As a radical leftist white (sorry, can't say "moderate" any longer), I firmly and resoundingly condemn the white supremacist terrorist violence that has rained down on New Zealand in recent hours.
Fellow whites: Have you checked in with the children in your lives? What kinds of websites do they visit? Do they converse with people outside of their real-life social circles? Do they keep to themselves more than they used to? Do they often discuss guns and other weapons?
Additionally, do you discuss race and racial justice with the young ones in your lives? Do you tell them that, in addition to "not being racist," they need to act on those views and stand up for People of Colour and racialised persons? Have you gone over some of the more common white supremacist tropes and discussed their historical precedent with them?
It takes more than "I'm not racist." It takes a good, strong, healthy dose of "Don't talk like/do that. It is racist." It takes a strong personal resolve to find ways of listening to People of Colour and resolving to work with People of Colour to enact racial justice.
Are you ready to take that on? Because it is one of the things that People of Colour need from you.
I haven't been a moderate for over 50 years. Welcome to the light.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear someone say "I'm not a racist," my reaction is universally "Yeah, right."
You are correct. It takes challenging them, facing them down, walking with the entire rainbow of humanity. It takes educating our children, growing and loving them as they face the world. It takes giving them a guiding hand to walk through the labyrinth we live.
We're in this for the long haul... and it will be a very, very long one, indeed.