Recently I remembered the time I was on a movie set and someone just had to know about my racial background (which happens wherever I go), and on learning of my multi-ethnicity he said, "We don't have any like you down here. I guess they all ran too fast." 1/

He and others had a laugh. Because my existence could only ever possibly be a rape "joke"…right? The fellow in question was of western Eurasian descent, but I've received the full spectrum of colorful comments from all sectors. At all times I'm on guard… 2/

…against violence, derailment, or--even worse--my public existence becoming performative. The assumption from most people on seeing me is that I'm worth no more than animal labor given my large size and skin color, or I'm a criminal. Meanwhile, we have these…perpetrators. 3/

Folks who seem vaguely "ethnic" enough to pass for Black. They look slightly "exotic." However, given their upbringing as part of the privileged white class they're able to successfully navigate white social structures and usurp resources that would have gone to BIPOC. 4/

My Indigenous people have been talking about this for a long time, but the USA seems shuttered against their words. IE people receiving college money for being 1/64 [insert tribe here], etc. I'm thankful more of these folks are being outed in the Black community, but… 5/

…the pervasive inclination to use people as resources, specifically BIPOC people, in privileged USA culture makes it far too easy for these con artists. If we weren't still mired in viewpoints shaped by the barbarity of centuries past this foolishness would be behind us. 6/

[By "we" I mean the folks who get centered in our national narratives.] My parents, while imperfect, embraced the difficulty of interracial marriage in the early 1970s even though doing so alienated them from their families. And before the inevitable "Black fathers" comment… 7/

Prior to railing about "absentee fathers in the Black community" did you first reflect on the proclivity of white men for abandoning Black women after impregnating them? No? K, cool. The casualness with which the "rape joke" assumption is a default underscores that bias. 8/

Who could intentionally have a relationship with a Black person? Who could take them seriously? Throughout my career there have been constant reminders that my contributions are worth less. Meanwhile, these people profit from pretending to be us, and from admitting the lie. 9/

SMDH. Anyway, support BIPOC organizations. Do your research. Support BIPOC individuals you know and are familiar with. And I don't mean me; there are plenty of BIPOC folks less established than me. We need to be ushering in the next generation. 10/

Here's a group I work with regularly: https://dwasf.org  also on Twitter as @DiverseSpecFic 11/