cracked:

If a black actor is cast as The Human Torch, what’s next? Some guy not made out of rocks playing The Thing?

The 5 Most Insulting Defenses of Nerd Racism

News has broken that Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle) is being considered to play Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. Naturally, comic book fans across the Internet are furious, because they’ve had it with all the reboots and just want to preserve the magic of the 2005 original — oh, wait, no. They’re angry because Michael B. Jordan is black. And in the comics, Johnny Storm is white.

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alyxtrouble:

racism: power/privilege + prejudice

motorizedmycologist:

A Way to Serve: okay hi tumblr prepare to be offended i guess but Racism:…

iamabutchsolo:

susnom:

iamabutchsolo:

bat-woman:

okay hi tumblr

prepare to be offended i guess but

Racism: Power/privilege + prejudice. To exact racism, one must have social power/privilege based on one’s race, thereby being able to use that social power/privilege to (further) marginalize an individual or a group without that social privilege/power.

• Note 1: Social privilege/power includes but is by no means limited to things such as ubiquitous representation in media, inclusion in the (already broken) “standard(s)” of beauty/attractiveness, holding the majority in any political or economic group/practice/structure, etc.
• Note 2: Currently, especially in the western part of the world, white people hold social privilege/power — poc do not

People who can exact racism, generally, cannot be on the receiving end of it for the simple fact that the fact that they can exact it means that they hold privilege/power that other races do not. Simply put: Reverse racism does not exist. It is not possible to be racist against whites, because there is no form of social power or privilege higher (right now) than the status of being a white person. There can certainly be prejudice, and there is a lot of (mostly justifiable) prejudice and resentment. But for sheer lack of privilege/power (often the root of such prejudice and resentment), white people cannot actually experience racism.

This is the last and only time I’m going to explain that nicely. If you disagree with this, you are wrong, and I’m not going to argue with you. I’m not going to spend spoons trying to reason with you. If you think that white people can experience racism because they are white, hi and bye, I’m not wasting more than this post on you anymore. 

Things that also qualify as racism:

• Cultural appropriation
• Racial jokes
• Racial slurs
• Racial stereotypes (and the perpetuation thereof)

But I get it, white people. I get that you want to be able to experience racism. I don’t know why, as it is not at all the LEAST bit fun, but I get that for some reason you do. I get that you want to be able to cry “white is not all one big race!” (while at the same time saying “Latinos” and “Hispanics” because all people who speak Spanish are the same and thereby able to be grouped all together*), I get that you want to be able to say “stop making generalizations about white people!” (while chances are you have at least at some point done this regarding another race). And okay. Fair enough. I’m going to teach you how to make that happen in a legitimate way.

• *Note: I am by no means trying to say that Latino/Hispanic is not a valid identity. If this is how you identify, it is a perfectly good and valid identity — for a variety of reasons, but in actuality there doesn’t even have to be a reason (and even if there is, it’s absolutely nobody’s business, not even mine) other than that is how you choose to identify and it makes you the most comfortable.

White people, you can validly cry about your hurt white feelings when racism as it is today stops. When you stop being the majority, when you stop filling congress wall-to-wall, when Mexicans R So Funny Lol Sombrero memes stop, when entire cultures stop being reduced to jokes, when Get Out If You Don’t Speak English stops being your motto, when geisha and “Mexican” and Native American and kimono halloween “costumes” stop existing, when Oh My God A Head Wrap How Oppressive! stops being your feminist battlecry, when This [Culture]’s Food Is So Gross stops being a valid reason not to go to a restaurant, when racial slurs are eradicated, then you can cry and I guarantee you more POC will listen. Hell, I’ll listen.

Until then? It’s really not your place to tell me or any other POC what is and isn’t racist. Simply put: You can’t really know. You are not equipped with the social standing to inherently understand what it means to be marginalized the way POC are marginalized. Because you have not been and probably never will be marginalized that way. “But the Irish!” you might say, or “but whites in places like Hawaii!” 

Yes. There is extreme prejudice against whites. It exists. It can be vile, damaging, violent, absolutely despicable. In certain situations, it is almost like racism against POCs. But the fact of the matter is that if you are in the western part of the world, there is a much smaller chance of you experiencing that — and even if you do, the likelihood that it can really reflect racism against POCs is ridiculously small.

