It’s an old tactic.
Polished. Weaponized.
Still as effective as ever.

When someone—especially a woman, especially someone from a minoritized group—asks for the truth, the pushback is swift:

• “You’re being divisive.”

• “That’s hateful.”

• “You’re attacking people.”

• “You’re dangerous.”

But let’s name this tactic for what it is: reversal.
It flips the roles of harm and accountability, so the truth-teller becomes the problem—not the harm they’re naming.

🎭 The Tactic: Framing Truth as Hate

Here’s how it works:

1. A marginalized person raises a concern rooted in lived experience, patterns, or visible contradictions.

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2. Instead of engaging with the content of what was said, others redirect attention to the tone, the timing, or the impact on people with more power.

3. The original request—often for safety, clarity, or justice—is rebranded as hate speech, extremism, or bigotry.

4. The person who raised the concern is now the one under scrutiny.

And just like that, the truth gets buried beneath accusations that were never about the truth at all.

💥 Who Does This Target?

This tactic is most often used against people who are already systemically disempowered:

• Women who name male violence.

• Black women who speak about racial and gender injustice in our own communities.

• Indigenous people who demand the return of stolen land.

• Disabled activists who point out exclusion.

• Survivors who ask to be believed before the harm escalates.

• Religious, immigrant, or poor people who name how systems fail and target them.

When you live at the intersection of marginalized truth + structural power, you are more likely to be punished for saying what others already know—but don’t want to face.

👂🏽 Why This Works So Well

Because people are more comfortable with false peace than they are with uncomfortable truth.

They will protect their image of harmony, even if it means sacrificing someone who dared to speak the truth.

They’ll say:

• “This isn’t the time.”

• “You’re being inflammatory.”

• “Stop making it about you.”

And yet—what was actually said?
“Please protect us.”
“This doesn’t feel safe.”
“Something isn’t right here.”

That’s not hate.
That’s survival.

🧭 What We Do Instead

Let’s be people who recognize this tactic and reject it.

Let’s build cultures where:

• Truth is honored, even when it’s hard.

• People can question power without being labeled dangerous.

• Women and marginalized people don’t have to ask for basic safety in a whisper.

Because if a request for truth threatens a system?

Then the system—not the person—is the problem.

🪷
Share if you feel safe and ready—your voice might be the lifeline someone else needs.
And if you do share, remember to cite the messenger. Words carry legacy.
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