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I think this is actually a legitimate topic. A lot of white people who spend most of their lives associating among other white people never become aware of their own white privilege. It wasn’t until I started really living in predominantly Black/Latino areas that I realized the privilege I benefit from as a white person.
Of course, “white” comes in many different permutations. There is as much of a cultural gap between a rich white person and a poor white person as there is between a white person and a Black person or Latino person, etc. Race is one factor of many, and it never stands alone, but I definitely think there is something to be said for making people aware of how race does factor into day-to-day life. It’s easy to want to believe we are all just color-blind and none of this matters anyway, but in reality most people do still see color, even if it’s in a subconscious way.
The bulk of racism we deal with today is of a covert nature, and part of what keeps that alive is the fact that most white people are blind to their own privilege. A course like this might be just what’s needed in order to shift “white” from being default to just being one of the many options, without having any one race be the “default”.
So once you've declared that you're fighting against "covert" racism, there's really no way to prove or disprove your claims is there? It has now become entirely subjective. So you can just go on making any claims you want not only without evidence but quite literally without even the need for evidence. It's a neat trick.
"I need to educate you about your racism"
"But I'm not racist"
"It's covert and subconscious"
"So even though I believe all epeople are equal, I'm still a racist"
"Right"
I imagine that works out real well for you. Gives you a nice little worldview wherein even the possiblity that you are wrong does not exist because you are able to discount any and all evidence that contradicts you.
Heck, even Martin Luther King himself could've been a racist as long as it was "covert" enough
So once you've declared that you're fighting against "covert" racism, there's really no way to prove or disprove your claims is there? It has now become entirely subjective. So you can just go on making any claims you want not only without evidence but quite literally without even the need for evidence. It's a neat trick.
"I need to educate you about your racism"
"But I'm not racist"
"It's covert and subconscious"
"So even though I believe all epeople are equal, I'm still a racist"
"Right"
I imagine that works out real well for you. Gives you a nice little worldview wherein even the possiblity that you are wrong does not exist because you are able to discount any and all evidence that contradicts you.
Heck, even Martin Luther King himself could've been a racist as long as it was "covert" enough
Well first of all, it’s interesting you some how made this about me. It’s not like I’m the only person on this planet that notices covert racism. That said, there are objective ways to test for covert racism, such as creating comparison scenarios.
Shows like “What Would You Do?” give a perfect example. Another example is the tests that come out that test the reaction time between certain concepts and images of people of one race versus another. Just because something isn’t obvious doesn’t make it completely subjective. There are things that are both subtle and objective, and covert racism can fall into that.
Of course, there are times when people jump to the conclusion of racism for subjective reasons, but that doesn’t mean that all acts of covert racism are of a subjective nature. There are also plenty of people who say one thing but do another. For example, someone can say a million times they’re not racist against Latino people but if they lock their car doors every time they drive through a neighborhood that is predominantly Latino, then that tells us something else about how they really feel.
The thing about covert racism is that most people aren’t even aware of it when they’re doing it themselves. It’s human nature to absorb attitudes through subconscious messages, and that’s why the “blame factor” doesn’t really help anyone. Pinpointing covert racism isn’t blaming Whitey or anyone else, it’s about noticing the remnants of racism we still have in our society today and making way to fix that through education and awareness.
Instead of taking this class I think black people would be much better off reading a book called Yurugu by Dr. Marimba Ani. That books breaks down every facet of European culture, behavior, and thought as it applies to black people.
It is crucial to understand how whiteness works when you are a minority who constantly has to navigate around it.
I think it's fine as long as the course doesn't either advocate white supremacy or demonize white people. It should hold a neutral point of view.
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