When another #AllLivesMatter post goes up, the White Nonsense Roundup steps in.
SEE ALSO:Muslim man verbally harassed in Starbucks shares harrowing experience onlineAfter an increase of police violence toward black men that came to a head in July, Washington-based activists Terri Kempton and Layla Tromble realized they had to help out, even if it was just writing words on the internet.
That's what prompted the duo behind the self-appointed social media task force, White Nonsense Roundup, to set up a service to come in and help break up online conversations -- primariy on Facebook and Twitter -- that are veering into racist territory.
Credit: white nonsense roundup/facebook"We’re in a time where intention is not enough," Kempton, a conservation biologist and book editor, told Mashable in a video interview this week. "Silence is complacence."
The two founders, who are white themselves, acknowledge they are part of a generation often raised to not see color. But instead of solving racial tensions, "it taught us to not talk about it or not how to talk about it," Kempton said. That's why the name of the group, WNR, makes sense. "Let’s call it what it is," she added.
"We know we are going to make our fellow white folks uncomfortable sometimes."
Talking about it all over the internet is the group's small way of helping people of color who may be overwhelmed with handling these types of comments and online conversations -- especially during this presidential campaign and election cycle where issues about race, nationality, religion, sexuality, gender and more have been brought up constantly.
"We know we are going to make our fellow white folks uncomfortable sometimes in the conversations we’re having," said Tromble, a paint store manager, who sat with Kempton during the interview.
When WNR is tagged in a post on Facebook or Twitter, they'll come in and provide context and history, and introduce concepts such as systemic racism and white privilege. They also pass along vetted links to essays, videos, articles and book recommendations.
Hey, @nowhitenonsense! You might want to get in my mentions. You can start here. #WhiteNonsenseRoundUp https://t.co/2YImduY8w3
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) September 16, 2016
Working with a (trained) volunteer crew of about 65, the group has been working overtime since launching about four months ago to help civilly discuss everyday racism and bigotry that creeps into seemingly innocuous Facebook posts or comments.
The group writes in their own voice with some of their own content, but Kempton said many of their resources are created by people of color. "There's no substitute for voices of color," she said.
These conversations don't always go well; people are resistant to understand a different point of view or unable to accept their unintentional racist remarks. Tromble said when called out "there are those folks who double down on their problematic language or flawed information. They just get entrenched and refuse to budge."
"We get told at least a few times a week we are racist against white people."
The fact that the founders are themselves white sometimes adds fuel to the fire. "We get told at least a few times a week we are racist against white people or that we must hate ourselves," Tromble said.
The founders would love to run themselves "out of business" (they noted they are not making any money running WNR) instead of spending hours after work each day intervening in online arguments.
"We're encouraging other folks to engage in the conversation and have the difficult conversation," Tromble said.
At times like Halloween, the group's efforts were called in often. Now, ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, Kempton and Tromble know that tough online conversations will be moving to the dining room table.
This may be the first time family members are talking face-to-face since Donald Trump was elected. WNR is preparing everyone with a Thanksgiving placemat to take on awkward holiday conversations.
Credit: white nonsense roundupUnlike a Facebook thread that WNR can jump in on, people are going to have to handle conversations about racism on their own. Pass the gravy, please.
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