Racism micro thread. You often see white people getting very upset about the idea that racism exists and is prevalent. This is my husband and Cus D’mato. Neither of these white men got upset like that. Why? Because they knew that they were not racists and because . . .

They were around black people so much that they saw it live for themselves. They witnessed it. If you are not around it and don’t see it that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Like the halocaust. I wasn’t there, didn’t see it but accept it happened

It’s funny the way that no one gets that upset about sexism. Like if there was a campaign about “women’s lives matter” it wouldn’t get countered with “all lives matter” would it? People would just go “yes they do of course” End of story

Years ago there was a campaign started by the government called “every disabled child matters” no one got upset. No one said “every child matters” again they just went “of course they do” I can support that totally without question

Why did Black Lives Matter upset people so much. Was it the thought of them wanting their lives to matter or was it that people were terrified that they wanted to matter MORE than other lives

I’ve always said that Obama was a huge subliminal message. It didn’t matter that he was left or right. He made people nervous and since we all know what happened under white presidents we worried I think on an unconscious level that the same could happen if black ppl got power

Mattering isn’t like pie. If we let one group matter it doesn’t make the other group matter less. This is the worry I think to be honest. What’s really underneath that stuff. That we won’t matter so much if Black Lives Matter too

All lives matter was gaslighting. It was like social skills it kind of went “you can matter but don’t you forget that we matter just as much matey” and it was also dismissive “don’t be ridiculous and over react all lives already matter and racism doesn’t exist” it disregarded

It disregarded in the face of all evidence to the contrary. Mostly on the basis of “I’m not racist and I don’t see it myself”. Have you seen anyone murdered or raped? Chances are you have not. People tend to do that privately when no ones looking

Yet we know it happens. Even though we don’t see it and we are not murderers or rapists ourselves. Racism is far more prevalent than either of those things and it’s often subliminal too, socially conditioned into us over generations.

Years ago I went on a business course and up on the white board was the words “people want to buy from people like themselves” I remember thinking “if that’s true where does that leave my mixed raced kids” it is true. Marketing Is built on it

Can we put that forward as the truth and still deny that racism is real. I don’t think so to be honest. Things are definitely better compared to slavery days. Poverty has also improved along the same lines and so has health. BUT

Still in the UK children live in poverty, it’s just a better level of poverty than 100 years ago but at the same time wealth and privilege has also improved a lot and so in comparison it’s about where it was before and racism is also like that.

In comparison it’s about where it always was it’s just better in quality in comparison to 100 years ago but “better” is relative and always depends of course on what you are comparing to!!!!!!!!!

No one can solve a problem they don’t accept that they have. Take our government they deny child poverty because they compare to poverty 100 years ago. They don’t compare a child’s poverty to the way they live themselves TODAY. So it’s denied as being a problem

Our government also deny we have a racism problem. They use the same logic in that determination. It’s better than it was but it’s still not equal is it & all the stats prove it. That doesn’t matter it’s gone as far as they want it to go and that’s why all complaints are silenced

You can have BETTER but you can’t have EQUAL so go away and be grateful for BETTER and stop wanting equal because you can’t have it.

And that’s about the size of it.

Back to my original point. If you are not around black people an awful lot how can you safely say it doesn’t exist. I’ve been in a shop and been followed by security guards simply because I’m with a black person. Have you? I could go on and on with those examples tbh