If we argued the way white people wanted, a racial essay would look much like this:

September 21st, 2011 at 12:15PM

If we argued the way white people wanted, a racial essay would look much like this:

“I really hate white people, but only sometimes and only the really bad intentionally racist ones, which not all white people are. When I go into a store, the white security guards follow me around because I am black, but let’s not forget that not every white guard does this and that many white guards are amazing people who are great and completely not-racist at their jobs. Once, I joined a conversation with some white feminists, and when I brought up the issue of racism in feminism, they told me I was being a bad feminist for not supporting them. Those feminists were especially bad, there are many good feminists who support black feminists, so let’s take a few moments to sing a hymn to their praises. My brother got arrested and beaten for jaywalking, and the cops who did it got away with it, but remember that white cops are vital to our survival and they take care of us when we can’t or are too afraid to. I saw a white hipster wearing a Native headdress and an offensive logo on their shirt, and even though it was wrong, they probably didn’t mean it or know, and not all hipsters are insensitive like this. I was discussing my native language, which is Japanese, and someone kept asking me to say things in “Chinese”. I felt terrible because this happens a lot and is extremely dismissive of who I am. However, Japan and China are really far from America, and both languages aren’t very popular in this country, so I understand that the white person was probably confused and didn’t mean to continuously insult me, and of course, many white people know the difference and try to learn about my culture. Racism is perpetrated by white people, but a lot of white people hate that and try to fight with us even when they get it wrong. At least they’re trying.”