(Title is from The Progressive Plantation by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin; it's basically a longer thesis of what I'm about to say, despite arriving at some of these conclusions from the exhaustive school of lived experience.)
If anyone's seen the few reluctant times I've waded into threads regarding disappointing results with the Democratic establishment or outrage at Republican destruction, the one question I always ask people is: "Well, what can we do about it?"
I'm not immersed in the nuances of the American political system such that I know things like how elections in Wyoming are going to go or which bylaws are in effect during some powerplay by Manchin or who the fuck ever. That's for people who actually find the nitty-gritty of the American political system interesting. I do know that problems have solutions though, and what better way to start finding solutions than to ask people who do have better analysis on hand?
Well, so far, the answer I have usually gotten for years is a deafening silence. If someone answers me, it's just "vote."
But I do vote. Indeed, I was part of the populace that turned Georgia blue. But I cannot control the votes in some other state that failed to do their part. I cannot vote multiple times. I can only vote once and where I am. And yet despite showing up to perform my civic duty, my country has rewarded me with: completely dropping the conversation on police brutality, even blaming its existence (and subsequently Black people like myself) for negative results in key races during the last election cycle, instituting harsh voter registration laws, and attempting to overturn Roe v. Wade. And I know, and you know, that had I not individually voted, the same outcome would've happened anyway.
So ultimately what people are telling me, even my own allies, is that I'm screwed either way? Hell, are they even my allies?
I'm slowly beginning to realize that perhaps that whites who ostensibly claim to be liberal/left/progressive, who claim to be on "my side," seem to have somewhat different goals than me. From a glance, they want universal healthcare and higher wages for the poor and middle class, which are good things that I want too, but they only serve to bolster the current status quo back to what it was when their parents were young. I, instead, want to see us start to move away from the systems of white supremacy, colonialism, and capitalism that are causing the underlying financial and healthcare-related anguish that white leftists are fighting against in the first place. And I'm beginning to realize that part of my frustration came from trying to reconcile these goals, because I'm now at the point where I believe that white leftists, who immerse themselves in the knowledge of American politics and sociopolitical theory, may have quietly figured out that, well golly gee, it's in their benefit to maintain these systems so they can uphold their promises to them, that their idea of a better America doesn't actually include considerations of racial issues.
That inevitably means that the fights of Black, Indigenous, and other non-white peoples not only get sidelined, but actively ostracized and harassed from the conversation of white leftist movements because we're a threat to the ultimate goal of financial security within a system that is theoretically set up to benefit them on the basis of skin color, but which doesn't now because those dastardly Republicans have gummed up the works. That if Republicans didn't exist, everything would be fine.
I imagine we have quite a few Vaush fans here who are at least somewhat aware of his disastrous "debate" with Professor Flowers wherein Vaush just critically fails to understand the aims and goals of Black Nationalism from the get-go and instead equates it to Nazism, no better than when conservative shitheads think that socialism is Nazism because "derp socialist is in the name." But this isn't an aberrant result; it's a consistent pattern of behavior from him with regards to the autonomy of both Black and Indigenous peoples, and I imagine it's the same of other white "debate bros" who have come into stardom since Destiny began to blow up. You know, Destiny, the dude we actually banned for being a racist piece of shit.
Part of that is because, honestly, white people in America all experience "white habitus," which is immersion within the overall thrust of white supremacy and the resulting cultural habits and customs that draw from that. Just like there is indeed a Black American culture, there's a white American culture too, and one of the ways that has manifested itself is in the aforementioned debate bro culture which, once the purview of skeptics and alt-right ghouls, has now become a staple of leftist discourse on YouTube and Twitch.
