to all whites.... by battle

YO WHITIES, STOP AND SHUT UP. YES I MEAN ALL OF YOU. EVEN YOU GUYS THAT THINK YOU ARE “REALLY” ONTO IT. THIS IS A RESPONSE TO THE REALLY FUCKEN SHIT RESPONSES I’VE HAD TO HEAR, PUT UP WITH, LOSE FRIENDSHIPS OVER, ETC ETC, WHEN YOU GUYS ARE ACTUALLY CHALLENGED ON YOUR RACISM.

Firstly I’m going to start by saying I am not going to use the phrase “calling people out on their shit”, please please, keep this language exclusive to sexual assault stuff. It’s really fucking important and if you don’t understand why then talk to me about it. I’m going to say when challenging people on their shit, or racist behaviour or their racism. Ok so, in the past few years whenever this has happened in Melbourne, in my group of friends, community, extended community, there has been this really big problem. Now I’m a person of colour and am already pissed off that I have to write this but it seems as though there is this really big lack of education of white people in this community surrounding race stuff. So the problem is right, well, if any of you people had actually read about this shit, which you all seem to tell me you do, is some pretty basic, well known and well written about responses when people are challenged on their racism. “The so called, what not to do’s”. This is what I’m going to talk about here. People’s fucken wack, bullshit, whatever responses. Responses that make me cringe, laugh, cry, get real angry and in the end, just want to fast pace EXIT outta this scene.

1. Firstly I’m gonna start talking about the ye olde “self defensiveness”, “denial” and the “BUT”.

So on a theory level it’s very interesting to note that denial and defensiveness is quite often connected to fear of loss. Those of you who are friends with people of colour are probably shit scared of losing those friendships in acknowledging the differences between us and or your own racism. One really great and potent form of denial and defensiveness is intellectualising. When you say all the right things and use an intellectual understanding of racism to distance yourself from how you perpetuate and benefit from racism. Please don’t insult me by telling me you are reading bell hooks, Malcolm x, audre lorde etc. Do you know that most of these black authors who you say you have read, wrote specifically for a black audience. They were not writing to educate white people. They were writing to educate and inspire and empower their own people. I’m not telling you not to read them, fuck, education is really important, but remember, these books are not yours to be inspired by, they are not yours to appropriate, to quote, to tell people of colour that you are somehow trying to be anti racist by reading this shit, seriously, it’s insulting. It also seeks to separate you from other white people. Don’t do it. You perpetrate and benefit from systematic racism, you benefit from white privilege. YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT.

Also time and time again I’ve heard some really cool stuff from white people about their racism and then, and then, comes the BUT, but you did this, but the way you challenged me was fucked, but, but, but. For fucks sake. Forget about the BUT. Just swallow your fucken pride already, in doing the “but this”, you completely devalidate what you have just said. You take away from the issue, you avoid actually taking responsibility, you become the victim, you subtract from the issue. Why bother taking responsibility only to take it away again? Just concentrate on the actual issue you are been challenged on. Don’t make it into your injustices. You do not need to highlight someone’s shit way of dealing with stuff, someone’s shit communications skills, do it another time, don’t do it at all. You are been challenged on your racism. THAT IS THE IMPORTANT ISSUE HERE. JUST DEAL WITH THAT.

2. Oh yeah and the nice and short “are you turning pc on me”, when some white person actually called my friend who is a person of colour a nigger. Actually I’m just going to talk about the nigger thing. I’m still in actual awe that this person thinks that they are so down and in touch with black people that they can get away with that shit. What the fuck. The only thing I have to say to this is if you are white and think you have a right to call a person of colour a nigger, well get over it. Sorry, but you don’t get that privilege. I don’t care how un pc you are. You are an idiot for not recognising the history and intense power black people have in reclaiming that word. That word is not yours to use. Get it?

3. You are over reacting, too angry, too upset etc.

Ok, so do you know HOW MANY people of colour are thrust into the “too angry” box. Yawn. Don’t tell me that I need to learn how to manage my anger. fuck off. If you fail to recognise why HEAPS of people of colour are real angry then you need to realise your living in Australia or some shit. Serious man, I know that most of your friends are white, but wake up. We live in a COLONISED country. We live in a country with intensely racist immigration laws. WE LIVE IN A RACIST COUNTRY. HELLO???

Now, if you tell me I’m over reacting. I’m gonna tell you, you’re living off indigenous blood, off the genocide of indigenous people. You’re living off the blood of people of colour that work there fucken arses off in this country so that they can send their fucken kids to uni, whilst, been spat at on the street by white people and told to “go home”. My “over reaction” to your racism is from a life time of been told I am less then you, I belong less then you, I deserve less then you. So once again, fuck off.

4. Also there is the one where, especially white women do this, is equate race issues to feminist issues or some people equate it to class issues. Ok, so firstly, I am a women and a women of colour, all those issues that you speak of and say, “yeah I understand”, well, I understand them too. But not only do I understand those, I have to understand how race/class/gender all shape how I am treated, my place in society and my place in history. I know that it is really hard as a woman to feel like you could be the oppressor, because you are oppressed, but man, you have to remember that women of colour are oppressed by you, that women of colour are dealt some really shit blows cos of their skin, and add class stuff to that, well it’s not good news down the bottom. The issues are very different, and you will never understand them. Please don’t attempt to create links so that you can appear like you do.

So I’m sure there are shit loads of these types of responses that people have had to face, I guess these are just the ones I have come across. I can’t actually be bothered writing more, hey I have an idea, why don’t you guys get together and write about your own shit responses. HA.

Hey I have an answer. SHUT UP AND LISTEN. DO THE WORK BUT DONT EXPECT CREDIT FOR IT. BUT LIKE ACUALLY DO THE WORK. BE A FRIEND. BE AN ANTI RACIST FRIEND. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR RACISM.

From battle

this is my personal views and experiences on this stuff, I am by no means speaking on behalf of all people of colour, even though I am asked by a lot of you to do that (fucked up).

I also don’t need to hear about your pissed off reactions to this. I don’t care, cos you know what, I got bigger things to worry about, like been a person of colour in this fucken shit fuck racist country.