Everything under a cut just cause I don’t random assholes picking an e-fight with me over my opinions, again.

For the record, I’m not a gay white male or a straight white male. I’m a black, bi female 34 who lives in Chicago. Why I’m stating all this is because I am really fucking furious at the idea that if a black person dares to contest the idea that black people simply can’t be racist they are magically now white! Hell I didn’t know that, if I did I would have spoken up about that shit earlier.

This rant comes because of an LJ post on James Earl Hardy and his clarifications on whether or not he hates White People, and that the fact that Black on Black gay love isn’t as revolutionary as people make it out to be. And the subsequent comment war where I’ve somehow become the patron saint of gay white men, protecting them from the wrath of James E Hardy; who has written a series of novels on gay black men, loving other black gay men… the first of which is B Boy Blues,

Now, in brief my comment was:

I’ve read his books and I think he comes across as hating white people. I also don’t buy into the idea that black people can’t be racist. In my book hating someone simply because of their skin color = racism.

First response is: “you are familiar with the definition of racism as a result of prejudice and power?”

All I did was ask what their definition was, and thus began the decline of this bullshit. I swear sometimes people must post shit to the internet just to look for a fucking fight.

Anyway, what did I say that for? Now I’m some champion of gay white men somehow! Really? I didn’t realize I said anywhere that oooh that JEH he needs to leave those poor white boys alone! They don’t mean any harm, really. I sincerely hate when I really just wanted to have a question answered or Gods forbid have a fucking dialog!

I guess what really angers me about this is that I apparently can’t find black people who can discuss race without it becoming a fight of you’re an oreo cause you don’t hate whitey like I do so you really don’t know shit about race or being black. I’m tired of being some closet self-hating black person because I don’t believe that all black folks are being kept under the thumb of the BIG WHITE MAN out there…

And now I’m just ranting and raving like a madwoman… cause shit like this makes me see red when you can’t convince some black people that there is no WorldWide C O N S P I R A C Y to keep them down in the dirt. Now, before anyone goes all apeshit on me… I do know racism is alive and well, but I cannot accept the idea that all white people are inherently racist from birth or that if I don’t buy into the poor me, no one’s gonna treat me right cause I’m black mentality then I’m not black enough.

Why do I even let this shit bother me? Because it makes me sad for the future if this is the kind of hatred and racism we’re bathing ourselves in daily.

Published by cypheroftyr

Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers, attendance at the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make the industry better and more inclusive for everyone. She’s part of the Rivals of Waterdeep actual play stream on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep, a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics online, at conventions and as a public speaker.. She’s also contributed to publications at Green Ronin, Paizo and Monte Cook Games and is the co-developer for the Fifth Season RPG based on N.K. Jemisin’s three time Hugo award winning Broken Earth trilogy. She’s the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a Twitch supported RPG and Actual Play stream, airing weekly on her channel, twitch.tv/cypheroftyr. Additionally, she is a Senior Annenberg labs Civic Media Fellow at USC. She’s also the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a new sci fi afro-futurist RPG developed with a team of all POC and Black creators; live streamed on her twitch channel, /cypheroftyr. She’s named as one of The Game Awards Future Class 2020, a diverse group of builders, thinkers and dreamers whose voices elevate and diversify our artform. It recognizes individuals around the world who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future for video games. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries. She was also invited to the Xbox MVP program in February 2021. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021. Tanya is the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX. She also serves on the Board of Directors for OrcaCon and was named the Chair for Take This in January 2023. She often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications. She’s the editor of Game Devs and Others: Tales from the Margins (2018, CRC Press) and contributed to The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox. (2019, CRC Press) Writer Bio for pubs: Tanya is the Founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. She’s part of Rivals of Waterdeep, an actual play D&D show on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep; the programming coordinator for OrcaCon & GaymerX; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. She’s on the Board of Take This as well as a Stream Ambassador, and was part of the inaugural cohort of The Game Awards Future Class. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.