Today, black Daily Kos user chaunceydevega wrote a diary entitled "Dear White Folks, Please Stop Being So 'Surprised' When White Cops Shoot Unarmed Black People". And this diary was just so poorly written for so many reasons.
Clearly, Chauncey (I can call him Chauncey, right?) lacks any experience being white and communicating with white people. He's only a tourist in our world; we live in it. And if Chauncey wants to set foot in our world, he needs to understand it. And he just can't come in presuming to act all aggressive and accusatory at us as if we aren't completely aware of the depth and breadth of racism in our society, especially our police departments (but let's be fair; the police are dangerous to us all, not just black people). Also, yes, we know some white people don't get racism, but most of us do! We're on your side, Chauncey! Stop treating us like we're not! Geez!
But in the spirit of being magnanimous and overlooking the needlessly confrontational tone of Chauncey's diary, I'm penning a handy tutorial to help out black folks who want to talk about the issue of racism, which is a very very important issue to all of us (really!), to white people.
Join me over the Totally Multicultural Fleur de Kos for more.
First, and foremost, remember, this is Daily Kos! We wouldn't be here if we didn't all totally grok the insidious nature of racism and weren't already totally on board with fighting against racism. I mean, seriously, practically all the racist attitudes are on the Republican side of the political divide. Democrats just don't do such things. So you black folks should talk to us like we're your allies, not your enemies, and certainly not like we're ignorant of your plight! I mean, you might drive us away if you don't respect us as your friends.
Second, you need to understand how to approach white people with these issues. I mean, our world isn't one where we are forced to deal with issues of racism on a day to day basis. That's not to say we don't ever see it, and when we do we stand up against it!, but because we don't get confronted with it all the time, you need to approach us in a less "in your face" manner. You should put a disclaimer before and after every statement about the racism of how society views police murders of unarmed black people that you don't mean all white people, just some, and certainly not Kossacks who are all indisputably on your side. (I mean seriously, Markos is Latino! We have people like navajo and Denise Oliver Velez! Some of our best diarists are black people! And we once totally denounced that one cartoon with unintentional racist imagery that accidentally showed up on our pages!) That disclaimer will remind us that you're not confronting us with any accusations about our attitudes toward race, but you're just sharing your views about how some other white people -- certainly not us! -- are facilitating these horrible crimes. That way, we know you're not doing anything like stereotyping us white people, which is completely morally equivalent to racism against black people. We (I mean us white progressives, not those racist Republicans!) wouldn't stereotype you that way, so don't do it to us. I mean, seriously. You black folks always stereotype us when you talk about race, and it just offends me.
Third, remember that as the victims of racism, it's your responsibility to have solutions at the ready when bringing up the issue of racist police violence. I mean, it's just not productive to sit and complain about the problem, acting as if you're entitled to sit around and complain and expect white folks to do something about it. You're in this with us, you know, and we can't be expected to just listen to your complaints unless you have something constructive to offer. We want to be part of the solution, you know, but we can't be part of the solution unless you have one. Oh, and that solution shouldn't require any particular sacrifice or extra effort on our part. We can just, you know, encourage other white people to be more sensitive, and considerate, when we see them saying or doing something racist, and it wouldn't be socially awkward or uncomfortable to confront them about it. (We certainly wouldn't want to make a scene, and we certainly wouldn't want to be proactive about fighting racism; that would be stereotyping white people all over again!) Demanding we put forth the principal effort to finding solutions, or arrogantly demanding the solutions involve extra effort and sacrificeon our part without you black folks contributing just as much, is just, well, unfair, and makes us feel like you're making us out to be responsible for the problem!
So, in conclusion, all we're asking is that you approach us with a little courtesy and respect, as friends and potential allies. I know you have a right to be angry, but you shouldn't be so angry at us. We're on your side unless your anger drives us away, and if it does, then whose fault is that?