A lot of their shtick is either in rehabilitating recovering white fascists who lost their minds during the height of Gamergate and Trump's presidency, or embarrassing the ones that are still in that mindset. And while there's definitely some value, however marginal it might be to the measurable lives of minorities, in white leftists checking their right-wing brethren on a Twitch stream, we have to remember that the effect of white habitus remains. A lot of these folks who have taken up the mantle were actually in these shitty communities, or knew (or still know) friends and family who are, and thus they were exposed to their same tactics, language, sense of humor, and general way of things- the white culture- and thus have a sense of intimacy and empathy with these people that non-white peoples, naturally, do not. Specifically, as F.D Signifier puts it:
Sure, it superficially makes sense to ape the tactics of the so-called "rhetorical masters" of the right who have commanded legions of followers if your idea is to start rallying people to leftist ideas. But it makes for a miserable experience of actually trying to work with minorities and deprogram one's self from white supremacist and colonialist modes of thinking when you never actually picked up the tools to do so. Why would you when the online culture you inhabited growing up was swimming in unchecked racism?
Instead what we get is a smug chauvinism, an attitude of saviorism and paternalism, where they know what's best and you need to let them lead without question, and it's an attitude that's as easily redirected onto left-leaning non-whites as it is towards the Nazis whom they simultaneously revile and yet still feel sorry for. For example, if you were aghast at whites telling you, a Black person, that you were literally just as bad as a Trumper if you didn't vote for cop-loving Bloomberg had he gotten the nomination, or if you just happened to catch a stray about Black people being "low-information voters" because they didn't vote for Bernie, the white from Vermont who pretty much just runs away whenever BLM shows up, then you know firsthand that fucking attitude that I'm talking about.
Things for minorities remain sidelined, pushed back, and watered down in part because the white leftists who are the face of these movements either do not want to advocate for them because it might hit their prospective pocket books, or they are just emotionally incapable of deprogramming the white habitus inherent in these movements and themselves to actually be useful to the causes of racial minorities. Whenever they meet a non-white leftist who isn't with their attitude or ideas (or lack thereof- all these people can tell you to do is vote and nothing else; real big-brain stuff), they revert back to a state of defensiveness and personal insult that is no different than the attitude of historical colonists described by Edward Morgan here, as quoted by JohntheDuncan in this video:
(This quote also lends itself to my utter exhaustion with white leftists' insistence on minorities forgiving their oppressors, and how that insistence on constantly turning the other cheek also ties back into maintaining white supremacy, but that'll be another topic for another day.)
Facile support of minority movements is given by white leftists mired in their sense of white identity up until the point at which those movements inevitably and by necessity advocate for actions and philosophies which threaten white identity, at which point these minority movements and leaders are immediately renounced. On a smaller scale, it is why, even on here, non-white peoples get stern talking-tos for not wanting to tow the line of white leftist agendas by the same people who have admitted they can't even shore up the spine to stop their racist uncle from ranting about "the Mexicans" at Thanksgiving dinner. That uncle might be openly repulsive, but to confront him would be to actually start chipping away at the attitudes and environments that you know you benefit from (everyone just wants to get through dinner in peace), and that's ultimately not worth it. But man, do you get fired up at and ready to oust Black people fed up with Democrats.
To continue on with spinelessness, another way in which white leftist paralysis manifests itself is the leftist who, finally struck with some idea of how miserable the world is, and yet still caught up in their own white chauvinism, their lack of understanding of why things are "backsliding" and people are increasingly not listening to their obviously-perfect ideas, burns themselves out from complete nihilism. They doomscroll themselves into hopelessness and become anxiety-riddled messes. All that energy that could be spent towards solutions gone down the drain. What use is such a person on the ground, that you can't even do what your Black and Indigenous cohorts do, who also suffer from anxiety and depression for obvious reasons, and get out of bed to fight another day? This shit is Tuesday to us. I've said before a few times that it amazes me that some of the people who are so into the awesomeness of leftist liberation are simultaneously some of the most miserable, no-fun-having folks imaginable.
Ultimately, our movement is weak in part because it is spearheaded by whites who do not have the drive, emotional capacity, and humility to make the personal sacrifices necessary to actually ensure something, anything, meaningful in America can take place with regards to leftist coalitions and movements. This is a problem.
