When you find yourself explaining that something you said or did can’t possibly be racist because you have friends who aren’t white, it’s generally a good time to stop digging.

You didn’t just say you had conflicting feelings. You said you understand why the white woman acted the way she did. You empathized with a racist. You chose the side of a woman who attacked another for being Black. (and, yes, when you call us nigger you are attacking us for being Black. I don’t give a fuck what else…

You just ticked off your friends based on one-dimensional assessments of their identities to prove you aren’t racist. The fact you’re only zeroing in on their skin color or other demographics as credibility means you definitely have a problem.

How would I feel? Well, I don’t know. Let’s see... I grew up in a neighborhood wherein I experienced being held up with a gun and being told I’d be killed, all before I hit puberty. I remember friends getting into awful fights with weapons at school and then never seeing them again. I lost loved ones to a number of…

Sweet! The “my best friend is Black!” argument. I had a feeling it would come up eventually.

Um. There are no comparisons in grief, and this woman’s probably at the end of her rope. But if you think that excuses this behavior I’d like to introduce you to Mike Brown’s mother. And Tamir Rice’s mother. And etc.

I never said racist things, but I can understand how people can lose their cool.

I’m not condoning racism. I’m just saying people grieve in their own way.

Sympathizing with a racist isn’t a good look, girl. What did Emmy Victor do to deserve to be called a dehumanizing slur? Why do you hate a woman who was harassed and assaulted while doing her job?

Did I miss when they added “shouting racist bullshit and assaulting someone” to the stages of grief?

Did you see the report Victor ended up filming? If not, you’ve completely made up a story-line in your head about the reporters in order to justify what this woman did. You’ve filled in the excuse blanks for why her racism is OK and come to the conclusion that you hate the reporter based on ... nothing. That’s…

Black people’s children die by cop almost every other day. Do you hate the reporters that do stories on them?

🙌

I was at a family dinner recently and my grandparents OF COURSE brought politics up and they were talking about how us grandkids are more Native American than Elizabeth Warren, and I was like, “...I’m nearly 30 years old and have literally never heard anyone bring this up. What tribe are we from?”

Cherokee, obviously.…

And, if there is no way for you to claim native blood, people get creative.

Claiming part Native ancestry is what white people do to deflect feelings of white privilege. It’s an easy and generally unverifiable way to pretend that you are a minority.

Eh, it’s a way for white people to feel “cool” and “exotic” without having to actually, you know, deal with the systemic discrimination

I agree with this. I love Warren and all but seriously white people, stop claiming you are Native Americans because grandma told you a story. That’s a no.

I think there’s a lesson here for everyone. Unless you know...absolutely 100% for certain that you have Native American ancestors, don’t embarrass yourself by insisting you do. If if your grandma always insists that her great grandmother was a Cherokee princess, just nod and smile. She probably has no idea what she’s…

That’s generally what most if us have. But the number of people whose families claim some Cherokee heritage doesn’t really match with the actual number of Cherokee and generally involve improbable or impossible connections.