what white people think racism is: when you mean to someone because of their race

what racism really is: social and legal systems that puts a race beneath another, vilifying them, fetishizing them, sexualizing them, and creates a usually negative bias towards that group.

where childhood is not an option when you’re the villain or where you are always seen at a child’s level no matter your age

where you are always responsible if someone else says/does something racist towards you, because existing invites aggression somehow

where you do not fit beauty standards, because beauty is afforded to the human, and your conditioned low self-esteem lets you know that

where you’re either synonymous with violence, stupidity, or infantilization, because you cannot make your own choices that aren’t irrational.

where your feelings are routinely invalidated and your daily life experiences are not enough evidence and cannot be trusted, because you’re a suspicious character whose humanity is always on trial. so you do not get to define universally what racism is

where you do not get feel anything besides rational at all times, to be carefree or upset or angry without it being a stereotype of you overreacting to everything

where if you fit into a stereotype it could mean your death and the rest of your race tries to put you down as a self-elevating technique, because they have internalized the lie that when you deny your race and culture you become human. where fitting a stereotype means “see i knew they where all like this”

where if you don’t fit into a stereotype you are not your race and culture, because people have such narrow views of what you’re supposed to be that you cannot possibly exist and be your race at the same time, so people of every race take away yours. Oreo. Banana. Coconut. Apple.

where you will legally get more time for the same crimes

where you will socially be demonized more the same crimes

where when you quell the crimes keeping your race down, there are always more that’s made up to keep you in your place (The War on Drugs =_=)

where you get paid less for the same work

where you get hired less with the same qualifications

where having a culturally-coded name that’s not acceptable, like Ibrahim, Jose, or Unique can stop you from getting a job

where there are so many things in place to keep you impoverished and uneducated but it’s still your fault if you don’t have the strength and good luck to defy the lack of social mobility and create your own

where entire countries whose cultures and economies have been destroyed are trying to restart alone and the people that destroyed them blame the country for its own destruction

where the farther your features are from your race the more beautiful you’re considered

where your rank in social hierarchy changes how people treat you the more they find out about your identity, and the more marginalized you are by coming out of the closet or not being christian or not being able-bodied and neurotypical the worse you get racism, because you are a bigger target for various acts of violence and microaggressions

where you get used to microagressions before you hit double digits

where your most recent experience with a microaggression was probably yesterday if the day just started

where you idea of a microaggression is the white summation of racism

where your family teaches you how to assimilate to white culture to try and protect you from all of the above

where your death is an opportunity to blame you for it and demonize you in your grave

where there is a death count just for existing

where there is a death count just for existing

where there is a death count just for existing