White Women, I'm Glad You're Showing Up. But I'm Not Sure I Trust You Just Yet

[Amy-Strange]

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White Women, I’m Glad You’re Showing Up. But I’m Not Sure I Trust You Just Yet

I moved to Los Angeles in 1992, the year a jury with no Black people on it acquitted the four policemen who had administered that horrific, now-infamous beating to Rodney King. I was 25 years old and had never before seen anything like what I was witnessing; the world was on fire.

A man with a video camera just happened to have captured King’s beating from his apartment balcony across the street from where the LAPD stopped King’s car. It was a rarity for the time ― this was pre-social media ― so the world was shocked to see the proof of the savagery that Black people had been screaming about for decades.

Some of us, for the first time in our lives, felt a semblance of vindication — for finally, there was evidence that could not be disputed. It was on film, it was on the news, and it was on the front page of every newspaper. I felt the collective anger and sorrow of my Black brothers and sisters. Still, surprisingly, at the time, I felt hostility-tinged apathy from a number of the white people in my life.

With a few exceptions, these white people were resistant to discussing the real causes of our civil unrest with me: slavery, lynchings, Jim Crow, segregation, the war on drugs, police violence against Black men, systemic racism, privatized prisons, etc. But they were annoyingly vocal in their support for the “real” victim, Reginald Denny, the white truck driver who was ripped from the cab of his truck at Florence and Normandy and beaten nearly to death during the riots.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/voices/white-women-im-glad-youre-showing-up-but-im-not-sure-i-trust-you-just-yet/ar-BB1523Em?ocid=spartandhp
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[shenmue]

1. Why don't I just move the fuck out of this country?

Nice stereotype you got there!

[Pachamama]

2. This is an offensive opinion pieces n/t

[sheshe2]

4. Not really, it is grief speaking.

Years of it, hell, decades, centuries.

I was drowning in a sea of outrage and sorrow, and bitter about the fact that some people were unwilling to join me in it. I felt especially betrayed by white women, as I know how powerful their sway is. When they have a cause, they take over the stage. And they do not stop until they have been heard by everyone who has ever mattered.

But circa 2020, those white women are with us now. They are marching alongside us; they are calling their congressperson and crying out for change; they are showing their solidarity on social media (post after post after post ― and yo, you can chill on that a little, we get it).

They’re giving us the support I longed for and needed back in 1992. They have shown up in a big way, and some compelling people are taking notice. But here’s the thing: I’m not entirely sure how I feel about that support now. My experiences with the Karens of the world have left me feeling salty. I’m trying really hard not to conflate the actions of those Karens with the many, many beloved and well-intentioned white men and women in my life today, but honestly, it has not been easy.

I am a white woman and reading the whole article I feel no offense. The article does not say "All White Women"...if this does not speak of of you and your actions, then it is not about you.

I am a white woman and I am not offended.

[greymattermom]

3. I'm a white woman

whose father was raised by Big House Gaines mother. Why wouldn't you trust me? I think of Ola as my grandmother.

[SharonAnn]

5. I'm a white woman and haven't always understood the real issues of racism

I truly thought that hard work could advance you in America. Many years older now, I understand that structural racism prevents many from advancing. I Am ashamed of my naïveté. I understand why they’re not sure they trust me yet and I can’t expect them to. I will need to earn that trust.