In which it's white racism that prompted Brexit and is propelling Trump towards the US presidency
So, there's this meme that white middle class and upper working class people are rly hard done by and that they should blame non-white people for existing instead of blaming the richest 1% who demonstrably have all the stuff and all the advantages that stuff gives people in capitalist societies.
This racist meme with added xenophobia on top is widely recognised as the most significant lie prompting people to vote for Britain to leave the European Union. The same racist meme is also widely recognised as the most significant lie propelling Donald Trump towards becoming President of the USA. Despite this, over the past week since the referendum, I have repeatedly been subjected to versions of the following conversation by Nice White Liberals who claim they're against Brexit and Trump but who continue to assiduously support and spread the racist meme about non-white people taking all the good stuff, except their claim appears to be that we're hogging all the racism and how dare we when it's rly white people who're the victims because zomg they know a white USian emigrant/immigrant who hypothetically thinks they might be a victim of fictitious discrimination at some unspecified future point or maybe some xenophobe was the tiniest bit rude to one of their white European friends (note: both real factual examples Nice White Liberals have used at me). The conversation goes like this:
Middle Class Nice White Liberal: Hello spiralsheep, I have specifically entered your space to claim white people are the most hard-done-by.
spiralsheep: ...
mcnwl (ignoring even the comparatively rare but real examples of xenophobia against white immigrants): My middle-class Nice White Immigrant friend is afraid a fictional person might hypothetically be the tiniest bit rude to them at some unspecified future point.
spiralsheep: ...
mcnwl: The only "racism" that I have ever or will ever speak against (having never previously mentioned xenophobia against Irish people or anti-Semitism against Jewish people except to dismiss them), because it's the only racism I believe is important (or have even acknowledged the existence of at all), is xenophobia against white immigrants!!1!!
spiralsheep: So basically you're claiming that the hundreds of non-white British people being killed by institutional racism, ranging from pre-meditated murders via abuse to neglect, aren't important? That the many non-white families, who I have personally met, who have lost family members to violent racism... are what? Do you not remember Sarah Reed, the subject of a massive international Say Her Name campaign this year? Have you ever even heard of Sarah Reed?
mcnwl: You non-white people want to keep all the racism for yourselves!!1!!
spiralsheep: ...
mcnwl: You non-white people take all the good stuff away from white people!!1!!
spiralsheep: Hail President Trump!
P.S. I believe it's still possible to halt the consequences of this racist meme but, y'know, only if white people, who claim they want to do that, begin speaking against this meme instead of constantly reinforcing it.
This entry was originally posted at http://spiralsheep.dreamwidth.org/585797.html and has
comments Please comment there using OpenID.
This racist meme with added xenophobia on top is widely recognised as the most significant lie prompting people to vote for Britain to leave the European Union. The same racist meme is also widely recognised as the most significant lie propelling Donald Trump towards becoming President of the USA. Despite this, over the past week since the referendum, I have repeatedly been subjected to versions of the following conversation by Nice White Liberals who claim they're against Brexit and Trump but who continue to assiduously support and spread the racist meme about non-white people taking all the good stuff, except their claim appears to be that we're hogging all the racism and how dare we when it's rly white people who're the victims because zomg they know a white USian emigrant/immigrant who hypothetically thinks they might be a victim of fictitious discrimination at some unspecified future point or maybe some xenophobe was the tiniest bit rude to one of their white European friends (note: both real factual examples Nice White Liberals have used at me). The conversation goes like this:
Middle Class Nice White Liberal: Hello spiralsheep, I have specifically entered your space to claim white people are the most hard-done-by.
spiralsheep: ...
mcnwl (ignoring even the comparatively rare but real examples of xenophobia against white immigrants): My middle-class Nice White Immigrant friend is afraid a fictional person might hypothetically be the tiniest bit rude to them at some unspecified future point.
spiralsheep: ...
mcnwl: The only "racism" that I have ever or will ever speak against (having never previously mentioned xenophobia against Irish people or anti-Semitism against Jewish people except to dismiss them), because it's the only racism I believe is important (or have even acknowledged the existence of at all), is xenophobia against white immigrants!!1!!
spiralsheep: So basically you're claiming that the hundreds of non-white British people being killed by institutional racism, ranging from pre-meditated murders via abuse to neglect, aren't important? That the many non-white families, who I have personally met, who have lost family members to violent racism... are what? Do you not remember Sarah Reed, the subject of a massive international Say Her Name campaign this year? Have you ever even heard of Sarah Reed?
mcnwl: You non-white people want to keep all the racism for yourselves!!1!!
spiralsheep: ...
mcnwl: You non-white people take all the good stuff away from white people!!1!!
spiralsheep: Hail President Trump!
P.S. I believe it's still possible to halt the consequences of this racist meme but, y'know, only if white people, who claim they want to do that, begin speaking against this meme instead of constantly reinforcing it.
This entry was originally posted at http://spiralsheep.dreamwidth.org/585797.html and has
comments Please comment there using OpenID.