Anyone who has ever used a public platform to discuss systemic oppression has faced tremendous pushback. This is particularly true for women of color. Sometimes the pushback takes the form of slurs like n*gger and c*nt, threats of physical violence, or full-on campaigns of abusive trolling.
Other times the pushback comes from the very people who claim to be allies in the fights to end racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, etc. When women say “This is a dangerous thing men do” or people of color say “White people, do better”, supposed allies often respond defensively. They immediately want to separate themselves from the group being taken to task, and chastise the speaker for generalizing, instead of engaging with the criticism being offered.
“Not ALL men do that!”
“Not ALL white people do that!”
This knee-jerk response is wildly unhelpful, and Adrian C. Jackson’s tweet storm perfectly illustrates why.