But problems have solutions.
Going back to Ervin, things need to start at the root, the self. Simply put:
Until white leftists can understand that the way to achieve not just some semblance, some dream, of racial harmony, but a whole sociopolitical system that is more fair and equitable and supportive of personal development, care, and dignity for everyone regardless of race, is by denouncing their ego, chauvinism, and all brands white supremacy, including the ones in themselves and their circles, then we will never get anywhere. Our movement is just online entertainment and we shouldn't expect better.
This means doing things like allowing the space for radical minorities to speak, examining your own defensiveness in the face of such figures, not denigrating minorities for having different ideas and goals, not undermining real-world actions by these groups as stupid, dangerous, unlawful, or disrespectful of a system that doesn't deserve their respect in the first place. Basically, a decent amount of ground can be made if white leftists could just shut the fuck up about these causes, and let minorities simply take the reins to work towards securing their own autonomy and freedom, to make the assumption that we don't need your leadership, we need your solidarity, of which these are two completely different things.
But Ervin insists (and I agree) that this deconstruction must continue with the goal of a complete redefinition of one's own identity, because whiteness is inherently tied to colonialism. It has always been an ill-defined label with conveniently-moving parameters to justify barbarity towards Black and Indigenous peoples. Who are you without whiteness? That's a question for you to struggle with; non-whites cannot define that for you, nor should they be expected to. But just know you cannot simultaneously overturn racial oppression if you still subscribe to the ruling racial class. It makes about as much sense as trying to overturn a monarchy while still declaring yourself King.
And perhaps even more terrifying, while you work on that, is that you actually have to talk to those racist uncles. Instead of ignoring them, or moving away to more liberal areas and putting those rural backwater folks out of mind, you have to actually set aside your outward disgust of them and approach them as people, real people, who can be persuaded to your cause. Nazis do it all the time. More from Ervin:
White leftists are always aghast that fascism seems to be coming in vogue again, that throngs of their family members and friends are "suddenly" turning into conspiracy-addled cultists. We've already established that whites are not immune to the call of hate so long as they refuse to confront the white habitus that makes that shit as easy to switch on for them as it is. Again, it's that ego and chauvinism; white leftists also simultaneously loathe having to actually talk to and deal with these folks. They partially see Trumpers as beneath them, a different class of white with whom any association with is tantamount to treachery, a sullying of their more acceptable whiteness, an embarrassment of the family name, then Pikachu Face when Nazis swoop in to fill the emotional void they deliberately left because they were too good for the real work.
There needs to be a more active presence of white leftist organizations in more purple and even red areas, to start building up changes in thinking and culture where racism seems impregnable. You can start reaching children, teens, and young adults who are most susceptible to right-wing predation through positive, community-building programs and drives, to show that "leftism" is not some imminent evil, but the empathy and capacity to achieve positive change for those different from yourself. Yes, you might face the possibility of some asshole white running up on you looking for a fight for your efforts. Welcome to actually doing something!
But if you don't know how to start an organization, see if there are any around you to join that fit the bill. Hell, start by joining something (this is mainly aimed at the doomscrollers). Even if it's just getting up on a Saturday to feed the hungry, getting your feet wet with some sort of charitable effort will give you insight on how these organizations function and what it is like to work with them, it'll potentially give you some networking connections, maybe some actual friends you can call, it'll get you physically out of the house and moving about, and you will have done something tangibly good for someone, to see the rewards of your efforts in real time. And all of that is good shit. We need to be better about our time and energy, and reward ourselves with positive outcomes.
Now, if one of the organizations you want to join happens to be one regarding racial liberation: Black justice causes, Land Back, etc., then you should definitely join, but be aware of the trials and tribulations you might face as a white presence in these minority spaces. Deference should be given to the existing leaders, and checks upon one's own privilege should not be met with hostility. If the thought of confronting the reality of these programs is too much, then you might be better off donating money and material resources to these groups.
