Monday 5 September 2011

Which of the four fears outlined by Robert Jensen do you have?

      I suppose I am most afraid of the last two fears. The third fear of white people is that we will become a minority and be treated as poorly as we treat and have treated nonwhites. This may seem a bit silly, but I don't think it would be fair. Sure, on the whole, yes, it would be fair for one group of people to seek revenge over another group of people who suppressed them for so very long. However, I don't feel I personally have intentionally suppressed anyone. I haven't enslaved anyone. I haven't stuck anyone in internment camps. I haven't made a single racist joke. I've even told people off for doing it, told them how disrespectful and degrading it was. So I think on a personal level, if these were ever done to me, they would be undeserved. But, in the same way, no single African American, Japanese, Hispanic person deserves the treatment they've received throughout history.
      I am also most afraid of #4, which says that white people are most afraid of being seen as racist by other nonwhites. This has been a concern for me for a long time. It is true that race is very much engrained in us. Even today, I was walking my dog, and I smiled at a couple on the street. Immediately the thought came over me, "Oh no, they are going to think I was just smiling at them because they were black... Now they surely think I'm trying to hard to not appear racist and therefore they definitely think I'm racist..." All because I smiled at them! A nice thing to do - smiling. And it sent me wanting to yell back at them, as they'd walked past me now, "I didn't mean it because you're black. I'm not racist - really! I would have smiled at a white couple too!"
      For a while now, I've been much more aware of my race than before. I've been aware of the races around me as well. There are two Muslims on the bus, a black man, and everyone else is white. And I feel bad for being white. I feel bad for noticing their race, and then I worry that they notice I've noticed their race and think that's the only reason I'm looking at them from across the bus. I don't want to be seen as racist. I'm only thinking about my race and their race, because I wish things were not the way they are.

1 comment:

  1. Unfortunately, there is a long history (and true today) of one group coming into "power" and treating another poorly. It is not fair, and it is not based on individuals, but on the whole group (because of religion, ethnicity, etc.).

    Being aware of race is a big point of the course, but you shouldn't overthink it. Some may think you're smiling because of their race, but the majority of people will not think that way (that you're just being kind). You could always just wear a happy face pin (and let that take care of it.)

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