11/29/2023 0 Comments Upworth a simple comic![]() ![]() There are more black performers than Beyoncé."Įven when things haven't come easy for some people, they can still have privileges that others don't have. "Your black friend wishes you'd play more than Beyoncé. You need to know that, and take it up with your fellow white people about how to dismantle it. But so long as this country and its institutions are built on a solid foundation of white supremacy, it's a grim reality. ![]() We have to have "the talk" with our kids about how the world sees them, and how act in order to make sure they come home alive. Some of them may even be the pearl-clutchers in the parking lot.īut to maintain white comfort and to avoid having the cops called on us, we often have to tamp down clothes, modify our speech and volume, even do our hair differently. This is something my white friends likely don't realize I have to do. Why? Because when I don't, that same white woman will often clutch her purse and occasionally let out an audible gasp as I pass her. When I am in a parking garage and walking behind a white woman, I intentionally cough or walk a little louder so she turns and notices me. We don't like it, but one small choice - like deciding whether or not to wear a hood, or the speed at which we reach into our glove box - can be the difference between life and death. We are constantly monitoring our surroundings and adjusting our clothes, hair, speed, and speech to maintain white comfort.įriends may not realize the challenges in avoiding unwarranted confrontation. ![]() Use it to demand answers, speak to supervisors, or if things really get dicey, pull out your phone and hit record. If you are not at risk, nor considered a threat, you have a certain amount of privilege in these situations. You, white friend, need to speak up and say something when I can't. But especially when police are involved, I have to be calm, respectful, and obedient. NO, I AM NOT A CRIMINAL YOU SMALL-MINDED, BIASED ASSHOLES." Trust me, I want to. When I am followed in a department store, pulled over for no reason, or stared at while picking up dinner at the fancy grocery store, I can't stop what I'm doing and yell, "YES, I AM BLACK. "He knows this type of person expects that from him, and he will lose before he begins," Passmore says.īlack people can't always react or respond the way we want to. Here's to Gordon for helping us chuckle (through the tears).īiased situations that play out uncomfortably true. Who hasn't been on the receiving end of totally unneeded and unwanted advice? That's why Gordon's comics are so welcome: They offer up a space for us to all laugh about the common experiences we parents share. A rather nosy woman walked up to me and said, all smugly, 'You should enjoy this time while they're easy.' It was the exact worst thing anyone could have said to me in that moment and I just wanted to curl up on the sidewalk and cry." When I ask him about the worst parenting advice he's ever received, Gordon relays this anecdote: "I remember being an absolute sleep-deprived wreck, sitting outside a sandwich shop, wolfing down my lunch quickly beside my 1-month-old son, who was briefly resting his lungs between screaming fits. There's no parenting advice, no judgment, just some humor about the common day-to-day realities that we all share. I love Gordon's comics so much because they're just about the reality of parenting - and they capture it perfectly.
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