Being a white student protesting against institutional racism is not enough for Social Justice Warriors (SJW). No, white liberals must remember certain rules to understand their place and follow certain rules in order to truly be a “white ally.”
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Self-described “white ally” Julia Schemmer wrote an op-ed that she learned six valuable lessons about being a good SJW at a recent Students of Color Conference held last month.
1) People of color don’t need white people to mainstream them, there is no need for a noble “white savior” or acts of charity to make up for “white man’s burden.” SJWs like Sam White who get more media attention to being a “white ally” than black activists do aren’t doing blacks favors, he’s taking their gig. The only role that “white allies” really have is stopping other whites from committing micro-aggression against blacks and teaching other whites to understand the struggles of people of color, which they can’t really understand because of white privilege making them part of systematic racism.
2) Don’t pretend to speak for black people, because you haven’t had their experiences. Except when you’re speaking to other white people about the struggles of people of color, which you don’t understand cause you’re a white and promote institutionalized racism.
3) Listen to the experiences of others and don’t try to share how you can relate to them. After all you have never been really oppressed because you’re white, you probably have never even questioned your gender or cultural identity. Claiming to have experiences promotes institutional racism.
4) Being a “white ally” should not be a career booster like it has been for other white people like Sam White, Rachel Dolezal, Shaun King… Being a “white ally” means you’re fighting systematic racism even if many of the cases of racism on college campuses are hoaxes.
5) Understand you have racist advantage, because you are white. Realize that you’re privileged because that are bandages that match your skin color — there are no dark colored bandages. No one can even tell when a white person is in bandages. Recognize the next time you put on a band-aid that you’re oppressing non-whites.
6) Call out your friends when they make racist jokes. There is no place for humor in this world when it is racist, sexist, heteronormative, ageist, ableist, or cis-gendered. Don’t let anyone make fun of accents- – unless they’re from the South because then they’re probably racists themselves. Burn movies, books, or television shows that have a history of making fun of people for being different, we’re all the same, and to come to a different conclusion on you’re own is racist.
