I'm sorry if this is the wrong sub-if you know a better sub, I would appreciate if you would let me know.

Sorry if this is disorganized or hard to understand, please ask questions and I'll answer as best I can.

Anyway. I am White, 27 y/o, don't feel super attached to my gender but present female as assigned at birth, queer but closeted, living in a super conservative town (MAGA flags everywhere, locals opposed Walmart in 2012 because it would invite Black people, etc.). I don't interact much with people here, partially for that reason but also because I am pretty much a shut in.

I do, however, go to the gym. This gym is popular with older folks. There is an old man who has decided we are buddies because I am polite (laugh at the shitty jokes, smile and nod through the stories about his family, blah blah blah). It's annoying because I'm trying to work out, but he's old and so I feel the need to be polite. He's gotten more talkative in the last few weeks and has shown himself to be a conservative echo chamber.

Recently, I was wearing a Red Cross shirt. So he starts talking about which organizations he supports, and he ends with how he got a solicitation in the mail from the United Negro College Fund (I think that was it) and he said that he sent something back saying that when there is a United White College Fund, he'd donate to both. And THEN he goes on to say that things used to be a little in favor of White people, then they were equal, and now everything sways in favor of Black people in a big way. He ended by saying to me, that I "might be young enough to have been poisoned by some college professors." I have a Master's Degree in Public Health, so I am pretty familiar with how racism has impacted Black and Brown people, and can comfortably say that it's not poison, it's just a fact that Black, Brown, and Indigenous people are treated worse than White people.

I'm ashamed to say I didn't use any of what I know to refute his bs. I don't know how to, because in my experience, they put the burden of proof on you and then say all your proof is fake, making the burden of proof insurmountable. I'm also absolutely a chicken (thanks to the way my parents handle conflict/cognitive dissonance), but I don't want to be, at least when it comes to being anti-racist. I'm actually afraid he'd complain to the gym owners (small locally owned place) that I created a "hostile environment" and get me kicked out, but that might be my anxiety talking.

In a scenario like this, what do I do? Do I say something like, "That's racist. I can offer you all the proof in the world, and you'll simply feel vindicated that I am indeed, poisoned by college professors and say that my information is fake, but you are super racist." Or do I try to offer data? In that case, how do I deal with the inevitable "rebuttal" of "that's cherry picked" or "that's fake?" Do I have to remember my sources? Do I have to prove that my sources are reliable, and that the data and analysis used is unbiased?

Confrontation makes me nervous, and being nervous makes me stupid (completely unable to string a sentence together, stammering, can't remember any points). I want to overcome this so I can live my convictions...but I also know that takes time. Can I just say "that's racist," when I hear racism, without explaining why?

I know that I'm not going to change his mind no matter what I say or do, but it feels wrong to just smile and nod through his crap.

I just...don't know what to do and would appreciate advice. Thank you.

Edit: formatting. On mobile, sorry.

This is my first post ever. For the last year or so I’ve been engaging in some pretty serious self-reflection including anti-racism work. I am a 40 year old cisgender white woman. Late to the party on this, but finally waking up. Single mother to a 4 year old. This type of self-reflection and necessary work is essential but I am lonely as fuck. Most days I find connection through online communities but I see white supremacy, colonialism, patriarchy, etc EVERYWHERE. I understand that’s the point of the work…I guess I am feeling like I need a mentor or guide of sorts. Has anyone experienced this and been able to channel their energy into something meaningful? Where am I at in this process? I feel like I am having a full on identity crisis. I can’t stand white people. At best they are cringey and annoying and at worst they are evil and dangerous. I live in a predominantly White state so I think it can be very easy to be around folks who claim to not be racist but are we all know this simply isn’t true. I could probably talk for hours on this subject. Wondering if anyone will respond. Mostly interested if anyone has or is experiencing the feeling of wanting to reject White people as a White person.

