Baldwin should have talked to the Black dude who spit a hocker on me when I was in my 20s from the car window yelling "honkey ass mother fucker" when I was waiting at the bus stop in Chicago. He pretty clearly thought I was white, no matter what I thought.
As long as as any of us stereotype based on skin color, that's a problem.
White people need to stand firm against racism. Those who don't or who defend racists in any way need to be called out. That includes white people who claim there is such a thing as reverse racism.
What happened to me at the bus stop was NOT reverse racism. It was just an angry Black man tired of the centuries of abuse at the hands of people that look like me. Funny thing was, when it happened, the first thought in my head was, "Nice shot." The hocker landed just under my neck and the car he was in was driving by. It was a drive by hocker shooting, lol.
The whole situation sucks and I don't have a clean answer for it. But I do know that most Black folks I encounter here in Atlanta have a much more respectful and kind attitude towards whites than I would if I was them, so at some level, most have come to terms with the situation with grace. Lord knows what they say to me behind closed doors at home, but on the street, it's all good. Mostly.
I don't really identify as "white" because for me it has terrible connotations. I can't say, "I'm white" because it is associated now with this nonsensical white supremacy thing. It is not physically possible to be superior to another human being because our skin has a certain pigmentation. That's biology. Basic science. So these white "supremacists" are batshit crazy and I want no association with them.
But in all honesty, I kind of feel that if I wore a BLM covid mask, I'd feel like an idiot. I guarantee there'd be some Black folks thinking, "Look at the white privileged dude in his BLM mask." That's not ME making the white identity. That's someone else. But it's no big deal because as someone who doesn't have to deal with systemic racism, I just need to allow for it. I need, as a white guy, to allow Black folks their space.
Weird thing is, I have some Black Irish in me. You sure wouldn't know looking at me, but some Spanish Moors ended up in an Irish pub at some point and blended with my white ass Irish family.
But who knows? A minor gene sequence change, or an additional Moor in the mix, and I'd have a little more color to this blotchy, pasty white skin of mine.
That's another reason why skin color is such a silly thing to make decisions on regarding human beings. The only thing we should ask about another person is this: What's in their heart?
