{"sf1_id":1880557,"sf2_id":"ZeqQ5dGe","title":"Don’t Need Your Guilt","author":"Apolarbear17","words":484,"posted_at":"2022-07-30T01:25:00.000Z","tags":["Bipoc","Heavy Subjects","Personal Experience","Poetry","Relevant to Current Events","White Guilt","racism","venting"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1880557-don-t-need-your-guilt","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/ZeqQ5dGe","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/34/7e/347e106f-f83b-4126-8348-2917e7d2d9f4","description":"A poem I made after coming back from a bit of a break from them to vent out some frustration over something personal that happened back then. Was also coincidentally relevant to then current events and I suppose continues to be relevant now. Not exactly an easy subject to articulate properly but I tried my best. Originally posted in April 2021","content":"Don't Need Your Guilt\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;By: A.X. Bueno\n\n  \n\nThis shouldn't be something I feel I have to exclaim\u0026nbsp;\n\nYour overbearing guilt isn't needed and neither is your self flagellation or copious shame\n\nI get that it's a lot\u0026nbsp;\n\nCarrying the knowledge of the atrocities of the past\n\nAs well as the terribleness of the racist and prejudiced institutions of right now\n\nBut beating yourself up to prove what a good ally you are isn't the way how\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\n\nAll that does is make yourself feel better while taking attention away from the actual issues\n\nWith things that affect us we need more than just you feeling bad\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd crying about your whiteness into tissues\n\nNo one wants your pity party or your half hearted platitudes or deep shame\n\nWe simply want you to acknowledge what's happening and it's not simply about collective blame\n\nIt's more complicated than that and yet also\u0026nbsp; surprisingly simplistic too\n\nIt's about recognizing that there's many intentional and embedded flaws in our system\u0026nbsp;\n\nAs well as privilege that for a few different reasons happens to favor you\u0026nbsp;\n\nNobody pretends that that's truly your fault, for the circumstances under which you were born\u0026nbsp;\n\nThey just want you to care and acknowledge how much stuff for them is unjustly screwed\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo one is trying to make you feel miserable just for being we just want to be able to stop mourning\n\nBecause some people feel others deserve death for simply being slightly slow and cautious about a warning\n\nIs it too much to ask to for BIPOC to not have to have this constant fear or exhaustion in our lives\n\nOf course it's also important to not treat POC or black people as a monolith\u0026nbsp;\n\nThat's very important to realize\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt'd probably help in relieving a lot of the guilt\u0026nbsp;\n\nWhat would also help is not waiting till a tragedy happens to temporarily care and empathize\u0026nbsp;\n\nBIPOC don't need your fleeting pity or your fake trends and selectively outraged cries\u0026nbsp;\n\nWe just want to feel safe and not like we're always under attack or being told to shut up through comforting lies\u0026nbsp;\n\nI could go on but I hope my point is clear\n\nWe don't need your guilt\u0026nbsp;\n\nWe just need you to lend a better helping hand\n\nBoth when tragedy happens and also when it isn't here\u0026nbsp;\n\nAlso don't badger constantly badger us personally with questions or for perspective\u0026nbsp;\n\nAfter all information is kind of what the internet was made for\n\nAnd we're only human so please respect that and don't make conversations a chore\u0026nbsp;\n\nOr else you might actually receive someone's ire\u0026nbsp;\n\nBut that would be because you were testing probably already well tested patients\u0026nbsp;\n\nAnd not because of some \"reverse racism\" or the coincidently white color of your skin\u0026nbsp;\n\nSo I hope you take this to heart whenever there's a sensitive subject and you feel the need to chime in   \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n  \n  \n\n"}