The Boys Need to Grow Up
I got in an argument with a Boogaloo Boy on Twitter, and it devolved into him calling me a bitch, because I echoed his words, that he needed to further his education on the topics of which he was speaking, namely that Boogaloo Boys is an organization that fosters white supremacy.
It started when I saw his response to Imani Gandy, someone I respect and follow on Twitter:
It bothered me, so I decided to respond and check a few things. First, I wanted to see if it might be a bot, seeing as the name has number salad on the end of it, no real pic, less than 30 followers, and only about 1,000 tweets. My mentions of Putin didn’t prompt him to block me, which often happens, when it is a bot.
I then proceeded to check the virtue of disrespecting an Attorney, who is educated on the issue being discussed, while he was by his own admission, needing to further his education.
I’m not an expert either, but I do have a degree in political science. What’s more, I don’t just scream into the void on Twitter, and get into arguments with “random people”, as he called it. I also volunteer, I donate to causes that will help people his group claims to support, and I prove my concern for underserved communities, by working to support and empower those communities. I don’t pose for pictures and ask for a high five, when I do it either.
What I found, in this back and forth, was that despite the uninformed straw argument, that posing for photos was proof that they are not white supremacists, their group name is not just a childish appropriation of a predominantly Black 80’s movie franchise. In the core of their name, they exclude women. There is a foundation of toxic masculinity to their organization and ethos. They should have a treehouse with a crayon sign on the door, that says “No Girls Allowed”, with a backwards S.
If they really supported the Black Lives Matter movement, how many of them have done the work of listening to Black leaders, like the one he called stupid? How many of them have read books on the oppression of Black Americans, and taken a proactive effort to learn about intent vs impact, when it comes to racial justice? They show up armed to the teeth, and promote the violent overthrow of our government. It’s all to make them feel good, not help the people they claim to support.
You can follow that thread down to the end, when I stopped feeling the need to approach his comments with any level of substantive debate, because he brought none. I compared opinions without action, to farts in the wind. He stopped responding, and I went about my day. Later, he tagged me in a retweeted post, with pics meant to serve as evidence that they are for Black Lives Matter, and not white supremacists.
I quote tweeted him (above), which prompted another reply chain, ending in him calling me a bitch twice. After that, I blocked him. I was willing to engage with him, because I wanted to see if I could get him to acknowledge that he had no standing to come into Ms. Gandy’s replies and call her stupid. It was disrespectful, and made no argument against what she said. In fact, it discredited him and any argument he could have made.
Many know that toxic masculinity is common among white supremacist hate groups, but that’s not the only evidence we have of their support of white supremacy. If your group’s actions enable and preserve white supremacy, if they are not inclusive but exclusive, then how are they not a white supremacist group? The media, and by and large white society, has long nibbled around calling racism what it is. Calling practices that preserve white supremacy, white supremacy. We have to unlearn that practice, and learn to directly call a spade a spade.
I don’t claim to be any kind of special ally. I’m just another person, with white privilege, who can and must do better. I know that Imani Gandy doesn’t need my protection, or for me to speak for her. That’s certainly not why I responded to him.
I also know that she receives much more disrespect on Twitter, than I ever will, and that’s not because of the difference our follower counts. It’s because she’s an intelligent attorney, who knows what she’s talking about, and doesn’t apologize for it, while also being Black. The disrespect is just so unnecessary, but fundamental to how entitled white people feel to treat Black people, online and IRL. It so often goes unnoticed, except by the Black people who experience it.
I responded, because she deserves respect and an apology, and I was content to spin his wheels, since I am sure she has better things to do with her time. I wanted to see how many ways he would equivocate, and never offer any substantive evidence of their supposed ally ship to Black Americans, and helping Black communities.
Their Libertarian ideology is a suggestion that our democracy is not tenable, and that it needs to be burned to the ground. It’s lazy, and an excuse for not having to do hard things, like carry petitions, phone bank, get out the vote, run for office, and elect people who can work within the system, to make it more fair. Fair for who? Them? I thought they recognized that Black lives need to matter, and that we need systemic changes to make that a reality. Posing for photos in militant gear, and posting on social media may feel good, but that’s not being an ally. That’s dressing up in cosplay and making yourself feel good. It’s to stroke your ego. It does nothing to help others.
Instead of making a militant boys club, maybe actually join Black Lives Matter (https://blacklivesmatter.com). Try supporting organizations like Equal Justice Initiative https://eji.org/, The NAACP https://naacp.org/, Southern Poverty Law Center: https://www.splcenter.org/, and many others. Support your local homeless shelters and health clinics. Systemic racism is intersectional, and those in the greatest need, are disproportionately Black. Supporting community resources for those in need, supports Black communities.
In Rochester, NY, I recommend House of Mercy: http://houseofmercyrochester.org/ and St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center: https://www.sjncenter.org/.
Volunteer on campaigns to elect Black candidates, up and down the ballot. Stay engaged between elections, and contact your representatives on issues and legislation, particularly if they are indicating they will vote against resources for Black communities and legislation that will end white supremacist practices within our law. This can be ending the use of for-profit prisons, supporting COVID relief, universal health care, cancelling student debt, demilitarizing and defunding the police. I’m not a fan of the name “defund”, but for those who actually take the time to research what it means, it makes all the sense in the world.
When Black Lives Matters assemble a peaceful protest, you are not listening to what they want or what they need, when you show up armed and instigate looting and violence. You are using them, to cause chaos, in your aim of burning it all down. That doesn’t help Black Lives Matter or the purpose of the peaceful protests. It’s makes a protest about police brutality a violent one, instead of a peaceful one, which is where the argument is won. That supports white supremacy, not Black lives.
Don’t just be a voice of opposition, particularly a disrespectful one with no substantive arguments. Don’t just be an exclusive club of violence and toxic masculinity. Be willing to learn from a wide variety of Black leaders, journalists, writers, and activists. Believe them. Don’t argue with them. Consider the totality of what they say, and sit with it, until you can accept it, without any attempt to respond with strawman arguments and whataboutisms. Sit with the discomfort, until you get used to it. It will shift your thinking, and burst your white bubble.
Trust me. What do you have to lose?
