Hello again, /bay/. Something told me that you might need me around now, so I'll be around for a bit. Don't expect me to be around long-term, I've got other shit to do... but lucky for you, the pandemic has made my life boring as fuck lately.
Well, anyway, does anyone know why I'm here again? Any guesses? Anyone remember what I did on this board last time? Do ya think age has mellowed me out?
. . . . . . Right, here we go.
"No amount of protection afforded to white people is worth the horror we continue to perpetuate in this country against millions in marginalized communities."
Don't imply that white people as a group are to blame for this. There are enough people trying to incite racial division across the world already. Perpetrating it further with irresponsible sentences like this does nothing to bring us together or solve the problems at hand, it just makes it worse. The vast majority of white people are good, normal people and it is unjust to label them as the problem for every marginalized group in the US, since it leads to them being targeted simply for being white.
Hi,
First, I'm gonna say: you're a good kid and I am happy you're here thinking about some difficult things. That's what people should do, engage with interesting ideas. Please also note that although my profile says I'm more than 1,000 years old, I'm actually in my 30s and calling people older than me "kids" is one of my favorite ways to make everyone else miserable. So while you are probably not actually a kid, just like I'm not actually older than sand, please bear with me for a minute.
Compliments aside, I have some facts to drop, not just for your sake and my ego, but so everyone lurking around reading Bay can have a long think about who they are and what they're doing on this disaster-planet. I am 100% aware that you are not the only person who is making posts like this right now, and I am only picking on you because your quote is the first one I saw. In fact, this has nothing to do with you as an individual (I have no idea who you are, and you probably don't know me), but I'm going to indulge myself anyway.
-> The power structures in this country (USA) were created by white people for the unilateral benefit of white people, through violence and theft.
-> The entire construct of race was created by white people. It is not natural, as evidenced by the fact that it makes no fucking sense when you examine the ideas and history closely.
-> Regardless of whether a given white person intends to benefit, that person does benefit from our racist and inegalitarian system, often without being aware of it. For example, if someone refuses to rent to a Black family in a nice part of town, you might not know that the realtor was racist. If they're willing to rent to you instead, then you benefited, again, entirely unknowingly, from racism.
We know statistically and through many qualitative studies that housing discrimination is real, just like many other forms of discrimination which I am sure you have read about, because I am certain that you, a thoughtful citizen, have made sure that you are well-informed beyond what your teachers (who are flawed and very human truth-seekers like you, remember) taught you before you put your money where your mouth is.
Please also recall that one of the functions of government is to legislate which facts can and cannot be taught in the public schools.
Now, if every white person in this country put as much effort into antiracist action as their most shameful ancestor put into colonialism, this problem would be finished yesterday.
I dunno about you, but some of my ancestors were pretty shitty people (understatement). No, you aren't living your worst ancestor's life, and you might not be in a position to inherit any of their stuff (I'm certainly not), but you do inherit their legacy. And if there is no such ancestor--and you're certain that there is none--then you probably have a story about the legacy of oppression your own people experienced on their way here--in which case you know what suffering is.
Time to put some ghosts to rest, don't you think?
OK, my sad is that I can't figure out how to set my avatar to be food again. Does anyone know if this can be caused by too many privacy browser extensions FIXED, thanks ChairmanPoo, it was a browser security problem.
Also, is Tiru somewhere around here still? Sorry, darling, I've missed you.