It happens time and time again. Every so often Black people will be talking about racism. They will be talking about how racism impacts their lives and some Asian will come into the conversation, “Why is always about how racism impacts Black people? Asians experience racism too!” or “You guys are just playing oppression olympics!”.

Beyond this being a white people derailing tactic, we really need to talk about why discussing anti-Black racism as something distinct from other racial oppression is both important and not playing oppression olympics.

My one and only caveat: if all you get out of this post is me invalidating the struggles of Asians then you are not only failing to see the point but are failing to be anti-Black in the ways that are necessary for real solidarity to exist.

Now. Oppression Olympics? Not so much.

I’m going to start with and use only *one* example. Because I really shouldn’t have to prove this, but then again, these posts shouldn’t be necessary. Go take a peek at the Injustice at Every Turn study. And then look at the specific data on Black trans* and gender variant people. It is a long ass report but it is mandatory reading. I’ll wait.

Back with me? Great.

If you’ve managed to do the unbelievable, I’m gonna spell it out for you. For every measure and area they studied, Black trans* and gender variant people had the *worst* numbers. The worst. This is fact. These numbers were from self-reports. I’m sure any interested Asians also noted that we (if you aren’t mixed) are, like in many studies, not too far off of from white people.

The conclusion to draw from this is that trans* or gender variant Asians have some privilege relative to Black trans* and gender variant people.

So, now, answer me this question: how is it oppression olympics to look at these facts and know Black trans* and gender variant people should be receiving the most attention/resources? They have the most need.

If we pull away from just considering trans* folk, we can see that this pattern holds true for income, debt, education, health, etc., etc., etc. This is why this is not oppression olympics and why we gotta talk a seat when people who are dealing with the worst experiences of racism are talking about their struggles.

Some people may still not be convinced… so I’m gonna make a quick argument appealing to self interest. Since it is clear that Black people fare worse in many different measures, helping them ultimately helps you.

Helping to elevate Black people and reduce their barriers will, overall, reduce racism for everyone. When it becomes unacceptable to shit on Black people, it will also be unacceptable to shit on Asians.

We get the furthest in our struggles against racism by elevating those who need it the most. To do any less is to simply re-enforce a white supremacist hierarchy of worth.

As the gay rights movement or feminist movements aptly demonstrate, elevating the people at the top does fuck all for the people at the bottom. This is also why trickle down economics has been proven by history to not fucking work.

It doesn’t work!!!!

It isn’t oppression olympics when we have actual facts and fucking data telling us that Black people are clearly *clearly* dealing with the worst of racism and having their ability to live most adversely impacted.

It is a tough pill to swallow to say that the model minority myth gives us Asians relative privilege over Black people when we know how much it damages our communities. But until the day comes that a six year old Asian girl is [It happens time and time again. Every so often Black people will be talking about racism. They will be talking about how racism impacts their lives and some Asian will come into the conversation, “Why is always about how racism impacts Black people? Asians experience racism too!” or “You guys are just playing oppression olympics!”.

Beyond this being a white people derailing tactic, we really need to talk about why discussing anti-Black racism as something distinct from other racial oppression is both important and not playing oppression olympics.

My one and only caveat: if all you get out of this post is me invalidating the struggles of Asians then you are not only failing to see the point but are failing to be anti-Black in the ways that are necessary for real solidarity to exist.

Now. Oppression Olympics? Not so much.

I’m going to start with and use only *one* example. Because I really shouldn’t have to prove this, but then again, these posts shouldn’t be necessary. Go take a peek at the Injustice at Every Turn study. And then look at the specific data on Black trans* and gender variant people. It is a long ass report but it is mandatory reading. I’ll wait.

Back with me? Great.

If you’ve managed to do the unbelievable, I’m gonna spell it out for you. For every measure and area they studied, Black trans* and gender variant people had the *worst* numbers. The worst. This is fact. These numbers were from self-reports. I’m sure any interested Asians also noted that we (if you aren’t mixed) are, like in many studies, not too far off of from white people.

The conclusion to draw from this is that trans* or gender variant Asians have some privilege relative to Black trans* and gender variant people.

So, now, answer me this question: how is it oppression olympics to look at these facts and know Black trans* and gender variant people should be receiving the most attention/resources? They have the most need.

If we pull away from just considering trans* folk, we can see that this pattern holds true for income, debt, education, health, etc., etc., etc. This is why this is not oppression olympics and why we gotta talk a seat when people who are dealing with the worst experiences of racism are talking about their struggles.

Some people may still not be convinced… so I’m gonna make a quick argument appealing to self interest. Since it is clear that Black people fare worse in many different measures, helping them ultimately helps you.

Helping to elevate Black people and reduce their barriers will, overall, reduce racism for everyone. When it becomes unacceptable to shit on Black people, it will also be unacceptable to shit on Asians.

We get the furthest in our struggles against racism by elevating those who need it the most. To do any less is to simply re-enforce a white supremacist hierarchy of worth.

As the gay rights movement or feminist movements aptly demonstrate, elevating the people at the top does fuck all for the people at the bottom. This is also why trickle down economics has been proven by history to not fucking work.

It doesn’t work!!!!

It isn’t oppression olympics when we have actual facts and fucking data telling us that Black people are clearly *clearly* dealing with the worst of racism and having their ability to live most adversely impacted.

It is a tough pill to swallow to say that the model minority myth gives us Asians relative privilege over Black people when we know how much it damages our communities. But until the day comes that a six year old Asian girl is](http://www.ajc.com/news/mother-says-6-year-1422908.html) for throwing a tantrum, I seriously don’t want to fucking see another Asian derail a discussion/post about/by Black people with, “Asians face racism too!” or “You playing oppression olympics!”.

Take a fucking seat. Listen. And do what you can to support.