Sam Smith recently clapped back after Internet outrage accused him of “whitesplaining” racism after he shared a story about being witness to a friend’s racist incident.
In a series of Tweets, Smith shared how the incident left him “speechless” and expressed an honest need to do more:
Pretty straightforward, right? Well, not so fast.
This being the internet in 2016, Twitter trolls decided to take Smith to task for “whitesplaining” racism.
If you’ve never heard the term before, Urban Dictionary defines “whitesplaining” as “The paternalistic lecture given by Whites toward a person of color defining what should and shouldn’t be considered racist, while obliviously exhibiting their own racism.”
Didn’t see any of this there? Yeah, us neither.
Smith’s shocked response to experiencing racism inspired this:
…and probably a dozen other articles that couldn’t wait to attack Sam Smith for actually saying something about racism, as inarticulate as it was. The Internet Outrage meter was reaching threat level orange, so Smith responded on Instagram:
Look, white people are far less likely to experience an act of overt racism firsthand, so we can understand how it would be genuinely shocking for them. But, honestly, if Blacks are not going to give any wiggle room for growth for a white person who is trying to be an ally, they may as well just all hang it up and quit trying.
Smith will probably think twice before he says anything about racism in the future if he does at all, and that’s a real bummer.
Same smith looks so much like Boy George
People are unbelievable
Some Blacks are sha too darn sensitive. Haba
Our insecurity is making us lash out on people even without cause to. Ok
Don’t we see such “cynicism” even on KD when non-LGBT members speak in support of the community???