Racism 101: Are you a Racist?

Part of the call out that I believe we should be utilizing more is the option to Block. Yes it’s true, the block option on Tumblr isn’t flawless but when it’s working, it’s a great tool.

Personally, I tried to avoid blocking for a long time because it felt to…mean, I guess. This thinking is ridiculous. My entire reasoning for not blocking racists that I’d called out or argued with in some way was that I thought it was to mean…TO THEM? Wow! This is called indoctrination and many of us have this within us on some level. 

Over the last few weeks, I’ve tried something else. I wanted to stop arguing with people who had multiple posts on their blogs that were racist or anti-Social Justice or had some other subsequent array of ist/phobia paraphernalia all over them. I wanted to save any and all call outs for people who didn’t make a habit of seeking out strangers to say racist/trans* phobic/sexist/etc things. 

THIS WAS DIFFICULT! On more occasions than I can count, I hit the reply button, wrote a reply tearing said person to shreds and then had to stop, open up a new tab, look at their blog then ultimately delete everything I’d written.

The only way I could successfully do it was to see their comment on one of my posts, check their blog and if they fit the description, block. The first two people I blocked, made me uncomfortable. Even with the bull they’d spewed on my posts, I still felt bad for blocking. However, by the third block, it actually felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.   

This was the tactic I had to take in order to break my own habit of frequently replying to bigoted assholes. Not so shockingly, most of the assholes are perpetual. The perpetual assholes are not worth anyone’s time. They live for the call out. Why give them what they want?

No, this isn’t something I necessarily suggest for everyone. What I do suggest though, is to utilize the block button. When you’ve called someone out and you’ve simply had enough, block. If you’ve given two replies and the bigot is no closer than the sub-human form they started with, block. Just block. Blocking is great!