Thread by @FrancesMFDanger

ATLANTA FANS ARE NOT RACIST: A Thread

Now that I have your attention:
I mean not *all* Atlanta fans are racist.

The @braves name, chop, and chant are 100% racist. As is Rob Manfred. As is anyone who perpetuates stereotypes that denigrate Natives.

#thetimeisnow #changethename

What people don't understand is that you can do and participate in things that are racist without being racist yourself. It's your understanding of what you are doing or participating in that makes the difference.

Lets talk about your Aunt Bea.

Aunt Bea loves baseball and is a huge ATL fan. She became a fan when they were the Boston Bees because it tickled her that they shared a name. Her fandom continued when they became the Boston @braves, then the Milwaukee braves, and now as Atlanta.

Aunt Bea understands that when a team changes their name your enjoyment or love for them doesn't diminish. She is a great example of how one can hold onto their memories no matter what the jersey says. Be like Aunt Bea. But I digress.

Aunt Bea doesn't understand the Twitters. She has never even heard of TikTok. She's happy on Facebook, tagging all 39 of her friends in everything she posts, and writing what she meant to be a DM on your wall, signing it with an adorable Love, Aunt Bea.

Another thing Aunt Bea loves is the tomahawk chop and chant. She thinks it's great fun and does it at every home game, which she usually attends as a season ticket holder but has had to forego the last couple of years because as an older person with co-morbidities

she is susceptible to COVID and since she can't depend on people getting vaccinated and wearing masks like she could have in the good old days she has to sacrifice her personal enjoyment at the alter of those too selfish to satisfy the social contract.

Anyway, it's only at in person games (well, now only on TV because anti-vaxx/anti-mask people don't care that they're robbing the joy of a nice lady like Aunt Bea) that she has been exposed to anything chop and chant related.

Is Aunt Bea a racist in this particular situation?

No. Aunt Bea, who didn't vote for trump and thinks q is just the 17th letter of the alphabet and nothing more, is not a racist.

Now let's talk about your Aunt Dorothy.

Aunt Dorothy is Aunt Bea's twin sister. Her story is exactly the same as Aunt Bea except one time when Aunt Bea was sick at home with a cold Aunt Dorothy invited you to see the game because now she had an extra ticket.

It just so happened that this was a game for which AIM had organized a protest. Aunt Dorothy had to walk past protestors to the stadium for the game. She heard them say "Stop the chop". She read their signs. She saw fans jeering at them. She asked you what was going on.

You patiently explained that those were a vocal minority of mostly white folks that had convinced their Native friends who can't think for themselves that the name, chop, and chant are racist but that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians said it wasn't so

she should ignore the protest, the empirical evidence that shows these types of things are harmful to all youth (illuminatives.org/change-the-nam…), and

The American Psychological Association who in 2005 recommended the retirement of all Native team names, mascots, and iconography (apa.org/pi/oema/resour…) and enjoy the game.

Aunt Dorothy thought about this for a few minutes then had a hot dog which she finished just in time to participate in the chop and chant when it was made clear by the @braves it was completely acceptable to disregard the voices of Natives and wellbeing of children

by dimming the lights and playing the song with the stereotypical drumbeat she was used to and loved. She also bought you one of those ice creams in the little plastic hats that's also a bowl.

Is Aunt Dorothy, who also didn't vote for trump and thinks q is just the 17th letter of the alphabet and nothing more, a racist in this particular situation?

Yes. Though her intent isn't to harm she is inflicting harm by disregarding Natives and science so she can still do a racist thing that she now has been educated is racist.

Don't worry about your racist Aunt Dorothy though. Aunt Dorothy is also a Cleveland Guardians fan. Instead of just listening to you when they decided to change their name she read about the reasons and

came to the understanding that the dignity and humanity of Natives were harmed by sports team names and iconography, made that connection to the @braves, and changed her mind and her ways.

Is Aunt Dorothy still a racist in this particular situation?

No. She found out that what she was doing was a racist act and then took the steps to correct it.

She also told Aunt Bea who was horrified that she'd been doing something so gross, stopped immediately, sold her season tickets, and burned all her Atlanta merch in a backyard fire which I wouldn't recommend anyone else do but sure was fun to watch.

That leaves you, Niece, Nephew, or the particular identifier you prefer. If you've made it this far you've been educated, provided links, and given elementary level examples of who and what is or is not racist. You even got an imaginary bowl of ice cream

Are you racist in this particular situation?

If you're a part of the @braves organization, yes. If you're Rob Manfred, yes. If you continue supporting the name, chop, and chant after all this, yes.

YOU ARE AN ATLANTA FAN WHO IS RACIST.

#thetimeisnow #changethename