Fury Reveals Racism

How we strip away the varnish to tarnish our public image

Yesterday morning I read a story by a fellow Medium writer for whom I used to have a fair bit of respect. That lasted barely two seconds. Because the story stripped away any impression of decency that this person possessed, and demonstrated what lay beneath.

It was full of anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate. The article was driven by anger about the Vienna incident. This is the incident which brought on her anger:

Okay, so now all Muslims are bad. All of them. I guess toddlers are gun-toting terrorists, too. This is how anyone who looks different becomes Them, and THEM is the enemy.

Sharp intake of breath.

This piece was in my favorite publication. I promptly reported it, along with a private note to our editor, for there was nothing in this article which stood for the calm, polite, collaborative discourse for which the pub was known.

The article displayed a shocking level of intolerance and racist rhetoric. The story was removed from the publication to complaints by the author about “free speech.”

You have free speech all right, as do we all in this country at least so far, but for my American writing dollar, you may not call yourself a contributor to a publication that stands for diversity and write this kind of material.

So yeah. I own it. I reported this.

You want to come after me, you go right ahead. Be my guest.

Because I am done with people who operate at the surface level with the appearance of tolerance, enjoy the benefits of polite society, then the moment they are challenged to find compassion or grace, are happy to show their true colors. As a nation and as individuals we’ve been watching how Black Lives Matter and other huge issues have stripped the varnish off the footlockers that hide how we really, truly feel.

On one hand I am genuinely sorry that this writer is so consumed with hate. I am not without compassion for her viewpoint. Not at all. I also feel for those who lost their lives. I have moments of great anger myself, largely directed at Trump and his minions. Who are, it seems on their way out, and kindly please let the door slam you in the butt.

I fall short in my public voice every so often as well. We all do. We’re human, this has been a shit year in so many ways. I get it. Kindly, we all get it.

But I will not spread racist hate. This article, published in a platform that stands against that kind of speech, was over the top.

Here’s my gauntlet: where is the same level of disgust for the vast number of home-grown White terrorists in America? Or shall we continue to call our own mass shootings just a mild case of mental illness, and forgive them, while anything done by someone White folks consider Not Us is terrorism?

The plot to kidnap the governor of Michigan is okay, I guess? Since it was planned by one of US, being White and American?

How does that compute?

Where is the same level of outrage for the mass killings of Black people? Where is the same level of outrage for the state-sponsored racism that is protected by uniforms, laws and How Things Are?

Here is the other reason that hateful words are dangerous:

Plenty of American Blacks are Muslim. So if we’re going to use a broad brush to paint all Muslims as terrorists, then by the simple fact that we’ve got plenty of Black folks who converted, then they are now branded doubly as dangerous due to skin color AND because of their choice of how to pray.

How is this helpful? How does this heal us?

There are plenty of Americans searching for just one more reason to hate. One more reason to take action. One more reason to do something ugly to protect White folks. An article inciting hate against Muslims goes a long way towards doing just that. Is this who we are? Is this what we want to tolerate on Medium?

I am not privy to her inner world, only her words.

Language is the geography of our consciousness.

Her choice is to write material which can incite others to hate an entire community of mostly peaceful folks.

I AM without patience for putting those kinds of words on Medium, where this year we’ve seen lots more trolling, lots more hate, and lots more outright ugliness. While I get the stress and anxiety folks are under, at some point, if we’re going to say we’re anti-racist, then we might wish to act like it.

The way I see it, if you and I do not report this kind of speech, if we do not stand up for what we believe on Medium, that speaks to why you and I don’t stand up for what matters and the greater good among our friends, family, community and country.

We are at a pivot point in America. Who we are as a nation has been on display in neon colors for the last four years, underscored with thick black ink this week. We voted either for decency or continued devolution and destruction. To that, this from my Medium buddy Rosennab:

I voted with my heart. I stand with people who stand for decency. And when it comes to Medium, I will not stand by and allow this kind of unfortunate discussion and racist hate show up on my platform, which deserves our collective protection.

Look. We all have our angry moments. We have a right to them. But emotionally mature human beings do not manipulate their right to free speech to spread hate. They work that shit out, they talk it out, walk it out and face down whatever ugliness lives inside them, and it does within every single one of us, rather than spew bile that causes hurt and pain for millions of bystanders.

You can accuse me of being the Tone Police. Sure you can. But honey, if you can’t engage in a discussion about difficult topics without throwing hot lava on 24.1% of the world’s population, and do it based on the behavior of a few, then I am going to be the Tone Police.

Forgive me, but Grow the Fuck Up.

Tough times, and we are in them right now, call for courage, collaboration and cooperation. They call for us to find our way forward. To that:

You and I have every right to our feelings, no matter what they are.

You and I do NOT have every right to hurt people by putting those feelings in print, publish them where they can do terrible damage, in a platform that stands for “polite discourse.”

Just in case you missed it, or didn’t read it, or need a reminder, this is from Medium’s rules:

Threats of violence and incitement We do not allow content or actions that threaten, encourage, or incite violence against anyone, directly or indirectly.

Hate speech We do not allow content that promotes violence or hatred against people based on characteristics like race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, disease, age, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity.

We do not allow posts or accounts that glorify, celebrate, downplay, or trivialize violence, suffering, abuse, or deaths of individuals or groups. This includes the use of scientific or pseudoscientific claims to pathologize, dehumanize, or disempower others. We do not allow calls for intolerance, exclusion, or segregation based on protected characteristics, nor do we allow the glorification of groups which do any of the above.

If you write on Medium you agree to these rules. No exceptions.

I wore a uniform to protect free speech. I would have died to protect that right. I still believe it’s that important. But there is a massive responsibility that comes with free speech and it’s just that: personal responsibility.

Understanding that our words have great and abiding power.

Let’s please not tolerate hate on Medium or anywhere else. Let’s please work to protect this platform and each other from this kind abuse of privilege, the privilege to be heard.

Let’s please use our pain to energize our willingness to work out solutions, not spread blame and discourse.

A better world awaits. I choose the high road. As a friend wrote me: I didn’t know there was any other road.