I have a manifesto to make. I didn't intend to make it, but here we are. ✊🏼
As a "white" Hispanic person, my position in this conversation is...idiosyncratic.
One day, I'm a victim of racism. Then next, I'm directly benefiting from white privilege. It all enough to make you dizzy. It depends on the season—my skin color changes drastically with the sun. It depends on how tired or inebriated I am—the Spanish comes out more. It depends on which of my cultural behaviors are showing. And, of course, it depends on the mood of the white person in front of me.
Living on that ridiculous, flimsy line is why I need to talk about "whiteness," and why the "Allyship 101" take isn't enough.
The construct of "whiteness" is a tool of oppression. We know this. But it's not just a weapon aimed at POC. It's also a poison fed to white people. It has robbed them of their actual culture. It stole their German, Irish, Scottish, or Polish heritage and replaced it with an empty, meaningless abyss whose only defining feature is "not being one of them" and appropriating every new fad coming out of the third world country featured on ChildVision this fiscal quarter.
Why does this matter? Because without culture, you have no pride. And pride isn't just about "feeling good." It's about strength.
We, POC, are able to stand against systemic, violent, and often deadly oppression because we have a strength you may not see, and pride is the backbone of that strength.
💠 Chinese Americans know they built the railroads, and they hold that pride even as people shout at them for speaking their own language on their own property.
💠 African Americans know they are the backbone of American culture and vibrancy, and they hold that pride even as the nation punishes them for it.
💠 Hispanics know we created the foundations for international diplomacy, and we hold that pride even as we're told to farm berries and take out the trash.
We are able to live vibrant lives against this impossible burden because we have a shared pride in who we are.
☝🏼 A Quick Note: Yes, "American" is a culture, and a very complicated one involving rites of passage like homecoming and the prom, annual cultural festivals like the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards, cultural milestones like Black Friday and the Opening Day of Major League Baseball (marking the official end of winter in the U.S.), and even our very own cuisine, including delicacies like Chicken Fried Steak and the Chocolate Chip Cookie. We love guns, rock-n-roll, explosions, and we pride ourselves on our love of competition. We are raised to believe that we can do anything if we only set our minds to it (note: intersectionality may cause experiences to vary). And like any culture, it has its negatives: it's xenophobic and exceptionally cruel to people from out-groups. Many Americans seem to think rights are only theirs, and we behave that way on the world stage. We are an obnoxious people for many reasons. Many reasonable. Some less so, like, dude.... Let us smile from time to time. It feels nice. Go read Dostoevsky or something and be frowny over there.
#AntiRacism #Accountability #DeconstructWhiteness #ReclaimCulture #Whiteness #SocialJustice #Race #Discourse #Manifesto #CulturalErasure #CoConspirator #Solidarity #PrideAsStrength #Hispanic #Latine
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C.
Nonilex
Zeitgeisty Aphorisms
Ellis C. A. Arcwolf (Author)
Betterifyouneil
joe•iuculano 
Steve Maclellan
