Your Performative Allyship is Bullshit

[Video shows Karmenife X, a Black cis woman “dommedian” with a dark red afro wearing a pink sleeveless shirt, bright purple eyeshadow, and dangling earrings sitting and speaking directly to the camera. In the background is a wall with a pale pink neon sign of text that cannot be made out, part of a shelf with various objects, and a pink mannequin torso with cannabis leaves painted on. She gestures emphatically throughout the video. At the beginning of the video, she looks off to the side out of frame as she begins talking, sounding exhausted.]
Hey everybody, I am doing this live right now because there is a lot of shit that’s happening, [emphasizing] that has been happening, ‘cause that’s the thing, like, y’all are like “aw, shit is popping off,” shit has been popping off. So, things have been popping off lately and basically I’ve been seeing a lot of [looking directly at camera and leaning closer] performative ally bullshit and I’m sick of it. I am fucking sick of this fucking bullshit.
I see White [makes air quotes] “friends” of mine sending $6 Venmos and shit to all their fucking Black friends with the [outlining box with hands] same copy and pasted definition. Like, there’s just a spreadsheet that they got for the niggas, like, “here’s a spreadsheet, let’s send $6 to each of the niggas here.” Like, [running hands through hair] I see y’all doing shit for [pointing hands at camera] your gain.
And I want you to know that that makes you [pointing at camera] 100% part of the fucking problem. If you are doing shit now, [holds hand over her chest and wiggles her fingers] because that White guilt is tickling you, [Valley girl voice] it’s making you feel uncomfortable, and you don’t like it, [normal voice] so I’m just gonna do this little thing here to show people that, like, I’m not like the others. No, [claps hands together] you’re worse. [pointing with hands to camera] You are worse.
You are worse [runs hands through hair, then punches her other hand for emphasis as she speaks] than the cops and the prison industrial complex, the system, literally just an extension of fucking slavery. You are worse than that, ‘cause at least with the prison industrial complex, at least with cops, we know where we stand. We know that they don’t give a fuck about us. We know that those systems solely exist to oppress us. We know that.
[Looking directly at camera and pointing towards the camera with both hands together] But you come in, like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, you come in and it’s all [Valley girl voice] “I love you!” or “oh my God, I support you so much!” [normal voice] when Black people can amplify your aesthetic. That’s when you wanna come in. That’s when you love us so much. [Clapping between each word for emphasis] But when shit like this happens, [speaking more softly and leaning towards the camera] and you’re quiet, and you’re not doing shit except fucking sending some petty guilty money to Black--you are a part of the fucking problem.
And I know a lot of y’all are thinking [looking around and speaking in a Valley girl voice] “I don’t know, I don’t know what to do, I feel uncomfortable.” [She looks directly at the camera, switching back to her normal voice as she becomes visibly and audibly distressed] You feel uncomfortable? Imagine feeling uncomfortable and unsafe everywhere. When you go outside, when you’re in your house, [shaking her head] you never feel safe. You never feel comfortable. And you feel so scared to love the people around you because all it takes is [snaps fingers] one racist motherfucker to just take them out. And nothing will happen.
That’s what it’s like to be fucking Black in this country. That’s what it’s like to be Black in this fucking society. [She speaks slightly louder as passion comes through in her voice and body language] It’s constantly being uncomfortable, constantly walking on eggshells, constantly being hyper-fucking-vigilant, [sniffs back tears] constantly being in fight-or-flight fucking mode because you are not seen as a person. You are seen as a target, you are seen as something to be used, something to be abused, and [gestures at the camera] y’all are a part of that.
