King Day

I know, Martin Luther King day is on his birthday (January 15th) and not on the day he died. But yesterday it was 40 years ago that he was shot in the city of that other King.

Early morning, April 4

Shot rings out in the Memphis sky

Free at last, they took your life

They could not take your pride

U2, Pride (In the Name of Love)

Because of Bono’s stirring song I got my facts mixed up and I was staring into the sun to see his face appear, like it did last year on January 15th. It didn’t, of course. Some other things however did occur.

I witnessed a talk between some people in Waterhead - one of them as black in real life as his avatar in virtual reality. Some others were ganging up on him, trying to make him lose his cool, teasing him with questions like ‘Why is the hair of black people so dirty?’ or ‘Do you have a Jheri curl?’

I am not sure what they were trying to do, but part of it is probably because it is pointless to send abuse reports about things said in voice. There is no proof, there is no record, and so all of a sudden it is safe again to play such silly games. To say stuff to a black guy that you don’t dare say to him in public, face to face. Or typed out in text chat with your avatar’s name attached to it. And so I can only conclude that it is the cheapest form of cowardice - a comparison to gangs of men in white hoods is a gross exaggeration, but the basics are there. You pick a nigger and you go after him, hiding behind a mask or an avatar.

I know the excuse that they will have. The eternal frat boy excuse that it is ‘just for the LULZ’. As if that makes it all right then. It’s a joke, no harm done. Or maybe it’s ‘just roleplay’.

Well, fuck that.

I’ll tell you what it is. It’s sick, it’s twisted, and I want nothing of it. It doesn’t make you a better person, it doesn’t get you brownie points, it is not funny, not new, not original, not intelligent. It is putting the nigger down, and nothing more. Reminding him that after all is said and done, he’s one of them.

I think the people I heard talking didn’t really believe all that crap they were spouting. And if they are smart enough to know that none of that rubbish is true, then I expect them to be smart enough not to go there.

There are no LULZ in racism. Just losers.

• For those who don’t know me - I am a white guy in real life, not a black girl.
• If you want to quote from this piece, I recommend you quote it with the strong language included. I do not mince words on this issue.