I’ve also noticed that the shifting meaning of the word “racism” is causing confusion.
In all the years that I’ve known you, you’ve made zero racist remarks, supported zero racist policies and judged zero people on the color of their skin. Instead, you lived abroad, learned new languages, made friends with people of a variety of cultural backgrounds (and skin colors), and tried to live your life being a kind and decent person.
So, I’m trying to imagine what your “racist behaviors” were but my guess is they’re of the micro-aggression sort. Like the time Megan attended a conference and offered to help a black woman find a seat in the audience, only to learn that she was (gasp!) a speaker. Never mind that Megan was trying to be kind. The speaker was offended, therefore it was offensive.
Then the speaker gave a talk titled something like “Why I don’t trust white women and can’t be friends with them”. (This title is, apparently, not racist).
That’s how insidious this ideology is: it tries to convince you that you’re guilty of being complicit in white supremacy, that you should atone for the sins of your ancestors, that you should soul-search and “educate yourself” and “do better”. At the same time, racism is inescapable for white people, or — as Robin DeAngelo puts it — “a positive white identity is an impossible goal.” (I was baffled to find out that this statement is also not racist).
I also had to laugh learning that your friends were shamed on a listserv for not being anti-racist enough. I hate to imagine what would have happened if someone like me had spoken up and criticized anti-racism as a deeply flawed ideology that harms people of all races and is actually making race relations worse.
In any case, I’m glad you guys are writing publicly on these topics and I’m looking forward to reading more.
I’ve also noticed that the shifting meaning of the word “racism” is causing confusion.
In all the years that I’ve known you, you’ve made zero racist remarks, supported zero racist policies and judged zero people on the color of their skin. Instead, you lived abroad, learned new languages, made friends with people of a variety of cultural backgrounds (and skin colors), and tried to live your life being a kind and decent person.
So, I’m trying to imagine what your “racist behaviors” were but my guess is they’re of the micro-aggression sort. Like the time Megan attended a conference and offered to help a black woman find a seat in the audience, only to learn that she was (gasp!) a speaker. Never mind that Megan was trying to be kind. The speaker was offended, therefore it was offensive.
Then the speaker gave a talk titled something like “Why I don’t trust white women and can’t be friends with them”. (This title is, apparently, not racist).
That’s how insidious this ideology is: it tries to convince you that you’re guilty of being complicit in white supremacy, that you should atone for the sins of your ancestors, that you should soul-search and “educate yourself” and “do better”. At the same time, racism is inescapable for white people, or — as Robin DeAngelo puts it — “a positive white identity is an impossible goal.” (I was baffled to find out that this statement is also not racist).
I also had to laugh learning that your friends were shamed on a listserv for not being anti-racist enough. I hate to imagine what would have happened if someone like me had spoken up and criticized anti-racism as a deeply flawed ideology that harms people of all races and is actually making race relations worse.
In any case, I’m glad you guys are writing publicly on these topics and I’m looking forward to reading more.