Read on Twitter
I'll never judge or disparage Black folx who feel compelled to physically fight to defend themselves. Society likes to say things like "why would you resort to violence?" when society itself is violent and fails to protect Black people.
For a lot of us, physically fighting was the only way to protect ourselves growing up. It's a response to being constantly attacked and surveilled. When you can't call police or rely on others, sometimes all you have is your own hands.
It's so classist to say that Black people defending ourselves is "ratchet" or "ghetto." That's hella anti-Black and sounds like people who know what being protected feels like.
Middle-class logics suggest we should protect property but not Blackness.
Middle-class logics suggest we should protect property but not Blackness.
I've never been protected. So, fighting was something I *had* to do to survive.
We don't talk enough about how middle-class people look down through their noses at Black folx they consider "ratchet" and "hood" for things like boosting and fighting. Meanwhile, those same middle-class people support policies making it hard for "hood" Black folx to live.
For many poor folx, boosting is the most reliable and efficient means of income in a capitalistic system that makes getting and keeping a job hard and being poor even harder.
Being poor was literally the hardest thing I ever did. Ever.
I had open heart surgery, birthed three children, and got a PhD. Being poor was still harder.
I had open heart surgery, birthed three children, and got a PhD. Being poor was still harder.
I really want us to have more nuanced conversations about what we consider crime.
I think it's criminal to put children in cages, deny access to life-saving medical procedures and care, and hoard resources in wealthy communities while others suffer.
I think it's criminal to put children in cages, deny access to life-saving medical procedures and care, and hoard resources in wealthy communities while others suffer.