Why? Because racism against POCs is history. It is the entire history, more or less, of the United States. It is ingrained in people of the western world so much that it is passed as normality. We live in a world (here in the western world, mostly the USA) where “sombrero” has lost its original meaning, where “burka” is the only kind of female covering from the middle east,  where kimonos are considered ~sexy~ because they’re ~so exotic~. And we think that those things, those thoughts, that frame of mind, are okay. And that is real racism. It’s the normalization of acute and dehumanizing prejudice. It’s living, every day, in a status that literally makes you better than somebody else (at least in a lot of people’s eyes, consciously or not) because you are not a POC.

And when you turn around, while all this is still happening, and cry about how white people are getting such flak, do you know what you are doing?

You’re just reinforcing the idea that white people are the most important. That’s all you are doing. You are saying that that moment of discomfort you are feeling for that split second of your life is more important than centuries of oppression, erasure, outright genocide. So take a step back. Think about it for a second.

That moment of discomfort? Take that, if you can imagine it, and make it bigger. Not just a day or a week or even a month or a year of feeling that. Multiply it by at least a hundred and then stretch it into a lifetime. The more years you add, the worse it gets. Remember that racism has actually improved in some areas — and not by a fucking lot, but by a margin. And that’s the life of a POC. If they’re lucky. If they’re alive. If they aren’t covered in scars or shoving their hands into skin-lightening cream (dangerous to their health, but tell that to anyone desperate enough to use it and I’ll show you someone who would rather be white than healthy — and I can’t even blame them in the least). 

So the next time you want to draw attention to your hurt white feelings, or the next time you want to snap at how not racist something is, or the next time you feel like you need to stand up against racism on whites, remember: This is a moment for you. This is an opinion you have based entirely around the fact that you are actually not a POC.

This is a lifetime, a history, an entire culture for someone else.

You don’t know. You can’t know. You probably can’t even really imagine.

So why don’t you actually shut the fuck up.

Yes, to all of my white friends who wish to disagree with me about racism and how ONLY WHITE PEOPLE CAN BE RACIST, please read this. Because again my white friends, just because your feelings may be hurt because someone called you a cracker doesn’t mean you are oppressed. Thanks.

I agree with this on all counts—I think it’s important to note, though, that racism exists elsewhere, not executed by white people—there are countries where there are very few white people, where very harsh racism still occurs between the ethnicities or races there. So I don’t think only white people can be racist—I think it’s the dominant race in that particular culture, which in many cases is not white.

These conversations on institutional racism apply to America and other European countries because those are the countries in which institutional racism is most systematized. America in particular is one of the most modern and widespread example of a country built on racial oppression. Because it holds so much racial diversity, the pervasiveness of racism exceeds many other countries, which often have ethnic diversity, but very rarely is there racial diversity.

These conversations on racism does not try to neglect other countries, because any example of institutional discrimination is usually based on ethnicity and not race, since very few countries actually support a racially diverse population. The dominant culture of some countries may be ethnocentric, but not necessarily racist.

Also, even in other countries, Euro-centric ideals and standards are rampant, which is, at least in part, a product of the very widespread European colonization.

It’s like someone took the nameless anger that I feel whenever someone says “but what about when white people get called honkey!” and wrote a beautifully coherent explanation of it. I am floored. And deeply grateful.

avatarsnowy:

[Tweet from @CharlesMBlow on 19 March 2012: “Make this trend: Where is Trayvon’s cellphone?”]

teaandtheatre:

vampirefruitfly:

dobbaaa:

liquornspice:

nom-chompsky:

motherjones:

GOOD FRICKING QUESTION.

Wasn’t aware of this part of the story. These motherfuckers.

Oh fuck, Ion’t even wanna click. Lord Jesus…

Jesus fucking Christ.

