Rachel answers “Why is the term 'White Fragility' is not...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism:

Why is the term 'White Fragility' is not equally as offensive and unjust as a coloured person being accused of 'playing the race card' or 'victim card?' The defensive moves include: 'anger, fear, guilt, argumentation and silence (The whimsical contradiction of the last two is staggering) What is your average, non-racist white person to do when they are accused of being racist? I'm not white nor am I black.

Rachel I have just completed this book and found it to be truly insightful, shedding light on areas within myself that I have never examined before.

With rega…moreI have just completed this book and found it to be truly insightful, shedding light on areas within myself that I have never examined before.

With regard to your question... What is your average, non-racist white person to do when they are accused of being racist?

1. Get yourself to the point where you can withstand the difficulty of the feelings that come up for you around race and are able to inhibit your defensive responses. From a less defended place, you can actually listen to ideas that might be hard to hear.

2. Acknowledge that in the USA, we are living in a society where almost all of the people in charge of everything (politics, military, entertainment, banking, business) are white. In our culture, white people get to have the power. That message is soaked into our bones so it feels quite normal and unremarkable that white people are in charge. We are mostly not aware of this bias but it is the water we swim in. We live in a racist society.

3. Forgive yourself. Your internalized racism is not an indication that you are a bad person, it is a belief system that we have all inherited as a result of being born into this culture. The first step is to admit that it's there. Because it is there. It's in me. It's in you.

4. Do the often uncomfortable work of looking inward. We are all being asked to look at the racism in us. We are taking a look at the water we swim in, which is such a part of how our culture works that it is hard to see; the pervasive story that white people are superior too all other races, black people most of all, and deserve to be in charge of everything as a result.

5. Breathe. This stuff is HARD.

For example, what if, instead of focusing on what might feel offensive to you about the title, you find a way to move past that defensive response and explore the concept. You feeling triggered by the title might be a way your psyche (ego, self-image) is resisting actually considering some uncomfortable truths.

Let's get sturdy enough to actually talk about race, white people!
This book is a great ally in that pursuit.

(less)

flag

View all 4 comments

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more