It seems to me there is a simple test of whether one of us white folks recognizes the truth of systemic racism. Have you ever said to yourself “Thank goodness I was born white?”
It seems to me there is a simple test of whether one of us white folks recognizes the truth of systemic racism. Have you ever said to yourself “Thank goodness I was born white?”
Posted June 10, 2020 by Mona Gustafson Affinito in Uncategorized
Tagged with racism, test of racism
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I believe I have – even though I am born and live in Norway. And I have read Jodi Picoults books which seems FAR out from what we experie nce here – and still, it is hard for me to understand why any person of colour is not RAGING at the ignorant and stupid questions and remarks they get.
Thanks for this very meaningful comment, Leelah
I hope I have. I absolutely know that I have spoken to many Black people about the beauty of their skin and how difficult it would be for me to take care of my hair were it to require so much attention. People of all “stripes” tend to feel more comfortable being with “their own kind” but I cannot comprehend the hatred that is so deep that it requires cruelty and mindless assault. After all, we initially brought these folks to our country and they served us as expected. One would expect we would be grateful and welcome them.
Certainly needs a lot of work at many levels. Thanks for this
I wish it were this simple. People are racist; that may make you glad to be born white. But the system should be, and is, race-neutral. By system I mean the law, the courts, the police, and our government leaders. It’s not just wrong, it’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of race! We should all thank goodness for that.
Certainly I agree with you. and as a psychologist I know the first step is to acknowledge our own racism — or at least an early step. Thanks so much for noticing and commenting.