So... I saw this post that screenshot the discourse between two Black women on Twitter over the usage of "Rest in Power" for Aaron Bushnell's self-immolation is appopriate. As non-Black leftists, I don't think we have a right to wade into the discourse among Black leftists in regards to this. However, I am disappointed and unsettled by some of the notes left on the post by non-Black users:

Black culture, AAVE in this case, has already has been appropriated for a long time, and the term, "Rest in Power" has been co-opted to hell and back by non-Black people. Black people on Twitter have said that they were being harassed for their criticism over using "Rest in Power" for Aaron Bushnell:

It is important for us as supporters of Palestinian liberation to acknowledge and honor Aaron Bushnell, I also believe that for non-Black allies of Palestinian liberation, we can do that in a way that do not co-opt the language of Black radical movements and definitely does not dismiss the concerns and critiques of our fellow Black allies. Please remember that we always have to be aware of perpetuating antiblackness within the Free Palestine movement. Are we being inclusive in our activism or are we just being performative?

Here are some tweets by Black Twitter users on this:

"oh no guys be careful right-wing nazis are using the palestinian cause to try and make us antisemitic!!! I know they're very convincing and it's so so hard to see what's nazi propaganda and what's not, but we don't want to prove the jews- I mean evil zionazis right when they say we're being antisemitic right? remember, it's not enough that antisemitism is bad on it's own but that it's harming our cause specifically. unfortunately soooo many jews will call everything antisemitic these days so looks like we'll have to trust our instincts to determine what counts as antisemitism. remember guys antisemitism in the movement is so horrible because it drives away the good jews™ and we don't have any obligation to protect half of the world's jewish population from it. those evil colonizer babykillers, they should have all rot in the concentration camps. remember to send love to your jewish mutuals!!! punch a nazi!!! 🔯💓❤️✡️💖🕎💗✡️❤️💓🕎✡️💞"

These mask off moments aren’t anything new.

It’s official: White “feminists” like Julianna Margulies, Amy Schumer and Patricia Arquette have no clue that Black women, Black LGBTQ people, and Black Jewish people are actual categories of people who exist.

Worse still, they completely ignore that it is often white women who have been responsible for some of the worst harms inflicted on Black people and NBPoC.

White “feminists” constantly acting like they’ve done the most - when they’ve only helped themselves and then pulled up the ladder afterwards - then demanding the labor of marginalized Black people in return for their so-called “help” is disgusting. Their transactional, conditional allyship, and their focus on one singular identity at the expense of all others, is the polar opposite of intersectional feminism.

Black people have had some real allies from every race, color and creed, but let’s get this straight: Black people fought our own fights and when we lose, we most definitely do our own dying. Nobody “gave” us anything because Julianna Margulies put a fucking black square on her Instagram pfp when George Floyd was murdered. And Black people don’t owe any of these racists a damn thing for their extremely limited, performative, paternalistic, and self-serving “allyship”.

On anti-racist academic and advocate Jane Elliot's antiblackness:

The other day, a friend posted an Instagram story about one of our favorite anti-racist advocates, Jane Elliot, using the "N Word" at a casual social gathering.

Given this, it's not hard to believe that this outspoken, unapologetic "anti-racist" professor is also against the distribution of reparations among Black people. Her reasoning isn't different than the typical white supremacist argument against reparations that attempts to muddy the water, spotlight a "more deserving" recipient, and justify that it would be too complicated.

(Emphasis mine)

- mod sodapop

Over last year and these past few weeks and mouths of seeing so-called "Leftists," mainly White ones out here saying that they refuse to vote in the 2024 election and that they seem to be fine with America becoming a hellish authoritarian state under Trump. Is exactly why I have a hard time trusting some White people that are leftist or liberal sometimes.

Honestly, I feel some of these white leftists & liberals or those who so-called "claim" to care about minorities tend to be full of bullshit and that their allyship is all a show , especially when witnessing the always anti-voting rhetoric with them or how some of them seems to be really fine & Dandy with America losing it democracy completely under White-supremacists loving Fucking Trump. Just so they can live out their big Revolutionary dreams like they see from the damned Hunger Games,

Instead of actually putting in the real work of getting shit done within the government and not letting full-on Fascism take root and FUCK over the very groups of people whose rights & FUCKING Lives! That they claim to support will be Destroyed under Trump if he gets back into power.

If you're going to call yourself a "Leftist" and say wholeheartedly that you care about minority people, yet! Are okay with wannabe dictator Trump getting back into the White House again and refusing to do anything to stop him from getting back into power... all you're telling me is how you actually don't give a shit about the minorities you claimed to support and that your white leftist allyship is fake as hell.

rejoice, rejoice (performative white liberalism is once again being shown no mercy in the most unrelenting media damnation of it this horror-loving black woman has seen since 'get out') !!

