The 'good' ones
Who are you being 'good' for?
I’ve seen it endlessly…
“Don’t lump me in with THOSE white people, I would NEVER do that”
”I didn’t do THAT, so how dare you post this with a generalization”
”I’m a liberal, so I couldn’t have done that!”
”I have a Black x,y,z, so I’m one of the ‘good’ ones”
Good lort ya’ll, will ya stop?
Because whenever you get pushback you’re the first to resort to insults like “little lady,” “unwashed miscreants,” “angry,” … in an attempt to get me, other Black people, biracial people, and other members of the global majority to trust you?
Weird tactic, if you ask me.
Now, I’ve fallen for the performance in the past, too. I’ve worn the safety pins and posted the Black square AND now I would never because truly without the work of healing, they are meaningless gestures.
Instead of looking for head pats and to separate yourself from whiteness do some VERY simple things
Stop taking everything so personally, it’s truly not about you individually.
Support Black and other members of the global majority businesses monetarily or socially.
Behave better, that’s it. Just behave better.
When you are activated, ask first if you’re activated at the messenger or the message. (per Portia.noir)
WAIT - Why am I talking? (per White Woman Whisperer)
Now…if you’ve gotten here, let’s chat about why it is SO problematic for white folks to distance themselves from their whiteness…you’ll hear many different reasons, but I want to offer a different one here…
Removing yourself from your whiteness prevents your healing. So does the incessant need to say the right thing or be told something in a ‘palatable’ way. You cannot heal this way. To heal you MUST accept who you are at your root, how you have been conditioned and indoctrinated by the systems & philosophies around you, and grieve.
That whiteness you’re trying to run from? Yeah…its the thing you need to grieve. It’s the thing you need to acknowledge to heal.
You don’t have to be the perfect activist to be a useful accomplice to Black people and members of the global majority. You just have to be on the journey to healing.
Last question as this ramble comes to a close…who are you trying to be ‘good’ for? Cuz it sure never seems to be Black people in the end.