White Allyship

[Felix08]

I am so so glad that Celebs are also posting about BLM and not just re-posting but looking things up f

A really powerful video that I’ve re-posted on my Instagram. This is a reality for families of POC. White privilege is never having to worry about having these conversations with our children. NOBODY should have to have these conversations.

It is! Breaks my heart to think about it.. having to fear everyday that you are going to get hurt because of the colour of your skin and I will never know how that feels... but I will educate and stand for the people who have to feel this everyday!

There were protests in my country and i was so proud! And now the unions complain about covid-19. I understand their concerns but it feels like they are saying that it was a big enough cause to protest against due to covid-19. I work in hospital I know how the virus affects people but this is about human rights

 

[bubbletea123]

I just went on the website of the toy shop in my country they have 3 pages of dolls and all of them are white!!

Are American Girl dolls available in the UK? https://www.americangirl.com/shop/c/dolls

A list of books.

An Essential Reading Guide For Fighting Racism

From Audre Lorde's groundbreaking essays to Ibram X. Kendi's guide to being antiracist, these books are a great resource for understanding why people are protesting right now.

www.buzzfeednews.com

Antiracist resources, inc books for children, articles, videos, books to read, films and tv shows, organisations and a list of what white people can do.

Anti-racism resources for white people

docs.google.com

And another.

Shareable Anti-racism Resource Guide

docs.google.com

 

[KateESJ]

Protests work! Talking works!

This is good to hear.

This story is so tragic. All of them are, of course. Hopefully they get charged too, there was no excuse for what they did AT ALL. And arguably I would say there was intent to kill in this case.

 

[prinnygrace]

I pray for the day where everyone will be judged on their personalities and their actions and not their skin colour. Where anyone can call out anyone for wrong doing and colour will not be brought into it. Have 13th on my watch list for tomorrow.

The first time I tried to watch 13th I got about 9 minutes in and had to turn it off because it was so hard to watch.

Then I realised that that was my white privilege, if I didn’t like it I could turn off from it. Didn’t have to experience it. POC who experience racism can’t do it that.

I watched it all last night. A really really insightful watch and I definitely recommend it!

 

[Herefortea24]

The whole notion of white privileged is vile. There is no tangible evidence we have privilege and plenty that we have disadvantages.

The victims of Muslim grooming gangs were overwhelmingly white and selected for this reason. These children were called white cunts and white whores while being brutally gang raped. Their skin colour disadvantaged them.

The 70,000 white people who have been tortured to death in South Africa were selected for the colour of their skin.

White people like that Springwatch presenter can get openly sacked for the colour of their skin. No other race suffers that in the U.K.

No other race are not allowed to speak on racial issues that affect them.

No other people fight for other races like white people do. It’s pathetic to see you all wringing your hands and tying your mind in knots to internalise and justify anti-white racial hatred. Then actually feel superior to other white people for doing so. You’re wasting your energy on people who hate you with every fibre of their being and wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. Not only that but your supporting the destruction and theft of the properties and businesses of completely innocent people. This is just an excuse for “wilding” as they call it.

The reason we don’t feel afraid when arrested is not because of white privilege, but because the police in this country are generally well-trained and not power-tripping maniacs.

The fact is that police in the USA kill far too many people, not just blacks. The only reason it appears that more black people get killed is simply because they are more likely to be arrested in the first place. Studies show police are actually more careful when dealing with black people. You can sneer at All Lives Matter all you like, but there is never media attention when white people are killed by non-white cops. You don’t even know it happens.

They should be peacefully protesting for US police to stop killing in general, and for specific policy changes, rather than just looting and generalised shrieking.

Donald? Is that you hun? Get TF back in your bunker.

 

[EiiiEiiiO]

@GossWhore thanks so much for that comprehensive post. I really wanted to make a donation to a relevant charity, was having a search around the last couple of days for a Black Lives Matter but that didn’t seem to be a charitable organisation as such.... anyway the Race Equality Foundation is perfect and I’ve just donated.