'the curse' is the first white-helmed production i have ever seen that relentlessly and unapologetically interrogates the insidious nature of white, performative liberalism. rather than appealing to the white man's ego, it aims to make the offending party as uncomfortable as possible. no space is allowed for white fragilities. to the contrary, the tv series indignantly elucidates and condemns the acts of racism, gentrification, classism, and other forms of bigotry hidden under the guise of liberal niceties and ideology to garner social praise and adoration perpetrated by purported white allies.

i was reminded of my first experience watching 'get out' (2017) within MINUTES of beginning the pilot episode: feelings of sheer vindication and validation from watching performative white people FINALLY be stripped of the approving savior trope most pieces of media put forth by white people embrace. instead, whitney and asher siegel, the show's ostensibly benevolent home improvement show power couple (think chip and joanna gaines but more environmentally conscious and philanthropic...or so they say) who, beneath the guise of performativity, seek only to serve themselves financially and socially, are portrayed as the monsters they truly are. returning to 'get out,' this film also sought to elucidate the way a marginalized group- black people- experiences said marginalization through implicit manifestations engendered from white "etiquette," as best encapsulated by the sunken place.

it was wonderful to see the ever stupendous, inimitable emma stone (i see a second oscar and first emmy in her very near future!) and incredible nathan fielder commit themselves fully to the exposé of white-perpetrated atrocities of the self-proclaimed liberal variety, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes as executive producers, the latter also as a writer and creator. one must actively de-center their whiteness and place their ego ("but not ALL white people!!") aside to deliver such an accurate performance and play a role in developing a show of this nature. many of their white counterparts fail to truly garner the values of social justice needed to undertake these responsibilities.

so from a black woman who loves the premise of the horror/thriller genre being utilized as a creative medium to expose the true horrors of society- systemic oppression- shout out to everyone involved in this riveting piece of desperately needed social critique.

when you make jokes or laugh at jokes denying the club q shooter's pronouns, or you make jokes or laugh at jokes about a bigot's weight... your queer/fat friends notice. we don't get to pick and choose who is "worthy" of the respect of humanity. if you're willing to take that away from someone for being a shitbag... we have to assume that you're just one disagreement away from taking it away from us, too.

allyship isn't performative; it's real, and it either is, or it is not.

not every queer is a good person. not every fat person is decent. but if your allyship depends on the recipient being "good and decent"... then you aren't really an ally. you're just a performing clown.

Good time for a reminder that hbomberguy is an abuse apologist and enabler

Wow. So, now people are performative if they don’t trash and make fun of Evans? I’m sorry, but for anyone trying to claim people who posted about the racism and antisemitism but aren’t dragging someone is performative, stop.

Everyone is sick and tired of this bullshit drama. But every single time, it’s the same hypocritical people.

Don’t EVER speak on anyone’s behalf regarding this issue. You think I’m performative, but the only thing any of the hypocrites have ever done is make fun of Evans, drag Evans. These people are exactly the same as the supposed people they’re attacking.

I have spoken out about all of this since it was brought to light. I have sent in asks explaining my experience with racism. Funny how the people this group is going after are the only ones who actually posted them without making fun of me.

So no, we aren’t performative. We’re just not about turning our blogs into Baptista blogs, we’re not about stirring up shit when there’s nothing left, and we’re certainly not the ones causing the issues in the fandom.

Their allyship is absolutely performative. Not one of them had any issue using the racism and antisemitism to justify making fun of someone who they frankly still don’t know if he is truly racist or not.

Am I still disappointed in him? Absofuckinglutely. But I will never forget those who spoke over me or made fun of me vs the ones who actually listened.

Y’all know who the fuck you are. Block me. Please. Cause the most hypocritical thing you’ve done to me has just happened. Fuck every last one of you.

Idk I think [x character] would have a complicated relationship with love-

Allos: but aroaces can be in romantic/sexual relationships.

Yeah but-

Allos: not all aroaces want to be lonely forever! Stop excluding aroaces who want relationships

I'm just saying it'd be nice to see myself in someo-

Allos: Not all love is romantic. You're being aphobic.

Norman Finkelstein's response to Edward Said's criticism of Chomsky:

Source: I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get to It!

I will quote two tweets in response that I think are applicable to Finkelstein's condescending attitude to Said's valid critique:

A lot of people, especially Progressive™ White people, will brag to the high heavens about disliking white people like it’s a Badge of Honor™ instead of unlearning their white supremacist behavior, learning how it manifests and how to stop it, and calling it out when they see it.

Disliking white people is much easier, and more socially acceptable, than actually changing for the better. You get to slap an Ally™ badge on your chest, and do absolutely fuckall and get credit for it.

Schumer and Arquette act as though these are discrete category checkboxes that have no overlap (“you may only pick one” white feminism)

Remember kids, people actually dO exist who are simultaneously more than one of the following identities: Black + woman + Jewish + Palestinian + LGBTQ

Arquette and Schumer’s transactional, conditional allyship, and their focus on one singular identity at the expense of the others, is the polar opposite of intersectional feminism

I can't believe that person is actually doubling down on the stance that it's wrong for a fanfiction website to ask for donations without making a performative monologue about how bad genocide is. Do they really need every single person and entity on the planet to step aside like Dora the Explorer to say, "Now remember! Genocide is BAD!" Yes, the situation is awful and there needs to be a ceasefire, but what do they think they're achieving by railing at AO3 Just Because and getting violent at random Tumblr users? People are just...

Yeah, exactly. There is a time and a place for everything. A site whose main goal is to maintain a censorship free site for fanfic ain't it. They focus on keeping the fics safe, and that's it. They had a pretty nasty security breach last year, so they absolutely need donations to make sure security is even better and as tight as possible.

Also, not everyone is comfortable talking about their political stances publicly, especially online, where a healthy and productive discussion is damn near impossible to come by. A lot of people prefer to keep their political beliefs their own personal business. Not everyone needs to be an activist, and just because they don't publicly state they support Palestine, it doesn't mean that they don't support Palestine. It means they keep their politics private, and I believe that people must respect that.

It’s crazy that “leftists” in Los Angeles can openly partner with the U.S. Military and Raytheon in Texas and then come back home and pretend they’re pro-Palestine and the whole LA left just gives that shit a pass. You are helping the genocide. Don’t pretend you’re on the right side of history now.