Thread by @rachelvirginiah, Since we are talking about #AmyCooper, I'd like to remind white people, [...]

Rachel V.

rachelvirginiah

Since we are talking about #AmyCooper, I& #39;d like to remind white people, especially white women that white supremacy is upheld through misuse of your defense mechanisms. (1/7)

Cooper is using hers in an escalated and deliberate way, but if you& #39;re tempted to distance yourself from her, I need you to know that most white women defend, uphold and justify racism in more subtle ways, especially women with leftist politics. (2/7)

(Yes, I& #39;m talking about all of your defense mechanisms, the everyday ones you learned in childhood and as an adult to survive the world.) (3/7)

White women, learn your defense mechanisms and be curious about how they show up in racist ways. It& #39;s tempting to make anti-racism a project about how much facts you can collect about oppression (intellectualizing the problem). (4/7)

But start with knowing yourself. If you& #39;ve never explored your defense mechanisms before, it might be helpful to explore this with a professional if you can access to professional help. Looking at your defense mechanisms can be a painful process. (5/7)

I& #39;ll start with a freebie: You might be the kind of person who needs to be seen as "good" and "nice" to the world. This is a common defense mechanism that might have helped you to survive your childhood or some adverse experience but it can be used in very racist ways. (6/7)

Can you imagine how you could use this in racist ways in your professional life? Your school life? Your social life?

Learn your defense mechanisms so you can unlearn them and find better tools to face your discomfort, confusion, pain, etc.

(7/7)

Also, I& #39;ve noticed that the ways people have let me down have very often correlated with their enneagram types. (Because our "types" are our survival/defense mechanisms, so it makes sense).

A few enneagram related examples I& #39;ve seen: I knew a white four who would sabotage diversity convos bc he brought up some past memory about him being left out/unheard. Wild. The dude couldn& #39;t see how he was making it hard for others to feel heard themselves.

I knew white folks who did things they didn& #39;t want to do bc it made them temporarily feel like a good person (type 1, 2, and 4) but then later resented me for it/blamed me for their compulsions.

Please learn your defenses and compulsions.

I don& #39;t know a lot of white 8s, but the white 7s were like "oh you& #39;re fun and very alive, but you& #39;re crying a lot about racism/transphobia, so i& #39;m leaving now!"

I& #39;m curious about white 8s. Maybe they are the ones who get mad at other white women ("I& #39;m the only competent white woman here) instead of encouraging and trusting other white women to show up in the ways that make sense for them.

White 5s just do what Michael G*nger does lol.

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