the bare minimum effort required from a liberal

if you're still a liberal, you need to at least take the following steps:

  1. accept that white supremacy, white nationalism and fascism exist – not just in the abstract, but that you have certainly met white supremacists, white nationalists and fascists in your day-to-day life. maybe you found them pleasant. maybe some of them are friends and family.

  2. take the time to actually learn their tactics and language so you can actually identify it when you come across it. do not dismiss it as “just a joke”, or “they don't really mean it” or “it's not that black and white”. take accusations of white supremacy seriously even if it's against you, one of your friends, etc. take it seriously and really think about it. try not to get defensive.

  3. accept that white supremacy is not a valid ideology worthy of debate – it needs to be quickly shut down, with as much force as necessary, wherever it appears. “debating” white supremacy only serves to demonstrate to the world that you think it's a valid opinion to hold.

  4. and if you're white like me, accept that white supremacy completely permeates the culture we live in, and as a result, has crept into our own subconscious and given us biases we are not even aware of. racism is not something anyone opts into – it's the default. it's something we as white people have to actively opt out of. we have to double- and triple-check our thoughts and behaviours every single day. we need to listen to people of colour (and especially black people) and think about what they're saying, especially as it pertains to ourselves.