Again, I loudly say “I am them and they are me”.
Today, the impulse of all white anti-racists will be to distance ourselves from this data. We must not do that. Surfacing our individual vote as proof positive of our “solidarity” or “good white person” status is individualism – a tenet of white dominance. We cannot fight white dominance with its own tenets. A counterstory is to root firmly in collective responsibility.
So today, if you are wrapped in white skin will you join me in reflection and remorse?
- Will we reject individualism in exchange for collective responsibility for how this happened?
- Will we begin to get honest about the self-hatred that’s masked as self-righteousness that is fueling our inability to connect with white people who support a different candidate?
- Will we reject notions of elitism, expertise and exceptionalism among white anti-racists in order to labor together to build a strong movement to abolish white dominance?
- Will we reject our right to comfort and become more critical of how our refusal to work in our own community is effectively leaving this work for BIPOC to carry?
I’m holding us…
…the collective,
…the committed,
…the strong,
capable and able to tell a counterstory to the white dominance that is rooted in how we relate and live and vote.
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