Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

polpotisevil2 wrote

I only have one thing to say about this. I'll preface it by saying I'm white, if that makes you feel any better.

The whole ordeal with your

If black protesters are telling you to stop looting, listen to us. If black protesters are saying to not use lethal weapons without retaliation, listen to us. Support us.

seems to me to be a quite selfish endeavor. You are pushing your idea on others by saying you or whoever says to stop doing whatever is speaking for "us". Well, I have certainly spoken to black people who are fine with looting and violence, I have certainly seen some black people loot and participate in violence, and have also read about it! Isn't that crazy? It seems like some of your very own people may differ from you on this!

Yes I realize you say in the next paragraph (to your own folk only apparently) something along the lines of "de-escalation isn't gonna work" but the fact remains that the "follow the leader" behavior that is being promoted currently (I actually logged in just to post something about this but decided to read this post because it seemed relevant) is fucking bullshit. Telling people to get behind the lines and suppress their emotions is tyranny in the streets. Let it be, let the protests be what they will be. It isn't up to one or two or a few organizers or protesters to tell everyone what to do. Let the protesters roam free and learn what is really dwelling in their minds. Have you forgotten your own Malcom X?

0

orange wrote

how is it selfish to ask for white protestors, who are supposed to be at these protests in allyship to black people, to listen + support them, especially in situations where tagging/looting/destroying property gets pinned solely on black protestors not only by the media but by the cops when they choose who to arrest for these actions?

5

[deleted] wrote (edited )

5

polpotisevil2 wrote

I appreciate your response

So, where I grew up the phrase "listen to me/us" was most of the time used as a commanding phrase, and your text of "if people are TELLING..." gave me the impression of hostility. If your actual intent was more along the lines of listen to their opinions, then of course I agree that people should have their opinions heard. And if it was not your intent for "us" to be used as I thought then the story is altogether different. I said I only had one thing to say about this post, and it was based on those two observations.

You, a nonblack person, doing whatever you want in the context of this protest is going to negatively effect its image, and all of the black people in it by extentsion

Is this not in contrast to your statement about diversification of tactics? And painting a group of people with the same brush is one of the very issues at hand here. Surrendering and catering to that viewpoint is just that, surrendering.

2

yaaqov wrote

How about we stop fucking centering ourselves?

2

polpotisevil2 wrote

I'm sorry, who is centering who? I don't feel like I've centered anybody

0

LostYonder wrote

Your hijacking the discussion and centering it on you says it all...

3

polpotisevil2 wrote

Still confused here, when did I center it on me? When I said I'm white? Was simply clarifying the situation for the inevitable "whiteness"-type comments. If you want to, ignore that sentence

0

yaaqov wrote (edited )

I meant that you are centering white people, not yourself in particular. Like literally using words like “selfish” and “tyranny” to refer to black folks leading a protest against the murder of black people... c’mon. To worry about whether or not white people can “express their emotions” in this context is precisely what I mean.

3

polpotisevil2 wrote

I was not talking about white people. I was talking about people at those protests

1

LostYonder wrote

"some of your very own people" - seriously? I appreciate their is a tone of sarcasm in what you are writing, but really, this is how you try and make an argument?

Rather than reply to every comment, why don't you just sit back and reflect...

2

[deleted] wrote

1

polpotisevil2 wrote

It was very heavy sarcasm. Meant to be a phrase to "sit back and reflect" on. I mean, what is the real difference between the tone of "some of your very own people" and "listen to us"?

Although to be fair I grew up where "listen to me" or "listen to us" was very often meant in a commanding way, as in "go do ____ ... hello? LISTEN TO ME, and go do ___"

2