah i've been doing this i guess. none of my close relatives are breitbart levels of hateful or infowars level of shrouded in conspiracy theories and madness, but I've still been speaking up at the apathy or fox news level diet prejudices that sometimes goes with it.
 
M

MCN

Banned
Wait, so it's my responsibility to make sure other people aren't racist? Fuck off, that's their responsibility, not mine.
 
P

Professor Beef

Banned
Glad to be able to say I never supported Seinfeld. Also, white people abso-fucking-lutely have to do more to combat racism. Everyone already knows that white people rarely give a shit unless something happens to/for/with them.
Massive Duck said:
Damn, thread poisoned with first post

Anyway yeah, action over finger wags please
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but finger-wagging, like talking, is a free action!
Chie Satonaka said:
Seinfeld is hilarious and timeless tho. ; ;
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None of this sentence is true!
 
E

echoshifting

Banned
Doing some stuff. Looking for a volunteer opportunity, which is a little tricky because I'm disabled. But it sounds like I'm going to get something going with a local Muslim advocacy group; I have a connection there and it sounds like they can work with me. My wife would like to volunteer as well but I don't think she has started looking yet.

We are having a tete-a-tete this weekend to figure out how to allocate our monthly charitable giving. This is tough. There are so many worthy causes. We are definitely giving some money to the Trevor Project.

Reached out to some old Cultural Muslim friends and reconnected with them, had really good conversations with them and we want to do more to rekindle this friendship. One of them invited me to go to a vigil in Portland a few days ago but I could not go because I cracked a rib. :/ When it heals I will get back out there.

Continuing to talk all the time with my daughter about equality and racial issues and bigotry.

We will see what happens on Thanksgiving. My relatives in attendance did not vote for Trump thank god. But they have invited friends who are Trump supporters. I am not sure what I am going to do but I am giving it a lot of thought.

Also thinking about coming out to my parents as bisexual this weekend. It might even come out in the midst of angry conversation with these Trump supporters so I might tell them beforehand. As a bisexual disabled stay at home dad I am basically a worthless evil monster to Trump and Pence. They need to know that. But they don't have the most progressive views on LGBTQ stuff so I'm pretty fucking nervous about it.

And I will keep wearing my safety pin dangit. Just because I'm wearing one does not mean it is the only thing I am doing. I know a lot of people are down on it, think it's virtual signaling or even dangerous. But the Cultural Muslims I know are very grateful for the movement. Those people are desperate for any sense of safety. As long as it gives them the smallest shred of that, I will wear it.

Resubscribed to the NYT.

Not looking for a pat on the back here but that's my list, since the question was put out there. I am not a perfect ally. Sometimes I fuck up and do racist and/or dumb shit. I am not really doing much for Black people right now that doesn't involve arguing on the internet. I strive to be better.

QuantumBro said:
Gaf's current favorite human being made his fortune through Seinfeld royalties.
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Noooooo! :( :( :(
 
N

norm9

Member
Maybe it's me being old and cynical, but I cant picture people doing more than the bare minimum of retweeting and clicking like and then calling it a day.
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
I don't do enough. I would like to do more. I naturally shy away from real life confrontation, but this is too important to let that stop me.
 
S

Silver Arrows

Banned
I want to say, Lime, you've done a fantastic job for a long time now about threads like these. No bullshit, getting right down to the nitty gritty when it comes to subjects like these, and I appreciate your ability to get your point across.
 
C

CHC

Member
I kinda wish I could do / was doing more. I live in uptown NYC so most of the people I interact with on a daily basis are, themselves, minorities and / or racially conscious whites.

I try to do things to at least help out other causes I care about though. I put an application in recently at a prisoner rehabilitation program in my neighborhood, where I would volunteer to help out with resume writing, mock interviews, and pushing movements like "ban the box." They didn't need anyone at the moment but I hope they will soon. There's another youth outreach program around me also that was kind of a second pick, so I might apply there because I think what they do is cool.

It feels good to volunteer or at least get with a cause for something. It's very easy to do, makes you feel good, and is flexible to schedule. I used to just go to work, be tired, and bitch about stuff but now I'm back in school, doing new and challenging stuff, meeting people I would not otherwise have, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

QuantumBro said:
Gaf's current favorite human being made his fortune through Seinfeld royalties.
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Eh well at least now I feel less bad about watching so many episodes of it on those sleazy video sharing websites.

MCN said:
Wait, so it's my responsibility to make sure other people aren't racist? Fuck off, that's their responsibility, not mine.
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= "I am OK with the way everything is right now."
 
L

Like the hat?

Banned
So what are some things I can do? Because these are things I do as a decent human being.

Be intolerant of intolerance.
Seek out marginalized voices and perspectives.
Confront your racism and don’t be fragile.
Use your privilege to support marginalized movements.
Give your time and money.
Be proactive about inclusion in your daily life.
Avoid segregation.
Do the work to be inclusive.
 
J

jordan0386

Member
MCN said:
Wait, so it's my responsibility to make sure other people aren't racist? Fuck off, that's their responsibility, not mine.
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"Don't talk like that around me or we'll fight"

Simple shit like that.

But yea, it is your responsibility to make sure your family members get checked.
 
Premium Quality

Premium Quality

Member
MCN said:
Wait, so it's my responsibility to make sure other people aren't racist? Fuck off, that's their responsibility, not mine.
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Idk, I sort of see the similarity when it comes to people wanting Muslims to speak out on Muslim extremist that want to hurt innocent people.
 
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