Anything but Women...

Being [willingly]trapped in the Twitterverse has several perks. For example, one can almost instantly communicate with friends across borders, or be exposed things like the latest fashion, great music, heroic deeds, cool upcoming events, political satire, and empowering quotes .  Heck, you could probably even find out via 'trending topics' how Tim Tebow is going to stop the world from ending this December. Yep, Twitter's got it all.

As great as all that is, everything has an antithesis. Twitter's got a dark-side. I experienced a part of that dark-side the other day and was affected enough to create this post. Social Networks (steeped in surveillance as they are) allot folk everyone's favorite First Amendment right--Freedom Of Speech.  Freedom of speech is great, but what about when it's at the expense of one's own people? Perhaps I'm looking too deeply into it?

I was browsing my timeline when I came across a Twitter "name" that would've most likely sent shock waves through our community had any outsider used it in reference to a Black Woman. Once my initial outrage cooled into anger, I couldn't help but think of how Africans and their descendants suffered, bled, and died for the right to be called people. In the interest of privacy, I'll only use the last half of the title this young woman chose for herself. "____joint." Like, seriously? "____joint?"

For those of you not familiar with DMV Slang a "joint" or more precisely "jont" is defined as anything other than a male. Truth be told, I prefer b**** over joint/jont. Though typically reserved for females, men can also be referred to as  b****es. Jonts/joints on the other hand includes all non-male nouns. So, she's on the same level as a toothbrush. Yes, a toothbrush can also be a joint/jont.

 Of all the names to choose: princess, queen, goddess etc. why on Earth would you opt to be a joint/jont? What are you saying? What are you projecting on yourself and (more importantly) the rest of us as a collective? Call me 'in my feelings' but I take it personally. I take it personally for every self-respecting Black woman that gets called a Jont/joint rather than her name, for every Asian woman that receives receipts from [former]Papa John's employees addressing her as 'Lady Chinky Eyes', for every Hispanic woman whose child gets called an 'anchor baby.' Again, I ask, why would you call yourself a joint/jont?

When we degrade ourselves, we give others the option of doing so. When we take away our own humanity, [and become joints/jonts] we give others the right to try and put a leash around our necks.  Are we our own worst enemy? Do we "stay in our lane" for the sake of peace on the net? Or, do we become the women society would have us be anything other than? It's your call.