Racesplaining is Dehumanization
POC not wanting to engage with white people who are racesplaining is NOT synonymous with refusing to be “open-minded”, nor dismissing “dialogue” or “conversation”.
What’s happening is we’re reclaiming our time & energy. We’re saying no to being dehumanized.
Because that’s what most racesplaining is- dehumanization. And racism for that matter, too. It’s saying we aren’t intelligent enough to know what we need nor to get what we need. Both of which are basic human acts.
Many of us differentiate ourselves as humans in the animal kingdom based upon perceived intelligence. Yet POC are consistently told they have less of it. That makes it pretty clear where white folks think we fall on the spectrum of humanity. We also see this in the personification of animals in literature, film, etc. They are often personified in every way except for intelligence.
In addition to assuming that POC aren’t capable of deciding what they need for themselves, racesplaining also assumes that white people are qualified to dictate to us what exactly we need. It’s saying we aren’t deserving of the same humanhood & sovereignty white people enjoy.
Whiteness is considered human enough- superhuman enough actually- to not only know & articulate for themselves what they need, but to also demand that these needs are met by other people. Usually by POC.
There’s a difference between calling you what you are- “white people”- & being told to be complacent while we’re casually paid less & segregated in our jobs & housing. It may feel temporarily “othering” to refer to you as white, but you all had no problem with that label when it kept black bodies out of your bathrooms, drinking fountains, swimming pools, schools, restaurants & more. Nor did you dislike this non-derogatory term when it kept natives out of sight while you enjoyed the spoils of their genocide.
That’s the key factor- “white” is non-derogatory. The definition of ‘derogatory’ is that it applies depreciation to the subject. So in fact, it’s not “racist”.
And no matter what, white feelings of racial hurt are always temporary, they’re allowed that. They can sink back into their white surroundings almost anywhere they go. They can rest while their privilege takes charge. They can open up a magazine & rest assured they’re that much closer to the “ideal” human being.
The difference between what we feel when white people racesplain versus how white people feel when we highlight the ramifications their actions have on us is that dehumanization aspect. That oppression aspect. Because at the end of the day they still feel human enough to have white tears.
Meanwhile, we POC only feel human enough to go home & flip through memes for 2 hours, hoping that a joke we see is funny enough to forget for a moment that it’s legal to fire us for having afro hair, that it’s widely accepted to shoot us in routine traffic stops, & that everywhere we go we are appraised like animals under their white gaze.
