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Racists gonna racist.

This morning I linked to a Washington Post article on Twitter about the #BlackBrunchNYC tactic. In it, activists interrupt brunch in “white spaces” — as brunch, especially in NYC, is often a very white activity — with four and a half minutes reading names of people of color who’ve been murdered in a racist system. The amount of time is chosen to represent the four and a half hours Mike Brown was left on the ground in the street after he was shot by Darren Wilson.

Even as a black person is killed every 28 hours by police. Even as new deaths are added to the list and more stories come out about white people wielding guns and machetes at cops but getting taken into custody without a scratch on them. You can deal with the inconvenience of a reality check during your meal. You can deal with it while the list increases of people who can’t, who don’t have a choice because they’ll never eat another meal again.

Soon as I posted the link and in waves through the rest of the day, trolls quickly starting trailing @ me, mostly with dumb or confusing messages. Some tried to insult me (I think? Is “Do I come to McDonalds to bother you while you’re working?” an insult?) Others tried telling me to “calm down” and “relax,” which I always find funny in its irony that they’re truly hoping I’ll do the opposite. A few called me racist or cursed at me, which I didn’t even try to respond to. Because if you don’t understand what racism is, you’re not going to understand it in my 140 characters. (It’s prejudice + power. White is the dominant race and viewed as better than people of color. White people have power. Ones who are prejudice are also racist. Is that 140 characters?)

Trolls are gonna troll, that’s what they do, I get it. But what I don’t get is, where are they during all the #BlackLivesMatter tweets? Huge protests in the streets, cities completely shut down by activists, and they have nothing to say? Since I started using that hashtag, I got one snide and poorly worded response from a troll. It’s when the sanctity of their precious brunch is called into question that they pounce?

Activists can’t and shouldn’t stop until a system that places no value on the lives of people of color is dismantled. Y’all trolls can spend your day refreshing hashtags, but that’s not going to stop us from provoking a change in on the streets and on your screens.

Here’s your rudie tuesday music for the story. Diamond District’s recently released “March on Washington” album. Smooth, (sometimes) politically-charged hip-hop that harkens back to some of the best rhythms and beats of the 90s: