unlearning white ignorance
this is especially for the white members of this rpc, please use this as a chance to educate yourselves on how you can unlearn ignorant & racist behaviors. these are just some sources i’ve found, but there are plenty out there for you to look at which i actively encourage you do. i ALSO HIGHLY ENCOURAGE PPL TO SHARE THIS OUTSIDE THEIR RP BLOGS, if you have a non rp blog, other social media, etc, please feel more than welcome to share this around and especially share this information with your other white friends / family / acquaintances.
WHITE PEOPLE, ENOUGH: look at power and control. this women goes into a tedtalk about systematic power and control, and calls to white people to stop writing off and dismissing important discussions on race.
HOW TO BE AN ALLY— DON’T. she talks about when white “allys” get too overzealous and self proclaim themselves as allys despite making the narrative about themselves, speaking over black voices, and what better approaches you can take to support black lives.
ON PRIVILEGE same girl as above breaks down what privilege is, how people respond to realizing they have privilege, the knee jerk reaction of guilt, why you shouldn’t fall into guilt, and what you can do to use your privilege to support marginalized groups.
HOW RACIST ARE YOU: Jane Elliott’s blue eyes/brown eyes exercise. it tackles the topic of ignorance and oppression, and exposes internalized racist or ignorant behaviors in these adult people. it is a tense and difficult video to watch (esp if you are white), but it’s a good exercise for challenging your own views and ignorance. here’s another video where she does the exercise on college students.
10 WAYS TO SUPPORT THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT. this article has lots of helpful information for how you can be supportive of the movement as a white person.
other ways that you can start unlearning ignorance that i can just list off the top of my head:
self evaluate. does the topic of racism and black oppression make you uncomfortable? do you get defensive, anxious, or tune out of conversations when it comes up? that’s a big red flag right there and it’s time to challenge that behavior.
listen. when someone calls you out on your behavior, something you said, something you did, whatever it is, LISTEN TO THEM. white people can never understand what it’s like to be in a PoC’s / black person’s shoes, so we are BOUND to make mistakes that will be insensitive, dismissive, and ignorant. the best thing you can do is recognize your mistake, listen to someone who is calling you out on it, apologize, and correct your behavior. here is a good video that talks about how to handle getting called out for problematic behavior.
self educate. yes, it’s very nice and helpful of others to show you what you can do to support black lives, teach you black history, offer the statistics and other sources, but understand it is NOT up to black people to educate you. unless that person is being paid to do it, they are NOT obligated to be your teacher. do your research. not only does this take the weight off black people’s backs to show you (not that they should have to explain to you how they’re being oppressed to begin with, because they SHOULDN’T), but it allows for yourself to become more invested by taking the initiative on your own as you are making the conscious decision to educate yourself rather than waiting to have it spoon fed to you.
speak UP. do NOT be silent on these topics. understand that we are conditioned to be complacent with racism, because we do not experience it. and because we cannot experience racism, it’s easy to become uneasy when it’s being discussed— as it is an experience we cannot personally understand. DO NOT LET THAT STOP YOU FROM SPEAKING UP. white compliancy and white silence is AS BAD AS THE A POLICE OFFICER SHOOTING A BLACK PERSON. there is no TIME to worry about your discomfort or feelings when lives are literally at stake here. if you see someone spouting racist bullshit, cracking racist jokes, harassing black people, SPEAK UP AND DON’T LET IT SLIDE. as a white person you have a privilege that others do not, use that privilege to shut people the fuck down when they’re being racist and ignorant. challenge others and spread awareness to other white people. remember: white silence kills.
shut UP. and while you will feel encouraged and even eager to speak up about these issues, learn when to stop talking. learn when to shut up. you CANNOT speak for black people, as you do not walk in their shoes. do not use this movement as a chance to take center stage and paint this as a story about you— BECAUSE IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU. use your privilege to boost black voices, but do not speak over them. listen to them, advocate for them, but do not speak over or for them.
and remember this: this is all just basic human decency. doing this does not make you special, it does not make you the ~hero~ or ~savior~ of the story or whatever fairytale bullshit you might think. this is called being an empathetic and supportive human being. learn it, practice it, and repeat it.
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