The flip side of "presumption of guilt" when talking about Black men, is "presumption of innocence" when talking about white women.

They're both forms of racism. They both harm Black people.

One is easy to recognise *in other people.* One is hard to see *in ourselves.*

Some people have an emotional reaction when I point out that more than half of all white women voters in the US reliably vote for whichever candidate promises to harm Black people more. They get mad at me for saying this!

2/N

The US is a very racist country. It has racist systems, processes, and outcomes. That racism harms all of us, but disproportionately harms Black people.

If you want to reduce that racism, you have to understand where it's coming from.

Almost half of that racism, comes from white women. Some of the rest of it comes from white men, but is done in the name of white women.

You cannot effectively combat racism, if you don't understand and accept this.

3/N

As a Black dude, I gotta say that the dynamic I see is super weird:

1) ~50% of all white men I interact with are super open-minded and inclusive! They want less racism. ♥️👍🏿

2) ~50% of all white women I interact with are super open-minded and inclusive! They want less racism. ♥️👍🏿

3) ~50% of the white men and ~50% of the white women that I interact with are... not super open-minded.

But both the good white men and white women I interact with, are convinced that 3) is 95% men?🤷🏿‍♂️

4/N

And it's not like ~95% of the white people in New York are open-minded, and ~95% of the white people in Atlanta are not open-minded. That's not how it works.

It's ~50% of the white people in New York are super open-minded, and ~50% aren't.

And it's ~50% of the white people in Atlanta are super open-minded, and ~50% aren't.

And it's not like "this whole family is open-minded, and this whole family is not open-minded." That's not how it works. It's "most families have both."

5/N

It's super weird to me that it seems like half of the white folk in this country, literally cannot see the other half, even though that's their coworkers, family members, friends, and partners. 🙂🙃

It got me thinking: What evidence could you show to the 50% of white folk that are more open-minded, to convince them that the other 50% exists and is about half women? That Black folk are not making this up?

Poll data, viral Karen videos, and lived experience of ~40M Black folk, isn't doing it.

6/N

Then I remembered, that "evidence does not persuade." So there is no evidence that I could possibly show to convince the 50% of white folk that are super open-minded, that close to half of the other 50% of white folk that are less open-minded, are women. 🤷🏿‍♂️

7/7

@mekkaokereke Oh fuck yeah there's racist white women out there, and lots of 'em.

Both in the US and down here.

Often, the bigots are hiding in plain sight.

As in, there's a stereotype of what a racist looks like. The shaved head, the MAGA hat, the fascist tatts, the white robe...

Yet many racists are perfectly pleasant to other white people. They're normal looking, everyday white people.

They're quite reasonable in white company, as long as no-one mentions race.

They often genuinely don't think of themselves as racist.

They even mouth the right platitudes at the right times.

It's just (and these are actual examples I've come across)...

The woman from Columbia is the most qualified candidate, but they have concerns about hiring her because of her accent.

They're celebrating International Women's Day, and every single woman in the video is white.

They couldn't find any non-white women to speak at their charity fundraising event.

They pull aside a South Asian woman, and tell her they had an Indian colleague at work who complained about racism in Australia, "and I told her if you don't like it, leave".

Someone mentions the Jews, and they start sharing what they really think.

Or they get angry at someone who's not white, and they morph from Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulking White Supremacist. (1/2)

@mekkaokereke Here's the crucial thing about the type of racist white person I've just described.

If you're white, and you don't discuss race, then it's entirely possible for you to not even notice that you're in the company of a racist.

And if you're oblivious to many such people, then it's entirely possible (if you're white) to grossly underestimate how prevalent white women like that are.

Because chances are there are many in your workplace, or your social circle, or your family, and you're completely unaware of it.

(And I speak from experience on that last point: There were a few in my life who didn't make themselves known until I started dating my current partner. So I'm definitely not immune to the underestimating!)

Remember: Not all racists wear MAGA hats. (2/2)

@ajsadauskas @mekkaokereke > If you're white, and you don't discuss race, then it's entirely possible for you to not even notice that you're in the company of a racist.

This right here!

@steve @ajsadauskas @mekkaokereke the issue I have run into is that discussing race with white people will almost always show they're racists who refuse to admit it's possible.

Having been in rooms full of only white men means I have seen how people act when they are comfortable. Many go along with the edgy jokes to stay in the favor of the obnoxious ones. Calling it out gets you ostracized as "one of those".

Maintaining employment is a constant balance of only saying just enough. It sucks

@ATLeagle @steve @ajsadauskas @mekkaokereke It's stories like these that remind me that I am so privileged that in my nearly 20 year IT career, I have never once been in a room full of only white men.

I work for a major multinational whose US head openly used words like "critical race theory" positively, in a way that showed he actually knew what he was talking about.