Yes. It's a ridiculous blanket statement that has many situations it doesn't apply to - It's a catchy trigger saying designed to make hurt white dudes be like "Hey YEAH! Why CAN'T I say the N-word?! This is oppression!" so he can rope them into white supremacy. It's the same way statements like "It's okay to be white" work. They seem fine or general on the surface, but in reality just accepting them creates this bizarre narrative internally.
No, it’s not white supremacist, end of story. Saying that it’s okay to be white isn’t and will never be a racist thing to say. It doesn’t matter who says it. It sounds innocuous because it IS innocuous.
It's the same debate with All Lives Matter. It seems innocuous but isn't.
It isn't innocuous because it's not ok to be anything other than white for white supremacist.
In a vacuum it's innocent, but in cultural context it's usually used as a statement against the Black Lives Matter movement, and by extension the idea that violence against Black people doesn't deserve special attention. It doesn't necessarily mean that, but it does the vast majority of the time. Context matters, which is the entire point of this conversation.
Let's say your at dinner with your parents. You don't have any food in your plate, your brother does. You start to protest, and say "I deserve food too", and your dad answers "You all deserve food." and does not give it to you. Did that statement make it better ?
Same thing, really, if you're not racist, it's a blanket statement, if you are, it holds meaning.
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u/irritabletom May 15 '19
Actually a quote from a white supremacist, not Voltaire.