For Writing for Social Justice (White Privilege)

Silence

Sometimes I wonder just what it is that white people are afraid of when it comes to dealing with antiracism. On the one hand I can understand how someone would fear "isolation..., ostracism..., rejection..., loss of privilege or status..., physical harm...", but part of me just doesn't get what the big deal is (Tatum 146). So it makes a white person uncomfortable to deal with their racism for a while, it makes everyone who isn't white uncomfortable all the time. The reality is that nonwhite people don't get to choose when and where we will deal with racism, and we surely don't get to take a break from being uncomfortable and go back to our regular lives. It just isn't an option.

What is an option is how we deal with the racism. Reading Tatum's article made me remember some of my frustrations with being silent in certain situations. I know that everytime I stay silent I am really disconnecting from my experience, and internalizing my own oppression (148). I think that when you realize that there is nothing you can do to stop racism from happening to you ,and the people you care about, it is easy to just give up, or get angry about it. I just want people to know "why I'm angry and not be offended by it" (149). I want people to know that it is not okay to dismiss racism as just an everyday fact of life, or say that it no longer exists. I want people to know that putting a black face on a racist act doesn't soften the blow or make it any less insulting.

Racism is an uncomfortable subject for us all. It is something that affects all of our lives. I think that it is important that we do break the silence, and not just during a particular situation. We need to have that meaningful dialogue when with one another when we are sitting at the dinner table, on the same pew, or in the same class. I myself recognize the need to understand how racism truly affects the lives of white people. I think that beginning to see how racism affects the lives of others and having a conversation about it takes us out of our comfort zones. The question is how long are we willing to be uncomfortable?