“Fatherless Hoodrats are Invading My Neighborhood, Thank You Section 8” is the title of a horrid blog post that’s a part of the “No Wedding, No Womb” campaign. I commented on the post, but my guess is that my response will never make it out of moderation, so here it is, in its entirety:

Here’s an idea: instead of getting up on your high horse, watching this woman from afar, slut shaming her, passing judgment on her body and her clothing, bemoaning the fact that her child has the audacity to play outside his own home (horror!) and gossiping about her on your blog, why don’t you go talk to her? Why don’t you find out her situation and what she’s about?

Her husband could be dead or deployed overseas in the military (yes, military families can and do qualify for Section 8 and food stamps, we don’t pay our general enlisteds well at all). She could be breaking free from an abusive situation and trying to restart her life. You simply do not know. You could sashay yourself down the block and ask.

But, wait, that might obligate you to act like a neighbor and a decent person rather than a foul-mouthed busy-body pontificating nastily about her almost surely hard life under the guise of a “movement.”

You cannot advocate for black women by tearing us down. You cannot claim that you care about the lives that black women lead when all you have for them is derision and scorn when you presume that they’re not doing it the way you’ve determined is correct.

There is not “one path” that will grant each of us entry to some illusory concept of “security.” Situations are ever-changing and life is a series of challenges to be navigated. It doesn’t help when your own people are throwing barriers in your path — and do not be mistaken, your lack of support and the lack of a community that your perspective engenders are substantial barriers — beyond the things that are naturally there to be faced every day.

If you can’t understand that this isn’t advocacy, this isn’t helpful, this is just more of what we hear from racists every day, about how we’re classless sluts having babies we ought not have and sucking up welfare dollars and dressing like hoochies. This blog post could’ve been written by David Duke or Rush Limbaugh, and is exactly as edifying to black women as if it had been.

Edited to Add: The blogger did approve my comment, then replied by calling me names. As I said on Twitter, this is really all that the women in this “No Wedding, No Womb” movement have to offer, and one day, they’re going to rue their role in reifying the oppression of black women.