Fuckit. Yesterday's events were an extreme, but let me remind folks that Whiteness permeates everything in this country with the same level of toxic entitlement. The creative industry is no exception. I'm so fucking tired of white artists & authors being surprised & appalled.

"Not my in my circles. Not my bubble."

Sorry but...yes. As it always has been. The level of barriers and challenges that BIPOC creators have to go through for the same opportunities as our white counterparts has always been tipped against us.

I am thrilled to see the bits of progress we've made in the last few years in terms of exclusivity and representation - but what we see on screens and bookshelves don't reflect true equity behind the scenes.

For every thoughtfully crafted BIPOC character or marginalized experience that made it to a final product, there were folks who had to fight tooth and nail, make ridiculous compromises and work twice as hard for half the credit - that is not equality.

And despite the supposed increase in awareness of the rampant systemic racism in our industry, despite the black squares and promises of accountability, we're still seeing statistics show how little BIPOC creators are compensated in comparison to white colleagues.

Or how, whenever BIPOC actors, creators, or characters finally make it into historically white roles - the backlash and hatespeech can drive these creators completely out of public spaces to preserve their emotional health and safety.

So yeah. If you still believe that the creative industry is all rainbows and butterflies - a wonderful bubble of escapism that is an exception to the problems outside - your privilege is showing.