racismschool:

While the above statement seems to be the battle cry of the bigot, it’s ever so convenient that they overlook everything that lead up to them making this statement.

On paper, this comment seems reasonable. The problem with this comment is that, because of what came before it, not only is not reasonable, it’s down right ignorant entitlement. Take this site for instance. We see this statement or something very close to it on a daily basis. Even when people calling themselves “Anti-SJ” talk about why the evil Sjs are so gosh darned awful, you’ll see them make some reference of them being big ole meanies and never taking the time to educate people. It usually goes something like this, “You’ll get more people on your side if you calmly explain and educate, than if you yell and scream at them.”

Again, on paper, that almost sounds reasonable. Except what they claim is happening and what is actually happening are two very different things.

The way they see it:

I was just asking an innocent question and they blew up at me.

What actually happens:

So-and-so wrote a post talking about their own experiences and you came in to tell them that they were lying and wrong about everything they said.

See, this isn’t a case of someone who is wanting to learn more, to grow or to understand. This is a ploy bigots use to play the victim. Think about it. When you see the claim that if someone would just “Calmly educate me” does it come after someone has made a post asking a question or does it come after someone has jumped into someone else’s post to say they didn’t believe what the person was saying? If it’s the latter, you don’t deserve kindness, education or any more time than the original poster was willing to give.

Then there’s the “Just because I didn’t know about something doesn’t mean that I am an asshole. Why don’t you educate me instead of screaming.”

Again, on paper, this seems like a reasonable thought, right? Here’s why it’s not. You see, when this statement is being made, it’s not a case of someone simply “Not knowing” something. It is a case of someone adding their own UNEDUCATED opinion and then being told off for entering a conversation when they had no real understanding of it’s topic.

This is what I see happen each and every day on this site:

Person A: Writes a post. Person B: Reblogs said post with comments about how wrong the contents of the post are. Person A: argues but then tells Person B to go look it up to see why they are wrong.

What’s happening here is that Person B FIRST accused Person A’s post of being full of lies and THEN demands an education. If you are going to talk about what is or isn’t correct, you should KNOW what is or isn’t correct. That is why people don’t want to “Educate” you. Person B is not a victim. They are instead, an entitled fool who speaks on things they know nothing about, insults the person who first wrote a post and then plays the victim when Person A doesn’t want to sit down and hold their hand while they walk through the magical land of Google search.

Your chosen ignorance is yours to correct. Yes, the ignorance IS chosen when you first speak and THEN (Claim you) want to learn. It needs to happen the other way around.

This is why you see so many people chalk bigotry up to a “disagreement.” To people like them, it is a disagreement. Racism (or any other bigoted topic) is a disagreement. They are SURE that they know better than the person who wrote something about racism and when they say you don’t, you demand an education on why. If you are going to say someone is wrong, you should KNOW why it’s wrong. You don’t get to say it and then say, okay then teach me.

This is usually the point where someone will say, “You made a claim and now the onus is on you to prove it.” Were this a scientific endevour, I would agree with this statement 100%. The question is, how do you “Prove” that something happened to you personally? See, that is where they’ve found their loop holes. It’s a trick. I can tell you about something that happened to me but how can I ever “Prove” it? Especially if the story involves a conversation. How can one “Prove” a conversation, a feeling or reaction without film or audio?

The reality is, the onus of YOUR education is on YOU. Period.

THIS is the problem. Those that get asked for “Proof” and “Evidence” are typically those of the same minority group. Those that demand “Evidence” aren’t demanding it from everyone. No, they demand it from people who aren’t like them. It’s not every claim that they demand proof of. It’s claims that come from certain TYPES of people.

Really pay attention to who is demanding proof, what they demand proof of and why they aren’t demanding it from people who (Surprise! Surprise!) are more physically like them?