There’s a really good documentary that was released on PBS called The Talk: Race in America. It discusses the realities of not only living black in an America that still has hurdles to overcome in regards to racial equality. It assesses aggressive law enforcement that still sees color as a great threat, as well as the realities of law enforcement and the inarguably dangerous jobs they have. Though towards the end I was rather struck towards rejection when a black activist spoke during a speaking engagement about white allies need to stop being alliances and start becoming accomplices.

Despite my condemnation of social justice extremism, I am more or less a supporter of Black Lives Matter. If you understand America’s history of race relations since the direct passing of the Thirteenth Amendment, hell if you just talk to people, then you understand what the movement is about and why it’s important, especially at this point in history. Nonetheless, I have never stood in acceptance of this idea of social justice allies. For one, it enables those who would demographically be allies to overstep their bounds by way of believing their voice is more important than the voices for those they stand up for. Beyond that, it gives an illogical platitude that because a person is white and/or straight and/or male, that it means something, as though any other factor is arbitrary. I have no interest in speaking for you, as I likely cannot relate. It’d also be extensively rude of me to think I deserve to speak on your behalf.

Marching for civil rights as a supporter is one thing, and is highly commendable, so long as your intentions are selfless. That is to say that you are doing so solely because you believe in civil rights, and not because you want to personally look and express to your friends that you’re on the right side of history, silently looking for your Get Out Of Being-labeled-a-bigot Free Card. Of the times that I’ve had friends holler at girls on the sidewalk from their car window, and have commented negatively about it, it didn’t stop them from being a jackass in the future. Much less should I see a white cop harassing a black teen, and I attempt to obstruct as a voice of reason, it’s not as though the officer is going to listen to my white privilege and give the kid a break before he or she goes off and changes their discriminating ways for the better. That’s just not how the world works, and it’s lunacy to suggest anything parallel to this otherwise.



Furthermore, as much as it can be important to call and write your state and city’s representatives about matters of injustice and inequality, we live in a society where legislators don’t run for office to represent the people. When they’re not doing the bidding of any possible corporate masters they owe favors to, they’re trying to implement the policies they want to put in place, and engage in politics otherwise to keep their constituents happy enough to re-elect them. To that degree, sometimes protesting becomes rather ineffective. It’s great for virtue signaling, but today seems to do little to nothing to effect policy.

Often social justice extremists seem to forget that we do live in a class-based society, and for the majority of this country’s history, the rich have run the show. Only so often do we have a Franklin Roosevelt, an Andrew Jackson (despite how racist and genocidal he was), or a Bernie Sanders who are prepared to take on the rich elite as a means to properly serve the populace. Simply being white and/or straight and/or male has little clout in enacting change in public policy. Certainly, as long as we continue the cycle of garbage in-garbage out corrupt politicians George Carlin once spoke about, it’ll be business as usual. More so, as long as these pompous extremists put the burden on the backs of people that no one gives a shit about, rather than thinking realistically about how they can enact the justice they want to see in the world - despite its difficulties, and sometimes seeming impossibilities, I predict further unfortunate turmoil in their neighborhoods.

Give me a petition (not a meaningless online one) and I’ll sign it. Tell me when and where to march, and I’ll be there if I can if I agree with the message and the organization behind it. If I see injustice happening before me, I’ll do what I can in that moment. But the problem with the idea of this privilege paradigm that social justice extremists love to scream about until their voices are hoarse, is that it projects the notion that no matter where you come from, no matter how little of people you know, no matter how broke and fucked up you are - your white skin, your penis, and your intimate and/or sexual desire for the opposite sex makes your opinion socially more redeeming. Trust me, no one beyond a philosophical lunatic is going to heed Charles Manson at all more than they would Jay-Z on any topic.



p.s. Trevor Phillips’ “Has Political Correctness Gone Mad?” Channel 4 documentary is a hugely worthwhile watch.