Read this article: I am White and I that means I am Privileged by Christine Overall. If you finished it you got further than I did on my first read through. Does anyone else who is white find it a little condescending to be grouped in with a lot of the assumptions she is making about white people.
“when whites think of race…”
“They [white people] agree, even though they failed to think about race and racism before the topic was raised by a person of colour”
“White people like me feel…”
“As a white person, I tend to be ignorant…”
“Because only white people like me…”
“Whiteness is the default position…”
A few comments:
First: What the heck? To have the audacity to make points about race and racism when she herself is making sweeping generalizations about her own race is nothing short of ridiculous. Replace the word “white” with any other colour and the article takes a whole different tone. I’m from Mississauga. I was the only white person in my grade 12 calculus class. I didn’t realize this until a friend pointed it out to me 2 weeks before the exam. “Whiteness” was not the default position where I am from by far
What I think people need to understand when we discuss racism and other inclusivity issues in our schools and communities is that we all have a view to give. We are all of one race, the human race, and from that there are many different backgrounds, upbringing, heritages that we can draw from . To call all white people ignorant of racism is ignorant itself and sets us back in discussions such as inclusivity. To say that our response to discussions is either awkward silence, ignorant agreeing, or response directly stemming from white guilt hinders any productive discussion we could have if people actually believe these comments.
So thanks Christine Overall. How about next time we have a frank discussion on racism and inclusivity we check our baggage at the door and try to actually make a difference instead of commenting on what ways we cant, as white people, make one.
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