When Trayvon Martin was killed, all he had were Skittles, iced tea…and a cellphone, authorities told the L.A. Times. The phone has been mentioned in multiple reports in recent days, and journalists and concerned citizens are starting to ask: Where is Trayvon’s phone? Why did the police on the scene of the shooting not use it to identify Martin, or contact his next of kin? ”Trayvon’s body was bagged and taken to the morgue, where he was tagged as a John Doe,” writes African American affairs blogger Sandra Rose. “No one contacted Trayvon’s family even though police had Trayvon’s cell phone in their possession.”

misswednesdayaddams:

deergravity:

hotboxtheworld:

ladyatheist:

private-revolution:

so-treu:

philosophicalzombies:

birdbrainss:

so-treu:

i need you to come to terms with the way white women have facilitated some of the most unspeakable violence upon black and brown and indigenous people, bodies, and community. often in the name of white womanhood. often in the name of freedom. often in the name of feminism.

i need you to understand that you killed Emmitt Till. i need you to think about all of the black men and boys that have been murdered because either you accused them or your men took it upon themselves to defend *your* honor. i need you to look at pictures of lynched bodies and think about what role you played in it.

i need you to know the names of the women raped by U.S. military in countries we invaded, in part because feminists said we needed to save the women and/or children and supported the various invasions.

i need you to know that those reproductive rights you all are up in arms about were created via the destruction and maiming of black and brown bodies. i need you to know who Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsy are, and what was done to them. i need you to know the names of the Puerto Rican women who were lied to and who died so that The Pill could bring you your precious sexual liberation. i need you to know the central role white women played in sterilization programs that targeted black women, poor women, anyone they deemed too “feeble” to procreate. i need you to think about why more big name feminist organizations are up in arms about the most recent kick up about contraception than about sterilized black women getting compensated for what was done to them.

i need you to understand that at this point, it’s not about privilege. it’s not about you being able to find products that work with your hair no matter where you go. it’s about people’s lives. it’s about WOC lives and a centuries old disregard white women have shown for them. it’s about that fact that white women have been an active agent in the destruction of our communities, our histories, and our families. for centuries.

and WOC don’t owe you a damn thing. not. one. thing.

so get that through your skulls then maybe we can work together. maybe.

this angers me more than it inspires me. regardless of what was done in the past however wrong it might have been, singling out someone from one gender and one race in that gender to blame for helping create problems that anger you or make you mad in order to bring equality and peace is about the stupidest thing ever. honestly what will you get from that? there is no equality in racism. I understand why you would be angry but hateful is too far. the only way to achieve any progress is to work together and setting aside your stupid unequal bullshit.and fyi not all femenist are wihte *points at self* so to think that they were the only people who wanted the things they did in the this country is stupid.  this is racism and ignorance.

OP is a faggot. Go eat a toenail.

white feminists, ladies and gentlemen. keeping their excellent track record intact.

^^ I don’t even know.

And they wonder why WoC side-eye the hell out of White Feminists™ and why we refuse to identify as feminists. How in the fuck are you gonna lie to our faces and say you’re for “equality” when you refuse to listen to us and use slurs against us. Fuck y’all! You only care about yourselves. You don’t give a damn about WoC and it’s about time you started admitting it.

This entire post made my head shake.

We white feminists sure do get hit hard, huh?

I mean, honestly, if you’re as pro-equality as you seem to want to be, don’t hold white feminists accountable for the fuck ups of some. That’s not fair, and it’s not like those that are truly pro-equality aren’t already aware and angered by all of this.

I don’t know, I actually found this post pretty racist. I’m not going off about all the minorities that fucked up and brought a level of shame to equality movements, those that didn’t add anything to the movement, those that acted in a way that was counter-productive. You know why? There will never, in any point of history, be an equality movement where there hasn’t been people being hypocritical and counter-productive. But that doesn’t mean it’s fair to hold every white feminist accountable, and it’s actually EXTREMELY fucking racist to say “until you realize how people of your race and until you realize people of an equality movement you support fucked up you’re a joke in my eyes”. Would I ever have the balls to talk about all the black men that DID rape white women way back fucking when? No! Because they don’t represent the black men that tried to make a difference in the lives of others, because they don’t represent the men that tried to fight for equality.

Ugh, fucking. White people. Can we PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE learn to be critical?

