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There's this view on the fedi that because people don't outright use slurs, they can't be racist or anti-Black, which is absurd, but people cling to this falsehood in an attempt to justify hateful behavior.

But this context speaks to how insidious whiteness operates in the fedi.

No, most people won't call me a slur, but they will ignore a boundary I've set.

The chances of one using a historically derogatory term of Black folk is low in the fedi, but people will frame me as an Angry Black Guy, a historic trope used against Black persons to justify injustice to try and invalidate my response to being attacked and abused in this space.

Nah, most people who style themselves as PROGRESSIVE won't use the language of hate to express themselves, but they will show deference and understanding to other white people while engaging in hostile and bad faith exchange with Black folks under the guise of 'discourse.'

To be honest, I respect bigots who use slurs because they are clear about where they stand. I know where to put that.

But there are a lot of people who engage in anti-Black behavior while having all of the acronyms and flags in their bios.

This is why I pay attention to behavior because that always tells what a person is really about.