contraststudies:

Okay, today I learned that apparently in the year of our lord 2020 it is still possible to wander into a fandom server and find someone being casually racist.

I’ll give you a few examples for reference, so you know what it looks like: it’s criticizing a fic or a comment for having errors in grammar when English isn’t the author’s first language. It’s making fun of cuisines you’re unfamiliar with. It’s telling someone, “Hey, you know what? Only my experience is valid, and because you aren’t actually from [insert country here], the way you’re telling your story is wrong by default.” 

Here’s the thing – when you’re a POC in a predominantly white fandom space, it’s next to impossible to speak up and say something about it, especially if the person being racist is someone of note in the community (e.g. a popular fic writer or fan artist). And sometimes, even if you are able and willing to call someone out on being racist, the person who’s on the receiving end might not even want you to do that for them, for fear of stirring up drama or being side-eyed for being that one person that never shuts up about being POC.

If you’re a white person and you see someone being racist in fandom space, you’d be doing the entire community a favor by calling that person out, especially because many POCs will not say anything about it at all, for the reasons I mentioned above. I’d even go so far as to say that if you don’t call them out, it’s tantamount to condoning that behavior. By remaining silent, you are complicit in that act of racism.

One last point. If you are ever casually racist, and you are called out on it, the proper response is to listen. I’ll be real here – sure, you fucked up by saying or doing something that’s offensive to POCs. But the worst thing you could do in that situation is to deny that you were being racist. By doing that, not only do you invalidate the POC experience, but you’re also overtly saying that there was nothing wrong with what you did. That kind of denial is exactly what continues to perpetrate the narrative of racism. The correct thing to say is, “I’m sorry, I messed up, I’ll do better.” And then do just that.

The only way to unlearn racist behavior is by allowing yourself to learn from the mistakes you make when people call you out on it. And honestly, if you genuinely try to do better after you messed up, it speaks volumes about your character. Unlearning those behaviors can be a lifelong process, and there’s no shame in admitting that you stumbled on that journey now and then. Let your desire to be a better person overrule the difficulty of accepting that you did something wrong. 

(Also, a special note to all the POCs in this fandom: if you ever have to endure something like this in a fandom space, whether in a Discord server or on social media, this is a blanket statement that I will CALL THEM OUT FOR YOU. I don’t care if you’re a complete stranger, YOU MESSAGE ME AND I WILL BE THERE.)