This Week's Opening Thought: February 12, 2024
This week's opening thought: It will always amuse me that every February, I get an influx of people of pallor sending me emails and DMs looking for free teaching moments. It doesn't surprise me. I get emails and DMs like this from people of pallor 365 days a year, seeking free emotional labor or seeking to use me like a search engine. But there's something about how people of pallor try to turn on the charm during Black History Month to get free labor from Black bodies that borders on comical while being reminiscent of everything their ancestors have done to Black bodies for centuries (and that many of them still perpetuate).
The compliments are more flowery.
The praise of my work sounds like they ran it through Grammarly for a tone check.
They almost always start their messages with a brief blurb, letting me know they've been following me for years and appreciate my work.
The things they ask me for oscillate between seeking justification for their actions, some form of forgiveness for what they've said or done to Black bodies, or information they could find themselves if they decided to shift even 50% of the energy they used to message me into doing something themselves.
And, of course, they never offer financial compensation of any kind.
But there's a bonus portion they tend to add to their messages in February: they acknowledge everything mentioned above.
People of pallor will send me messages every February admitting that they know they're asking me to do emotional support work, assuage their guilt for being white supremacists, or do all the research they should be doing to continue their learning for them, yet still ask me to do it and expect it all for free. Some even go so far as to acknowledge that they know they should pay me but hope I'm willing to share myself with them regardless.
Face? Meet palm.
I love the celebration that is Black History Month, but I can't wait until March 1st comes around so y'all can go back to your regularly scheduled white supremacy and anti-Blackness. I don't love any part of that sh-- either, but at least it's better than 28-29 days of faux niceties steeped in "plantation master" histrionics and pack mule load-bearing expectations.