A Call to All The GWP
No Me Digas. Op-Ed: Keith Price
Okay, the headline may seem a tad bit mysterious, however a new upcoming season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race is upon us and in these past few weeks, I have seen some Good White People (GWP) do some amazing work to combat some of the stupidity that is running rampant in this country. They just stepped their p***ies up against ignorance, honey! Like this groovy white woman going after a toxic white woman because she was attacking people for speaking Spanish in front of her.
When a white lady went on a racist tirade against 2 Hispanic women in a store for speaking Spanish, another white woman stepped in to defend them
This is the type of energy we love to see from white people & need to see more of
SEE SOMETHING? SAY SOMETHING!
SALUTE pic.twitter.com/xZq4UYCqgn
— StanceGrounded (@_SJPeace_) February 7, 2020
This clearly shows that our country is openly and deeply reconnecting with one of its ugly sides again, and that reconnection gets emboldened daily. I have my own opinions as to why it might be happening, but it amazes me every time that I see this crazy behavior. Have we walked out of our doors and time-warped back to 1958? It is 2020, right? To paraphrase Rodgers and Hammerstein, you must be carefully taught, and white supremacy is one of the most hateful and willfully ignorant movements being expressed globally today. We definitely know that even when we think that we have passed it, something else happens, and we are back to racist basics. Like this moment:
Now according to WILX, the display above, which was featured at the Wharton Center gift shop, showed historical and notable Black figures hanging from a rack that resembled a tree, supposedly in honor of Black History Month. Are there NO black people that work in that store?? Whatever display manager said ‘yes’ to this should be seriously counseled. This is just wrong. However, someone will say that they did not even REALIZE that the display had any racial overtones (Umm-hmm, insert eye roll here). Considering the way kids are taught about anything of historical significance, I am surprised that there were no Al Jolson dolls, too. In any case, folks complained and something happened to squash it.
Even when things like this are pointed out, how many more people continue to feel emboldened to just say the dumbest and most racist things, and then expect to move without impunity?
Many say the president may be the reason that this is becoming de rigueur, as social media fans the flame, too. Imagine sitting in a school meeting with parents and have another parent say, “Why didn’t you stay in Mexico?”. This same parent was trying to speak about the ugliness of bullying that his child had been receiving at the school. It is the epitome of what is happening in America.
After this meeting, it became very apparent to me whose kids are doing some of the bullyings. The other thing that seems to be happening is that there are good white people (GWP) who are starting to speak up and stand up to this kind of ignorance and hatred that WE have been trying to tell them about for years. I must say, the woman in the scarf’s response was instantaneous. You then hear someone yell, “YOU should leave!” This level of dissension means that regular America is starting to get tired of the shenanigans of THEIR people, and by regular America, I mean white people.
As a black person, who is also openly gay and Latinx, I have been called one of the “good ones” for most of my life. The older I get, the cheekier I get, the more my patience for tolerating BS gets lower. I also realize my desire to be one of the “good ones” is waning quickly. Until race relations really change in this country for the better, I still have to pick my battles when it comes to dealing with race issues, even with my high amount of sassafras. Why? Because in today’s situations, you have to know who are the good white people, and who are not. It is hard to discern, especially if there is a mixed room. You know what I mean?
During the Vietnam War, our troops had a hard time discerning who was the enemy when confronted simultaneously by people from North and South Vietnam. If a confederate soldier wears a union uniform or vice versa, could you tell the difference barring a Southern drawl? As a person of color in a room with that many white people, it is hard to know who the GWP are versus the ones who are not. However, when the good white folks speak up in those moments of toxic white foolishness, it moves the room forward. It also shows the rest of us watching with whom we can align. Once that coalition forms, it becomes so easy to drown out that noise once and for all.
I finally caught up with the last Star Wars flick with the Lady Jedi. Excuse me. I mean the Jedi Knight who also happens to be female. As someone who remembers seeing the very first Star Wars in 1977, I felt that I needed to finally complete the cycle.
This is also a spoiler alert warning, as well. The Evil Emperor regenerates himself to spread his evil throughout the Universe. It is going take the Lady Jedi, the Black former Stormtrooper/Pilot, the clearly Arab/ possibly Muslim or Latinx Pilot, the Hot Black Lady Warrior and her friends, Lando Calrissian with his Colt 45 Realness, the entire Rebel Outfit with all of those odd-looking aliens from around the Universe, and some Ewoks to kick the Toxic Emperor’s Ass. The symbolism for me was overwhelming. The evil Emperor represented all of the dark ills of our society (racism, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, et. al.) and it is going to take an army of ALL of us, working together, to stop all of this crazy in its tracks. This means that alliances of white/black, gay/straight, old/young, millennials/gen-x/boomers, citizens/immigrants, Jews/Muslims, and every combination of people are needed to take down this insane energy.
Together we are stronger than any of that impending darkness. However, the charge to this new freedom is not going to be led by me and my Black/LGBTQIA/Latinx and other brothers and sisters of color. It is going to have to be started by good white people vocally and actively disassociating themselves with their toxic cohorts and to paraphrase Ru Paul, step up their P****IES harder because when they do, the rest of us will get their backs.
Look at Anne Hathaway owning it!!