How about when we read things that make us feel all ouchy, instead of knee-jerking and talking about “reverse racism” and “hate won’t make anything change” we think for a hot second?

The OP is on point. Where is this alleged “hate”? Because they wanted us to be aware of history? Of the things that have been done, the people who have been disrespected, manipulated, raped, tortured and MURDERED for our sake? Just THINK about it. There is nothing false in that OP. Not a thing.

But you’re not even going to acknowledge that all these facts are true. Just turn around and say “but I didn’t do it.” Alright, fine. But that doesn’t mean you don’t benefit from this legacy of violence. That doesn’t mean that you don’t unthinkingly quote, glorify or reblog feminists who upheld racist policies. It doesn’t mean you don’t use rhetoric that still excludes people of color or minimize their suffering. That doesn’t mean you don’t give more attention to “universal” (read: white) modern issues while passing over “niche,” “ethnic” or “polarizing” issues that effect POC more.

And we need to take responsibility for that. You don’t have to apologize for what has happened. That’s not what taking responsibility means. It means thinking before you speak. It means listening. It means not taking up all the space. It means demanding respect for our peers. It means thinking critically about the people we idolize. It means recognizing when people fuck up and holding them accountable. Holding ourselves accountable.

It means realizing that race isn’t a “divisive” issue, it’s not driving a wedge between us. That wedge is already there. Society treats us differently. Ignoring that does not make it go away. (You know how we hate it when anti-choicers think that we should just outlaw abortion and then no one will abort anymore? And how they’re ignoring the fact that it’s a need in society and that it’s gonna happen even if you outlaw it and stop talking about it? Yeah. That’s who you sound like. And don’t think that people aren’t dying.)

We need to grow up. We sound like children having fits. Fits that deny that people are hurting—that people are dying—because of things that benefit us. Stop talking so much. Get critical.

^^^ emphasis mine

yamino:

stfuconfederates:

Prosecute the killer of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin

wtfwhiteprivilege:

Why This Is Important

On February 26, our son Trayvon Martin was shot and killed as he walked to a family member’s home from a convenience store where he had just bought some candy. He was…

Here’s also a good post about what white allies can do to help prevent these atrocities: http://note-a-bear.tumblr.com/post/19459367182/about-cop-watch

thegoddamazon:

He was not gunned down in some rundown hood.

He was not gunned down in an alley.

He was not gunned down behind some shady establishment.

It was not a gang sanctioned hit.

It wasn’t even a hit.

It was a white man who saw a Black person in his neighborhood and decided he DID NOT BELONG THERE.

He followed the boy.

And even when the boy was begging for his life, he shot him anyway.

In a gated community, mostly owned by white people.

Fuck post-racial America if THIS is how things are going to be.

dumbthingswhitepplsay:

The 911 call for Trayvon Martin.

Click the link to listen in. I’m putting this here, in a separate post, because I really need to focus on it. I need you all to know, not just white people, but non-black PoC to know, what happens to Black people out here.

This is what has been deemed self-defense on the part of George Zimmerman. This is what “self-defense” cases sound like to police. This is grounds for letting a murderer go.

A black child begging for his life.

This is “suspicious”. This is “criminal”. This is what “scary black people” sound like to white people.

George Zimmerman was 100 pounds heavier than this CHILD. I insist on calling him a child because while many white people would argue in favor of 17 year old white people being children, they do not give the same courtesy to 17 year old black CHILDREN. Trayvon was a BABY. An INFANT. A MURDERED CHILD.

George Zimmerman murdered this baby boy, a mother’s son, that was begging for his life.

This is your “self-defense” case. This is “self-defense” to these police, where a black child is concerned.

And you want us to trust these people for anything?

Never.

Fucking never.

All this does is make me want to avoid having children. I already don’t want to have a son at all because I seen what goes on to these black boys.

“Self-defense” in-fucking-deed.

dumbthingswhitepplsay:

kharispaxton:

curiouslycool:

They let him free on self defense.

Self defense.

A child was screaming, begging for help up until his last moments alive.

They let him free on self defense.

They blatantly shielded a child murderer. A racist child murderer who committed a homicidal hate crime.

He was begging.

He was screaming.

And then he wasn’t.

