Why Are People Canceling Netflix Accounts Over Dear White People? You Guessed It: “White Genocide”

Netflix has an upcoming TV adaptation of the movie Dear White People, which centers on racial tensions at an Ivy League college. Of course, due to the title and suggestion that maybe white people shouldn’t do blackface for Halloween costumes, some specific white people are upset, and they’re canceling their Netflix subscriptions to avoid all that “white genocide.”

As you’ll remember, “white genocide” is not a thing that exists anywhere but in the mind of white supremacists, and discussions of race that suggest white people might have room for improvement in their sensitivity to the struggles of others are not “racist.” Racism, as we can learn from the dictionary, is a belief in the inherent superiority of any race or prejudice and discrimination based on race. Dear White People is none of those things.

Don’t expect the Pepe brigade to understand the difference between asking for equality or respect and actual racism, though.

(Schadenfreude watch: Someone signed up the above Twitter user for a mountain of email newsletters after they posted their own email address.)

We won’t post all the vile comments here, but there’s a whole CancelNetflix hashtag—in case you find these tantrums entertaining—full of people who are unable to understand nuances in a discussion of race and handle criticism, who, sadly, are exactly the people who need to be reached by such a thing.

(via Pajiba, image via Netflix screengrab)

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Dan Van Winkle

Dan Van Winkle (he) is an editor and manager who has been working in digital media since 2013, first at now-defunct Geekosystem (RIP), and then at The Mary Sue starting in 2014, specializing in gaming, science, and technology. Outside of his professional experience, he has been active in video game modding and development as a hobby for many years. He lives in North Carolina with Lisa Brown (his wife) and Liz Lemon (their dog), both of whom are the best, and you will regret challenging him at Smash Bros.

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