Despite what you may think or know, “Black” Twitter is a thing. It is not exclusionary and it is most certainly not racist. (The verdict is still out on whether the brown Black Twitter bird wearing a flat-brim is offensive). The reason that it is called “Black” Twitter is because we simply could not think of a better way to describe a bunch of black people talking on Twitter–similar to how/why we call black barbershops by that name.
In case you are wondering, yes, white people are allowed to discuss it and, yes, white people are very strong and prominent figures within the medium. Plus, most importantly, it’s funny as hell.
It’s funny mainly because it does not take itself seriously. Every day is pure unadulterated comedy. For example, someone made a wheel of ridiculous day-to-day Black Twitter discussion:
I’m not going to lie, this wheel is scary fucking accurate. There is not a day that goes by without a mildly heated argument about one of the topics above. Some days it’s a battle over the minimum amount of money you should spend on a first date, and others could be spent discussing (lying about) the amount of people you’ve had sex with.
Oh, and everyone is “making” at least $200K. And you know what, it’s entertainment like the rest of Twitter. You are sitting in the black internet barber shop or hair salon.
Another powerful part of Black Twitter is that it will get you the FUCK out of here if you act out of pocket. Remember Justine Sacco, the PR Exec that tweeted this:
Black Twitter had her out of these streets by the time she landed. Like, OUT of these streets from a “We have your SSN and place of employment, bitch” perspective.
I’ve had friends ask me, “What’s the difference between Black Twitter and White Twitter?” I’ve never really considered the idea of “White” Twitter, similar to how I don’t view non-black barbershops as white barbershops. In a sense, Twitter is Twitter and Black Twitter is a subset of that. As I said before, there is no figurative line to wait in or any hoops to jump through for white people. If you’re interested in the topics of discussion or feel more comfortable in that conversational environment, there are no barriers to entry–just know that no one can save you if you bad mouth Beyonce. Hell, in the Black Twitter “Top Tweeter” brackets (that exists), a white guy won unironically.
Anyway, if you didn’t know, now you know. Whenever you hear the term “Black Twitter” get tossed around, you don’t have to laugh awkwardly and quickly change the subject. Also, if you want to take a dip into the shallow-end of the pool, I provided you with some people to follow and examples of funny from this past week.
Follow:
@Dragonflyjonez
@DesusNice
@ColeyMick
@JoeBudden
He made a song with Migos so this doesnt matter RT @ComplexMag: Old video of Justin Bieber telling a racist joke has surfaced
— Desus (@desusnice) June 1, 2014
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No the fuck that's not! RT @TheeFoodPorn: Homemade potato salad. pic.twitter.com/2BrnFdGFyK
— The Notorious T.I.M (@BionicBombshell) May 30, 2014
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"iOS 8 will have black emojis" RT @Breaking911: BREAKING: President Obama to make a statement from the White House Rose Garden at 6:15pmET.
— Desus (@desusnice) May 31, 2014
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