Dixon D. White (a pseudonym, like his YouTube moniker, "W Honky"), a self-identified Southern redneck, was at the top of my Facebook timeline today with this video. I clicked play on FB after reading this comment: "I wonder what prompted him to get on his F-150 soapbox."
If you do nothing else, click play now, too.
If you have time and can join his call to action on Facebook:
Dixon D. White: I challenge all of you to post a video with your smart phones about race and post it on social media! Let's do the damn thing!
It might possibly change the world.
More below the swirl.
[CAUTION - RACIST TERMS]
I live right on the path of a marathon. A few weeks ago, my neighbors and I were gathered in our courtyard, enjoying sun and the runners whizzing past. We are a multi-culti group of residents, Latinos, Asians, Whites and African-Americans. One of the residents had friends over to watch the marathon, and as we all chatted, one of the White male guests casually commented to two others about what was happening in his old neighborhood, yada yada, "wetbacks", yada yada. I froze for a second. There were at least 4 Latinos standing in our midst, and my White neighbors have always been extremely friendly. No one said anything. The men kept discussing "ghetto people," crime, guarding their cars, etc.
It was like being in college again. I knew I would say something, I knew the "Seven Steps of Denial" would come up, I knew my neighbor, who'd invited this man, would never speak to me again, etc. I let that all go, stepped over to the men, and said, I'd heard what they said, that this was my home, and that his language was not okay.
The Seven Steps of Denial that next unfolded took less than 20 minutes (this sometimes happened over the course of days in college):
1) "I didn't do it." Wide-eyed stare and shrug from one of the listeners.
2) "It's not my problem." The other listener walks away.
3) "It was a fluke/out of character." The man I addressed said, "I'm sorry, I never say things like that." (I reply, "It's not my business if you say it, but you can't say it here where I live.")
4) "I'm not guilty by association/One of my best friends is___." The man I addressed said, "I'm sorry. My uncle is Hispanic, I mean not one of THOSE Hispanics, he didn't come over on a boat--" I cut him off, admittedly. I said, "You are sorry you were overheard. And I'm guessing your uncle does not know you call Latinos w***." I turn to the wide-eyed guy, who is muscular, covered in tattoos and has short-cropped hair. "Can you relate to this a little? I'm guessing people see you and think you're an ex-con or just cross the street." The tattooed man says, "Why are you making this about me?" I reply that "it's everyone's responsibility to say something."
5) "You're overreacting/hyper-sensitive."The tattooed man says, "People are too hyper-sensitive to this stuff." I reply, "No, people are under-sensitive." He walks away.
6) "I'll just assert my inherent entitlement/dominance/superiority over you." The man I addressed steps up and firmly says, "I said I'm sorry. You want to call the police?" I say just as firmly, "Are you kidding? You're in my home. You can go." Another resident comes over and asks who invited him and whose fault he is (literally). I walk back to watch the race.
6) "Your thinking I'm a racist, based on an actual thing I've just said or done, cannot be allowed to stand." The man I addressed does not leave. He keeps coming over to apologize, to say he isn't a racist, to mention his Hispanic uncle again, etc. Another resident, who is White and married to a Latina, tells him he'd have punched him in the face if his wife had been outside. I ignore the man I'd originally addressed and watch the marathon.
7) "Your mentioning race is an affront to our sensibilities." No one at the gathering speaks to me for the rest of the marathon, and the resident who'd invited the man I addressed stops speaking to me in passing.
So decades after shaking my head about this with 20 year olds, it was interesting to hear Dixon D. White, a half-White/half-Cuban, self-identified Southern redneck and former racist, sit in his Ford F-150 and talk so deeply about something so few have tools to think about. I like that he said it was everyone's responsibility (and agree). I like that he said that the African-Americans who have reached out to him have experienced "truth deprivation" from a world that denies and reframes racism.
But I really like his call to action. I asked many times when I used to engage regularly here for someone to explain what happens when racism is mentioned, what is the chain of thoughts that triggers such consistent and passionate resistance/denial? I wanted to understand it then; I realized today, I still do.
Maybe it's not the world - maybe it's just my life that will change, one selfie-stick video at a time.
P.S. it's been so long since I posted, I'm not sure what tags to add.
2:15 PM PT: No selfie-stick, but here's another testimonial from Dallas newscaster Dale Hansen:
Sat Apr 11, 2015 at 7:05 PM PT: If you haven't visited DDW's Facebook page yet, the challenge is on, and people are posting. I can only watch one at a time (need time to cry a bit in between). I am amazed and moved, not just by the testimonials but by the responses they are receiving from friends and family. Yet they forge ahead. There is power and healing and love in this for everyone engaged. https://www.facebook.com/...
Sat Apr 11, 2015 at 7:21 PM PT: For everyone who is concerned/cautious about Dixon's identity and intentions, please stay with this call to action. People are posting videos in response, and they are moving and raw and real. Whatever his intentions are/were, the door is open, the platform is here, and the dialogue is in process.
THANK YOU, CATHY IN PA
THANK YOU, KEISHA, FROM YOUR SMALL SOUTHERN TOWN
THANK YOU, DKOS COMMUNITY, FOR PARTICIPATING AND ENGAGING!