Truly a pandemic of hatred. Here are even more.

Leaving this here so the world knows: Turkish supremacy white supremacy. I know this because I sit at the intersection of these racist systems, but I am also privileged & not the most vulnerable of my groups, so I must speak. https://twitter.com/cj_catch_a_door/status/1332152346755751936

Again, why do ugly men ever get to have an opinion?

The hatred I’ve seen on Twitter this year has solidified my observation that Pan-Turkish nationalism & white supremacy are two sides of the same coin. Settler-colonialism, genocide, & any form of supremacy = predicated on othering & exclusion based on perceived differences.

Exclusion is often validated as being “scientifically proven,” “legal,” or “nationally recognized.” But those who are excluded often don’t get any say in their own fate or history as a result of these supremacist ideologies that posit their way of being as superior & supreme.

Anti-blackness & colonialism = THE global racist structure manufactured by white supremacists by forcibly taking possession of Black/Indigenous people as property, along with their land. Transphobia, misogyny, & other gendered forms of violence are just one facet of this system.

That said, I am NOT trans. I am a cis woman & I AM Black, but because of colorism, I have many privileges & comforts afforded to me that many dark-skinned relatives are excluded from. If the hatred I get is this bad, understand what our dark-skinned trans relatives must deal with

Being cis, having light skin, going to school, not having to worry about food or shelter, being able-bodied & an American citizen, I can move around a lot of spaces easily. That is my privilege. We must pay close attention to the absences in the room. Who is not present and why?

Being Black, Armenian, & Native has also shown me how closely related systems of dispossession & exclusion are. They have always been global. The supremacists of the “West,” the “East,” and the “Middle East” have always worked together to exclude people from their vision.

We MUST uplift the voices that are habitually excluded from the room. We MUST not only acknowledge but SPEND our privilege by materially supporting those who are more vulnerable than us, especially Black/Indigenous trans women. At the very least, let my experience be this lesson.