"With a name like Tiziana, I thought you'd be a black girl"

I get this alot, more so now that I live in the south, but yeah. I hear that about as frequently as,"is that your given name?" (no, Moonflower, I didn't choose it when I moved to Asheville to stop shaving my armpits and join the permaculture revolution. I was born with it).

But here's the thing. Whenever this is said to me, it is inevitably followed with "I hope that doesn't offend you" and if that right there is not a clear indication of white privilege I just don't know what is.

We live in a country that so insidiously and systematically denigrates blackness that to be associated with it, for a white person, is tantamount to an insult.

So let me make this real, real clear.

No, I am not offended to be accidentally considered part of a deeply vibrant and fantastically complex culture that has managed to thrive despite the unimaginable atrocities that have been leveled against in since the birth of this nation.

No, I am not offended to be mistaken for a black woman, especially when I consider the strength and grace that identity represents.

No, I am not offended to be associated with a community that values social justice, community awareness, political activism, and equity.

Not even a little bit.

I had a whole other blog post this morning, one about triggers and trauma and all this other shit that's come up for me personally this week, and you know what? Posting about that instead of this is white privilege.

Being able to walk away from racial injustice, turning off the notifications in your news feed, leaving social media behind because it's just "too much" for you, is a privilege not provided for POC. Therefore, it is "white privilege".

So here's what I'm going to post instead.

Rachel Cargle

Nikole Hannah Jones

Bryan Stevenson

Michelle Alexander

Alicia Garza

bell hooks

Patrisse Cullors

Don't listen to what I have to say. Listen to them. It's not much this morning, I know that.

But it's a good place to start.