Mirrored Examples on the Importance of Listening to Black People
by Therese
So, I complimented some white enby or some such on their makeup while I was volunteering the other day.
Honestly, it was genuinely a solid makeup job! Inspired by The Crow, they had said—though personally I got more of a Neo-Norse vibe from it. Which, is actually kind of funny, considering how bad some of those types can be when it comes to Black and Brown people, and just where this conversation goes in general.
Conversation?
Yes, conversation. The enby and I are talking now (oh no, red alert, talking! To… a people). My kindness has been mistaken for sustained interest, and apparently my disinterest is on par with some people’s genuine attempts at human connection. Some of us simply have the rizz thrust upon us, I will bear this albatross. I digress.
As I chop something to put into something else idly, they go on. Elaborating on things my poor baka tranny bimbo brain just doesn’t remember. It’s alright. This is community engagement. I’m building relationships. You have to talk to people or else your social bar goes down, like in The Sims, you know? This goes on for minutes (ugh). We have gone from make-up, to DIY fashion, to the implications of harassing political extremists. I’m just trying to make a fruit salad lil sib.
They mention an instance, in which they had been harassing some religious weirdo, a Westboro Baptist-esque bible thumper with a “God Hates Fags” sign an all. This religious weird was apparently harassing people in their community. I can imagine so! What was the enby’s solution? Oh, of course! Harass them back—fair game, right? It’s fairly effective at getting the proselytizer to fuck off for a bit, and earns the enby applause amongst some of the community at risk. Hell yeah, right?
Well, this is where this column gets a little juicy.
By this point in the conversation, I wasn’t the only one involved—a good friend of mine, a Black enby, had actually come over too, and was listening intently to the white enby’s tale of conflict and religious justice. We both give our two cents—“That’s pretty cool.” I say, “Yeah,” my friend adds on “Normally white people aren’t willing to use their privilege like that, good on you.” They conclude.
“Normally white people aren’t willing to use their privilege like that.” Echoed in my mind.
“Well it’s funny you say that,” the white enby responds, “specifically about me being white,” Oh boy “Because all the POC I talked to about it told me I should stop.”
“Word,” my friend says, considering their response, “Well, you should probably listen to what Black folks and POC have to say about their communities.”
The white enby is visibly uncomfortable, clearly not having thought of why the POC people in their community protested (my guess, the risk of getting the cops called and everything becoming worse). I’m finally able to go back to my chopping.
And, SCENE!
So what was the point of me opening this column with that kind of story? Well—that will be apparent very soon, my dear. But first, we need to talk about what’s going on in the Kansas Legislature right now, and, we need to talk about Black people’s business, and more specifically, Black people’s hair.
The 14th Amendment is a little article in our constitution that pushes into federal law, among other things, the right to be considered an American citizen if one is born or naturalized here, protections granted to private citizens from the tyranny of state governments, and protections to one’s “life, liberty, and property.”
Kris Kobach is a little man in Kansas who has unfortunately been our attorney general since 2023, and another little fly buzzing his hellish agenda into the ear of the convict tangerine. He has, among other things, personally ensured that 150,000 (and counting) immigrants get denied healthcare, spearheaded efforts to make life hell for trans people in Kansas and beyond, and wants to place millions of immigrants in concentration camps leading up to “mass deportations.” Doesn’t he just sound like a sweetheart? Well, now he’s pursuing yet another feather in his hat of fuckery—at the request of Kansas Senator Renee Erikson, Kris wants to remove the requirement that the state board of cosmetology have at least one (1) Black member, directly violating the 14th amendment, and honestly, probably a bunch of civil rights era laws that are being peeled back like the layers of an onion of fuck.
You may be thinking that pursuing the board of cosmetology is lower on the list of priorities, when people are literally being killed by pigs and thrown in cages by ICE—and you’d be right, however this isn’t inconsequential, as you may think. As Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau (the one (1) Black woman to ever serve on the Kansas senate) responded—this kind of decision would have huge implications for the for different approaches to medical cosmetology and the overall health of Black Kansas, particularly for our hair. Without a representative on the board, who can become a licensed cosmetologist, hair stylist, nail tech, piercer, and tattoo artist are all at stake. Even electrolysis, a common tool in the transfem experience, is at risk.
Now does the story make sense?
In both cases, we have a white person encroaching on Black people’s business. And in both cases, the pleas from actual Black people who are most affected by this (but don’t think it doesn’t trickle down, honey) are ignored. Kris Kobach isn’t ever going to listen to a Black woman, because he’s a ridiculous cuck of a failure of a man. But you can.
Don’t be like Kris.
When a Black person, or POC, who you consider a comrade tells you something is wrong, or that you need to adjust—instead of looking for excuses not to….
Maybe next time, just listen to us.
Because the people on top never do.