#DearWhitePeople, as you're engaging with POC about police brutality and the recent killings of unarmed black men and women, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Stop bringing up 'black on black' crime. It's a tired, racist trope to deflect from the actual issue at hand. Regardless of your race, you are more likely to be killed by another member of your race. Violence is largely an issue of proximity.

2. Stop asking why black people don't care about 'black on black' crime or violence in their communities. THEY DO. They've been trying to address it for decades. Also realize, you are probably seriously out of touch with what goes on in minority neighborhoods.

3. Stop saying unarmed white men are killed more than any other racial group. Sure, when you look at the raw number, that may be true - but you can't compare raw numbers. The # of white men and black men killed by police are comparable and that's concerning given people who are

white make up 75% of the US population & people who are black make up 13% of the population. Black men have a 1 in 1,000 lifetime prevalence of being killed by police. Black people are 3x more likely to be killed by police than white people & 1.3x more likely to be unarmed.

4. Stop bringing up the looting and rioting. Seriously. Not only does it show a complete disregard and lack of understanding of the pain these communities have been enduring, you're deflecting from the issue at hand. You don't have to agree with someone's actions to empathize

with them. Read that again. No, I am not condoning looting and rioting either. But please recognize the double standard of reporting about rioting and looting. Is it condemned when people engage in the same way after their favorite sports team wins? Nope.

But it is condemned & negatively reported when POC are protesting black lives needlessly being taken by people who are supposed to be serving and protecting communities. There are numerous psychosocial factors that contribute to riots in the first place. https://bit.ly/36DwPdW 

5. Stop pretending to want to engage in civil conversation only to minimize viewpoints of POC, bring up irrelevant topics, and then demand evidence, data, and sources. Stop denying the information when it's provided to you. POC DO NOT owe you anything and it is not our

responsibility to educate you on these things. It's called sealioning and it's seriously annoying. https://bit.ly/3gyMbVO 

6. Reconsider why you're really posting and sharing images and videos of black people being murdered. These images and videos are extremely triggering.

7. Stop suggesting that "maybe this isn't race related" and ask why we think this is motivated by race. I don't know dude, the pattern of this happening since the literal inception of our country?

8. Too often, "allies" post that black lives matter & go silent until the next publicized incident. We need real change - that means our actions & sentiments have to translate to real life. Think about what that means for you and how you can actually contribute to *real* change.

9. Stop suggesting these cops have a mental health issue. Last time I checked there’s no diagnosis for being racist in the DSM-5. Racism is NOT a mental health issue.

10. Stop telling us to wait and see what happens and wait for justice. We know how this goes. The officers have been fired yet no charges have been pressed. It speaks volumes. Even in cases when officers have been charged, they are rarely convicted or sentenced appropriately.