Monday's Opening Thought: August 2, 2021

This week's opening thought: If you're white and every time a person of color calls out white people and white institutions for their perpetuation, complicity, and silence in the face of ongoing oppression and hate the only thing you feel the urge to do is to play devil's advocate or pass the blame for murder and oppression to other people and groups?

You need to go right ahead and just embrace the fact that you would rather be passively racist and passively advocate for white supremacy to thrive - or that you would rather reap the benefits of white supremacy than question any aspect of white supremacy through a critical lens that will force you to examine yourself - than to give a damn about me and my people's health, safety, and well-being.

Please note that this is especially true of the "good" white folx who think they're offering a "different perspective" to people of color when what they're really doing is keeping the white supremacy train rolling as they pat themselves on the back for reading some Ibram X. Kendi over the weekend.

As for the people of color who can't fight the urge to play devil's advocate or pass the blame for murder and oppression to other people and groups? They've got therapists who can help you process the self-hate and white supremacy dreams you've fed into. I recommend beginning the long journey through unpacking your mess.

Feeling raw now? Here's a picture of a puppy to soothe your fragility. But rest assured that even the puppy knows what's up.

Monday's Opening Thought: July 26, 2021

This week’s opening thought: If you’re Black I will always be rooting for your success and joy…right up until you show me you’re anti-Black. And when I say anti-Black I’m talking about the intersections of Blackness and homophobia, transphobia, ableism, sexism, and classism. You don’t get to pick and choose whose Blackness is valid to you under your umbrella of biases, stereotypes, and phobias and still claim to be pro-Black.

I don’t root for the success and joy of openly hateful people - melanin be damned.

Monday's Opening Thought: July 19, 2021

This week’s opening thought: The United States is still separating families at its borders.

There are still brown babies, brown children, in cages.

Judges are still looking for ways to harm DACA program participants.

The current President and his administration have pretty much stated that Cubans don’t deserve support or assistance, a stance that the U.S. has held for countless decades.

The current Vice President recently let it be known how she as a Black woman in a position of power and privilege is more than willing to use prejudicial laws to bar Brown families from seeking asylum. Her stance and views on this matter aren’t all that shocking if you’re familiar with her time as a D.A. and Attorney General.

I know that some of y’all want to avoid talking or thinking about this, or want to act like Biden and Harris are the “big change this country needed,” so I wanted to make sure you don’t forget that the United States doesn’t care about Brown lives the way many of y’all think it does. And real talk? You probably don’t either.

But I’m sure you want to avoid talking or thinking about that too.

Monday's Opening Thought: July 12, 2021

This week's opening thought: If you're a white person who has worked with me at one of my past employers and you send me a friend request or connection request after never speaking up or speaking out against white supremacy in the workplace and racism toward Black folx, Brown folx, Native and Indigenous folx, and people of color while we worked together? If you were one of those white folx who sat and watched as racist things were said and done to me and other people of color in real-time, then wanted to talk to me in private hours and sometimes days later and say, "I'm sorry that happened?" I've got one question for you:

Why in the Hell do you think I would accept your friend request or connection request?

Let me guess: you thought I forgot how you weren't an "ally" or "accomplice" or that I would just let it all be water under the bridge, right? Well, you thought wrong.

I get DMs and connection requests from white people who used to work with me all the time, basically wanting to apologize for contributing to the pain and trauma of being melanated in white workplaces. Hell, I got three this past weekend. I know why they want to connect. They want to feel like "good" people and absolve themselves of their guilt around their fear to speak up and be ostracized from the white in-crowd. The thing is, I'm not here to help you feel like a "good" person. Never have been, and never will be. I refuse to be a part of your absolution. And I don't need to accept half-hearted apologies seeking validation instead of atonement and growth. I don't work with you anymore and do not need to associate with you. But you know what? Other people of color do still work with you. How about you step up for them in the now? Oh, wait. Never mind. You're likely treating them the same way you treated other melanated folx who have departed your company. And you'll be reaching out to them to "connect" soon enough because they'll be leaving too—deja vu. Cue spooky sounds!

Break your cycles of fear of revolt from whiteness, white people. Acknowledge your privilege. Stand up for melanated folx because it's the right thing to do with your privilege, not because it looks good or makes you feel like a "good" person. Work on being actively anti-racist. Show and prove that you can sustain doing those things then maybe I'll entertain a friend request.

Nah, I'm kidding. I'm still not accepting your request. But you were feeling hopeful there for a minute, weren't you? ;)

Monday's Opening Thought: July 5, 2021

This week’s opening thought: If you want to talk about dismantling systems and tackling societal issues but you don’t want to talk about racism, white supremacy, and generational trauma and impact as well then we have nothing to talk about. The two camps are bosom buddies. It’s six degrees or less of separation - more often less.

Wanna talk about the lack of access to clean and safe drinking water? You can’t talk about that topic without addressing how Black, Brown, Native, and Indigenous communities have been historically and currently impacted by the white supremacy and racist ideology that created these inequities.

Wanna talk about climate change? You can’t if you aren’t willing to talk about how Native and Indigenous communities in North America have had to fight for their stolen land and even conservation rights while watching colonialism and white supremacy destroy natural resources.

Wanna talk about food deserts? Poverty? Homelessness and housing insecurity? Pay disparities and earning more than a living wage? Unemployment? The ability to create and sustain generational wealth? Access to education? [Insert societal issue/hurdle to progress here]? You best be ready to talk about how those all intersect with racism, white supremacy, and systemic oppression.

Neglecting to talk about the intersections, whether consciously or unconsciously, is trafficking in white supremacy while claiming you want to dismantle white supremacy. Don’t @ me.