@EiiiEiiiO I will preface this with an apology as I don’t want to hurt people’s feelings and I can sense some of your pain in your words. And I was going to leave it and not say anything, but then read back about calling stuff out and being brave... but it is not appropriate or acceptable to come in to a conversation about white allyship and the recent crimes perpetrated against black people and dominate the narrative with your explanation of how hard done by you are as a white person. It is the very definition of white fragility and whataboutery. Now some other posters, probably some of them black who have been gently explaining to white people about racism since time began, have had to take time to AGAIN explain to a white woman why she has white privilege. On a thread about being a white ally.
If you have concerns about anti Semitism and xenophobia, start a thread or a discussion forum about it. Do not monopolise this space that a black woman has created to discuss the very urgent emergency that is happening to black people at the moment.

I say this as an Ashkenazi Jew with a very Jewish name who looks so Jewish you can call me Jewy McJewson and everyone would know who you meant. I don’t dismiss your concerns or your upset, but this is not the time or place or moment for anyone white to cry hard done by.

Most of the people here on this thread (hell prob 90%) are in the UK, and don’t realize how deep hatred runs in this country.
The prejudice against blacks, hispanics, muslims, jews, ... on and on and on. I can give example through experience (yes I am white) to try and show how systemic hatred/prejudice it is in this country.
But if you don’t see how the fact that it’s so engrained in america is important, and why until that changes black men will continue to be murdered; you’re kidding yourself.
The cops and regular citizens who murder black men (and have for goddamn decades) are fucking emboldened and empowered by a society that sees it as us vs them.
And that is what you’re missing, that absolutely nothing will change until this in it of itself changes.
That was my point, but somehow you see it as a white chick crying woe is me.. way off base.

P.S. I don’t know if this happens in the UK but we hold town hall meetings monthly.
We have black, hispanic, Asian community leaders speak to advise us as a community what we can do to help with any issue or concern they want to bring awareness too. Like having us write to our governor , congressmen, set up drives etc.).
Point is that we always have discussions and people give their ideas, concerns, questions and that is key I think. People need to be able to speak up and ask questions and listen and learn.

 

[leoladyxo]

I have just seen a video of the New York police department running protestors over, who look to be behind a designated fenced off area. I can’t comprehend how they think that will help them take control of the escalating situation and earn them any respect from the people participating in the protest. My heart hurts, this is so awful. It’s a distressing watch.



Also this one where police departments are using excessive force, it brought tears to my eyes.

 

[Herefortea24]

@Pinchme stopping and talking has thus far achieved nothing. Peaceful protest has been tried and tested and has thus far achieved nothing. It is very easy to say that rioting will not help the situation but acknowledge that people will not stop until the underlying causes of the violence have been addressed.

I suggest you look into the Stonewall Riots if you need an example of violent demonstrations that have succeeded in bringing about significant change.

thank you.

 

[disillusionedbythegram]

Is anyone else realising that their partners are just not on the same page as them about this?

I believe that I have always been fairly liberal and understanding of the systematic racism experienced by people of colour. Obviously there is always room to understand further and so I have been doing some more reading on the issue over the last couple of weeks.

I have been talking to my boyfriend about these issues and he shouts me down every time, saying that in the UK we have equality of opportunity, education, healthcare and so on forth. I have tried to explain that just because that exists in theory, doesn’t mean that it is applied in practice. He isn’t accepting of this. He keeps getting wrapped up in the vandalism of statues and side issues too, rather than the crux of the problem, which is racial bias.

On the issue of statues, I explained that I was surprised to learn than in the UK in 2020, we still have statues of people who profited from slave trading. I said that I was disgusted and that of course, these statues should be taken down, or left there but with the addition of a corrective plaque, explaining how they made their money etc. My boyfriend did actually agree with me on this part, to my surprise.

However, when I tell him that I have been listening to how people of colour explain their experience, he tells me that I am racist towards my own race and anti white people. It is absolutely blowing my mind as we usually agree on most things politically. It’s awful, and he told me today that “if I carry on with this attitude, that we will probably not sustain a meaningful relationship”. It’s insane to me.

