It’s easy to vent online and take out anger and frustration on people who don’t seem real. I think we’re all guilty of this at some point. Personally I didn’t find the comments on the OP’s article any worse than the usual comments on Medium. Some agreed with her and some didn’t. Were racial slurs intended in the references to a ’black heart' and 'whitebread family?’ Possibly, but these are also common phrases and the majority of the comments had no racial context. A lot of people also don’t look at profiles. (I’m pretty sure I didn’t even know the author was black till you drew my attention to it).

I think you have some very valid points but I disagree that my comment ( and most of the others I read on this article) was sarcastic or mean. It was a joke and even if misinterpreted it’s pretty mild. I get that you were also tired/depressed (like many right now) but this kind of oversensitvity is very alienating and in my opinion it has played a major role in dividing people.

Telling people to be more sensitive to race and police their words and thoughts to avoid offence will change nothing. At this point in history black and white people need to be focusing on the class issues that unite them. By all means educate people about the historical roots of racism which lie in the exploitation of labor. Without this historical grounding it’s impossible to understand racism anyway. Sadly many people lack this basic knowledge which is why they don’t 'get' anti-racism, and they don’t understand that the same system has fucked them over too. Instead they’re attracted to Trump because he simplifies everything and provides an outlet for justified anger over the system, but channels it in a thoroughly reactionary direction.

Cultural criticism definitely has a place in raising consciousness, but my problem with identity politics is that it’s often used to obscure class issues. I believe this is a deliberate decision on the part of the liberal elite, who, like Trump, also want to contain popular anger and channel it in a safe direction. I’m not saying this is the case with your article/politics, but this is why I get a bit hostile to racial politics.

I’m Australian btw, no that it matters much right now as our news is dominated by your shitshow in the White House.