I'm currently reading 'White Fragility', and so far there's a heavy emphasis on the argument "if you disagree with me, it just proves that I am right".
I was truly expecting something more challenging. Perhaps it'll pick up. Perhaps not.
I was truly expecting something more challenging. Perhaps it'll pick up. Perhaps not.
Ugh. I've just got to a section where it's argued that it's simply not enough to accept you have privilege handed to you because of your white skin. No, that's too passive & implies lack of choice. You must acknowledge that you are actively, consciously complicit in this act
This is exactly why it's like a religion. It doesn't matter how hard you try to satisfy all the dogmas and injunctions, there will still be those whose zealotry will demand further sacrifice of your faculties.
This entire book reads like a white supremacist has realised white supremacy is a terrible thing. But instead of being aware that most of us already know this, they assume we all must have been as racist as they were. I'm now deeply suspicious of anyone championing this book.
It's like spending most of your life preparing tea with cold water then realising you are supposed to add hot water. Then releasing a book to bestow this knowledge on others.
I'm still trying to get through this. Having to dip into it in between reading other things so I don't go mental. It's one of the most awful books I've ever read. Apparently, being "outraged" by accusations of racism is further proof of 'white fragility'. This is a religion
Everything about this mimics totalitarian religion. You possess original sin, but she calls it "whiteness". And there is absolutely nothing you can do to absolve yourself. And any attempts to do so are simply further evidence of this eternal sinfulness
I'm not kidding when I thought it would be more challenging. I read books that I expect to disagree with all the time, yet still come away having learned something, or shifted slightly on certain aspects of my worldview. I actually think this book is making people dumber
Basically, if you are white, you must be racist and committed to (consciously or unconsciously) upholding white supremacist systems. And if it annoys you to be accused of this, or if you resist the claim, Robin DiAngelo says that's further evidence of your racism.
Ok, now she says that the commitment to creating a 'respectful environment' of 'non-conflict' is a very white-centric notion of 'respectful'. And thus actually creates a 'hostile environment' for non-white people. Yes. She said that
Ok, now she relays an anecdote where she removed a white woman from a meeting for crying ('white tears'). Not out of compassion you see, but because white tears are a manipulative ploy to hijack attention away from non-white people. This woman is a lunatic.
Robin DiAngelo argues that it doesn't matter when, where and how accusations of racism are made to you. You must not only accept them, but thank the person making them. I've never read anything that infantilizes black people to this degree. It's staggering.
This book is also a massive piece of misdirection masquerading as activism. It will do nothing to help alleviate inequality or improve the material needs of black people. It's a way for white racists to alleviate their guilty consciences whilst doing precisely nothing.
Even though all white people are essentially bad, DiAngelo still manages to frame herself as the slightly less evil white person through a sequence of totally not made-up anecdotes. She notes a black person praising her for her "willingness to repair".
I truly think this is a complete waste of any intelligent person's time. You'd learn more about the world from reading the ingredients on a box of cereal.