Yes, I posted a couple of days ago about this. It’s not that my husband disagrees with me on the issues, it’s that he has a general “can’t be arsed” attitude towards learning (other than what he happens to scroll across from sky and bbc news which is really problematic). We’ve come to blows about it tonight again because he said he would do it ‘for me’ and I’m like are you serious? Do it for people of colour who are literally dying while you’re deciding whether you can be bothered to dip into an article like it’s a game of candy crush.

I’m so sorry that you’re having such a hard time with it. It seems like he’s being really defensive about it all at the moment, maybe when he’s calmed down and is willing to listen, you could recommend him reading/listening on audible to “white fragility” by Robin Diangelo. She used to deliver diversity training to workplaces and wrote her book based on how the white people who took her course reacted in much the same way as your partner. It’s a really good starting point because it addresses the defensive tact really early on (she even says “fine! You’re not racist! Now breathe. Listen.” ) I’ve been listening to it this week and have found it so useful.

 

[AnnaJ]

I'm really wary to write this on here because I know that my comment won't be understood and I will automatically be called or viewed as racist.

But let me start by saying that racism to black, Asian, any person other than white is disgusting as I posted on here the other day and anyone who's racist to someone because they're black or have a different religion or colour of skin apart from white is a piece of shit.

However. This is where I'll get abuse now and I feel really uncomfortable to post how I really feel but I fear that racism to white people will go up... Only earlier I saw on Facebook a white man be stamped on and beaten the shit out of by two black men in the London protests. One person filmed it and another tried stopping it, but it didn't attract huge crowds or lots of black people saying leave the white man alone and not to do that, it's wrong and two wrongs don't make a right. But if the shoe was on the other foot and the white man was stomping on a POC/black person as what happened with George, there would be an outcry. And let me say that what happened to George is absolutely appalling and disgusting.

There is a thread on Mumsnet ongoing right now with the OP saying that basically racism to white people doesn't happen or isn't as important as black people and it has made me really upset, because I have experienced (as a white British person) racial abuse from non-white people. The difference is I contacted the police and wasn't taken seriously, but if the racism was the other way around then things would definitely have been dealt differently. Other mumsnetters have posted their experiences of racism too and I think it's wrong that white people are being viewed as unimportant or that they cannot have racism happen to them. I understand that over history, black people have had racism much worse and are more likely to suffer police racism and brutality, but at least when it's made public a reaction like this happens.

Police here are different to America and racism is much much less tolerated and dealt with quite firmly here compared to America where much of it goes on and gets away with more often. It made me angry to see protests over here turn into riots and throwing bottles and assaulting police in masses when this is another country entirely and what you don't know is that police officer may very possibly also be against George Floyd and racism themselves but people are coming out and attacking police officers because of the actions of other police officers. Many white people in the world are racist but does that make all of them racist and deserve being attacked and beaten for other white people's actions? Why are our police getting attacked and our city destroyed. If you want to make a point, this is not the right way to go about things. As you've seen, many white people have stood on your side and said that this is wrong, the majority of people are against racism and would defend black people, it's unfair to tarnish all white people or turn on them or even be racist to us, too.

I'm sure Tattle will delete my post because there is no freedom of speech in England anymore and because I don't follow exactly what everyone else says. But it's unfair that white people's voices don't get heard either and when white people experience racism nobody listens to them or supports them. What happened to George is disgusting and I hope the police that did that disgusting act get everything they deserve in prison, but certainly in England I feel more is being done to help various ethnicities as opposed to white British people. And as a PP said this country is all about being politically correct, people of colour are more likely to get protected or work because of positive discrimination, people of different diversities over here definitely are protected and looked after better in some cases than white British people. Racism is dealt with nine times out of ten in this country and when Steven Lawrence had what happened to him was in the early 90's whereas now we have come a lot further along and are all about protecting and non discriminating sexuality, religion, race, gender etc.

