True colors of white superiority?

Question

Do you believe racism is based on a idea of superiority? Then does that mean “allyship” is showing superiority due to believing you are helping a “lesser group/person” furthermore pushing the white savior complex? 
I

Accepted Answer

No. I think Allyship is just admitting privilege and using it to help others. That's it and that's all. Allys and saviors aren't the same.

Answer

I think white saviorism is more prevalent in allyship than is spoken about. I see it often and it is quite subtle. I say this with respect to white people but not every situation or issue involving POC requires your involvement or opinion. At times it feels like you’re trying to fight our battles because you pity us. (At least, that’s honestly how I feel sometimes). Sometimes I think the best thing you can do as a true anti racist person is to just listen and accept our experiences, not try to solve them for us.

Answer

There’s levels.
Overt racism vs covert racism is an issue I see on this site in particular.
People don’t realize their implicit bias and unconscious beliefs impact the way they treat people even if they do try to be kind and nice to everyone. They showcase it in their overwhelming support or hatred of people based on their likeability in creating a comfortable place for them to be. 
For example, people hating malcom x but loving Martin Luther king and forgetting they were both seen as public enemy #1 but they have cherry picked mlkjr to be all about good feelings and reject anything that shows him as being incredibly radical because it makes them feel uncomfortable. See also the safe black friend trope.
People also like to distance themselves from people who use derogatory terms as being incredibly racist and terrible but are searching for an equivalent because they too want to be oppressed in language and to police others language not knowing there are respectability politics crafted by white supremacy that tone police and language police everyone who isn’t white and demonizes any language variance that isn’t “proper English”. 
Essentially even people who don’t think they are racist often uphold racist institutions, have bias that contributed to racism being prominent in society and often boil down racism to being simply hurt feelings or mean words and refuse to believe anything different.

Answer

People who have suffered racism, abuse, oppression, hate, genocide, etc. are not “lesser”.

Answer

There’s a great video Ami Horowitz made years ago asking white college students if they thought voter ID laws were racist. The answers from these woke college students were along the lines of “it’s racist bc black ppl don’t have internet access, they don’t know how to or are unable to get to the DMV” and my personal favorite “they don’t have the knowledge.” That is what I think of when I think of most ppl that label themselves allies. Ppl that have this really dumbed down image of the collective black community and think they are needed by us. It’s also made up of a lot of ppl that think calling everything racist validates them as such caring ppl or they use our communities they claim they care about, as political leverage. Either or, it stems from a sense of superiority.
And on this forum as a black woman with a more conservative opinion on a lot of topics, the only ppl that have made the cruel comments towards me regarding my own community, have been non black women, yet they’ll claim to be allies and seek validation from the black women that are in line with their opinions. And sadly, they’ll get fed that validation. Allies will love black ppl until we go against the grain, and I really wish my community, especially sisters, would realize that many of these self proclaimed “allies” from non black communities are not always good ppl. 
I remember on here, another user that is a non black forum user, PMed me and called me a bed wench and tap dancing monkey bc of my opinion on Colin Kap. (Colin btw who later went on to get hilariously dragged by black women, but that’s another discussion entirely.) Yet she was on the forum very buddy buddy with all the other black women on here getting her dose of validation and being such a “good ally”.
 I say this not so ppl can be mad for me or for ppl  to go looking for her, I mention it so we can be mindful that ppl like that are not uncommon in the ally category. They’ll throw you under the bus the very second you step outside your square and show you their true colors. Even POTUS famously said “if you don’t vote for me, you ain’t black.” I love that he said bc it perfectly sums up the psychology of a lot of “allies.” That’s why I just judge ppl based on their character, and everything else that’s performative or fake outrage on our behalf from ppl outside our community, I just don’t pay any mind to. I just appreciate ppl being authentic. Sorry for the long winded post, but “allies” rarely get held accountable for this type of behavior.

Answer

Racism is much more than just a false idea of supremacy. 
Rejecting that mindset is being an ally. 
Agreeing with it, but feeling sympathy is being a white savior. 
I unfortunately still see both in my profession. It’s getting better though. Younger people of all races are quicker to call it out.

Answer

White supremacy is absolutely based on the belief of superiority. I also think that a LOT of allies have a white savior complex that they confuse with allyship. In my personal opinion all “allies” start out as white saviors. They do it to feel good about themselves and are usually lowkey looking for praise. Many stay there and get offended and defensive when called out, or when they don’t receive the praise they think they deserve. They think that standing up for black people here and there absolves them of any responsibility of educating themselves further, because they’re “woke.” There are of course true allies (Jolly Good Ginger on TikTok is a great example of a true ally), but in order to reach that you have to put all your self centered wanted and beliefs to the side and humble yourself. You have to actually do the work to unlearn the unconscious racism ALL white people have. Having unconscious racism does not mean you hate black people or don’t support them, it’s about the things we’re taught from the minute we pop out of our mother womb. The way media, up until somewhat recently (and often still does) presented POC. It’s the way you feel a twinge of fear when you see a black man walking towards you. Etc. you have to work to unlearn those things, but many “allies” believe just saying Black Lives Matter and not supporting the KKK is enough. It’s not.
I say all of this as a white person who, for a long time, believed I was a true ally. Then I realized that while I 100% support BLM, I was constantly looking for praise and thinking I was above other white people because I was such a “good ally.” Now I’m working everyday to unlearn the things society taught me growing up, educating myself on the struggles POC go through, educating myself in the lies I’ve been fed through our whitewashed education system, and doing the work to become a true ally rather than a white savior. You have to be doing it for the right reasons, and while part of me was, part of me was doing it to feel good about myself.

Answer

Being an ally isn't pushing the white savior complex because there two different things white savior complex dates back to the day they portrayed Jesus Christ as white and used images of him to portray a white savior onto enslaved people so they will not rebel against their owners. White savior complex is the ideology that white people are using their status and privilege to help people of color only for the benefit of them not because they actually care about the person of color also they believe that they know what's best for people of color despite not actually listening to people of color they help for a sense of entitlement and a cookie while being an ally is doing it because you genuinely care about people of color and not looking for a thank you and yes racism is also based of the ideology that one race is superior than another race AND while this one race is superior the other race must be inferior and dehumanized

Answer

You know Nini I often think about this and what Emilia Moon writes as well. Thank you for raising this. It's not often talked about.

Answer

Racism, like all things, is based in capitalism. Money.

True colors of white superiority?

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