Anyone Can Send a Racist Tweet, Even Ellen

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Recently, Ellen DeGeneres did yet another racially insensitive thing that pissed a lot of people off. (And, this isn't the first time she's been accused of racially insensitive things.) Though we're sure she (or whoever sent the tweet) didn't mean to sound out of touch, the tweet itself was problematic as hell in a way that was obvious to many people.

\u201cThis is how I\u2019m running errands from now on. #Rio2016\u201d
— Ellen DeGeneres (@Ellen DeGeneres) 1471297641

Media critiques explained that the tweet lacked awareness of the social and cultural connotations.

@TheEllenShow You thought it'd be funny to post a pic of yourself riding on the back of a Black man? Nope. Delete this racist garbage.
— Mike (@MikeAllen_47)August 15, 2016

\u201c@TheEllenShow @usainbolt So riding on his back like a mule, a horse as some form of property is fun to you...\n\nOk.\u201d
— Ellen DeGeneres (@Ellen DeGeneres) 1471297641

\u201c@TheEllenShow so the first thing that pops in your head when looking at this pic is "oh let me jump onto his back like he's a common mule"?\u201d
— Ellen DeGeneres (@Ellen DeGeneres) 1471297641

Even her apology lacked any real recognition of the issue, as it came down to her saying she's not racist, so no one can call her racist. Sorry, Ellen, but if you're being accused of anti-blackness, it's probably best to hear out the concerned black folks with thoughts on the issue at hand.

It isn't that Ellen is a straight up racist. When we talk about racism, we think of the KKK, the Westboro Baptist Church and other extremists. But we don't think about the subtle forms of racism and the way they shape our world JUST as much, if not more because they're harder to target.

\u201cI am highly aware of the racism that exists in our country. It is the furthest thing from who I am.\u201d
— Ellen DeGeneres (@Ellen DeGeneres) 1471362586

Plus, because Ellen is queer, we want to protect her — most of the time. After all, she's marginalized too, and the last thing we want to do is throw a queer woman under the bus. But the simple hard truth is that racism and other dangerous -isms aren't reserved for white cishet men. Anyone can perpetuate them, and, by tweeting herself riding a black person, she was perpetuating the idea that black people exist to make the lives of white people easier. Joke or not, it was in bad taste, and we're waiting for a REAL apology that shows Ellen has put more time and thought behind the issue.

It's not about liking or hating her; it's about holding queer role models and icons to standards of decency that allow everyone to enjoy the joke, and that knock downs are discouraged, not ignored so that we can live in happiness. When our faves are problematic, we have to talk about what that means not just for them, but for us.

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Anyone Can Send a Racist Tweet, Even Ellen

Intentional or not, the racial undertones of Ellen's Usain Bolt tweet made some people very angry.

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