This is probably for another discussion but we all know the obvious racists, the people that drop n*bombs, the people who say other races are inferior etc. But what about the more subtle type racism that people say exists in this country. Why do white folks still engage in that?
I think back to this post on Facebook from a girl I grew up with:
"Just finished White Fragility. It is a MUST READ, especially if you are white and/or you are accepted as white in American society. Seriously, I don’t care what political party you affiliate with. I don’t care how progressive you think you are, I don’t care if you think you aren’t racist. If you are white, you are racist, myself included. We have so much to learn and the first step is being completely open to that learning and being willing (even excited) to dismantle our role in white supremacy. *as a quick side note, it’s almost impossible to get a hard copy of this book as its popularity has soared, but it’s easy to get the ebook or audiobook. If you choose to get the audiobook, I suggest going through Libro.fm as you get to choose an independent bookstore to support rather than lining Jeff Bezos’s pockets with even more money."
If you buy what my friend is saying even "open minded" white people are racist. How does that get addressed?
I have a friend who asked me to read White Fragility last summer. She is white, straight, and cisgender. She has lived in the majority (except for being female) her whole life. I am non-white, non-straight, and cisgender. I can't remember a time when I was ever in the majority (except for during some closed events, like certain small celebrations and parties). I read the book with great interest. I marked about a half dozen passages, including this one:
"If you stand close to a birdcage and press your face against the wires, your perception of the bars will disappear and you will have an almost unobstructed view of the bird. If you turn your head to examine one wire of the cage closely, you will not be able to see the other wires. If your understanding of the cage is based on this myopic view, you may not understand why the bird doesn't just go around the single wire and fly away. You might even assume that the bird liked or chose its place in the cage."
I do not agree that, "If you are white, you are racist." In fact, I find that rather insulting. I quoted the metaphor because I think it can instruct well-intentioned white people. Without having the experience of being a minority, there is only so much intellectual exploration a person can do about racism and discrimination. In that case, privileged white Americans who look too closely to the issues can miss the forest for the trees. There is another implication to that quote, but it's not for this post. I don't think that white Americans are automatically racist, but I do take with a grain of salt anyone's opinion on minority conditions who has never lived as a minority.
To directly answer your last question, I have said for a very long time that I believe that all people everywhere should live somewhere as a minority for at least three years. It is probably most informative to exist as a racial minority, but religious minorities, sexual minorities, and women also deal with issues of discrimination that transform perspective. The US is so insular, so culturally incurious, and so geographically isolated that most white people's perception is never going to include anything other than white people's perception because there is no exposure to anything else. Having black and gay and Muslim friends is all fine and good. Sympathy makes the world a better place. Empathy is better.
