just a thread of a few things i’m sick of seeing on the tl + on the news and hearing irl <3

1) ‘rayshard brooks death was justified’ - no one should get a death sentence for resisting arrest. there is no justification - police should be trained in ways to deescalate such situations. deadly force should not have been used.

2) ‘what about whiteface’ - yous nEver cared about this until tv shows w blackface started to be removed. blackface has an oppressive, deeply racist history. whilst i’m obvs not condoning whiteface, ur argument abt white chicks vs the oppressive history of blackface just isn’t it

3) other ‘what about’ comments - i doNT understand y some white ppl wanna be discriminated against so bad. y are yous actively searching for shreds of evidence that fit ur white ppl are oppressed agenda? the fact u don’t have to fight for ur basic human rights is a privilege!!!

4) ‘racism will always be a thing’ - being able to say this as a white person just proves ur unwillingness to give up ur white privelige. instead of trying to actively contribute to change, ur basically putting ur feet up and dismissing the struggle of black ppl.

5) statues - they r there to celebrate historical figures. no one goes to a statue for education, we have the internet!! yes we can’t erase these figures from history, but immortalising them for people to commemorate and celebrate when they’re proven racists is regressive.-

-fair enough, move them to museums where ppl do go to learn history, but there’s no need to immortalise these figures that have contributed to the systemic racism in our country. public commemoration contributes to the erasure of britain’s deeply racist history.

6) association of anti-racism with the left - racism shouldn’t be political!! it shouldn’t be something up for debate! the right has used racism as a political tool to label the left as ‘snowflakes’ for caring about serious issues such as blackface and britain’s colonial past-

-when in reality, all it exposes is the racism of the right. everyone should want to abolish racism. everyone should want equal rights. when people attempt to debate or politicise it, all they’re revealing is how inherently racist they are. racism is a human rights issue.

7) ‘sick of seeing BLM on the tl’ - again: racism and inequality is a black person’s reality. momentum has to be kept with the BLM movement - whilst ur life may return to normal after the news cycle, systemic racism will still be devastating for black communities.-

-the fact you don’t have to live this reality, but instead find BLM posts simply an ‘annoyance’ is a privilege in itself. the momentum has to be kept for systemic change to happen, and that means consistently spreading awareness across all social media platforms.

so: racism is a white problem. black ppl shouldn’t have to try and dismantle a system that was created by white ppl to oppress them. we need to dismantle the system by giving up our privilege. protest alongside black people, donate to BLM causes, support black businesses.

we are not oppressed. white ppl r the oppressor. follow the lead of black people. we need to be good allies: listen and try to assist and contribute in any way possible. sorry if i sounds a bit preachy but some of the views i’ve heard this week have been truly repulsive.

i also don’t want to seem patronising or that i’m talking over anyone - i understand my privilege in writing this - it’s just there are too many people (particularly on ft) that are spreading their racist agendas, without being held accountable or questioned.

and if u do want to learn more about systemic racism, white privilege and the BLM movement, i would suggest reading:
-Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
-They Can’t Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery
-Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

follow these pages on instagram:
MunroeBergdorf
NoWhiteSaviours
Rachel.Carge
MonaChalabi
Vrye
Nupol_Justice
IAmRachelRicketts

if ur completely unwilling to even try and see the other side of the argument, and would rather bask in privilege and ignorance, pls don’t bother replying bc i’m not gonna feed into ur argument just block or unfollow me xxx

please comment below any further recommendations of people and pages to follow, books to read and any other resources !! #BlackLivesMatter

if you can, please consider donating to the @NYCProtestFund , they’re raising money to supply critical aid and supplies to those protesting on the front line in New York https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-for-black-lives-matter-protest-supplies