Thread by @keikoinboston

Dear White People —

Please ignore the people of color claiming to speak on my behalf, claiming that I'm terrified of you (I’m not), claiming that I live in fear of you (I don’t), claiming that we have nothing in common (we do), and claiming that we can’t come together (we can).

These people who usurp authority to speak on behalf of entire racial and ethnic minority groups are speaking primarily for themselves and for people susceptible to their cult-like message.

https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1013567718136696832

They are conflict entrepreneurs who profit off of fomenting and fueling division that may lead to violence.

https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1381417549133414401

They derive power from their ability to attract attention from both sides and keep both sides in conflict. They have counterparts on the other side who do the same.

https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1139361964084355072

While there may be something to learn from their public statements, it’s not what they would have you believe.

The lessons they can teach are what NOT to do.

Don’t fall for one-sided black & white narratives in which one group must be “good” and the other “evil”.

https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1381417552631435269

No one wins when enough people are convinced to believe in this worldview because each side will seek to destroy the other and take everyone else down with them in the process.

We are all more complex than this, regardless of race, ethnicity, skin color, nationality, religion, gender, and sexuality. This includes all the people trying to divide us by identity.

Pay less attention to the conflict entrepreneurs and get to know people as individuals. Don’t assume that we believe the same things that other people in our identity groups believe because of how we look or what’s in our Twitter bios.

https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1302472555383738370

Postscript:

If you know what this is in response to please just leave them alone. I’m not sharing because I believe more attention = more power.

But I felt compelled to say something because some people assume that silence on polarizing topics/posts/situations/individuals must mean agreement.

Silence can mean many other things including lack of awareness, lack of understanding, lack of time, fatigue, fear of being attacked, fear of losing friends, fear of losing employment.

But speaking up is important when you think people are misrepresenting you and trying to lead others off a cliff.

I believe that most people want to see more of this and less of the kind of world that conflict entrepreneurs and extremists push. Read the thread and watch the videos. This story is uplifting. 💓

https://twitter.com/keikoinboston/status/1404942424498180096