To not get the point of “Blackout Tuesday”?

[SachaStark]

Morning.

Just been on my Instagram, and it appears that a load of the (white) interior and beauty “influencers” I follow are posting an all-black square on their feed, and tagging it as BLM and Blackout Tuesday.

So, essentially, they’re going silent on their social media accounts all day, other than this image, to support the BLM movement.

I really don’t get it. Surely, this is not the time for silence? Surely, as white people with significant platforms, they should be USING their voices to amplify black voices to show solidarity?

AIBU to think that this is a poor show of support by social media influencers?

I saw this on a family members insta ( is an ‘influencer’ on a niche part of fashion ) and I usually dutifully like to be helpful. Didn’t know that the blank tile was based on this so DMd to tell them there seemed to be a technical glitch.

Ah, well.

The point of it is supposedly to allow black voices to be amplified on social media. If white people are not posting then more posts from black people will be seen. And in general it raises awareness.

It’s not doing that though, is it? It’s not like online shopping where if you filter out one colour you can see the others more easily. If people are only following white people, they won’t suddenly ‘hear black voices’ - they’ll probably just think Instsgram’s broken.

Are you a "poc" @EmperorCovidula

Just trying to figure out how it can be offensive when the movement itself is called black lives matter?

Where is calling a black person black offensive? Or is this about non black people being offended by the term?

I'm black and trust me, using the term POC on an issue affecting black people is not cool and is more "offensive". But this is mumsnet and guess I better know my place & exit this post.

It's an easy virtue signalling cop out for these vacuous types.

I don't know who you follow, but the people I follow (also people who usually post about interiors) have been linking to other accounts.

The issue I have with it is that a lot of people posting the black square are also tagging it with the black lives matter hashtag, which means that a lot of educational, helpful and insightful posts are being lost in a sea of black squares. This is counter productive imo.
Also I can’t see that this is a time to stay silent.
That being said, I won’t judge anyone who does participate, I’d like to believe they’re doing it for their own positive reasons.

Just trying to figure out how it can be offensive when the movement itself is called black lives matter?

Where is calling a black person black offensive? Or is this about non black people being offended by the term?

Exactly what I was thinking.

@memememoi sorry, I didnt mean that POC was the correct term, more that not everyone is comfortable using that word so there will be people looking for alternatives.

I don’t get the point either, surely if you want to ‘allow black people more space to post’ (whatever that means!) you’d just refrain from posting. Of course they all have to make a stupid statement though.

It’s my DD’s birthday today so I’ll be posting lovely happy photos of her! The sea of black squares this morning was totally depressing.

LajesticVantrashell I doubt it.

YABU to not understand why it is important for just one day that people dont post narcissistic shite on social media and instead stand with people that feel their lives do not matter enough. Its one day. Did you see the video of what happened to George Floyd?

I wish someone would make a list of all the mass behaviour we are obliged to participate in. There seems to be a lot of it to get through at the moment.

Have you read the thread, @loobyloo1234?

We’ve been discussing whether posting a single black square instead of “narcissistic shite” is actually ENOUGH, or if white influencers should be using their platforms to raise black voices.

I understand the intention but I think the message would be better relayed with education, links to support etc. I saw this this morning and found it very powerful, it made me look into these cases as opposed to just scrolling by a black square

If people are uncomfortable saying black then maybe they ought to spend a bit of time thinking about why that is. To me it’s very reminiscent of how straight people used to whisper ‘gay’ eg “I think Bob is... you know... gay?” It’s ok to say that gay people are gay. It’s ok to say that black people are black. Just like it’s ok to say white people are white (although it sometimes doesn’t feel ok).

That’s a way better black square post, @rooarsome.

If you’re following people who you think have posted the black square for vanity or narcissism than you are following the wrong people. You’ll never truly know someone’s motivation for posting it, but for of all the people I follow who have posted it, my reaction hasn’t once been to think negatively on them. But I make a point not to follow the stereotypical “influencers”.

Accounts such as pregnantthenscrewed or the_mamahood to give you two such examples. Both posted. I don’t think either have done for vanity.

And to add... Instagram has been quite vocal this morning to request that people don’t post with the black lives matter hashtag so as to not drown out other content.

I actually found it quite impactful this morning going on and seeing all the black squares on my Instagram feed.

Me too @Pastaforall.

The solidarity is speaking very loudly. Also, I think it’s a way of being a part of the conversation when you don’t know what words to say.

If all you can see is black squares then that suggests your feed is very white. Try following some back poets, authors, celebrities.

I think it’s great.

But it is working to some extent.

Conversations like this thread are being had.

I think some people are doing it in a misguided manner. They want to be doing something and this is something they can do. They feel helpful. It comes from a place of love. But they just haven’t given it enough thought.

The solidarity is speaking very loudly. Also, I think it’s a way of being a part of the conversation when you don’t know what words to say.
This is a very interesting point, I hadn’t really thought of it from that angle.

And to add... Instagram has been quite vocal this morning to request that people don’t post with the black lives matter hashtag so as to not drown out other content.
I don’t think it’s working @Betty98 if you actually look at the top and recent posts under that hashtag.