Hello, I am Racist. Systemic racism.

apple.news/AgTXAT-yDQK6qJIc1chgAEg

The ‘individual’ is an ideological construct which excuses the bias of those who hold the greater seat of power. In this case, it is the white woman. The Idea that Being White is more valuable is implemented as a system of privilege.

Racism should not define the woman in the vid entirely, but it is, indeed, defining how she perceives reality in times of stress. How she behaves, despite her sincere apology or intension, reifies that the ideology of whiteness is correct and indeed assumed to be operating.

Ala Paulo Freire, both the oppressor and the oppressed play the game of oppression. But it is the oppressed who hold the power for to interrupt the oppression. our current case as to race relations, The oppressor simply is not able, on her own, to interrupt her whiteness. 

We see the perfect example of this in this audio/video reported upon at NPR. It is the black man who is interrupting the privilege of the white woman, and the white woman resorts to her privilege in order to place the black man back into his role of oppressed; she is relying upon an intentional system which keeps white people at the top and places people of color at the bottom.

The next question is thus: When is she not stressed ? And when is her privilege enacted as an individual not in play?

The issue is responsibility.

The lesson for white people everywhere, including myself, as an example, as I try to model for my white brothers and sisters, that I am not exempt from my racist privilege Because I see it. But part of this systemic privilege is that I get to sit outside of race. I get to call us all “human”, all of us “individuals”. It is by this kind of ideological deflection that I am thus able to retain my whiteness, able to uphold the system of oppression that gives me the most power and privilege in the system.

In short, I maintain power by constantly reifying that race is something that I don’t have, the system of identification in which I do not participate except as designator and enforcer. I just get to pronounce upon everyone else how they should be because I exist outside of race. This is the reason why such statements as “I don’t see color”, or, I just treat everyone as an individual human being” Are inherently racist statements, because they propose to put everyone on a level playing field, a platform of a quality, we are indeed the reality of the matter is that we are not. more to the point, is that in doing so, and asserting that everyone exists on this level playing field, I am implicating that there’s nothing wrong with the system, she’s basically saying, as a white man, that you all need to fall into my categories of truth. 

The solution is to racialize my voice and say that I am indeed a white man and I am a product as well is involved in a system of oppression called racism of which I benefit the most. I just support my brothers and sisters of color so we all can become More actualysed to our being and thus more free together. In short, as a white man, I am racist.

x

Wake up.

x