We are upholding White Supremacy
If people want to see the parasitic nature of White Supremacy, they need not look further than the way the pandemic has been handled in the US.
The economy is being opened up despite rising cases, putting the nation’s vulnerable at risk in the name of serving the few.
Some are fighting wearing masks, because they believe it’s their constitutional right to go around without one — putting thick-headed individualism over the well-being of their community and themselves.
The pictures of crowded beaches, overloaded restaurants, bustling shopping centers — it is the very image of a parasite that’s run out of others to harm and has turned to feasting on itself.
If you notice, the ones we watch on social media – the Karens screaming about how they can’t breathe with masks on or the angry men who show up at state houses with their guns – they are all are under the impression they are defending their freedom.
Just like the cops we see in the news believe they are shooting innocent Black people out of self defense.
But all they’ve been defending is their Whiteness. The pandemic has ripped away any other pretense.
It’s about time we address what White Supremacy actually means and the harm we’ve caused trying to uphold it, whether we intended to uphold it or not. It’s not about what we intend, but it’s about the impact our actions have.
The one thing I’ve taken away from today, after listening to Kim Crayton’s talk, is that White people always think they are the heroes or the victims. They never think they are the villains. But we are the villains. I am a villain. If you are White and reading this, you are a villain too.
It is the heart of White Supremacy.
Our very existence is harmful to our Black peers. The only thing we can do is minimize that harm. We will never be experts on racism. Our lived-in experiences will never reflect the hardships and the trauma of Black lives.
We are fragile and lazy, buoyed by the system that babied us – and will continue to baby us for the rest of our lives. Because, unless we change it, that’s what the system does.
How do we minimize harm? We can start by actually learning history. Understand how our country was built. Understand that everything we’ve ever won, owned, or otherwise claimed has been stolen or taken through deceit and violence. It is the White way and that is all we know.
Once we learn, we need to dismantle White Supremacy. Only we as Whites can do this. It is our parasite to kill and no one else’s.
Killing a parasite is like killing a virus that doesn’t have a vaccine – you need to remove hosts for it to live and thrive in.
Our parasite not only lives in people, but in institutionalized structures of power. Every system we interact with in our society is built to elevate White people.
They need to be broken down.
To do that, we also need to educate others around us and not tolerate racist commentary or actions from our peers.
It will lose us friends, or people we thought were our friends. It might lose us family. Being an antiracist, in part, means being okay with that.
It also means knowing who will be receptive to the message. Don’t waste energy on MAGA-touting folx or neo-Nazis.
Most importantly, we will make mistakes. Own up to them. Say sorry. Don’t explain the mistake away. Stop at the apology. Learn how to not make the same mistake in the future.
We will be uncomfortable. Embrace the discomfort - do not shy away from it. Be humbled and move forward. Rebound.