Comments on: Whiteness & Thinking Critically about “Race” and Racism

By: Jessie

Jessie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:46:50 +0000

That’s a great retort, Adia…. I’ll make a note and try that next time.

Joe that ‘emotional’ response is similar to the kind of ‘racial innocence’ that Shelby Steele has written about (I know, I know – his politics are deeply problematic, but he gets this one thing right.) Steele has an interesting take on Obama as a “bargainer.” By this he means, that whites want (need) Obama to give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to racism, and in the ‘bargain,’ whites agree not to ‘hold race’ against him. I think this part of why so many whites went nuts in reaction to the Rev. Wright issue – they felt the ‘bargain’ had been violated and they’d been called on their racism. Steele actually concludes that Obama can’t win.

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By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:15:24 +0000

Adia has put her finger right on it. This is not just about cognitively racist ideas of whites, but about very deep emotion-laden beliefs about white innocence and virtue. the heart of the white racial frame is this set of emotions.

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By: adia

adia — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:50:50 +0000

Jessie: When I encounter the “if you ignore it…” attitude among whites–some of whom have stated this point blank to me at times–I typically ask them pointedly but very calmly exactly how ignoring race or refusing to discuss racism will get rid of housing discrimination, neighborhood segregation, labor market inequality, racialized health disparities, or any number of concrete outcomes that we know race impacts. Because at it’s core, the “let’s ignore it” philosophy isn’t, as you point out, based on logic, it’s based on–in my opinion–discomfort with acknowledging prvilege.

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By: Jessie

Jessie — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:22:13 +0000

Hey Aaron P., macon d., and Joe ~ thanks for your comments here. About the ostrich-like attitude regarding race, I encounter this a lot in all-white settings. Many whites I meet consider it *rude* to mention race at all – even to be critical of racism – and strongly prefer an “if you ignore it, it will go away,” sort of approach. I find it very difficult to argue against this kind of thing as there seems to be very little logic behind and just a lot of shaming and shutting down.

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By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:13:33 +0000

Aaron, that is a super point. Excellent, worth a book I expect. She gets credit, he does not, at least not nearly as much…. This is probably about the demography of voting. He loses with white voters, the more whites put him into the old white racist framing of black men. She certainly gains with many women, the majority of voters.

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By: macon d

macon d — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 01:57:17 +0000

Thanks, excellent analysis. So good, in fact, that it’s one of those blog entries where there’s little to add. It’s difficult to find in the blogosphere much of the crucial analysis that we need to do on whiteness, and this piece is a fine exception to that general rule. White liberals really do have an ostrich-like attitude about race, and you’re right–they’re wrong in thinking it’s just going to go away.

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By: Aaron P.

Aaron P. — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:42:46 +0000

Watching racism and sexism play out this election cycle has been very interesting. Clinton was constantly noting the historical nature of her accomplishment of almost being the Democratic nominee, especially in her concession/suspension speech. In contrast Obama has rarely (if ever) spoken about being the first African-American candidate nominated by a major party in the US. Sexism in Clinton’s case worked to maintain male/female masculine/feminine boundaries through the continual reminder of Clinton’s woman-hood/femininity (or occasionally her perceived lack of femininity). A constant reminder of her existence outside the patriarchal norms that works to delimitate her abilities and serves as a reminder of what the societal norms for women are.
In contrast, racism seems to function in Obama’s case when it is invisible to the mainstream public. If race isn’t an issue, than any attempt Obama might make at pointing out racial inequality, or injustice is simply a divisive tactic that is harkening back to long forgotten wrongs. Race is again his problem and not mine (or whites at large).
Not an overly well thought out point I know, but I read a blog entry (sorry don’t have the citation) about Clinton’s continual reference to her status as woman, and found it interesting that Obama has been forced to do the opposite.

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By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:06:34 +0000

This kind of blogging is really about white lies and misrepresentations. These white men know how extremely racist their friends and relatives are, esp. backstage, if not they themselves. The facade society, indeed.

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