Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Ferguson: An Abridged Guide

Dear Facebookers and bloggers who have been posting about Ferguson,

If you’ve seen my posts on this topic, you know that I stand with Mike Brown’s family and the protesters. You might not, and it’s true that we all have a right to our own opinions. But if you support Darren Wilson or are opposed to the protests, please keep these five things in mind.

If you refer to protesters as “animals” or “savages,” it’s going to sound racist. You may say that you’re not using those terms to refer to them being black. You may say that you apply that term to anyone who protests in a way you object to, regardless of their ethnicity. But “animal” and “savage” are words that cannot be untangled from their ethnic connotations. For centuries, they have been used to dehumanize non-white people. If you want to criticize the way the protests are being conducted, that’s your opinion to express, but please understand the implications of the words you use. Also, please be aware that many non-black people are determined to tell black people how to conduct themselves, no matter what they do.

Most of the protesters are not looting. Those who are doing so have been targeting the same stores over and over again. It’s not as if every shop in the area is in shambles. Additionally, droves of Mike Brown-supporting protesters have banded together to guard stores from looters, and some places have only been looted in order to gather supplies for medical emergencies in situations where they could not otherwise be obtained. (For example, the protesters who broke into a McDonalds to grab milk to pour over the eyes of those who had been tear gassed.) Finally, life is immeasurably more valuable than property.

White people riot, too, but it’s hardly ever described as rioting when we do it. This fact is not brought up as a way to “attack white people,” but to point out the double standards in the ways in which we discuss riots.

This is not an isolated incident. It’s not solely about Mike Brown. It’s an explosion of terror, pain, and rage resulting from years of disenfranchisement and abuse. This has been a long time coming. Additionally, those of us who are pointing out the racism which drives this pain are not “making this about race.” It’s already largely about race. Yes, there are other factors, but race is a primary component. To acknowledge this fact is not to cause it. Many are accusing those of us who support the protesters of “race baiting” and then go on to post videos of black people assaulting white people, but they don’t consider that to be race baiting. They are either trying to force their own white narrative onto the issue and make it all about themselves, or they are trying to justify anti-black violence. Yes, there are some black people who assault white people or each other, but: 1) it is tasteless and irrelevant to inject that into this discussion, and 2) it is not nearly as common for black people to commit violent crimes against whites as vice versa, and black people lack the overall institutional power that whites possess. If you believe that white people are being persecuted by minorities and that minorities need to have their rights stripped away, then please unfriend me instead of trying to argue that point. I have numerous resources which will tell you differently, but you’ve already proven that you won’t accept any facts that don’t further a white victim/black aggressor narrative.

Finally, I have friends who are being threatened because of this. I have friends who have spent the last few days being attacked with racist rants, racial slurs, and endless antagonism because of their support for Ferguson protesters, and some are currently afraid to leave their homes. I hate to bring this up, because it’s hard to do so without inadvertently sounding like I’m patting myself on the back for having black friends—which doesn’t make me special at all. But it’s important for everyone to know the real impact this is having on the lives of black people. For many, this isn’t just a topic to muse about behind a computer screen. This is everyday life.

There are a lot of resources available from black Americans, and I’ve already taken up too much space on this topic. If you want to learn more, you can follow Colorlines, Color of Change, The Root, Huffpost Black Voices, or For Harriet. There’s plenty more out there, but those are the sources that immediately come to mind. Also, follow Phoenix Calida. She’s an activist who has been to Ferguson to help out in person, and she is brilliant.

That’s all for now, folks. Thanks.