Dear white people, those apologies aren’t yours to accept.
It's not cancel culture. It’s holding people accountable and allowing them to change.
White people have got to stop thinking that when other white people come forward to apologise for their ignorance to how much they've benefitted from racism and white supremacy, that they can say whether or not the apology is accepted.
Florence Pugh. She has been “cancelled” online a handful of times for her ignorance. In light of the wake-up call to white people that the death of George Floyd brought, she took to Instagram with an incredibly vulnerable apology. “I was defensive and confused, white fragility coming out plain and simple”. White people taking that kind of accountability is actually needed. She goes on to discuss how she contributed to cultural appropriation and with wiser years and educating herself, she has realised how wrong that was and she is sorry it took this long for her to realise. I can't speak for every black person, but for me at least, the authenticity of her apology is exactly what is needed. There is a lot of discomfort in accepting your contribution to racism and white supremacy. But how do we expect anyone to embrace the discomfort if “cancel culture” tells them no matter what they do, they're cancelled? The worst part is, it’s white people saying that her apology wasn't enough. That apology was not and never will be directed at white people. It is not yours to accept. It was a message to the black community, citing her acknowledgement and promise to allyship. Dear white people, sorry to break it to you but not everything is about you. Especially not this.
This is not to say that every white person that apologises for their mistakes should have their apology accepted. A lot of allyship has been performative and true colours always come to the surface. Kristen Bell, for example, has crossed the line with white supremacy and her white saviour complex just one too many times for me to ever believe that she has genuinely felt bad about her benefitting from racism. From accepting a black role and only stepping down after the internet called her out for not following Jenny Slate stepping down to her publishing a book on colourblindness. Actions speak a lot louder than words. There is a very fine line between active allyship and performative activism because truly, you will never know anybody’s intentions. However, the difference between celebrities dedicating their time to sharing information, petitions, educational links etc and those who take part in a scripted video is that genuine calls for change are needed but performative activism is harmful.
A call to white people: you will make mistakes. People will question if you're genuine. You’ll say the wrong things. It’s okay. Trying to be actively anti-racist is better than silence. Our differences are not what enables inequality to prevail, it's our silence.
