Hey white people, it’s not enough to be sad over George Floyd, it’s not enough to say “I support black people,” it’s not enough to shout Black Lives Matters from the roof tops.
The monumental task in front of of us is dismantling white supremacy. White supremacy is the true enemy here and that enemy is present in nearly every structure of American social and political life.
Look at this info-graphic, start paying attention and pointing these things out for yourself and to your family and friends. I will be selecting one of these a day to discuss, and by discuss I do NOT mean debate. I will not debate the humanity or fair treatment of anyone. If anyone has pointers for how to deal with the individual subjects at hand I welcome them.
If you think you are not a white supremacist but do any number of the things in the info-graphic below you are a direct contributor to white supremacy.
It’s going to be uncomfortable, it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be exhausting, but it is worth it.
Topic 1: Racist Jokes
–Challenge racist jokes.
–Challenge people who say “It’s just a joke.”
–Racism isn’t funny and jokes normalize racism.
If someone claims “I guess you can’t joke about anything these days” I think we can point out plenty of modern comedians who are funny as hell without bringing race into their jokes.
Jokes are a form of power, especially cutting jokes or jokes meant to demean another person for the color of their skin or some related stereotype.
If you tell racist jokes you are exerting a form of suppression by taking power, legitimacy, and humanity from another person or group. It feels pretty powerful when you can make someone laugh but if someone is laughing at a racist joke and you are telling a racist joke someone is having power stolen from them and you both are contributing to a system of oppression.
I ask you this, and think about them:
-Why do you think it has become okay for white people to tell jokes about other races?
-How does this contribute to white supremacy as seen in the info-graphic?
-If you tell racist jokes why do you do it? Is it actually funny or is it because it makes you feel better about yourself especially when other people laugh?
I took this info-graphic from a Unitarian Universalist website.
Arbor Winter Barrow 
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