TUMBLR, and THE DAYS OF JIM CROW

Signal Fire:

TUMBLR is supporting Racism, Racist Language, Death Threats, Rape Threats, & Harrassment. They are doing so, by telling PoC, in particularly, PoC Women, that maybe they just shouldn't have caught 'Massa's Eye'. That maybe they just should have covered up more. That 'these good white people' have filed a complaint against them and now, THESE COMPLAINTS, by THESE GOOD WHITE PEOPLE, MUST be responded to, and the victims of vicious, callous, racist acts and harassment, need to STOP DEFENDING THEMSELVES.

People are speaking up about it and doing so here and here and here.

I keep a track of certain tumblrs, even though the system irritates me, and I could not grok it enough to start one myself; because it's filled with Conversations I Want To Track. There are conversations about white washing, white privilege, white f*menism's denial of WoC's humanity and more. And these conversations have drawn ire from many, many, many white people. Ire and abuse for which I've never seen a post saying 'Tumblr Support is on it' or 'Tumblr Support is investigating that'.

The conversations on Tumblr happen Daily. Daily! I can still remember what it was like to go through shit at that level of intensity for a good portion of the year back in 2009. And this is DAILY. Multiple conversations. And thus multiple attacks.

And TUMBLR SUPPORT does NOTHING. NOTHING, but come up to 'rescue' white people who complain about THEIR FEE FEES, even while they're telling other people to go kill themselves, hang themselves and the like.

I think TUMBLR; their support staff, their developers, their whole company needs to understand the racism they're perpetuating and supporting. Once upon a time in the Americas, a black person couldn't look at a white person 'wrong'. For THEIR standards of wrong. It could lead to brutality and death. It was a terrorist state. And now TUMBLR is perpetuating that. White people can call you ANYTHING. Harass you ANYHOW. But if you RAISE your voice against them, if you cuss at them, if you defend yourself, then YOU, are the bad guy and we will shut you down. Cause such is our power.

If anyone still reads me, and keeps wondering what they might do, what small action they might take towards making the world a better place? See if you can CONTACT TUMBLR SUPPORT; and/or CONTACT TUMBLR POLICY; contact them and let them know you disapprove of their actions.

Or maybe the path to take is via their investors:

Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Insight Venture Partners, The Chernin Group and Richard Branson, Betaworks, John Borthwick, Fred Seibert, Albert Wenger, Martín Varsavsky.

Maybe you'd like to ask these groups and peoples why they're supporting racism and racist harassment of Poc and racist and sexual harassment of WoC.

Or at the very least, spread the word, light another signal fire, past the Public Service Announcement about what TUMBLR's doing, about who and what TUMBLR IS!

ETA: Policy@tumblr.com

Open Letter To Tim Wise

Tim Wise,

When PoC individuals point out that you've thrust yourself (intentionally conscious or not) to the forefront of the anti-racist movement and any direction shift you give to the work laid down for centuries by the forefathers and foremothers of antiracism by POC, what they're essentially saying is this;

White people are calling you Mr.Wise while you let them call those PoC activists by their first names.

And if you can't understand what's implicit in that, then you've come a long ass way (in the wrong direction) from when you wrote 'White Like Me' and all the comprehension you claimed therein on what it meant to be doing what you were doing.

Stop being your grandfather running a liquor shop in a black community and expecting to be loved for it.

The Magical Black POTUS

The black man is in the seat of power. The magical bindings have come all undone. What was underground is now bubbling forth like vomit and right out of Speculative Fiction's very pale pink caucasian mouths (and fingertips).

There's a new power couple vying for 'Most WTF White People Ever'. Bull and Sh*tt*rly better watch out. J.Lamplighter and John C. Wright are coming for the crown and they will insult everyone from Muslims to Inuits to get it. Oh yes, and gays - Wright also wants O.Scott Card for a footstool.

No, I'm STILL not linking to these assholes. But I am watching history replay itself, however (in just 8 months). Where the white wife claims to catch a clue and then the white husband takes up the slack and tries to jism over everyone.

What I want to know is, how come I wasn't invited to the racism uncorking ceremony? I can chant Frederick Douglas and Marcus Garvey's names as well as anyone else. I got really good chanting Mandela back in my pre-teens too.

Note: Part of me, I admit, does wonder if this is all nothing but an attempt to drum up sales during an economic depression with the hope that the Klan, Neo Nazis, White Supremacists and Other Conservatives might pick up a book involving aliens or magic.