Post 396: Identity and Socialization of White Racism According to 'White Fragility'
Socialization shapes what we think of others and how we think of ourselves DiAngelo states that we are who we are based on what group we belong and we are socialized to prefer being young vs old, being rich vs poor and being white vs black.
In Robin DiAngelo's book, "White Fragility," she describes how white people are socialized to believe that they are superior to others, that their word is not to be questioned or challenged, and that they are born to lead.
This socialization begins early such as TV, media, newspaper and books. On TV, for instance, all the main characters are white. The main hero or good guy in the movie who saves the town is a white sheriff. The villain tends to be a person of color who looks Native American, Middle Eastern, Asian, or African American.
From an early age, kids are socialized to think of the color 'white' as a symbol of purity and the color 'black' as a symbol of evil. We are bombarded by symbols, icons, of white people heroes in books, movies, and white people are well-represented in TV and media.
We take for granted all the white faces we see in the media. It is a fact that Asian Americans are used to seeing other Asians on TV as the enemy, the geek, the nerd who gets laughed at and the sidekick to the 'white hero'. The Asian male is the character who 'never gets the girl', while the white hero gets the girl and the accolades.
White people never feel like they are the Other, and they take for granted their invisibility to race. A white person can go through life comfortably without ever having to think about her racial identity. White people are so unused to talking about racism and having their ideas challenged, that white people become defensive, silent, angry or withdrawn when the subject of race is mentioned.
Di'Angelo in her book, "White Fragility" calls this defensive reaction white people have when their worldview about race is challenged, "White Fragility." Robin DiAngelo says, "White people do not have the 'racial stamina' to talk about race due to their 'White Fragility."
In other words, people of color are used to being judged by their race. I am used to being judged as an Asian. Anything I do right or wrong reflects in a negative (if I behave badly) or reflects in a positive way (if I win an award) on my ethnic group. Recently, I am either regarded as the 'Model Minority', the Asian genius who wins spelling bees, or as the 'dirty Asian' who is 'responsible for COVID19'.
White people are lucky because they get to behave and act anyway they want and they get impartiality. If a white person misbehaves, it is because that particular white person has a 'mental disorder' or if white people are addicted on drugs, 'they are having issues'. White people don't have to worry about being reduced to a stereotype because white people are seen as the standard bearer of what it is like to be human. This is what I call 'White Privilege'
White Privilege means you can walk into a store without the guard thinking you are a thief, you have white people depicted as heroes and widely represented in the media, it is having your hair shampoo to your hair type, it is not having to search many hair stores to find a hair store that would cater to your unique hair needs, it is not having to search many cosmetic stores to find makeup that matches your skin type etc...
White privilege means being invisible and being given the presumption of innocence when a crime is committed. White privilege also means not having to be reduced to a stereotype and not being defined by your ethnic group.
When they could not figure out a motive why the lone white man killed 50 people in Las Vegas, the police simply said, "He had no motive for the shootings, and he took his secret to the grave." If that shooter had been Asian, then stereotypes of being deceptive, inferior, or criminal comes to mind. If that shooter had been Muslim, then obviously, the stereotype of him being a terrorist would come into play. Only a lone white shooter gets the privilege of just 'having no motive.'
Only when White people recognize their 'White Privilege' and their 'White Fragility in talking about race, can true anti-bias education take place in America. White people need to recognize their role in systemic racism that is interwoven into the legal, philosophical, and psychological fabric of the 'white American Dream.'
Now don't get me wrong, people of color are also racist. For instance, if a black daughter brings home a white potential husband, the black family may have racist views against their daughter having a white husband. However, systemic racism occurs when the racism is being done by people in power such as white people. When racism is done by white people with the power to make laws in government, then that becomes systemic racism.
It is important for all people to become educated, to learn other perspectives and other points of view, to learn about White privilege, in order to fight racism and bias in American society.
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