Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
It's not bad, but it didn't move me the way it moved you.
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Yeah. Of course it didn't. Color me shocked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
What did you think was fantastic about it?
eta: I agree that white people are bad at discussing racism, in predictable ways. I think there's a lot of self-interest in it. I agree with what's said about the good/bad binary. But I don't think it's helpful to talk about how "society is set up", and I think it's wrong to say "that white progressives cause the most daily damage to people of color," even if they are often self-serving. And I don't think it's helpful to describe (not sure whether this is the reviewer or the author) white racism as "a pathogen that seeks to replicate itself" -- that constructs removes the agency and incentives the author has identified.
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Look, it is almost impossible to talk to white people about racism. I sit on 3 different diversity organizations.
Every single time white people are in the room, a conversation about racism, the effects of racism, steps to fix it, devolves into a conversation about white people's good intentions, feelings about
being in the vicinity of racism, their meager upbringing, whatever. It makes it completely impossible to discuss the actual effects of their racism. People who are trying to address racism spend most of their time helping white people with their feelings and ensuring them that they aren't bad people. White people (on the whole)
cannot have a conversation about racism.
Like I said, I have been struggling with this phenomenon for quite some time, as have many (actual) prominent people in the diversity field. Focusing on unconscious bias, confirmation bias, etc. is strategic because the message is, "Hey, shhhhh, it's not really your fault. But let's see how we can get past this." And it's because when you say to a white person, "Black people at this firm aren't being given the same opportunities. We need to do this that and the other." All they hear is "You're a racist," and that's that. Conversation effectively over.
And liberals and progressives benefit from racism and actively fight changing societal dynamics that grant them those benefits. As long as they can tell themselves that they aren't part of the problem or would never use a racial slur, they let themselves off the hook. Once again, when they are faced with how they benefit, they completely disconnect from the conversation. I've gone into the examples a million times on this board.
But enough of this. Your post is annoying in that you point out a bunch of stuff you disagree with but never actually say anything. So, if you want to have a conversation, I suggest you do more than sit there and shit on the article without offering even a little bit of insight into why what you are quoting is incorrect or what you think is or isn't "helpful."
TM