The biggest hurdle of trying to fight white supremacy is just how much capital that was owned by Black and Indigenous folks has been systemically stolen and destroyed by whites while simultaneously they have established capitalism as the dominant system through which needs must be secured. Raising funds, awareness, and tools and materials is significantly harder for these groups to do than it is for any random white leftist to become showered in hundreds of thousands of dollars on these online streams. So then, start funneling money and materials into these groups, or ask your favorite streamers to do the same, to show some actual commitment to the causes they champion. Bolster up these organizations!
Also, start watching some non-white creators as well. I cannot tell you how embarrassing it was in a thread that was either about or tangentially related to Contrapoints that Kat Blaque was considered some new, up-and-comer, or some people hadn't even heard of her, when she had been my primary exposure to transgender issues and how they intersect with race for about a decade before Contrapoints was even a fucking name to argue about. Seriously, the state of knowledge of a lot of white leftists with regards to non-white creators is abysmal. I imagine your YouTube algorithm at this point is just funneling you a steady stream of whiteness. Break that. Ask for recommendations. The aforementioned F.D Signifier and Kat Blaque are great places to start, along with Khadija Mbowe, T1J, and Saint Andrewism; good beans who are great resources on both Black issues and non-white leftism.
But to quote Saint Andrewism:
You need to start doing the internal and external work necessary to actually start making a difference for the Black and Indigenous folks whom you yourself claim you want to help. None of what I, Ervin, Morton, or any of the content creators I've positively mentioned is some permanent indictment of any white leftist and that things cannot begin to change; don't give yourself another opportunity to become paralyzed. I'm pointing out a problem. And problems have solutions. Now is the time to start on recovery, healing, and on making inroads with minority groups to actually see our ideas of a more healthy and equitable future for everyone come into being.
If anyone's seen the few reluctant times I've waded into threads regarding disappointing results with the Democratic establishment or outrage at Republican destruction, the one question I always ask people is: "Well, what can we do about it?"
I'm not immersed in the nuances of the American political system such that I know things like how elections in Wyoming are going to go or which bylaws are in effect during some powerplay by Manchin or who the fuck ever. That's for people who actually find the nitty-gritty of the American political system interesting. I do know that problems have solutions though, and what better way to start finding solutions than to ask people who do have better analysis on hand?
Well, so far, the answer I have usually gotten for years is a deafening silence. If someone answers me, it's just "vote."
But I do vote. Indeed, I was part of the populace that turned Georgia blue. But I cannot control the votes in some other state that failed to do their part. I cannot vote multiple times. I can only vote once and where I am. And yet despite showing up to perform my civic duty, my country has rewarded me with: completely dropping the conversation on police brutality, even blaming its existence (and subsequently Black people like myself) for negative results in key races during the last election cycle, instituting harsh voter registration laws, and attempting to overturn Roe v. Wade. And I know, and you know, that had I not individually voted, the same outcome would've happened anyway.
So ultimately what people are telling me, even my own allies, is that I'm screwed either way? Hell, are they even my allies?
I'm slowly beginning to realize that perhaps that whites who ostensibly claim to be liberal/left/progressive, who claim to be on "my side," seem to have somewhat different goals than me. From a glance, they want universal healthcare and higher wages for the poor and middle class, which are good things that I want too, but they only serve to bolster the current status quo back to what it was when their parents were young. I, instead, want to see us start to move away from the systems of white supremacy, colonialism, and capitalism that are causing the underlying financial and healthcare-related anguish that white leftists are fighting against in the first place. And I'm beginning to realize that part of my frustration came from trying to reconcile these goals, because I'm now at the point where I believe that white leftists, who immerse themselves in the knowledge of American politics and sociopolitical theory, may have quietly figured out that, well golly gee, it's in their benefit to maintain these systems so they can uphold their promises to them, that their idea of a better America doesn't actually include considerations of racial issues.
