11 Ways White America Avoids Taking Responsibility for its Racism

[KamaAina]

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/11-ways-white-america-avoids-taking-responsibility-its-racism

I am white. I write and teach about what it means to be white in a society that proclaims race meaningless, yet remains deeply divided by race. A fundamental but very challenging part of my work is moving white people from an individual understanding of racism—i.e. only some people are racist and those people are bad—to a structural understanding. A structural understanding recognizes racism as a default system that institutionalizes an unequal distribution of resources and power between white people and people of color. This system is historic, taken for granted, deeply embedded, and it works to the benefit of whites.
The two most effective beliefs that prevent us (whites) from seeing racism as a system are:

that racists are bad people and
that racism is conscious dislike;

if we are well-intended and do not consciously dislike people of color, we cannot be racist. This is why it is so common for white people to cite their friends and family members as evidence of their lack of racism. However, when you understand racism as a system of structured relations into which we are all socialized, you understand that intentions are irrelevant. And when you understand how socialization works, you understand that much of racial bias is unconscious. Negative messages about people of color circulate all around us. While having friends of color is better than not having them, it doesn’t change the overall system or prevent racism from surfacing in our relationships. The societal default is white superiority and we are fed a steady diet of it 24/7. To not actively seek to interrupt racism is to internalize and accept it.

As part of my work I teach, lead and participate in affinity groups, facilitate workshops, and mentor other whites on recognizing and interrupting racism in our lives. As a facilitator, I am in a position to give white people feedback on how their unintentional racism is manifesting. This has allowed me to repeatedly observe several common patterns of response. The most common by far is outrage:

How dare you suggest that I could have said or done something racist!

Given the dominant conceptualization of racism as individual acts of cruelty, it follows that only terrible people who don’t like people of color can commit it. While this conceptualization is misinformed, it functions beautifully to protect racism by making it impossible to engage in the necessary dialogue and self-reflection that can lead to change.

[HassleCat]

1. Good points here

We do tend to think racism is a conscious choice made by bad people, and that is true in a few cases. I met a handful of people who were overt racists, and proud of it, simply because they were jerks who enjoyed causing friction. You're right. Even though I have black friends and relatives, I am prejudiced, biased against black people. I am, after all, a product of my society. I'm not racist, because I am aware of my prejudices, and willing to correct myself when caught by myself or others. The outrage you get as feedback can be one of two kinds. There is phony outrage intended to cover up the fact someone knows he or she is bigoted, and this is the red faced, blustery kind, with all sorts of indignation. Then there is the, "Maybe I did, but I didn't mean to..." reaction. Most people prefer to believe they have no prejudices of any kind, racial or other, and they get defensive when challenged about something they say or do. I used to be this way, for a long time, until I finally came to terms with my own prejudices and decided to try to do something about them. I'm still prejudiced, but I can usually catch myself before I say or do something embarrassing. All of us are "a work in progress," and not just when it comes to racial prejudice, but we have to figure that out. If we insist we're perfect as we are, and don't need to make any changes, well... you know the ending to that fairy tale.