Not everyone can wear the cape of "captain-save-a-white-liberal" and that's okay because if we're being completely honest, they don't want to be saved.

There's an intricate two-step process that must take place to see change. First one has to recognize the need for change and secondly they need to care enough to change it. Unfortunately, most white liberals get stumped along the way. They freeze, reboot, then repeat– never actually achieving any sort of tangible change.

Why does this happen?

They Don't Know

They choose not to know. So they guess, assume, deflect, impose and invent.

Let's get real for a moment. Imagine you're playing football. You're on a team and you have one player that has never left the bench. Not once. Meanwhile, you're on the field working your ass off, dodging, weaving, trying to score a touchdown where you can. You're sweating and focused, but more importantly, you're tired. You know the game; it's instinctual to you at this point. Then, out of nowhere, you hear your oh-so-comfy teammate shouting advice from the sidelines. They tell you to run left instead of right, they suggest a different brand of cleats for your aching feet, and they even cheer you on as they settle in for what seems like a brutal, never-ending game. Oh look, it's raining now! Nevermind that, at least they're safe and covered!

Do you take their advice even though they've never played? They don't know the rules like you do — they haven't lived it. And they surely they have no intention of coming out in the rain to assist you. Why would they? It's freaking raining!

Then comes the do-gooding white liberals with the: "so, you're saying, unless I'm black, I can't talk about racism? That's racist!"

I'm saying, you can't accurately speak about something that you have never lived, breathed or experienced. And most of all, you can't expect us to listen.

They're Presumptuous

If a white liberal cries "Injustice!" in a forest does anyone hear it?

Yes, the whole world hears it, then runs to see if they're okay.

As black people, we know that when we step out and protest, speak up, speak out, or basically live — because our lives are innately criminal, apparently — we could die. We understand that we may leave our house today and not make it home. This is a hard pill to swallow, yet here we are. And here we will be. For-freaking-ever.

So why can't we speak with white liberals about racism? Because white liberals assume that by simply engaging in a conversation of such nature that they've "done something".

It's after this small gestures like these that they return to their green juice, scoff at the white people who didn't dissect misogynoir that afternoon, then pat themselves on the backs. They've made a difference. But in reality, talking gets us nowhere. We've been screaming, hollering, weeping and wailing for generations and have only been met with condescending cries of "shhh, you're too loud & angry".

White liberals opening their mouth to mumble "that's not right!" does not make them a part of our revolution. Wearing a polyester ribbon is not revolution. Liking a Facebook article from Shaun King — however dope he may be — doesn't mean you've contributed to the cause. They're not about this life because the moment they're even remotely treated like a POC in the United States, they retreat to the comforts of their white privilege where it's safe and less complicated.

They Will Always Have Privilege.

No matter how much they deny or may be blind to the fact, white liberals will always have privilege. Even if they try to distance themselves from their whiteness, they will always benefit in some way from their privilege. When Black people tip-toe across the tightrope, we look down and see people waiting for us to fail. We see hungry, greedy beasts just waiting for the opportunity to consume us. When White liberals look down — if they're even on the rope — they see a net, the open arms of parents and a forgiving white society that is willing to write off their blatant insubordination as "just a phase" — that's the difference.

White people cannot renounce their privilege just like black people cannot change being black.

The playing field, unfortunately, will never be even. And if you're trapped in a well, the last thing you need is someone who is safe and sound trying to coach you on how to get out, especially when their hands aren't long enough to reach you.

Black people, talk to each other. Talk to yourselves. Hell, talk to the ancestors if you have to. But please, stop talking to white liberals about concepts foreign to them. Our efforts would go much further if we started with one another. And white liberals, stop making it our job to teach you about our oppression. That's not on us. We're busy. We're tired. We're fighting for our lives. While you all scream in the forest, we'll be on the frontlines.

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