Like bro, [leans in close to camera] I am talking to you. My White friends. My White [air quotes] “friends.” Who aren’t going to protests, y’all ain’t going to protests, but y’all going to hang out with each other? [She pauses for a beat while side eyeing the camera] I saw y’all having brunch this weekend. I saw y’all hanging out with other people that you definitely do not fucking live with in a [emphasis] global pandemic. [normal voice]
That’s the other layer to this shit. [Clapping while speaking to underline words] We are in the middle of a fucking huge global pandemic and White people are really just going around here not wearing masks, hanging out, going to hang out with their friends, doing whatever the fuck they wanna do, [making direct eye contact with the camera] and I want you to know: that’s a White supremacist tactic.
One of the key things that White supremacists use to colonize people and places is germs. Spreading disease and then weakening the minority’s ability to get resources to treat those illnesses. That’s how they wiped out so many Native Americans. [Leans in closer to camera] You are spreading disease. This is to you, [points at camera] White people not wearing masks, White people not doing shit.
[Leaning in towards camera and speaking louder] You are doing something: you’re killing us, that’s what you’re fucking doing, [leans back] spreading fucking disease and shit, because at the end of the day, [becoming visibly and audibly distressed] if you actually check--if you actually check who is dying at higher numbers of COVID-19, it’s [points at self] us. Because you’re spreading it. And you’re not sharing the fucking resources.
You only care about Black people when you want us for your aesthetic, when you want us to make you look [Valley girl voice] so diverse and so in it. [Normal voice] You’re not, bitch. You’re worse. Put your fucking klan mask on, Karen, ‘cause you deserve to wear it. You deserve to fucking wear it right now ‘cause you’re no better. You’re no fucking better.
[Tears up] And if you are only saying George Floyd’s name right now, you are a part of the problem, too. [Shaking head] Because it’s not just George Floyd. That’s the shit, like, Black women get killed by cops all the time. Black trans people, Black trans people have been getting abused and killed, not only… not only by law enforcement, [points to self] but by cis people like us. Cis people like us. Where’s their name? [Clapping for emphasis] Say Tony McDade’s name. Say Breonna Taylor’s name. They matter.
[Choking back tears] Black men are not the only ones that matter. Black women and Black trans people matter, too, and cis people, like, what are we doing? Are we actively donating money and giving resources? To not only--not only when something pops off. [Leans in close to camera] Regularly, to trans people in our community. Are we amplifying the trans community? What are we doing? ‘Cause we’re not doing enough.It’s bullshit.
[Looks directly at camera] People need to understand that privilege comes at a blood price. [Points at camera] Your White privilege, in order for you to have that, comes at a blood price that is so fucking heavy, so for you to say that you are so uncomfortable, and you feel like doing nothing, is such a fuck--it’s like spitting in our fucking faces, because our literal lives gave you that fucking privilege. And you want us to make things more comfortable for you?
[Shakes head] Cis people, cis people, it’s the same fucking shit with us. [Points to self] Our privilege comes at a blood price. Huge blood price. [sniffling] Our privilege comes with the blood of trans people, especially Black and POC trans people and it’s so funny to me. [Looks directly at camera] It is so funny to me to see [points at camera] White gays or just any gay in general looking down on the protests right now, being like, “oh, you know, violent, yet, two wrongs don’t make a right, but what--.”
Bitch, the only reason you even have any fucking rights right now is because of Black trans people. The Stonewall riots was started by a Black trans woman! That’s what gave you your fucking rights now, and you don’t want to stand up for them? You don’t want to do shit for them? You don’t want to share resources with them? You’re no better. You’re no better.
[Pointing at self] I am cis, and I’m saying I need to do better. I need to do better. Cis people, we need to do better. We need to fix this. We [clapping between words] caused this problem. We caused this problem, so we have to fucking fix it. White people, you caused this fucking problem. You need to fucking do the work to fix it. And stop fucking going into Black people’s DMs talking about [Valley girl voice] “oh my God, I’m so shocked, I don’t know what to do, like, tell me what to do.”