Several similar memes are circulating on social media and imageboards. I saw several replies to them but most of them are just other types of propaganda or just missing the point completely, so I made a video to explain how this propaganda meme works, what fallacies and propaganda techniques are used to manipulate you. I know the audio is shit, I am working on it. I make videos about propaganda, especially how they work and how you can recognize them. I hope you will find it informative. Any kind of feedback is appreciated.

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Racist meme explained

The hurt from seeing how wickedly racist the world truly is...it's something that I struggle to process in a healthy way. So, I've decided to resort to poetry.

I decided to write this poem after seeing a particularly vile and racist woman in action. I won't upload the video here, but I'll leave the link to the full poem + video below.

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Depravity Inside the Shell of Racism

I wander and wonder

An herb for this ghostly hurt must exist

The doubt knocks fast on my mind

Faster than I can pass the time

Heavier than I can hope to bear

Is she like the good above?

Is she like the wicked below?

Does the difference make a difference?

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Full poem + video

Depravity Inside the Shell of Racism

Currently i'm reading Ron stallworths memoir, i picked it up because i saw the netflix adaption and was very upset that we did not learn about such an iconic man in school, recently i've been seeing more and more people talk about how school curriculums intentionally leave out a lot of black history because it makes the united states/law enforcement look terrible. For reference i am white and i am looking for more books like this. i tried to read "for whites only" only to find it's too difficult for me to read in the sense that it used a lot of terms and phrases that i didn't understand and couldn't properly teach myself by researching online. So i am looking for something more digestible(?). I am interested in learning more about great black people and systemic oppression towards them. I also want to learn more about the black panthers. I prefer memoirs and first hand experiences rather than reports. Any help is appreciated.

I work with elderly clients in home healthcare. I have a hard time holding my tongue when some of my charges make comments that are blatantly racist. Most of these folks are in their eighties. I have always considered it my right and duty to speak out against bigotry. If and when I rise to the bait it only serves to upset them. This happens with white, black and Hispanic individuals in equal measure. How to I go about conveying my discomfort without alienating my clients?

Kinda as it says on the tin, but the issue is that I live with said family; i'm 20 and living with my grandparents, and they love to make comments about "those asians" "the chinese" "those indians". every time i want to challenge them, i know i'll just be told to "stop being ungrateful." i know they understand these statements are wrong, because they never say anything around non-white family.

Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this, without risking my living situation? cus im fucking sick of it

My boss starts to tell me he saw a couple speaking to each other in another language in a grocery store. He also mentions that these people have a dog. Then says these people should be speaking English. I started with a response that I do not want to have this conversation as I am an immigrant and my 1st language wasn't English either. THEN he proceeds to start talking about these people are invading our borders hoping to have our American dream AND that this American Dream will no longer be viable because of 'these people'. Well,... I couldn't stand it any more and called him a racist right there. Though he says it is not what he said. SERIOUSLY!!??? I'm I wrong here?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=btV1ovf560g&pp=ygUWdGhlIHJlY29uc3RydWN0aW9uIGVyYQ%3D%3D

Book: The Antiracist Kid

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58311998

In my country (Brasil) if you use of racial slurs to offend someone, you can be charged with racial injury and be sentenced to anywhere between 2 and 5 years in prison.

My curiosity is how laws like these operate on other countries, also I wonder if these laws are in fact respected.

If it's more severe or less severe and such.

(Sorry, English is not my first language)

i hope this is okay to ask. i wasn’t sure where to ask this.. is krampus, or anything depicting the character? considered racist?

my understanding of krampus was that it is a horned figure who scares children who misbehave; a character from european folklore. and no, i haven’t seen the movie. when searching around the web, i saw that krampus is the evil twin brother of “zwarte piet,” or “black pete” and there’s many pictures showing people dressed in black face to depict “zwarte piet,” which is horrific. i couldn’t find much about krampus’s depiction though. i did see elsewhere that krampus is saint nicholas’s twin too?

would appreciate any help, please. thanks.