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When You’re the Target of Weaponized White Tears
Over twenty years ago, I worked in a multicultural affairs office at a large state university. The first Latino and openly gay male in the office, I knew that my presence was going to attract attention. I anticipated that some of the attention would be positive but I was prepared for the negative.
And it sometimes became negative in ways that shook me to the core.
One time, a student claimed that the only reason I got the job was that I was an affirmative action hire. Regardless of my education and experience, this was what he chose to say about my position. That he was also openly gay didn’t matter, as he also identified as white.
So when I called him a bigot for using that language, it was my only response that helped protect my ego and my self-worth.
And when I had to apologize to him, because he complained to HR about my actions, I knew that whatever relationship with white folks people assumed for me because of my pale skin was not always going to be available for me to rely upon.
That experience has stayed with me, lingering in the back of my head, for decades. And it felt incredibly relevant today.
