Hello or good day!  Hernie here.  I’ve noticed when perusing the internet that many other black folk have problems when dealing with white folk.  First off let me start by saying that white folk do not give two shits about you unless iritated in some shape or form.  That’s right, black people are irritants to them, a boil on their white bums as it were.  Those of you that think  that whites do are surely misguided.  I grew up around these people for the first 10 years of my life, to the exclusion of other black people with the exception of family members and the odd ‘West Indian‘.   I learned through experience how to deal with them as a result, this is but a preamble to future posts.  For starters:

1.  Listen to the stories your elders tell you about their own experiences with racism.  Besides being fascinating, it will help you deal with the racist white folk you will meet throughout your life.  They will, if you listen, tell you of the covert and obvious forms of racism they encountered in their lives.  For example;  My first encounter with racism was at three years old.  I was going trick or treating with my mother.  I was dressed up as a ‘calypso’ dancer.  We came to this one house and when the white women opened the door, she beckoned to her husband to come and look at the cute little ‘nigger‘.  My mother took me away from that house, quite angry with this woman, I believe she gave this woman an example of her cussing skills, being that young, I didn’t understand what she was saying.  When I got home, I ran to my father and informed him that my mother got mad because the woman called me an ‘eagle’.  Being three years old, that was the first encounter with racism that I remember, it was not to be my last!

2.  What to do eh?   The blatant racists are often funny in hindsight but not at the time you encounter them.  Imagine the stress of having to navigate around them.  But I am here to tell you it does not have to be so.  Funnily enough, these are the easiest to deal with unless of course, they are violent.  They are as dumb as fuck to start with and easily routed as a result.  You can ignore them and walk away thereby depriving them of the pleasure of calling you a nigger or a spearchucker, among other names.  This serves to deflate them as you are depriving them of this ego boosting  pleasure.  It may also enrage some as you are being uppity and may think you are better than them(you probably are).  Watch out though, as they may resort to violence to teach you a ‘lesson’.  You can, if you are in the mood, respond with like name calling and fisticuffs, thereby feeding into their pathology and providing them with the ego boost they crave.  That’s right, feed into their low sense of worth by responding to them, as this is what makes them feel good about themselves.  Ignoring them is the best way.  However, when you are a kid, this may be hard to do.  “If in doubt, punch them out’, was my motto as a kid.  However, you can not keep doing this, especially as an adult, or you may land your behind in jail or get charged with assault in the least!  The blatant racist is a dumb fucker and not worth your time or energy.  Step, plain and simple.

3.  The ‘colour blind’ racist.  Folks, the truth will always out with these miscreants.  They are dangerous as they are insidious in their approach.  They will try to minimize your experience with racism, because they are not ‘racist’, it is all in your head.  Folks you may begin to believe this is you don’t know the signs!  Learn the signs!  If you don’t know how to identify the signs you will be adversely affected!  In some instances the effects can be catastrophic!  Other posts to come on this, I am hungry and tired.

I am tired so will post more advice when I’m not.  Believe me, this topic is seemingly infinite in its’ scope and persistance.  This is but an introduction, more to come!  Carry on!  Oh, try to study; critical race theory.  for starters, the definition;

CRT recognizes that racism is engrained [sic] in the fabric and system of the American society. The individual racist need not exist to note that institutional racism is pervasive in the dominant culture. This is the analytical lens that CRT uses in examining existing power structures. CRT identifies that these power structures are based on white privilege and white supremacy, which perpetuates the marginalization of people of color.^[3]

courtesy of the UCLA School of Public Affairs.

http://spacrs.wordpress.com/what-is-critical-race-theory/

A message from Mikey: