1. Attempting to reconcile two very distinct cultures which is, often times, difficult.
2. When people realize you're not the "cool black kid" of lore.
3. You know all too well that your parents kinda don't get it.
4. Dealing with the people who expect you to always have strong feelings on the casting of traditional superheroes as POC.
5. And when they realize you actually like the original Peter Parker, they treat it as if you've disrespected your people.
6. The realization that there are not a lot of POC options to cosplay as.
7. So you say "Fuck it," and just do you.
8. Having to call out people for making racist slurs on Xbox Live is just a typical day.
9. Not to mention the racist remarks on online forums and in fan chat rooms.
10. And you always have a weird sense of camaraderie with any other POC at conventions.
11. You have to bite your tongue when people insist that historically, black people wouldn't be in things like Lord of the Rings.
12. Or assume that the black character in a series must be your favorite.
13. Then there are those times when you read a novel and imagine a character as a POC...
14. ... but then you watch the movie and realize they're actually white.
15. Or worse, when you know a character's a POC, but the movie casts them as white anyway.
16. Then you notice that every main character in a video game is white.
17. POC superhero figures were so few that seeing them at all made a huge impact on you as a kid.
18. Which made meeting your childhood POC idols the greatest treat because of how much they made you believe that you could be special, too.
19. It's always upsetting when you watch all the POC die or leave your favorite show.
20. And you're reminded, yet again, how much representation actually matters.
21. But you can't deny the comradeship that comes with being a part of the blerd community.
