Thread by @GrandmaSaidNo

I’m quite surprise that I would have to say this…yet, we should be weary of the popularization of the word “colonizer” on social media.

Two reasons: lack of understanding of relations to settler colonialism AND the weaponization to silence BIPOC.

I’ve noticed that those who use “colonizer,” generally don’t have a foundational understanding of settler colonialism nor have they reflected on their own positionality within or relationship to settler colonialism.

The 2nd point, weaponization - because there is that lack of foundational understanding and lack of reflection, I’ve noticed the word “colonizer” has been simply reduced to someone isn’t Indigenous AND in some cases to everyone within the US Empire, including Indigenous Peoples.

There is a danger with that reduction, because it ignores the histories and instances of violence that were required to create the US Empire, and not to mention there are consistent attempts for “move to innocence” (Tuck & Yang, 2012), simply to deflect accountability.

Not to mention, that simply reduction situates Indigenous Peoples of the so-called “Americas” as colonizers because of those ongoing archaic theories (ex: Bering Strait), and this flawed definition, which doesn’t include an understanding of indigeneity.

Also, please know that I’m focusing on the US Empire.

These are some of the emerging issues I’m noticing on social media as “colonizer” becomes more popularized on its usage.