[Normal voice] That is another White supremacist tactic and I’ll explain it to you right the fuck now. When y’all do that shit, basically, what you’re doing is you are putting the onus of responsibility on the person being oppressed. You are basically saying, “okay, it’s [pointing at camera] your job to educate me on this, and if you don’t educate me on it, then it’s not my fault that I’m ignorant. Then, like, you know, I did my--I sent you a text, I sent you a ‘check in on you’ text, I sent you $6, I sent you…” But like, you’re not really listening. You’re not really doing the fucking work.
Like, don’t, do you have the resources? What the fuck do you mean you don’t fucking know? [Leaning in and looking directly at the camera] If you are shocked and [air quotes] “surprised” now, that means you have [clapping] not been fucking paying attention. That means that you have actively not been paying attention because that’s the thing: your ignorance is active.
Your ignorance is something that you continue to uphold, that you continue to have, because you don’t want to disturb your comfort, even if that comes at the fucking expense of the lives of the people that you [air quotes] “claim” to give a shit about. No. We have the fucking Internet, bitch. We have the [clapping] fucking Internet. You can Google whatever…
You know, when you go online and you wanna Google things from fucking Black culture that you want to steal and shit? Use that time to Google some resources. When you’re using the Internet to go around and find some Black dick, or Black pussy, that you can fuck around with, so that you feel like, “oh, I’m not one of those bad White people; look: I fucked this Black person,” but you don’t use those same fucking resources to educate yourself? You are a part of the fucking problem.
[sighs] And I have a lot more shit to say about this, and the main reason why I have not been as active as I usually am on social media is because I have been seeing this performative bullshit and I am seething with rage. I am seething with rage at my White [air quotes] “friends” doing nothing except spreading disease and just doing shit to aid their White guilt. I am disgusted with the cis people around me that have said nothing about Tony McDade. That have said nothing about the fact that Black POC trans people are killed at such a fucking high rate. Not just by police, but by us. By us.
Because, whoo, yo… Like, if you hear somebody saying shit about trans people, step the fuck up to them, and tell them why the fuck that isn’t okay. If you see a trans person being harassed, you stand by them and you defend them. Because cis privilege gives you the privilege of being seen as a human fucking being. So the least that you can do is defend trans people. Fuck!
[Karmenife pauses to take deep breath and run her hands though her hair. Car honking offscreen is heard.]
[Looking at screen, responding to live messages] Yes. Yes, exactly. Thank you. Performative allyship is violent. All these fucking companies and all these fucking rich people talking about [mocking] “match my $50 donation,” bitch, $50? You buy buttons that cost $50 each and you want to give $50 now? Y’all wanna start a whole Black Lives Matter chain thing, and you think that that’s fucking enough?
When meanwhile most of these companies, most if not all of these companies, would be nowhere, nowhere without Black people. Nowhere. Like I’m thinking of the Kardashians for example, ‘cause that’s just the first thing that comes to me. It’s like, your whole livelihood, all the money you make, comes from shit you have stolen from Black people, especially Black women, but you think that ‘cause you ride Black dick, you ride for Black people? No, bitch, no. You have to [clapping] fucking live that shit.
Get the fuck outta here. All these fuck… like, no. That’s why, that’s why the riots and the looting, the so-called--you know why people are doing that shit? You know why? That is the greatest form of protest that you can do in a country that continuously says products are worth more than you. Objects are worth more than you.
We are in the middle of a [emphasis] global fucking pandemic. And all these multi-million dollar corporations get a fucking billion dollar stimulus package and we’re left with $1200. I don’t know about you, but $1200 in New York City, that’s like you just gave me $20. That barely covers rent. Rent and utilities, that’s it. What about food? What about this?
No, we live in a society that is capitalistic. We live in a society that values [punching hand] objects over the lives of people. So yeah, burn it to the fucking ground. Burn it to the fuck--loot ‘em. Steal everything. ‘Cause guess what? They’ve been stealing from us for a fucking long ass time.
Also, White people, why’re you mad about looting? You are here. You are in the United States of America, a country that was looted from the Native Americans. Looted b-- [cuts off]