In this week’s reading White Fragility, the patterns that are laid out about why it is difficult for white people to understand racism as a system and in terms of lead to white fragility are ones that I wanted to look at further. One of the patterns that I found the most interesting was individualism. The concept is that white people are taught to look at themselves as individuals and not as a racial group hence why it becomes easier to deny that racism is a system. When racism becomes an individual problem the conversation then shifts to the rhetoric of “well I am different, I am not racist” rather than understanding that racism is not a micro problem it is a macro issue. I do not think that the author is trying to state that every white person feels like this or that they should take responsibility for the actions of other white people. Still, I do think that the further white people move away from individualism and understand the past actions of the white race, and know that these actions have shaped our society today. Often times people are very quick to defend themselves in times when they are called out for a racist act and this goes into the notion of white fragility and how with forms of discomfort involving race there is a pushback from people who have white fragility.
Another reading that I wanted to note is Call Out Ableism. I think this project is very important for people to understand and self-reflect on. The dictionary part of the website was one that I found interesting I have not heard of some of the terms before and being able to read them to make sure that I can do what I can to be an ally for this community is important to me. I think that now more than ever people are more aware of being ableist and what they say especially when not politically correct. But there are still people who use these derogatory terms quite often, on Bucknell’s campus I hear people say these terms shamelessly every day in a sense of malintent and as a joke, but nevertheless, it is a problem. Being an ableist is something that I do not understand, if someone has a disability whether visible or not it is not something that anyone else has the right to speak on, make fun of, or take advantage of. Ableism is like any other ism (in a slang sense) that is an oppressive discriminatory attitude or belief. Often times people who have disabilities are left out of marginalized groups and their struggles may not be seen as valid as something like racism or sexism. This project brings awareness to that and provides a source of education and also allows people in this community to speak their truth and regain power in this relationship with ableists.
2 replies on “11/30 Blog post”
The individualism pattern also stood out to me as well because I agree with you that some white people do think on an individual level and not on a group scale therefore the concept of racialized groups or anything in a racial context gets diminished. I also agree with you that if someone has a disability (visible or not) that individual should not be made fun of because of it .
I have a chronic illness that is not visible unless make it visible, but I have never had someone make fun of me for it or felt left out specific groups because of it. Whatever the disability is, it could make that person want to participate in something to the best of there ability but that disability may not let them do that and I can relate to that.
I agree that the ableism project is important to be informed about. I think that sometimes ableist language becomes “normal” to use in everyday conversations without people realizing the impact that it has. I think that people becoming aware about this project and individuals experiences, the language that impacts people would no longer be used. I think that ignorance is what causes harm in this type of situation.