Forgive me, forgive me.

lovefill:

What I’m about to write isn’t meant to offend anyone. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to write, possibly just a bit of my personal feelings and opinions. I’m not trying to act as if I’m a victim, I’m very blessed. But, almost everyone must face and ultimately question what identity means….

• Intent isn’t magic.
• It is not my job, nor is it the job of any other person of colour, to educate people on why their racist, appropriative words or actions are offensive and harmful. BOOKS EXIST. THE INTERNET EXISTS. There are actual RESOURCES people can go to to learn about history and why, exactly, what they are doing is wrong. 
• People are right to be angry about cultural appropriation. We are not obligated to be polite. And, honestly, in my experience, telling someone politely that they are appropriating another culture usually ends in that person saying things like “NO I AM NOT BEING RACIST I AM 1/36 CHEROKEE PRINCESS YOU PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO OPPRESS ME JUST BECAUSE I AM WHITE DON’T YOU KNOW THAT SAYING THAT I AM RACIST IS RACIST ITSELF” blah blah blah blah blah. We are not obligated to kindly and sweetly point out mistakes to people who PROBABLY WON’T STOP DOING THAT SHIT ANYWAY.

It’s a failing of contemporary American culture that if there’s ever a discussion about adding a black character to a show, people immediately think that means a slang-spitting, wise-cracking stereotype. They assume the person asking for diversity is asking for the show’s creator to change the…