What are your thoughts about white exceptionalism, guilt, and shame? Have you felt that way? Have you been driven by toxic white guilt?
I think the idea of white exceptionalism, of 'it's ok, I'm one of the good ones', has definitely influenced my interaction with issues of race over the years. I feel more aware now that I can't just be passive about standing up to racism. Having said that, I also know that calling someone out on their racism does not fit with who I am - I tend to avoid conflict, so I don't know how I'm going to balance this out!
Guilt and shame are definitely strong emotions I've experienced, especially recently with the protests and the injustices in the US, but also here in the UK as well. I feel bad, wrong, for being part of the system and being able to take so many things for granted because I am the accepted colour. I feel overwhelmed at the amount of healing/mending that needs to be done.
Where do you think you are on the ally continuum?
I would like to think I'm closer to being an active ally than a passive one, but again, I'm not naturally vociferous. I the person that 'likes' things on Facebook, but rarely posts (unless it is to share something from someone else). Interestingly, I did recently become aware of racism towards the Traveller Community, and this course helped me to see some of the inappropriate language and rife confirmation bias that people fall back on when discussing Travellers and their rights etc. Given that there are over 600 recommendations by past racial inequality reports that the UK government has still not acted on, it is likely that Travellers will continue to face discrimination for a long time to come, and they are often not included in people's idea of racial and ethnic equality/rights.
So I think I'm somewhere between the aware and the active points on the continuum.
Are you starting to feel more prepared and confident to engage in conversations about race?
The three TED Talks were really interesting to listen to, and I will be returning to them again in the future to digest them further. I think for me I'd like to learn more and read more about how to engage in conversations about race (and gender, and LGBTQ+, and class and social issues).