I got this from Ta-nehisi Coates, by the way. When people say "I never owned slaves"...when they ask "why does that even matter anymore?"...when they say "my ancestors didn't own slaves because they immigrated after slavery"...when they say "not all white people"...when they generally insist on their individuality to distance themselves from the legacy(and present) of white supremacy...a simple question that undermines all that is: Well, do you celebrate the Fourth of July? You do? Why? Did you fight in the war, motherfucker? Did your recent immigrant ancestor fight? Oh, I see...you insist on your individuality when it comes to the America's ugly history, but when it comes to the cool things, you're suddenly a proud American. The cool things that you and your ancestors may have had nothing to do with, you want to claim...but when it comes to the terrible things that you and your ancestors benefited/still benefit from, you are suddenly a complete individual.
See, even the most important American values(like "Individuality") are embraced selectively...are self-serving. If we want to embrace the good, we must embrace(and deal with) the bad as well. A powerful nation that is this self-deceptive in the way it sees itself...that acts like a brat...like a goddamn Joffrey
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...is going to destroy the world.
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GOD DAMN!!!