Here's a short thread to exemplify how the term "Anglo-Saxon" is used to mean 'wyte', associated w/ wyte supremacy & misused not only by Americans but equally by British ppl, & also scholars. Before you steal my work, cite me. Here we go: #medievaltwitter 1/

Lots of the examples here are from the past few years, most recently this week tho. I'll try & explain as I go. Let's start with this one educator who resents having to say the words "Old English" instead of "Anglo-Saxon." Imagine being resentful over that. #medievaltwitter 2/

British ppl claiming they are "Anglo-Saxon" without actually understanding what that means (what does that mean?). The misconception is that ONLY wyte supremacists are using this. You are wrong. #medievaltwitter 3/

Lest we forget that British/English academics are actually just tied to the term bc they see this as 'theirs.' The term has 'value' to many of them bc they think that's part of who they are. Case in point here by a British academic: #medievaltwitter 4/

Scholars do a disservice by purposefully misleading the public. Context: the 1st 2 tweets argue @garyyounge is not English "Anglo-Saxon" but wyte supremacist Richard Spencer is a more legit Englishman. Now look at the 3rd use by a scholar whose repeated use is irresponsible. 5/

Those that argue to continue to use the word do so by saying there is a "responsible" way to use it, but never push back against wyte supremacists (REAL identifiable wyte supremacists) who champion continued use of the term. See how this works on both sides of the Atlantic: 6/

Notice the interactions between the two racists and what they say. A lot of their rhetoric is repeated by scholars and colleagues who are opposed to change. "Clique" and "cohort" are repeated often as though we are a group of 5 or 6. There are depts, anthologies & scholars 7/

choosing to change the term, it is not a "clique" or "fans." We are scholars updating our terminology for a variety of reasons. The term is inaccurate, not a catch-all, only has 3 instances of its use in manuscripts &yes, it's been used for imperialism/racism for centuries. 8/

If you are unfamiliar with the racists who applaud the scholars continuing to use the term (and even interacting with them in the past) see here and check out this thread by @erik_kaars on this individual: 9/ https://twitter.com/erik_kaars/status/1201522014261010432?s=20

Before we get back to "regular folk"/academics using the term, here's another dangerous wyte supremacist who thinks getting rid of the term is erasing "his" history (special appearance by me here). Click here to learn more abt his current activities: 10/ https://www.hopenothate.org.uk/2020/08/17/patriotic-alternative-uniting-the-fascist-right/

When those of us who are public faces of this call for change are attacked, those scholars who believe in "responsible" use of the term are silent. Begs the question why. 11/

So anyway, here's some more British people who believe they are "Anglo-Saxons" and that means wyte. 12/

And as other scholars (apparently in a clique) point out that the term is fraught with racism in England, it is not atypical to receive responses like this. Again, where are those who say we should use the term "responsibly"? 13/

And for all my BIPOC people who are peddling this and advocating for continued use, you have nothing to gain. Conservatives and/or racists do not see you as one of them no matter how hard you try. "Anglo-Saxon" in England means wyte. 14/

Don't misinterpret me. Not everyone is a wyte supremacist who uses this. What this means is that for a lot of the general public (even in Britain) they are misinformed, & they are using an inaccurate & racist term. There is NO excuse for scholars. We are educators. 15/

What this demonstrates in many ways is how wrong/inaccurate/racist terms can be normalized. This is the link. Terms attached to wyteness &colonialism get normalized &then get further abused by the far-right. The response at the end of this screenshot is gold. #medievaltwitter 16/

Here's some more British "stay out of my history" stuff bc they are "Anglo-Saxons". #medievaltwitter 17/

At the heart of this is just connecting wyteness to the term "Anglo-Saxon" bc I find it hard to believe that most Welsh, Scottish or Irish people would consider themselves "Anglo-Saxon". #medievaltwitter 18/

British media is relentless in their misuse and abuse of the term and scholars who have the chance to correct (IN THE STORIES) are silent. Note that "East Anglian" is a more accurate term for stories about Sutton Hoo. 19/ #medievaltwitter

Not to say this is "just a British" problem. Sure, they exported their racist stupidity. See here to see that the term means "wyte" in the US in regular discourse. 20/ #medievaltwitter

It's not easy being hoowyte ~ GOB and Franklin 21/

Getting bored? Well, I have 100s of examples, but this should suffice. The point is this term's racialized past has become so normalized that a lot of wyte ppl don't recognize its history. It's inaccurate & more recently weaponized by the far-right. #medievaltwitter 22/

In closing . . . normalizing racist and inaccurate terminology leads to really dumb takes but also leads to more insidious and violent racism as these terms are weaponized by the far-right. The term means 'wyte' in BRITAIN as well as across the Atlantic. #medievaltwitter 23/

Maybe this is the "responsible" use of the word that those scholars are suggesting? The end.

New rule: if you use these you cite me bc scholars are using our work, profiting off of our labor and erasing us from this conversation that WE have moved forward. #medievaltwitter /end

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