Tattle - please don't delete my comment. I hear the voices of black people and other ethnicities, but please let all people make a fair comment too. Racism is wrong to any colour, religion or ethnicity.

 

[Titntat]

I also didn’t understand it until recent years. I’ve also always lived in an area with mostly whites people, there was no black children in my year in school. It wasn’t until I went to University and met people from all different backgrounds/ethnicities/cultures that I realised how sheltered I’d been. I was lucky to have BAME friends that were incredibly open and would discuss their experiences and let me and others ask them questions.

As an adult I have made racism my problem. It isn’t just the problem of my BAME friends, it’s mine too. I will challenge it and speak out about it. I will educate myself and others. And at times like this, I will stand with them and support them.

Recognising that we were once very sheltered isn’t anything to be ashamed of. It shows that we have learnt and now realise that white privilege does exist and is a huge problem

I could have wrote this myself

 

[coconochanel]

Wasn't coloured considered the respectful term to use in the 70's?

Im not sure TBH but I know most black people don't like to be called that today.

 

[hrh89]

This thread has enlightened me hugely. and has definitely given me a wake up call. Just because I’m not racist doesn’t mean I don’t have to do anything with that. We need to stop being passive.

I will continue to follow this thread and educate myself on how I can work towards a more active approach to this fight.
Thanks all for posting it’s so helpful.

 

[jammy]

Im not sure TBH but I know most black people don't like to be called that today.

No, it's very much an outdated term now. I've heard bigoted aruguements that, "they keep bloody changing what to say, can't keep up with it!"

 

[HopeThatHelps]

If you read my post I said that racism isn't the bandwagon, it's just every Instagramer I have seen have all just posted the same stuff, as they did with 'be kind'. Do you really think they all care, I doubt it very much.

Why don't they just post their own thoughts & their own message of condolence, nope they just all post exactly the same, that what annoys me, they are jumping on the bandwagon.

Hopefully the rioting in USA and unrest will soon be over. It will then all go quiet until the next time. The influencers will move on & not mention it again.

We all know what's happening, we don't need to be shown exact same thing on everyone's page

I’ve actually seen on MissGreedysHome thread, somebody just slated her for not posting. These influencers can’t win if they post or not.

 

[KINGAA]

Seeing a lot of praise for Obama on twitter over some speech and Beyoncé video, I’m from the U.K. so don’t know all that much in regards to US politics, but what did he do when he was In power? From the outside looking in, he didn’t do anything to help racism in the US. How can people still see him as a hero, when he didn’t do anything when he had the chance?

 

[indescribe]

As a person of colour who isn’t black, I do know some of the struggles being faced today in terms of racism. I live in the UK and immigration here has been much more recent compared to the US and so I feel like each ethnic group has faced racism but not to the extent of black people and police brutality. If the police here had access to guns; I really do think we would have seen a rise in police brutality because it does happen here but just not often. Compared to the US, I feel like in the UK covert racism is more prevalent where people will make comments of you “being different” but it isn’t so obvious in comparison to using actual slurs. What frustrates me is that the older generation will avoid saying “Oh you’re black or brown” and instead opt for “coloured or different skin colour” which in my opinion is worse. At school, teachers and staff would often point out that my ethnic background was the reason I wasn’t the same as everyone else.

We need more of an community discourse on racism and one thing that I want to tackle is casual racism, I’ve seen it happen so much that I just can’t believe it occurs. I just don’t want influencers to post about BLM and then the next day forget about it and keep posting about their lives without having an active discussion. We need to talk more about matters, on social media and in real life. We need to educate ourselves and read books ( l am currently reading Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race)

I think with this new generation being brought up by social media I hope we can get the change and strive to have a positive society. But this won’t happen by wishing alone, we need to talk more and not just for a social media trend like influencers I know have done.

