She is us posting cherry-picked MLK Day peacemaking quotes.
She is us at the Women’s March that doesn’t know why people are making it about race.
She is us raising kids to be “color blind” but armed with whiteness.
She is us that know we can taunt police, raise hell, yell for the manager and we may get eye rolls but not gun shots.
She is us that gets furious when someone calls us sweetie, but don’t get involved when someone calls a person n*
She is us that support the protesters, but just can’t get behind them when they break windows.
She is us that yell about politics with friends and mimosas, but don’t bring it up at home because it starts a fight.
She is us that whispers “black.”
She is us that “hey girl”s to signal that we are “down.”
She is us, unchecked and unaccountable.
She is us, a cocked gun pointed wherever we want.
Will we disarm it or pretend we didn’t know it was there?
We are responsible and have a role in undoing current and future harm. White women, we uphold and reinforce racism constantly. We cause harm. We need to own that and take responsibility for repair.
We are Karen and Amy. It is in us unless we exorcise it and continue to fight back against it. You will not get it right, because it’s not a thing to get right. There is no neutral.
