BRHood: White people have the ability to watch something that’s just fun and entertaining, or watch something serious that address hardships, mental issues and disorders, etc. They get a variety. I think it’s frustrating to be told that if something revolves around us, it HAS to have racism as it’s focus or at least discussed. Can’t I have SOMETHING where it has a majority (or all) Black cast and they’re just doing things? Why does it have to be about how we face racism? Why do I have to be reminded, as if my daily life doesn’t already, that I face racism?
There will ALWAYS be stories about Black people facing racism. ALWAYS. But most times, we’re look for an ESCAPE. If I had a bad day, I like to watch anime that’s full of shit that could NEVER not happen in real life. Hell, I even read blogs of other people living lives I know I won’t have. Because it’s a nice escapism. Sometimes, we need that escape. And for PoC, it’s HELLA hard to find that escape when we’re so underrepresented as is, and when we ARE, we have to be faced with the fact that everyone in the world hates us.
The middle ground, to me, would be if there were a LOT of media featuring PoC, some of which tackled those issues, while the rest were just PoC doing regular stuff/having adventures without the racism. Like what white people have. In terms of mainstream media, we want to be included in the fun. Not there to be a token that shows “we’re not racist” and then our only use to show an instant of outright racism (while ignoring microagressions that maintain the racist status quo), which usually ends with the character going “I can’t let it affect or etc,” again, making Black people ignore the racism instead of how white people need to stop being so fucking racist all the dayum time.
Not to mention, with that particular girl who sent us the ask, she’s white. Her trying to tackle the race issue, especially in a setting that is not current and would require a hell of a lot of imagination on her part, is just fucked up. Seriously, we’re getting tired of white people trying to include us, just to put us in times where we have to see characters get called the n-word and other racial slurs to the point that they probably think it’s their name until they’re five. It shows that the level of racism they understand is outright shit. They can’t understand the shit that happens that they easily ignore because of their privilege. And instead of forcing themselves to do that, they create stories where Black people have to run from lynchers and turn to us going “I did good, right?” It also allows them to distance themselves from the racist shit they do themselves, by making scenarios that are not going to happen in a modern setting and demonizing those participating. It’s EXACTLY what white people do today to distance themselves from the racism they participate in every day just by being white.
A story like that, even as it tries to tackle race, does nothing for me. It doesn’t help me or the cause. It just becomes a “here’s another story that features PoC that I’d love to get into if only I didn’t have to see the blatant and extreme racism every other chapter.”
TL;DR: No. There is no middle ground. There will always be works discussing racism. ALWAYS. What we need more of is stuff featuring Black people doing shit. Every day shit. Adventurous shit. Emotional shit. Shit that doesn’t make it about our fucking race but still relates to us. Period.
