generating my own fun
a place for feelings and the rest of my stuff.
Oct 8 '11
★
“Without any “excuse me” or warning, three times we (and everyone around us) were interrupted by white men yelling at us, “Mic Check!!”, and then informing us of the arrests down the street and how we all must go down there to intervene. I appreciated the information and urgency, but not the patronizing tone taken by most of those who made these announcements, implying that if we’re really committed to this movement, then we should go confront the police. I’ve seen this many times before in activist circles where white men willing to confront the police and/or risk arrest think that everyone else should be willing to do the same. No doubt, countless people of color, immigrants, queer and trans folks, women, and people with disabilities have historically (and currently) put their bodies on the line for justice, but that should always be our choice and on our own terms. Getting arrested has very different implications for different communities and for different individuals. If these men wanted to go confront the police while they are pepper spraying protesters, then great, but I wish they recognized that their ability to make that decision so quickly and easily is related to their privilege. I was disappointed by the arrogance, lack of nuance, and entitlement in the way these white men made their pleas to us (who incidentally were mostly people of color). Multiple white men, multiple times.”
