Antiracist Accountability: Olympics Edition

Hey everyone,

It's time for this month's Antiracist Accountability post!

This week's news that champion gymnast Simone Biles has withdrawn from competing in this summer's Olympic games is a great jumping off point (gymnastics pun?) for some self-examination for the white allies of the world.

Straight out of the gate, there were some pretty bad takes in reaction to this news.  The over-arching themes were:

--Pearl-clutching and concern trolling for Biles's poor, pitiable teammates (who, despite being fragilized by critics, have seemed to hold up okay)
--Perpetuation of mental illness stigmatization and minimization
--Entitlement to being entertained by athletes, no matter the cost to said athlete

Rife throughout the feigned disappointment for Biles's decision was a boatload of unfounded moral superiority--a stance that many commentators were all too ready to assume while Monday morning quarterbacking about a dedicated and decorated athlete.  Their readiness to browbeat an incredibly accomplished athlete--a LITERAL Olympian widely proclaimed to be LITERALLY one of, if not the, greatest athletes of all time--about the importance of hard work and being a member of a team defies any logic.

...Because it's not about logic.  Not always explicitly articulated but most certainly evident in these responses was also some serious racist bullshit, in what is already an Olympic games (and institution) rife with racist bullshit.

There were several components of racism and white supremacy implicit in the criticism of Simone Biles.

White supremacy has instilled in white people a deep sense of ownership of and entitlement to the labor and excellence of Black people.  In this mindset, Biles's responsible and inspiring decision to respect and protect her mental and physical wellbeing by not competing in the Olympics flies in the face of the entitlement to Black entertainment some white people deeply feel.  She is asserting the fact that she belongs to herself, not the white people who want her to perform.

White supremacy expects effusive and uncomplicated gratitude for all that America has "given" Black people.  The very premise of this demand, from a nation that kidnapped, tortured, murdered, and forced into chattel slavery countless Africans to build its wealth, is repugnant on its face.  Taken to an extreme, this expectation of gratitude can demand that Black people continue to engage in self-sacrifice to the point of self-destruction.  Through her self-preservation, Biles resolutely rebukes this mindset.  She owes us nothing.  She is not disposable.

White supremacy has long-running tradition of concocting and perpetuating the myth that Black people, on whose backs our nation was built, are lazy.  This has led some white people to therefore feel empowered to lecture a Black Olympian--again, I cannot stress this enough, an athlete who is among THE BEST IN HUMAN HISTORY--about the necessity of working hard and being tough.  

White supremacy is predicated on the false belief that white people are, quite simply and as its name implies, superior to members of all other races.  Adopting an attitude of blatant and un-earned sanctimony toward a Black athlete whose literal superiority is consistently demonstrated and well beyond debate is so ludicrous it could only come from this absurd ideology.  And yet, still, some white people seriously (seriously??) questioned whether Biles is great following her decision to step back from this year's Olympics.  When Biles asserts the fact that she is, in fact, the Greatest Of All Time, many white people's anxiety and rage about their lack of superiority is triggered.

The fucking audacity in this criticism is truly stunning.

For anyone reading who noted within themselves feelings of anger, irritation, condescension, superiority, or entitlement toward Biles after her withdrawal from the Olympics was announced, this is an opportunity to take stock of the ways in which you are, perhaps unwittingly, acting out very old white supremacist beliefs.  This is a chance to reconsider these beliefs and commit to doing better.

In conclusion, in case anyone needs a tl;dr on this issue, journalist and poet Michael Harriot had some concise analysis:

And in case anyone is still confused, McSweeney's put together this handy decision tree:

Keep fighting the good fight, friends, and may all Olympians be healthy and proud of themselves for all they've done.

{Heart}