Loud and Proud

You might remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about how a mild political sign in the yard resulted in the house having rocks thrown at it and a bullet placed in the drive. I wasn’t afraid then and I’m not afraid now. Want to know why? Because I know we have allies.

One of the reasons it’s so important as a white person to be outspoken about not just racism but anti-racism is because you never know who’s voice you might be uplifting and empowering. A dark consequence of a white supremacist nation like ours is that oppression is often instructive. Meaning that if you witness enough harsh treatment, enough brutality, you internalize it and it changes how a person feels. Let me give an example from my actual life.

A few months ago I was running through a conservation area near my house. It’s popular with walkers, joggers, bikers, and dog walkers. Unfortunately, a lot of the dog people allow their pets to wander off-leash, running in and out of the protected woods. This is expressly prohibited and stated on several signs throughout the trail system. Does this help? Nope. I’ve had dogs run up to me and nearly trip me while running. Weirdly enough, there is a really nice, multiacre dog park within the trail system, usually about 5 min walk from everywhere. You’d think that would solve the problem.

Anyways, one day I saw two thick-necked white men (it’s almost always middle-aged white men who feel obliged to ignore the rules and think their dog is the exception… wonder why that is…) with their dogs off-leash. They were running wild, racing ahead of them, out into the woods, everywhere. This is problematic for a few reasons: One, simply put, it’s against the rules. Two, dogs can be very disruptive to the environment around them. They sniff and dig and shit and scare other animals. In a protected area with fragile creatures, that’s less than ideal. And lastly, I should be able to run without your fucking dog bothering me. Seems basic. Well for whatever reason (OK, it was because I was listening to RTJ4 and was very worked up) I confronted the white men.

They were surprised at first. All I said was “hey guys your dog is really supposed to be on a leash. This is protected conservation land. There’s a great off-leash park right over there.” They said they knew about both the park and the rules and seemed a little hurt that someone they may have identified as an accomplice to their privilege was confronting them about it. I let them know that they should follow the rules like everyone else and they got very upset, shouting at me that their dog wasn’t hurting anything. I told them it didn’t matter, to grow up and follow the rules like everyone else. “It’s not that hard guys!” Mind you, I never broke my stride nor removed my headphones so who knows if I missed anything. I wasn’t looking for a fight and wasn’t going to give these bad little boys the satisfaction of Mother’s negative attention. I said my peace and kept going. A few yards after I passed the men, I came upon a Muslim woman and her young family. I feel confident saying she was a Muslim because of the hijab. But I suppose that could be assuming too much. In any event, as I passed her, she made eye contact and signaled for me to slow down. Clearly she had heard me confront the men about their dog. She thanked me and said the dogs were scaring her children but she didn’t feel comfortable saying anything to the thick-necked white men in camo hats. I said it was no big deal and asked if there was anything else I could help with. She said no and I resumed my run.

Oh, you’re probably wondering if the men ended up leashing their dogs. What do you think? I’ll give you a minute to guess.

If you guessed that they only leashed their dogs when I slowed down, turned around, and pretended to take pictures of them, YOU GOT IT RIGHT! Again, I was on a run and wasn’t looking for a fight. I’m sure they had some choice words for me that Killer Mike drowned out.

See my point, white people? So much racism and fear goes unnoticed by us because we live within the water of white supremacy. For everyone else, it’s an ever-present, haunting thing. I had no idea who I was helping when I confronted those guys. But once it was clear that I was an ally to her, new avenues of understanding and communication opened up.

I would also say that if you’re the thick-necked guys, it’s a good example of why you need to be more conscientious with your dogs. You don’t know who’s afraid of your pet. I love all dogs but sometimes even I get scared of them when they come up to me if I don’t know them. Leash your fucking dog. Please.

Back to the yard sign. A few days after the bullets, my neighbors, who happen to be people of color, came up to me said they liked the sign. We’ve always had a great relationship with them so this wasn’t surprising. But we all bring our own prejudices into the world with us. And I’m sure if a person of color sees me they might not feel comfortable. I’m big and tall, with a glistening shaved head and a big bushy beard. When I wear my camo painting hat I’m sure I look like a Klan member to some people. I feel I need to go out of my way sometimes to identify myself as an ally. This is partly why I’m happy with the sign out front.

But another interesting thing has happened as well. More signs have begun popping up around the neighborhood. One house about a block away put up a few Black Lives Matter signs. There’s an All Are Welcome Here sign. Another person, probably feeling a little outnumbered by the influx of liberal signs, put up five American flags, one with the desecration that is the “Thin White Line” flag. Did you know the link between that flag and white supremacy? Yep. Shocking, I know, that cop-loving bootlickers would also overlap with nazis. He also put up a homemade All Lives Matter sign. Fun guy, I’m sure.

But my favorite new sign, I spotted today. It’s something of a replica of the one out front of my house. Have a look.

OK, it’s not the best quality picture. I didn’t want to be a weirdo. But it looks like a realtor sign that’s been painted over. All the slogans are the same as ours and most of the colors match too. It’s wonderful that someone would take the time to do this. If you were wondering, this is part of what makes someone an ally.

Listen, this is all coming from a white ass man. I’m sure I haven’t been as eloquent as I could be. To be clear, this is not about being a white hero or anything like that. Being decent and showing compassion is not something to be rewarded for. It’s the baseline. My point, however inarticulate, is that white people need to speak up and risk being kicked out of the whites-only secret society that exists between us. Those men were more upset that one of their own was calling them out on their privilege than they were about having to leash their dogs. For too long, we’ve had our secret white society, afraid to confront anyone within it for fear of being kicked out for good.

Well, to quote the great Groucho Marx, “I don’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member.” Deconstructing the scaffolding that’s allowed racism and white supremacy to flourish is a critical step to take and it’s one that white people must do ourselves. We built this and it’s on us to take it down. One small thing you can do is to plant your flag (or sign) and declare where you stand. Be loud about it. Make sure people notice. You never know who might be listening.