I need people to remember that the words “white supremacy” are not equivalent with “violent white nationalism.”

“White supremacy” *is* violent, but its violence can often work in the ways that the violence of civility works.

You can be a white supremacist without ever donning a sheet or burning a cross, and most white supremacists fall into that category.

Do you think white people or white culture are superior?

You are a white supremacist.

Civility often plays an *extremely* important role in white supremacy because it’s used as proof of that superiority.

Your culture cannot be better; look at how rude you are because of (insert X thing here).

You’re bad because you use the habitual be! You’re bad because you have a funny accent! You’re bad because your women are too submissive! You’re bad because your women are too aggressive!

If only you named your kid REAL things with history WE understand, like John or Lucas!

(But we’ll accept Caleb! Or Kayleigh! Or Mitt! Just not Tariq, ugh, that’s bad.)

The rules of civility exist so that white people don’t have to dirty their hands burning crosses. They can do it with a shake of their head and a toss of a resume.

White supremacy has had centuries to figure its shit out, and it is good at hiding.

One of the rules of white supremacy is that unearthing white supremacy is unspeakably rude.

Just look how everyone acted when Booker asked those questions of ACB yesterday.

It was too much to even *ask* the questions. Why?

We *should* be trying to make sure we don’t get white supremacists on SCOTUS, right?

SCOTUS completely fucked up equal protection because they didn’t have even the slightest understanding of how institutional racism works.

I keep thinking how in Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), SCOTUS upheld affirmative action, but said that we probably wouldn’t need it in 25 years.

We are now 17 years through that 25 year clock and...damn.

So yeah. I think we need to talk about how SCOTUS nominees understand and think about race.

(This thread brought to you by someone saying in reply to this tweet that believing white people are superior is racism, and not white supremacy, and... what. What do you think white supremacy *is*.) https://twitter.com/courtneymilan/status/1316181500379840512?s=20

In any event, think about why the same people who got mad about Sotomayer‘s “wise Latina” comment are now completely willing to nod and clap when ACB says she has adopted Black children.