Tim Wise: Race-Talk is a Language White Folks Need to Learn

[TigressDem]

52. It is more like being called "boy" or saying "black people" do X because they are black.

There is an unspoken bias that says "white people" (AKA all you ignorant white supremacists who don't even KNOW you are white supremacists) that is like those dog whistle words like "boy" or attributing criminal behavior to "black people" because they are targeted by the criminal "justice" system disproportionately and have less access to expensive legal help so represent a higher portion of people found guilty of crime.

When you say, IT IS racist to do X and it's built into the system like this, it is a different conversation.

If it's offensive for white people to be lazy and talk about race how it used to be talked about, then the same can happen in reverse context.

I DON'T CARE if people say offensive things to me. I can choose to be offended or not.


WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR is the way to find the bricks and nails that are holding racism together and dismantle them without bringing a whole house down on my head, figuratively.

So I prefer a conversation that gets to the actual point and doesn't throw a lot of shade when it isn't a necessary part of fixing the problem.