White People Not Wearing Masks Is Racist
White People Not Wearing Masks is An Act of Racist Aggression
I meant what I said, and I said it because it’s true.
(So much for the soft launch, let’s just dig right in here!)
I’m writing this right now from my car in the Safeway parking lot near me, waiting for a prescription to be filled. I live in Oakland, CA, and my Safeway is on Fruitvale Ave, the same Fruitvale you may remember from the amazing (and sad, and anger inducing) movie Fruitvale Station that came out awhile back.
Many of my coshoppers – if not the majority – are black.
The only time I’ve ever come to blows in RL with someone who didn’t have a mask on (not online, heh, online y’all know I’m always ready to brawl, for better or worse) was at this self-same grocery store a few weeks ago.
There was a white chick in an aisle with no mask on.
I lost my damn mind. (Well, first, I almost had a panic attack, then I offered her a mask, and then when she didn’t want to take one, said she ‘didn’t need one’ – I made a scene and told her ‘I see people die at work!’ (probably not the most sane look, alas, but also: panic attack) and I got out of the store SO FAST and pulled a Karen and complained to security and store management.)
In hindsight, I went about that all wrong.
I wish I’d had an edit button for that whole experience there – the kind I have here, writing this, slightly more calmly now.
I wish I’d been able to tell her – every time a white person doesn’t wear a mask, they’re putting black people at risk and you’re in the goddamned black grocery store, woman. (She looked like the kind of anti-science-yet-still-liberal-hippie-who-thinks-they’re-an-ally that that might have worked on.)
AND EVERY SINGLE WORD OF IT WOULD’VE BEEN TRUE.
Black people are so disproportionately being punished right now in this pandemic, as are people of any other non-caucasian ethnicity. (And frankly (albeit non-scientifically) it’s mostly white people spouting that, ‘but 99% of people are fine!’ bullshit on twitter, judging by profile photos. We’ll get into the science of why that’s a fucking lie later.)
NEWSFLASH: 1 in 800 BLACK AMERICANS HAVE DIED FROM COVID. (And indigenous people are getting crushed even harder!!!)
So every time some white politician comes up in my feed on twitter, and they’re all, ‘What’s next?!?! Cancelling Christmas?!?!?’ – or in your family! Or on your facebook! –
I want you to respond: YOU KNOW WHAT CANCELS CHRISTMAS OTHER PEOPLE’S CHRISTMASES PRETTY FUCKING, FAST, DAVE?
KILLING GRANDMA.
And consider that the GRANDMA YOU KILL MAY NOT BE YOUR OWN.
Only white people are doing dumb shit like having massive Christmas parties.
Here’s Dave Ramsey, plunging ahead with his in person monstrosity.
He’s on record as saying, “Fear is not a fruit of the spirit.”
FUUUUUUCCCCKKKK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.
Dave Ramsey, I’m calling you out on this shit.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT MOST PEOPLE WHO HAVE FAMILY MEMBERS INSIDE OF THE HOSPITAL GET TO DO, DAVE?
PRAY.
That’s all they do.
Man, I’ve heard rosary prayers on facetime now so much I could do them my goddamn self.
You’re saying that people who get covid get to die because they didn’t have enough faith and god didn’t love them?
FUCK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY SOUL.
COMPLETELY.
You are a scabrous human being and I wish karma were real and you got what you deserved for that.
I weep to think that people like him get to call themselves Christian. Not only is he putting people who attend this function in danger, he’s going to expose countless other people to danger as well – caterers, cleaners – and every one of those people who’re ‘essential’ to his party are likely in a lower socioeconomic bracket that he is (undoubtedly!!!) and if they do get sick, exposed to his maskless masses, and unlikely to afford his ‘skip the line’ quality of care, and they’ll be putting even more burden on whatever hospital system they’re nearby! (Big post on ICU capcity incoming, btw.)
I feel like every single time there’s an event like this there needs to be concomitant contact tracing immediately afterwards to see who bears the brunt of this idiocy.
It’s almost always going to be non-white people, or the elderly, or both.
Real Christian look there, Dave, killing someone else’s grandma. I hope you’re fucking happy.
Two other quick examples of racism in action here related to medical stuff before I call it quits today:
Dr. Cleavon MD got asked to not go into a shift in Yuma Arizona because he’s been preaching about ICU capacity and calling the governor of AZ out on his ‘we’ve still got beds!’ shit for the past 2 weeks.
Why was he fired? Well, apart from the fact that he was causing a hospital system problems, could it have been because he was black?
Very dang likely. Medicine is (like most professions, still, to this day!) racist, alas. It’s everyone’s job in medicine to break down these barriers and talk truth to power, BUT ESPECIALLY US WHITE PEOPLE.
Because people still want to discount the truth of black and brown people’s stories.
Here’s another example of that happening from today – a story of the trouble a doctor got into for sharing her truth regarding bias and racism with others.
I am a white person. I may make fucking mistakes here (as we go along) and I’m 100% cool with being called out on them.
But also as a white person, I’m well aware I’ve got privilege and because of it I have an obligation to shout out racist stuff when I see it, because (for whatever shitty reason) white people might be able to listen to me more than when the person telling them is black.
So – yeah. I’m telling you that white people not wearing masks is racist and I encourage you to pass it along.
(Back to a, uh, soft launch, lol, starting 12/16 — subscribe if you’re interested and tell your friends.)
— Cassie