I've seen many people who are white get irritated by the idea of being called white by POC . They quickly refer to being Irish, Italian, German, French... Even inside of being white, white people feel the need to distinguish themselves further.
I see how this leads to white people being afraid to talk about race, because they already are trying to view themselves as unique. White people are always trying to make themselves the most special and this is threatened by the idea of uniqueness. When POC are unique you see white envy, cultural appropriation, white erasure and mocking. Such as the woman holding the Ted talk some about when the white people in their class used their white privilege to silence POC voices. It was their privilege that promoted them to be selfish enough to put their comfort level over the class. It what their privilege to shut out what they were hearing. I see white privilege abused constantly and have only a handful of examples that have showed how to use it positively.
When we can address race, implicit bias, acknowledge white privilege, and listen rather than speak... We will go much further as a diverse community.
Yes it is an uncomfortable subject however we must talk about it, and learn. We are all human, we all bleed red and we all hurt.
Absolutely !
Thank you for sharing this and your perspective. When I think about my whiteness, I think about my journey in the recognition of it. I have had the privilege to be ignorant of it most of my life, and when I was first introduced to it, I was taken back and defensive about it as a lot of white folks are. I was not ready to hear the message, but recognized that to understand the message presented to me I had to teach myself about the problem I was having with the topic area and what made me defensive. It was one of the best things I have ever done. I started participating in leadership opportunities which had highlights on Equity and Inclusion, and slowly started to learn of my privilege. It was a process and something I will never be done doing.
When I see the videos about people lived experiences, the fact so many did not feel like they had a sense of place in society like I did was very telling. It reminded me of how important it is to NEVER talking about understanding anyone from a racial point of view because the issues faced of people with different races are very different and even different within each individual group. What I can do based on watching these, is recognize I have a lot of work to do. Additionally, I should always be working to unseat the biases and racism that exists in our society through action and intentional conversations with those who may not be aware that their privilege is clouding their perspective.