Whenever you think about sharing an open letter — except this one because it’s brilliant — save yourself the self-satisfaction and share a cute cat meme instead.
Last week as I logged onto Facebook and began to scroll through my feed, I saw that one of my evolved white friends shared a post that began with the title “Dear White People..” Being of the Caucasian Persuasion, I squeeled with excitement that someone had a special word for my entire race. As I read through it, I was overwhelmed with how this wise college sophomore understands how to resolve race relations… AND was kind enough to jot out a special note for all 250 million white people in the U.S. “Hmm.. DON’T fly the Confederate flag you say? Interesting..” I murmured as I dutifully made notes. Now, I frequently whip them out before I interact with anyone who doesn’t identify as white, and gee have they helped! Since I stopped trying to relate my struggles with being the only female in my city without a hombre and soft curls to my friend’s struggle growing up black in the South, our convos have gone so much more smoothly. Thanks, author of the Dear White People post!
… in case you’re one of those people who is slow to pick up tone from written word, the paragraph above was written in the key of sarcasm. Listen, I get it. It’s frustrating when you have all the answers and know how an entire group- whether it be Christians, Clinton voters, men, BLM activists, millenials, or alpaca groomers- should behave. Kudos to you for figuring it all out. But you may want to consider the fact that no one is going to be won over by a condescending post that is being shared among an echo-chamber of friends who already agree with the content of the letter anyway. Even if you have a diverse group of fb friends, trust the Galloswag – if they haven’t already unfollowed you, they’re still going to ignore or be offended by your post.
Whenever you think about sharing an open letter — except this one because it’s brilliant — save yourself the self-satisfaction and share a cute cat meme instead. Let’s make Facebook great again and go back to poking each other, complaining about work and school, and openly flirting on each other’s walls.
Love,
galloblog 