Same goes for the racists that perpetually orbit my world: once I understood that most of their actions result from ignorance and fragile masculinity it became easier to dismiss them. I no longer feel the desire to educate them, but rather to humiliate them. It’s more fun. It is not my job to appease racists, nor am I required to rise above them. This tedious high school advice is not only outdated but also dangerous, because it means that the oppressed are always required to hold a higher level of decorum than the oppressor – and that’s just another mode of silencing.