TW: The audio is extremely triggering, but if you’re in any doubt about who was in danger that night, have a listen.

I refuse to listen to this because I need to be able to function today to get shit done, but if you are white and you don’t listen to this I pretty much will just hate your guts forever.

misswednesdayaddams:

ladyatheist:

witchsistah:

karnythia:

dumbthingswhitepplsay:

baddominicana:

notesonascandal:

stefsayeth:

Reporter’s insensitive question for Trayvon Martin’s Mom (by tarafinestone)

I swear fo’ God, only a mother’s grief could have had her this distracted where she didn’t grab this chick by her throat.

DID THAT BITCH SAY WHAT I THINK SHE SAID????

i dont even have words. shes fucking lucky that her grief didnt make her more likely to stomp a bitch out because i wanna tear her the fuck up.

W. H. A. T.

Tell me again that the social construct of whiteness isn’t rooted in sociopathy & I might just slap you. How fucked up do you have to be to make a chicken joke to a mother who just lost her son?

Sociopathy and malignant narcissism like WHOAH!

Fucking really? She made a chicken joke and the laughed. It’s nice to know that some people find this shit funny.

Disgusting.

justageekyfeminist:

locsgirl:

Whitewashin’ and Racebendin’ by ~EmpressFunk

March 16, 2012:

Very refreshing when I see others upset by this BS.

Three witnesses contacted by The Miami Herald say they saw or heard the moments before and after the Miami Gardens teenager’s killing. All three said they heard the last howl for help from a despondent boy, and believe the sequence of sounds shatters the notion that Trayvon was killed in self defense. …

“I heard someone crying – not boo-hoo crying, but scared or terrified or hurt maybe,” said Mary Cutcher, 31. “To me, it was a child.” …

“This was not self defense,” Cutcher said. “We heard no fighting, no wrestling, no punching. We heard a boy crying. As soon as the shot went off, it stopped, which tells me it was the child crying. If it had been Zimmerman crying, it wouldn’t have stopped. If you’re hurting, you’re hurting.”

She and her friend say they heard the sounds from a few steps away, where they were inside beside an open window. Seconds later, they dashed out to find a boy face down on the ground and a man standing over him, a foot on each side of the body on the ground, with his hands pinning the shooting victim down.

“I asked him, ‘What’s happening here? What’s going on?’ said Cutcher’s friend, who did not want her name published for fear for her safety. “The third time, I was indignant, and he said, ‘just call the police.’ Then I saw him with his hands over his head in the universal sign of: ‘Oh man, I messed up.’”

The women, who were the first on the scene, said they saw Zimmerman pacing back and forth. “I know what I heard. I heard a cry and a shot,” the second witness said. “If there was a fight, it did not happen here where the boy was shot. I would have heard it, as this all happened right outside my open window.”

The women think there may well have been a physical altercation between the two, but it must have taken place in a different spot, where Zimmerman perhaps had a chance to compose himself and draw his weapon.

Cutcher was one of eight or nine 911 callers that night but she said investigators dismissed her, and a detective failed follow up with her. Both women said police seemed very blasé.

….

A neighborhood eighth grader out walking his dog said his family also called 911.

“I saw someone lying on the ground, and I heard screaming,” said Austin, 13, whose mother asked that his last name not be published. “I don’t know that it was the person on the [ground] who was screaming, but to me it sounded like a kid who was crying. It was a yell for help, and I think it was Trayvon.”

Austin wasn’t sure if the person was in a fight or had slipped and gotten hurt. Austin’s Boxer puppy got off the leash so the boy went chasing after the dog and lost sight of the scene for a moment. Then, he heard a gun go off.

He ran home and told his sister to call the police.

The boy, who is black, has been rattled ever since. He feels angry and disconcerted, and wonders whether he’s at risk too.

“That people can stereotype like that makes you scared,” he said.

Austin’s mom said he’s been acting out in school and seems mad all the time.

“My son has a terrible feeling of guilt, because he did not do anything to help. He’s angry,” said Austin’s mother, Cheryl Brown. “They are saying that Trayvon looked suspicious, because he was walking slow. So I guess I have to tell my son: make sure you always run fast.”