The StevenBe Example - MAY 29, 2020 (Patreon Archive)
It's been over a year since the knitting community has had a huge awakening about racism within the community. (Let's be clear, racism has been around FOREVER, it's just this community was sweeping it under the rug for forever too). This community is small. The industry is small. If your business can not progress with the society we are in, you are going to be left behind and it'll be no one else to blame but yourself and your business. Think about what that means. Being left behind in the progression of society means you do not what to pursue morals and ethics as part of your business. It means you are willing to continue to discriminate, disregard, and dismiss BIPOC, queer individuals, trans individuals, people with disabilities, fat bodies, and so on. Being left behind means you do not actually care about the people you are profiting from, you only care about selling your product. If you're here, I'm assuming you want to progress and that you're willing to do the work to be part of the change.
You can read my other posts to work on what it is you should be doing as an individual. What I'll be talking about here is about your business and there just so happens to be an example of what not to do and it's something that is constantly repeated.
So let's start:
Current events: George Floyd was killed while being apprehended by a police officer who brutally crushed his neck, while George Floyd was repeatably saying, "I can't breathe", and eventually killed him. That's murder. And it happened in Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can google the rest.
StevenBe owns and operates a yarn store in Minneapolis. This post with caption was swiftly taken off StevenBe's Instagram page after a lot of backlash. Now, I don't personally know StevenBe nor have I followed his work. What I do know is that he has been in the industry for a lot longer than I have and his presence and reputation in the industry is pretty noticeable. That means he has a HUGE following, on and off line, and he should understand his position of power in the industry, especially as a cis white man, queer or not. He knowingly posted this caption and video to tell his followers to purchase his product WHILE violence and death happened right around the corner. This is ignorance on another level and he knew exactly the audience he was trying to capture, those with white privilege that can escape reality because they aren't dying everyday based on the color of their skin.
Let me say this: DO NOT profit off of any event, holiday, historical moment, etc. that does not pertain to your people and communities! That's right, if you are cis white hetero person, DO NOT make money off of Martin Luther King Jr. day, DO NOT make money off of Pride month, DO NOT make money off of Black History Month, DO NOT make money off of Lunar New Year, DO NOT make money off of Indigenous People Day, DO NOT make money off of current events of black and brown people dying, so on. If you are DONATING 100% of the proceeds made in honor of these events or holidays to organizations that directly benefit those communities from these proceeds, than that is acceptable.
And cue the classic non-apology by white people when they are caught. So why is this considered a non-apology? This was a quick fix from the backlash of his post. There was no thought behind it other than to cover his ass. He is definitely mortified but only because he now has to deal with the consequences or he might do nothing, like most white individuals in this fiber industry have. An apology needs to be acknowledged and accepted by the people it is directed to. Anyone commenting on accepting the apology that isn't from the black community means nothing. You get more backlash in the comments from a non-apology because you're not actually addressing the people your apology is for. Let's see it this way, if you accidentally stepped on someone's foot, you or bystanders aren't asking you if you're hurt or okay, you're asking the person you stepped on if they are hurt or okay. You can't play the victim if you're the one doing the harm, period.
DO NOT post an "apology" and then walk away. Not moderating comments and addressing the people who are hurt is a huge mistake. As a business, you can't possibly have a relationship with all of your customers, or with a social media account, all of your followers. That's not the goal. The goal is to be undoubtedly clear about where you are in these discussions. Are you on the right or wrong side of history? Are you truly a safe space? Do you actually care about black and brown bodies, the people who are your customers and you are benefiting from with their dollars? If they can trust you, they are a returning customer, and you continue to profit. That's a business. The mind set that just selling a product is enough without any customer care is no longer acceptable and that includes anti-racism work. That's where society is going.
And here comes the white supremacy supporters. This is the most dangerous of them all steps of when white people post racist behavior and do not hold themselves accountable. This is also what happens when white individuals or businesses do not moderate their comments while this is happening. Close comments, issue a notice that you will return to discuss further when you are available, make it VERY CLEAR that you have made a mistake and you will do anything to try your very best to make it up to the people you have hurt. Very simple really. BUT white people still aren't grasping this part. It leaves it wide open for white supremacy to take over and claim their support of you. Do you want that support? If you are serious about anti-racism, these are the people you should be trying to get rid of. They are dangerous to BIPOC. They will create unsafe spaces and they will doxx and harass anyone who asks for accountability. You need to be VERY CLEAR that your values DO NOT align with these people. SILENCE means you accept their support, therefore meaning you have absolutely no intention of anti-racism.
Let's break down this comment.
they only started following to show support of racist behavior.
they haven't read or looked into any comments or the situation but automatically claims asking for accountability as attacks rather than reading them for exactly what they are. Refusing to read and take in the words and concerns, this is white fragility, tone policing, gaslighting, and denial of white privilege.
"you have supporters". This statement is scary and dangerous. See the triangle diagram. These people are connected to overt white supremacists. They hide in your followers. This individual was following me. They are following me to keep tabs on my activity so they can support racist behavior and harass BIPOC and "allies".
These are the individuals and comments that need to be monitored the most. I go through all of my followers the best I can but some still hide in plain sight. Consider this, making your statement clear that you DO NOT condone racist behavior can attract white supremacists BUT it is NOTHING compared to the violence and death of black and brown bodies. These people are hiding behind screens to instill fear. Fear can not be the reason we don't support what is right. Black and brown people are constantly living in fear just for existing. Stating our clear statement of being anti-racist and doing the work to show that is easy compared to what they have to endure.
So, you might do all the right things, say all the right things, and sometimes people will still not accept your apology. And that's okay. There is no such thing as perfect. You still have to do your do diligence and NOT do what StevenBe and many others have done.
So some key points to end with:
1. When creating a post or statement or caption anywhere, be thorough and think about the INTENT as well as the IMPACT. Words do very much matter. Have someone else proofread it (i.e. what this tier on my Patreon page is for).
2. If you made a mistake, take responsibility, reflect and sit in the discomfort that the damage might be done and you just need to keep proving your willingness to do the anti-racism work.
3. Do not issue blank apologies and not monitor the comments. Always monitor comments, apology post or not.
4. State very clearly where your support is and what support you are not willing to accept, i.e. white supremacists
Let me know in the comments if you have anything you want to discuss further or a deeper break down of something.