That inevitably means that the fights of Black, Indigenous, and other non-white peoples not only get sidelined, but actively ostracized and harassed from the conversation of white leftist movements because we're a threat to the ultimate goal of financial security within a system that is theoretically set up to benefit them on the basis of skin color, but which doesn't now because those dastardly Republicans have gummed up the works. That if Republicans didn't exist, everything would be fine.
I imagine we have quite a few Vaush fans here who are at least somewhat aware of his disastrous "debate" with Professor Flowers wherein Vaush just critically fails to understand the aims and goals of Black Nationalism from the get-go and instead equates it to Nazism, no better than when conservative shitheads think that socialism is Nazism because "derp socialist is in the name." But this isn't an aberrant result; it's a consistent pattern of behavior from him with regards to the autonomy of both Black and Indigenous peoples, and I imagine it's the same of other white "debate bros" who have come into stardom since Destiny began to blow up. You know, Destiny, the dude we actually banned for being a racist piece of shit.
Part of that is because, honestly, white people in America all experience "white habitus," which is immersion within the overall thrust of white supremacy and the resulting cultural habits and customs that draw from that. Just like there is indeed a Black American culture, there's a white American culture too, and one of the ways that has manifested itself is in the aforementioned debate bro culture which, once the purview of skeptics and alt-right ghouls, has now become a staple of leftist discourse on YouTube and Twitch.
A lot of their shtick is either in rehabilitating recovering white fascists who lost their minds during the height of Gamergate and Trump's presidency, or embarrassing the ones that are still in that mindset. And while there's definitely some value, however marginal it might be to the measurable lives of minorities, in white leftists checking their right-wing brethren on a Twitch stream, we have to remember that the effect of white habitus remains. A lot of these folks who have taken up the mantle were actually in these shitty communities, or knew (or still know) friends and family who are, and thus they were exposed to their same tactics, language, sense of humor, and general way of things- the white culture- and thus have a sense of intimacy and empathy with these people that non-white peoples, naturally, do not. Specifically, as F.D Signifier puts it:
Sure, it superficially makes sense to ape the tactics of the so-called "rhetorical masters" of the right who have commanded legions of followers if your idea is to start rallying people to leftist ideas. But it makes for a miserable experience of actually trying to work with minorities and deprogram one's self from white supremacist and colonialist modes of thinking when you never actually picked up the tools to do so. Why would you when the online culture you inhabited growing up was swimming in unchecked racism?
Instead what we get is a smug chauvinism, an attitude of saviorism and paternalism, where they know what's best and you need to let them lead without question, and it's an attitude that's as easily redirected onto left-leaning non-whites as it is towards the Nazis whom they simultaneously revile and yet still feel sorry for. For example, if you were aghast at whites telling you, a Black person, that you were literally just as bad as a Trumper if you didn't vote for cop-loving Bloomberg had he gotten the nomination, or if you just happened to catch a stray about Black people being "low-information voters" because they didn't vote for Bernie, the white from Vermont who pretty much just runs away whenever BLM shows up, then you know firsthand that fucking attitude that I'm talking about.
Things for minorities remain sidelined, pushed back, and watered down in part because the white leftists who are the face of these movements either do not want to advocate for them because it might hit their prospective pocket books, or they are just emotionally incapable of deprogramming the white habitus inherent in these movements and themselves to actually be useful to the causes of racial minorities. Whenever they meet a non-white leftist who isn't with their attitude or ideas (or lack thereof- all these people can tell you to do is vote and nothing else; real big-brain stuff), they revert back to a state of defensiveness and personal insult that is no different than the attitude of historical colonists described by Edward Morgan here, as quoted by JohntheDuncan in this video:
(This quote also lends itself to my utter exhaustion with white leftists' insistence on minorities forgiving their oppressors, and how that insistence on constantly turning the other cheek also ties back into maintaining white supremacy, but that'll be another topic for another day.)