 

[prinnygrace]

Yesterday I was at work and I wanted to start the discussion but I was faced with a wall of ignorance. I get that they were angry that people were protesting due to Covid, I get it but really I don't....and I work in an Hospital. I heard sayings at work well it's an american problem, it's trend following or they only want to loot and break things. I said No and stop! This is a problem everywhere and I could tell my black colleague was glad I didnt just let them say it ...

I also tried to start a conversation today in our daily team catch up call. I was talking about my own experience with previously being quite ignorant to racism and white privilege but how I’ve educated myself. I was trying to encourage people to take a bit of time this week to read or watch something and recognise that now is the time to be actively anti-racist. Nobody engaged and the conversation quickly moved on.

Very disappointed that my managers didn’t even join in. You only have to walk round my office to see people of so many different backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities. I would have hoped they’d be supporting our POC colleagues at the minute.

 

[hnoz]

Is anyone else realising that their partners are just not on the same page as them about this?

I believe that I have always been fairly liberal and understanding of the systematic racism experienced by people of colour. Obviously there is always room to understand further and so I have been doing some more reading on the issue over the last couple of weeks.

I have been talking to my boyfriend about these issues and he shouts me down every time, saying that in the UK we have equality of opportunity, education, healthcare and so on forth. I have tried to explain that just because that exists in theory, doesn’t mean that it is applied in practice. He isn’t accepting of this. He keeps getting wrapped up in the vandalism of statues and side issues too, rather than the crux of the problem, which is racial bias.

On the issue of statues, I explained that I was surprised to learn than in the UK in 2020, we still have statues of people who profited from slave trading. I said that I was disgusted and that of course, these statues should be taken down, or left there but with the addition of a corrective plaque, explaining how they made their money etc. My boyfriend did actually agree with me on this part, to my surprise.

However, when I tell him that I have been listening to how people of colour explain their experience, he tells me that I am racist towards my own race and anti white people. It is absolutely blowing my mind as we usually agree on most things politically. It’s awful, and he told me today that “if I carry on with this attitude, that we will probably not sustain a meaningful relationship”. It’s insane to me.

Wow this sounds incredibly difficult and it’s totally crazy that he is describing you as “anti white” for acknowledging racism. This sort of denial isn’t helpful. Acknowledging racism doesn’t mean you are saying ALL white people are actively racist.

Sorry to say it but it sounds like this relationship is dead, he’s already the one threatening it

 

[That3babieslife]

Get the fuck out of here with your racist ass. You want to make claims about white people being killed by non-white cops. Bring me then receipts.
I’m more than willing to learn of genuine incidents.

You speak about South Africa but do you know anything about South Africa’s history ? Or are you cherry picking ?

Racism is a system of oppression. White people have not been systemically oppressed. Educate yourself a little bit by watching documentaries such as the 13th and the Central Park five. But mostly take yourself away from this thread if you aren’t willing to face up to the reality of the situation.

But did black people come to your country

Get the fuck out of here with your racist ass. You want to make claims about white people being killed by non-white cops. Bring me then receipts.
I’m more than willing to learn of genuine incidents.

You speak about South Africa but do you know anything about South Africa’s history ? Or are you cherry picking ?

Racism is a system of oppression. White people have not been systemically oppressed. Educate yourself a little bit by watching documentaries such as the 13th and the Central Park five. But mostly take yourself away from this thread if you aren’t willing to face up to the reality of the situation.

Oh so wait a minute was it black people that came to your country and took you by force? But did black people make you work and be a slave raped sold bought burnt killed for absolutely no reason just for being white? Did other POC come to every white country and force it to follow them or they will kill them? Or was is the black people that came up with the whole divide and conquer? Was it black pepole that stole all the treasures and the history from white people? Was it a Muslim man that introduced Prince Edward to those poor white underage girls? Was ebsteen black was fucking hitlar black is the pope that rapes little boys black I can honestly go on and on and notice how I used simple English just so you can understand because clearly you look like someone who has no education what so ever someone who never read a book I'm so scared that you are actually someone's mother who's raising children who will turn just like you which is so sad!!!