WHITE PRIVILEGE: WHY HAVEN'T WE TAKEN NOTE OF HISTORY?

(Source: blacklivesmatter.com)

Before I start, regrettably, my outlook on social media is superficial, all about aesthetics and themes, but I want this post to stand out among the rest, because this is far more superior than sharing my latest fashion buys or where I’ve been vacationing, or how I’m spending my weekends in lockdown. In the grand scheme of things, who really cares?

The past few days have been an astronomical learning curve. White privilege, #BlackLivesMatter, unlawful killings, minimal consequences, police corruption, hate and racism - the list of negativity and worldwide discussion seems appallingly endless.

The notion of racism has always baffled, and angered, me from a young age - I’ve never understood how someone can be alienated, ostracised or abused for the colour of their skin, their race or where in the world they were born. It’s foreign and alien to me. I naively thought that was enough. I’ve now been rightly put in my place by news outlets, social media, and my own learning. It will never be enough to simply see those of a different race as my equal, that’s the bare minimum for any human to do, staying silent is a cop out and a non-confrontational way of quietly brushing it under the carpet because we either don’t know how to deal with it, it makes us uncomfortable, or it doesn’t seem like our battle to fight. ALERT: This is everyone’s battle to fight, unity is the only way to survive in this Godforsaken world, and to turn a blind eye to blatant murder is unequivocally inexcusable and, quite frankly, bullshit.

We can stand on the sidelines and call ourself allies all we want, if we’re not willing to stand up in solidarity for those who need our help, we may as well be condoning the actions of the oppressors and giving them free reign to continue these heinous acts. This is not a topic to remain passive about, we need to be anti-racist.

(Source: Instagram)

After being a Tumblr user for over eleven years, I’ve seen my fair share of “f*** white people” posts, calling out anyone with light skin and “an easy ride” for the bigoted racism exorcised by those with our culture, and for a long while I - ashamedly - found myself (again - silently) feeling defensive and considering these opinions as part of the overall problem. In 2020, lessons have been learned and I’ve put myself in my place to say this is such a ridiculous perspective and a prime example of white privilege.

It’s become increasingly apparent that racism hasn’t lessened any over the years, no matter how naively we think it may have.

It’s no ones job to teach us, it’s our job to teach ourselves, there’s no handbook on how to deal with this topic, no quick fix - and mostly importantly we need to keep listening and learning from those living through this day in day out. They’re our greatest teachers.

Read books, watch seminars, immerse yourself in film, join in on the conversation - but if you’re not a POC, remember that this isn’t about you and making yourself feel better, this is about something far greater than you, it’s understanding and really listening to those that continually face oppression every single day with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel. I, and those also raised without such racial prejudices, may not be able to understand the atrocities our neighbours are faced with within what being white affords us, but we can relate to humanity and us all individually being humans. Please don’t be afraid to start your own discussions and to correct and teach your peers to enable them a further understanding.

The important takeaway from this is that we can’t all act horrified and devastated for a few weeks, or until we stop hearing George Floyd’s name on every social media platform, and then go back to our old ways until another incident causes mass outrage again. We have to learn, act and speak out now, and keep doing so to teach our own generation until they have a deeper understanding, teach older generations that’s it’s not too late to take on a new perspective, and definitely teach younger generations that this bigoted ideology will no longer be tolerated.

FINAL NOTE: I intend to update this post with content for you to consume, people to follow, articles and videos and discussions worth taking note of, as and when I find them - I'd like to make it clear that these are ones I've actively participated in myself; I've read the articles, donated, signed, watched etc - I promise I'm not all speak and no action. This is an ongoing fight, so this post will be ongoing. Also, if anything I've said here has appeared incorrect, I've inaccurately stated something or I've created confusion - please let me know, I'm learning and want to continue to do so as accurately as possible. 

READ;

BOOKS
- Queenie - Candice Carty-Williams


SIGN/WRITE;

PETITIONS
- Stand with Bre
- Justice for Breonna Taylor
- Justice for George Floyd
- Justice for George Floyd (2)
- Justice for George Floyd (3)
- Amnesty International: George Floyd
- #JusticeforFloyd - Color of Change
- #JusticeforBre
- #JusticeforBre - Color of Change
- #JusticeforBre - JusticeForBreonna.org
- The Minneapolis Police Officers to be charger for murder after killing innocent black man
- Justice for Belly Mujinga (UK Thameslink worker - Covid-19 victim) (UK)
- Mandatory Life Sentence for Police Brutality
- Justice for Ahmaud Arbery - Pass Georgia Hate Crime Bill
- Justice for Ahmaud Arbery! I Run with Maud!
- Justice for Ahmaud Arbery
- Disbarment of George E. Barnhill (Prosecutor in Ahmaud Arbery's case)
- Justice for Regis Korchinski-Paquet
- Justice for Tony McDade
- Suspend UK export of tear gas, rubber bullets and riot shields to USA
- Willie Simmons has served 38 years for a $9 robbery


LETTERS
- Demand Justice for Tony McDade

DONATE;

- UKBLM Fund (UK)
- Official George Floyd Memorial Fund
- Justice for Breonna Taylor
- R.I.P Belly Mujinga (UK)


RESOURCES
- Black Lives Matter website
- BLM Ways You Can Help (resource card)

S xo