Thread by @tamanosou

Okay, I can't believe I need to do this but let me talk a moment about racism and why people are upset about Warren right now.

I've got a few people upset because it's a "kneejerk" reaction or "splits liberals" and my black friends are getting just inundated. So let's talk.

For Warren I do suspect she really didn't mean to be racist. And I expect that all you white people out there wondering why this is such a Big Deal also don't mean to be racist. I get that because I'm white and it took me a long time to understand why these things are problematic

So, devoid of history and ... institutions, what Warren did would have been a bit odd and awkward but that's it. And I think that's how most of you white people are seeing this. She had an awkward moment. BUT we do not live outside of our culture. This enforced racism.

White people generally understand racism as a character flaw involving ethnically directed mean-spiritedness. And yeah if someone's always a jerk to people of color that person probably does have character flaws and definitely is racist. But that's super overt racism.

When you get to the point where someone's using racist terms or being openly mean to people of color that's not just racism that's incurable racism. That's "it's spread to the liver" racism. But for us white folks ... it's not dangerous to us so we don't typically see it prior.

Because we white folks have our insulation of white privilege we do not see less obvious signs of racism until it's too late. To us it's not a direct and obvious threat so we do not generally care.

But for it to get to that point there have been so many other failures in the system that have hurt and threatened people of color. Racism isn't about being mean. It's about institution and society level discrimination.

AND racism and white supremacy persist because we white people are privileged by them and dismiss the complaints of people of color who are suffering under this system. Just as rape jokes reinforce rape culture, racist tropes etc reinforce institutional racism.

When you dismiss the very real complaints of people of color you are saying, "I don't care about your concerns because your needs are not important to me." It is in and of itself racism. Calling people "over-sensitive," for pointing this out is racism.

By dismissing this as unimportant or worse saying that people are being "snowflakes" you are reinforcing white supremacy. By telling people they're being divisive you're implying they should be obedient to you.

You as a white person probably didn't mean that ... but that's what you're saying. And you're going to hate me for saying this but your intentions do not matter. By dismissing the concerns of PoC as unimportant regardless of why you are reinforcing and unequal system.

So, I will again reiterate that I do not think Warren meant to be racist. But intentions don't matter. When she sang that song with the old lyrics she reinforced a racist system.

I'm not the offended party so I can't really dictate what she should do, but probably acknowledging the mistake would help. Rather than dismissing those who found it offensive she has this opportunity to say, "oh, you know yeah this is bad and I made a mistake."

And she can follow that up by listening to PoC and taking THEIR direction and addressing THEIR concerns rather than going, "eh you're not a statistical majority so I don't care."

Which brings me to the myth of divisiveness. Guys ... look at demographic breakdowns for past national votes. You will note that PoC particularly black people overwhelmingly vote Democrat and white people ... not so much ...

So if you're white, congrats on your privilege but you really don't have the demographic voting history to be telling black people sh*t. Honestly, you should be taking cues from them. You wonder why black people don't support Warren or Sanders? Those two don't listen.

And here's where we get to the white savior complex. PoC know what the problem is. They don't need me or you or anyone else telling them how to solve it with votes or actions or whatever. What they do need is for us white folks to listen and stop dismissing them.

So a lot of you are going to be called racist today and I see y'all talking yourselves into corners to excuse it or exonerate yourselves. Stop. Take the hit. Listen to the criticism. Learn and grow.

I get that it hurts. I was raised in a community so white that *I* was considered diverse. I've been through this whole "they're oversensitive" to "white savior," to "ally" to whatever the hell I am now myself and I still make mistakes. It's not a comfortable journey.

But I want you white folks to know if you REALLY want us to get past racism it's on you. And it's on you to take a supporting background role. It's on you to be willing to forgo some of your privilege and it's on you to let yourself be criticised.

Racism is institutional. PoC complaining are not being oversensitive, they're just trying not to be drowned out in the roar. Listen to them. Do for them what they ask of you. Respect them and sometimes ... just shut up and let them have center stage.

This is not about you.