Facile support of minority movements is given by white leftists mired in their sense of white identity up until the point at which those movements inevitably and by necessity advocate for actions and philosophies which threaten white identity, at which point these minority movements and leaders are immediately renounced. On a smaller scale, it is why, even on here, non-white peoples get stern talking-tos for not wanting to tow the line of white leftist agendas by the same people who have admitted they can't even shore up the spine to stop their racist uncle from ranting about "the Mexicans" at Thanksgiving dinner. That uncle might be openly repulsive, but to confront him would be to actually start chipping away at the attitudes and environments that you know you benefit from (everyone just wants to get through dinner in peace), and that's ultimately not worth it. But man, do you get fired up at and ready to oust Black people fed up with Democrats.
To continue on with spinelessness, another way in which white leftist paralysis manifests itself is the leftist who, finally struck with some idea of how miserable the world is, and yet still caught up in their own white chauvinism, their lack of understanding of why things are "backsliding" and people are increasingly not listening to their obviously-perfect ideas, burns themselves out from complete nihilism. They doomscroll themselves into hopelessness and become anxiety-riddled messes. All that energy that could be spent towards solutions gone down the drain. What use is such a person on the ground, that you can't even do what your Black and Indigenous cohorts do, who also suffer from anxiety and depression for obvious reasons, and get out of bed to fight another day? This shit is Tuesday to us. I've said before a few times that it amazes me that some of the people who are so into the awesomeness of leftist liberation are simultaneously some of the most miserable, no-fun-having folks imaginable.
Ultimately, our movement is weak in part because it is spearheaded by whites who do not have the drive, emotional capacity, and humility to make the personal sacrifices necessary to actually ensure something, anything, meaningful in America can take place with regards to leftist coalitions and movements. This is a problem.
But problems have solutions.
Assuming this is a problem to the people I'm addressing, of course. I am well aware that "the left" is ultimately an extremely loose coalition of sometimes-contradictory ideas and factions that roughly just don't like the current and/or past status quos. Indeed, if all you are after is just financial security and free healthcare and you don't actually give a shit about Black and Indigenous autonomy, feel free to either leave or not take any of this too hard.
Going back to Ervin, things need to start at the root, the self. Simply put:
Until white leftists can understand that the way to achieve not just some semblance, some dream, of racial harmony, but a whole sociopolitical system that is more fair and equitable and supportive of personal development, care, and dignity for everyone regardless of race, is by denouncing their ego, chauvinism, and all brands white supremacy, including the ones in themselves and their circles, then we will never get anywhere. Our movement is just online entertainment and we shouldn't expect better.
This means doing things like allowing the space for radical minorities to speak, examining your own defensiveness in the face of such figures, not denigrating minorities for having different ideas and goals, not undermining real-world actions by these groups as stupid, dangerous, unlawful, or disrespectful of a system that doesn't deserve their respect in the first place. Basically, a decent amount of ground can be made if white leftists could just shut the fuck up about these causes, and let minorities simply take the reins to work towards securing their own autonomy and freedom, to make the assumption that we don't need your leadership, we need your solidarity, of which these are two completely different things.
But Ervin insists (and I agree) that this deconstruction must continue with the goal of a complete redefinition of one's own identity, because whiteness is inherently tied to colonialism. It has always been an ill-defined label with conveniently-moving parameters to justify barbarity towards Black and Indigenous peoples. Who are you without whiteness? That's a question for you to struggle with; non-whites cannot define that for you, nor should they be expected to. But just know you cannot simultaneously overturn racial oppression if you still subscribe to the ruling racial class. It makes about as much sense as trying to overturn a monarchy while still declaring yourself King.
