Ijeoma Oluo
@IjeomaOluo
White people r surprised when they ask me what I thought of the Starbucks arrest & I say "not much"
I say "not much" bc I can check in w any group of black ppl I know & find a black friend who was abused or threatened by white supremacy on any given day
If you think the problem is Starbucks, or Waffle House, you are wrong.
The problem is this society.
We are being brutalized because White America is told to fear us simply for existing in our skin
but it's not only that.
We are being brutalized because White America thinks so little of our worth, and so highly of their own worth, that if we become even a mild inconvenience, it is seen as justified to insult, demean, abuse, and even kill us.
The person who called the police at The Waffle House did not fear for their safety because a black woman asked to speak to the manager
The woman who called the police at Starbucks did not fear for her safety because two black men asked to use the bathroom.
They were inconvenienced.
They were insulted by the idea that we would expect any level of service from them.
They were annoyed that we would be so uppity as to think we deserved some of their time.
Like a fly buzzing around their heads they used the police to swat us away
They did this knowing they would get away with it, even if, after the luck of video recording & viral outrage, these two employees are unlikely to get away with it this one time.
They've gotten away with it in the past. They would have this time without video.
They aren't alone
This is not how you treat human beings.
The way we are being treated in restaurants, coffee shops, schools, courts...this is not how you treat people.
Cops threatening to break our arms for asking why we are being handcuffed...this is not how you treat human beings.
And if time & time again we are not treated like human beings the moment we become an inconvenience for White society then the only conclusion to draw is that White society does not see us as human beings.
And that, that is not a Waffle House problem, or a Starbucks problem
And this is not a matter of loving or liking black people. I've seen that switch go off in the eyes of white people who have acted with love for me for years until the day I inconvenienced them. I'm not alone in this.
Interview these people calling police to have black people brutalized for inconveniencing them. Ask them what they think of black people.
Watch them list their black friends, black relatives, black lovers.
This idea that you can love black people while not seeing them is fully human is reinforced in all of our society.
We can be funny sidekicks without any consideration toward our own stories.
We can be a teaching lesson for a white person on a journey of personal growth.
We can be a sad tale for politicians to drum up money for "inner cities" that will never actually benefit us.
We can be the "achievement gap" to force schools into over-disciplining our students to weed out the "problems" that get in the way of better test scores
We can be the tales of strength in the face of brutality to inspire a white woman to ask for that raise.
We can be the tales of smiles in the face of pain to inspire a white person to get through a rough day.
We can be the face of "diversity" ads aimed at letting white liberals know that your business is a good place to spend your white guilt while your managers refuse to hire us and your servers refuse to serve us.
We can be the campaign stop you make every two to four years when you are told that your candidacy is in need of rejuvenation
We can be the anecdote in your bestselling books about your triumph.
Our brutalized, lifeless bodies can be your anguished tears that makes you feel like you are actually doing something
And in none of this will someone come up to you and tell you that it is not okay.
Nobody will provide you with a fine for your abuses.
Nobody will provide you with a bill for services rendered.
Every aspect of our society will tell you that THIS IS WHAT WE EXIST FOR.
So if you are outraged by this. Shocked by this. I don't want to hear a single goddamn word about it.
What are you doing?
What are you doing FOR us?
What are you doing that we can actually take to the bank?
Your "sorry," your tears, your outrage - those are for you.
We are human beings, and even in your grief over our brutalization you can't think of us first.
Start thinking of us first. Start doing the hard shit. And if it won't have a measurable impact on my life or the lives of those in my community I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT