Just finished #WhiteFragility, and among other comments, my most pressing question remains "Are those most invested in this interpretation of society attempting to sublimate their actual feelings of white supremacy into a type of racial noblesse oblige?" /1
At a certain point, it becomes difficult to see the difference between those who insist that white people have the advantage at all times and in all places and should acknowledge that privilege, and those who simply believe that white people are superior to black people. /2
The hairs on the back of my neck begin to stand every time I hear someone say "Even though I grew up [in a trailer park, poorly educated, in a dysfunctional home, etc.] I always knew I was at least better off than being black." /3
An unmerited and therefore unwarranted belief in one's superiority has always been one of the main functions of white supremacist ideology. Di Angelo rooting this superiority in statistical disparities rather than racial essentialism doesn't seem to change the end result. /4
She could, after all, put her energy toward discussions of how to eradicate such disparities or how to promote just outcomes. Instead, white people are given a primer on how to come to terms with their place in the racial hierarchy and be "good" privileged people. /end
