Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   AJ Sadauskas (ajsadauskas@social.vivaldi.net)'s status on Monday, 30-Sep-2024 00:20:13 JST AJ Sadauskas

   • mekka okereke :verified:

   @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)

   • Embed this notice
     mark (atleagle@mastodon.online)'s status on Monday, 30-Sep-2024 00:20:11 JST mark

     in reply to

     • mekka okereke :verified:
     • Steve Canon

     @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

   • Embed this notice
     AJ Sadauskas (ajsadauskas@social.vivaldi.net)'s status on Monday, 30-Sep-2024 00:20:12 JST AJ Sadauskas

     in reply to

     • mekka okereke :verified:

     @mekkaokereke Here's the crucial thing about the type of racist white people 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)

   • Embed this notice
     Steve Canon (steve@discuss.systems)'s status on Monday, 30-Sep-2024 00:20:12 JST Steve Canon

     in reply to

     • mekka okereke :verified:

     @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!

   • Embed this notice
     mark (atleagle@mastodon.online)'s status on Monday, 30-Sep-2024 01:20:42 JST mark

     in reply to

     • mekka okereke :verified:
     • Administrator
     • Steve Canon

     @mdm @steve @ajsadauskas @mekkaokereke my current position is somewhat like this, but being in Georgia means that I am still surrounded by bad actors. They are getting more vocal in their little circles as the election rhetoric ramps up.

     I am avoiding being on site as much as possible because of this.

   • Embed this notice
     Administrator (mdm@mcnamarii.town)'s status on Monday, 30-Sep-2024 01:20:43 JST Administrator

     in reply to

     • mark
     • mekka okereke :verified:
     • Steve Canon

     @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.