1/11 This might be a long post, I don’t know yet and it is my personal feelings on the matter but I want to talk about White Saviour mentality and what I deem as forced allyship.

2/11 Over the years, as social media has taken on a stronger means of communication for activism and even creating a close knit, albeit far flung, network of feminism, POC, LGBTQ+, etc, it has also created well meaning “allies”.

3/11 Many allies will ask people who have lived with systemic racism how best to respond, how to support them IF needed, but others seem to take on this mantle and become a White Saviour and no longer an ally.

4/11 Like men who step into conversations with and about women when they are not part if it, white saviours will step into conversations about racism, believing their desire to help and support can take the place of lived experience.

5/11 Most of the time these “allies” glean their details from other white saviour accounts on social media, well being as they may be, and will talk over POC in an attempt to prove how (and I loathe this word) “woke” they are.

6/11 Frequently, when a POC steps in to give their opinion on said topic they are again, spoken over and told why they should agree with the “ally” in these matters. I call this type of behaviour and action “forced ally-ship”.

7/11 For example: I was part of a discuss re: a woman who decided First Nations women in a small Canadian community needed her assistance with resume writing, mock interviews, etc and she was baffled as to why no one was taking her up on this offer of “help”

8/11 Many MANY Non Native women stepped in to offer suggestions and condolences for her rebuffed offer of help. None of them could see the absolute condescension and white saviourism in her offer. I finally informed them how she appeared to the First Nations women...

9/12 and how, historically, offers of “help” from Non Natives were never really about the FN people, but about the Non Natives desire to feel good about saving/helping those they deemed as less fortunate.

10/11 Being an ally isn’t about shoving links and goodwill gestures down our throats. It isn’t about reading a post about a word possibly, maybe, kinda, sorta, might be racist, and changing your vocabulary w/o having a convo with a POC about it.

11/11 White Saviourism is just another type of racism, steeped in condescension and elitism. So, hold space for POC and actually be quiet and listen, instead of speaking over and FOR us.