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5 things white people can do to start making the fediverse less toxic for Black people (privacy.thenexus.today)

submitted 4 months ago by thenexusofprivacy@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/techtakes@awful.systems

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Here's the list:

Listen more to more Black people – and amplify their voices
Post less – and think before you post
Call in, call out, and/or report anti-Blackness when you see it
Support Black people and Black-led instances and projects
Approach it intersectionally

The full article goes into detail, and also has links to anti-racism resources and appendices with a list of common mistakes to avoid and blocklist resources for moderators.

Thanks to everybody who gave feedback on earlier drafts!

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[–] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 1 points 4 months ago (3 children)

I don't think it's okay to be white, but I also think that it takes a while for white folks to realize that they can stop being white.

Sorry, what? Race isn't something you can change, and nor is it something you should feel ashamed about/be discriminated against

[–] corbin@awful.systems 13 points 4 months ago

Biologically, race isn't a coherent ontological classification; you're thinking of ethnicity/culture and heritage. Whiteness isn't a biological classification, but a belief system. Incidentally, part of whiteness is the belief that races exist and are meaningful classifiers, along with the belief that whiteness is worth defending, leading to white defensiveness, also called white fragility.

If you still insist, then here's a speedrun: are they white? Why or why not? The Ainu, the Inuit, Michael Jackson, the Scottish, the Irish, the Italians, etc. Whiteness is one of what George Carlin called "big clubs;" they are defined primarily by power-sharing agreements between political power brokers rather than by scientific evidence. The power of whiteness has been extended in various ways even as science has shown that it is bullshit.

Also, on a personal note, I'm routinely discriminated against because of the color of my skin, along with other physical properties. I don't deny that this happens to me or others, nor do I deny that it is a large part of our society (or at least the USA.) I merely opine that this discrimination is undesirable, unmoored from scientific evidence, and something that we should work to eliminate. I'm not pulling one of those stupid "colorblind" routines.

[–] froztbyte@awful.systems 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

are you sure that you understand the context and meaning of what you just quote-replied on?

[–] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I am certainly not sure. That's why I quoted it and replied to it as if it meant it literally, since I wasn't sure how else to interpret it. If you have a different, less bigoted-seeming interpretation, please do share.

[–] FredFig@awful.systems 5 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

"I even hate when you say the word 'nigga', but that's just me I guess. Some things just cringeworthy, it ain't got to be deep I guess."

Kendrick Lamar, euphoria, in response to Aubrey Graham.

[–] YourNetworkIsHaunted@awful.systems 7 points 4 months ago

Man, I learned that Aubrey Graham was Drake's real name as part of tracing that beef (not a hip-hop guy, obviously) but I definitely forgot and had a whole moment of "wait what who?"

[–] JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee -2 points 4 months ago

That doesn't explain anything.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

There is no such thing as biological race. Race is a purely social construction. People are "white", not because of some imaginary gene or imaginary scientific classification, but because their skin is pale enough to be socially privileged.

So, while it's true that "white people" can never stop being "white" in the sense of social privilege, it is absolutely possible for pale skinned people to recognize that "whiteness" is a phony racist category and thus to disassociate and dis-identify with this completely unjust and irrational system.

The alternative that you're promoting is "race realism" which is discredited fascist/rascist pseudo-science.