DISCLAIMER: Your white Feelings Are Not Safe Here (Part 1)

So, today, I got my first piece of “fan mail,” which I thought would be a great opportunity to set a few things straight.

The “fan mail” is as follows:

So, I’ve already addressed Christopher semi-directly, and I don’t avoid talking to or centering white people in my writing, but I figured it would be handy to use him as a surrogate for all of y’all who, not only take issue with the usage of “wypipo,” but may have a problem with how I address white people, in general. Dear white people, lean in closely (but please, not too closely) and let me school you on a few things:

1. Calling “wypipo” a slur is just oversimplified and ridiculous. Slurs are generally words that have been accompanied with a history of systemic oppression. If anyone can find any case or point in time where a white person has been systemically oppressed via state-sanctioned violence/discrimination, accompanied by the term “wypipo,” please let me know…I’ll wait.
2. I address racism and other forms of oppression on a higher, systemic level. The term “wypipo” is used to outline and describe racist, discriminatory and otherwise problematic behavior that’s commonly exhibited by white people—specifically, behaviors that are directly informed and influenced by the system of white supremacy. And even beyond “wypipo,” just in general, it’s not about you or individual actions…it’s about the system and how those actions fit into it. Any complaints a person of color is making about you has likely been observed countless times, already. You’re not that special, hun.
3. Thing is, I’m not even saying you can’t feel a way about “wypipo” or any other criticism I make of that race…if it bugs you, fine. I’ll admit there have been plenty of times that women have wielded criticisms about men, or trans/gender non-conforming people about cisgender people that have made me uncomfortable. But what we’re not gonna do is try and equate that to what people of truly marginalized groups experience. Let me be the 50 millionth person to remind you that, while people of color can absolutely exercise prejudice, we cannot be racist against white people. Racism is a system…there’s no systemic backing of the prejudices that I, as a Black person, may, or may not, have against you as a white person. As a white person, you can call the police on me, for the simple fact that my very presence makes you “uncomfortable,” and there’s a fair chance I’d end up dead…far less likely to work out that way, in reverse, because the system doesn’t support it. Hell, we’ve just recently seen that play out with this story of a violently racist white dude who harassed and attacked a family for years based on his hatred of Arabs, which went largely unpunished, which is what allowed the issue to escalate until he finally killed one of them. Let’s not pretend all prejudice is equal.
4. If you DO feel a way about me using “wypipo” and would like me to stop…well…fuck you. I’d like wypipo to stop trying to center themselves in every issue that a Black person/POC tries to bring up, but y’all don’t seem capable of that, so…I’m just gonna hold onto these few little bits of joy that my Black asses gets to have in this fucked up, white supremacist system that’s literally killing hella people. Trust…just like I’m not checking for the self-centered, closet white supremacist shit you write, no one’s forcing you to read what I write.
5. You can get the entire fuck out of here with your claims of being an “ally.” First off, the constant assumptions that, because one is Pro-Black and into activism, they’re automatically affiliated with Black Lives Matter shows how out-of-touch you are with the very movement you claim to be supporting. Any worthwhile “ally” knows that Black Lives Matter is but one organization in a much larger movement. And frankly, here’s something that all of you “all-lies” need to understand: I don’t give a rat’s ass about your “support”…specifically because it always comes with bullshit like this. The vast majority of you “all-lies” claim to care about the issues that we’re fighting, but it’s really all about appeasing your own, fragile ass egos…hence your demands that we take focus off of the work we’re doing so that we can make our struggle and fight more palatable and comfortable for you.
6. This, for me, might be the most important thing that I wanna make perfectly clear: I’m not another Deray…I’m not your soft, reformist Black Gay on some “we are the world” shit, who will go out of his way to make sure those of privilege are more comfortable in this movement. I’m about expressing the honest, valid anger and rage of myself and other Black (and especially Black, Queer) people, and I refuse to make it more easy for you to swallow. If your brand of “allyship” doesn’t fit into that—if you need your fragile ass whiteness centered, then feel free to head over to the Deray McKesson/Shaun King/Matt McGorry side of activism, and they’ll take care for that for you, because I’m not the one. There’s plenty of Black folks out there who will happily bend over backwards to prioritize your comfort over their own liberation…find them for your necessary coddling and leave me the hell alone.

No, I don’t hate white people (again, y’all aren’t that special), but I hate whiteness as a construct…and it’s gonna catch every bit of these verbal hands. This is my social media presence and my website and I’m gonna express myself however I see fit. You’ll just have to deal and enjoy your privilege…or just keep crying in my comments, Twitter mentions, inbox, etc. Either way, I don’t give a single, solitary shit.

P.S. “wypippo”? Nah. It’s “wypipo”; “whypipo” is also acceptable. But “wypippo” is just silly. Get it right, boo. ?

I’m not quite done gathering folks just yet…part 2 is coming soon!

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