This is so important! So many when they mess up claim they're POC, not white. That they couldn't be racist or didn't benefit from white priviledge. Even though everyone views them as white.

You can be ethnically a POC but be viewed as white. And have white priviledge!! https://twitter.com/jessi_ex/status/1252054660879392768

I've been wanting to word this discomfort that I feel when white passing POCs deny their own whiteness. That whiteness comes with priviledge regardless of their ethnicity. Many don't want to accept this because they don't want to be held accountable for their actions or lack of.

So many times I've had discussions with someone who appears white. And they'll turn around & say they're POC to get out of being accountable. They shouldn't get a free pass and also it doesn't mean they understand the experience of a POC. Let alone of a black women.

Besides we've seen time and time again cases where POCs who are white belong to wh*te supremacist groups. And that have killed black people.

Those POCs are accepted by those wh*te supremacist groups because whiteness is based on appearance.

When people discriminate against me, they don't know my ethnicity. All they see is my skin color & appearance.

It's the same when it comes to whiteness. It's based on appearance. If you look white, you get treated as white. So to me white is white even if you're a POC.

The counter argument is that someone could look black and not be ethnically black.

The fact is that they'll still be treated as they are black as long as they aren't doing blackface or don't look racially ambiguous.

At the same time, this thread isn't saying that POCs who are white passing or that are perceived as white don't have any struggles. And doesn't deal with racism. It's acknowledging the priviledge that comes with being perceived as white.