A Letter to "Omega Dirt"

Hello friends,

As I posted recently on LinkedIn, being an anti-racism activist doesn't mean you have to accept verbal or written abuse. And I won't. Not only that, but that verbal hate becomes another lesson, which is how this letter came about. I've picked out a few excerpts from the extended comment left for me by "Omega Dirt".

Dear "Omega Dirt",

Thank you soooo much for helping me start my day with a hateful comment. And thank you for questioning the foundation of my anti racism work.

Because your comment helps reveal some of the reasons why this work remains so necessary. Let's take some of your points, and see where that leads us, shall we?

Point 1

While you admit that "the fact that racism is still a thing is pretty messed up" (I agree), you then say "you say you just keep going on about the same old things." Perhaps you're right, because if racism didn't continue to affect us, I wouldn't have to keep talking about it, nor would many of the hundreds and thousands of activists, accomplices, writers, abolitionists and others. Until the "same old things" become history, until people racialised as Black stop facing discrimination and in some cases, death, we need to keep talking, so by your own admission, this is something to keep discussing and taking action on.

Point 2

Your second point ("you assume that all white people are racist against black people, when that is nothing but a lie") made me wonder if you'd even read any of my work. Since you signed up that same day just so you could leave this comment, I can only assume this is part of a general personal campaign against anything that promotes equality.

If you HAD read my work, you'd see that one of the things that I say often is that no matter how we are racialised, many of us are raised in systems and societies that assume that whiteness has the upper hand, that it's some goal to be aspired to.

Some racism (a LOT) is systemic, built into the structures and organisations that run our lives, and some of it is interpersonal. I have never said that all people racialised as white show racist behaviour, but many do, some without meaning to.

Nor have I ever said that racism only exists among white people. The colonisation of our minds runs so deep that there are people of the Global Majority who exhibit racist behaviour to the groups they are not in. That said, as I'm sure you'd know if you bothered to do some research, a lot of racism is perpetrated by the people who hold systemic and societal power which, in countries like the US, UK and in parts of Europe, happens to be those racialised as white.

Point 3

You go on to say that I am "repeating the same garbage over and over again without thought". There again I ask whether you've read my newsletter or seen my social media posts. First, I don't do anything without thought. As an introvert and former journalist, and a current educator, I always want to be sure that I clearly separate fact from opinion, and that anything that's presented as fact is indeed factual and validated. And second, any repetition is because the same things keep happening. That said, I have 600+ original pieces of work in this newsletter - and, my Reboot series aside, there's no actual duplication.

Point 4

Next, you accuse me of "selfish pro-racism". All I have to say is that asking people to accountable for their racist behaviour, and naming the racist structures and systems that are all around us is not "pro-racism". It is accountability, and if your feelings are hurt by that, no wonder you don't like my newsletter.

Now, let's deal with the money making thing. You call me "greedy", a "scammer" and believe that I run this newsletter only to make money. Let me set you straight.

I've been doing this newsletter for nearly five years, and I still don't make enough from it to meet all my financial needs. Yet I continue to do it, week in, week out.

Around 90% of the people who read the newsletter do so for free, and the reading lists and interviews are always free to read.

I do this because it is a calling of sorts, because it is incumbent upon those of us who CAN to keep talking about the issues that need to change, and to keep inspiring those who are able to make a difference.

Would I like the newsletter to bring in enough so I could spend more time on it? I certainly would, and I make no apology for that. But to suggest that I'm in it for the money is frankly laughable.

Point 5

And finally, I'd like to return to your opening question which was "do you think you are changing anything?"

The answer to that is yes, I do.

I know for a fact that people who read this newsletter have discussions with people in their workplaces, within their families, and that they go on to change their minds about things that they've taken for granted.

So yes, Omega Dirt, I am changing something, and I am going to continue doing this work, despite your attempt to unsettle me.

Sharon

Well, folx, that's it. To wrap this up, please note that this is just one of many such comments I get (and people who do this work get) on a weekly basis. This one may have been hurtful, but at least it didn’t contain a racial slur, as many do. (Low bar, right?) Were I a different person, it would be easy to let this derail me. But despite the hurt, I won't.

Thanks for being here.

Sharon

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I am an anti-racism educator and activist, the author of “I’m Tired of Racism”, and co-host of The Introvert Sisters podcast.

© Sharon Hurley Hall, 2025. All Rights Reserved. This newsletter is published on beehiiv (affiliate link).