And perhaps even more terrifying, while you work on that, is that you actually have to talk to those racist uncles. Instead of ignoring them, or moving away to more liberal areas and putting those rural backwater folks out of mind, you have to actually set aside your outward disgust of them and approach them as people, real people, who can be persuaded to your cause. Nazis do it all the time. More from Ervin:
White leftists are always aghast that fascism seems to be coming in vogue again, that throngs of their family members and friends are "suddenly" turning into conspiracy-addled cultists. We've already established that whites are not immune to the call of hate so long as they refuse to confront the white habitus that makes that shit as easy to switch on for them as it is. Again, it's that ego and chauvinism; white leftists also simultaneously loathe having to actually talk to and deal with these folks. They partially see Trumpers as beneath them, a different class of white with whom any association with is tantamount to treachery, a sullying of their more acceptable whiteness, an embarrassment of the family name, then Pikachu Face when Nazis swoop in to fill the emotional void they deliberately left because they were too good for the real work.
There needs to be a more active presence of white leftist organizations in more purple and even red areas, to start building up changes in thinking and culture where racism seems impregnable. You can start reaching children, teens, and young adults who are most susceptible to right-wing predation through positive, community-building programs and drives, to show that "leftism" is not some imminent evil, but the empathy and capacity to achieve positive change for those different from yourself. Yes, you might face the possibility of some asshole white running up on you looking for a fight for your efforts. Welcome to actually doing something!
But if you don't know how to start an organization, see if there are any around you to join that fit the bill. Hell, start by joining something (this is mainly aimed at the doomscrollers). Even if it's just getting up on a Saturday to feed the hungry, getting your feet wet with some sort of charitable effort will give you insight on how these organizations function and what it is like to work with them, it'll potentially give you some networking connections, maybe some actual friends you can call, it'll get you physically out of the house and moving about, and you will have done something tangibly good for someone, to see the rewards of your efforts in real time. And all of that is good shit. We need to be better about our time and energy, and reward ourselves with positive outcomes.
Now, if one of the organizations you want to join happens to be one regarding racial liberation: Black justice causes, Land Back, etc., then you should definitely join, but be aware of the trials and tribulations you might face as a white presence in these minority spaces. Deference should be given to the existing leaders, and checks upon one's own privilege should not be met with hostility. If the thought of confronting the reality of these programs is too much, then you might be better off donating money and material resources to these groups.
The biggest hurdle of trying to fight white supremacy is just how much capital that was owned by Black and Indigenous folks has been systemically stolen and destroyed by whites while simultaneously they have established capitalism as the dominant system through which needs must be secured. Raising funds, awareness, and tools and materials is significantly harder for these groups to do than it is for any random white leftist to become showered in hundreds of thousands of dollars on these online streams. So then, start funneling money and materials into these groups, or ask your favorite streamers to do the same, to show some actual commitment to the causes they champion. Bolster up these organizations!
Also, start watching some non-white creators as well. I cannot tell you how embarrassing it was in a thread that was either about or tangentially related to Contrapoints that Kat Blaque was considered some new, up-and-comer, or some people hadn't even heard of her, when she had been my primary exposure to transgender issues and how they intersect with race for about a decade before Contrapoints was even a fucking name to argue about. Seriously, the state of knowledge of a lot of white leftists with regards to non-white creators is abysmal. I imagine your YouTube algorithm at this point is just funneling you a steady stream of whiteness. Break that. Ask for recommendations. The aforementioned F.D Signifier and Kat Blaque are great places to start, along with Khadija Mbowe, T1J, and Saint Andrewism; good beans who are great resources on both Black issues and non-white leftism.
But to quote Saint Andrewism:
You need to start doing the internal and external work necessary to actually start making a difference for the Black and Indigenous folks whom you yourself claim you want to help. None of what I, Ervin, Morton, or any of the content creators I've positively mentioned is some permanent indictment of any white leftist and that things cannot begin to change; don't give yourself another opportunity to become paralyzed. I'm pointing out a problem. And problems have solutions. Now is the time to start on recovery, healing, and on making inroads with minority groups to actually see our ideas of a more healthy and equitable future for everyone come into being.
