Yesterday, a white man stormed into the offices of a local Maryland newspaper and gunned down five people while they worked, because he didn’t like a story they’d written about him. Inevitably, media reports describe this man as a "lone shooter," people who know him say “he kept to himself.” Soon to follow will be the flood of stories diagnosing the shooter’s various mental health illnesses— clearly, he has them; healthy people don’t MURDER INNOCENT PEOPLE IN A MASS SHOOTING— and then it’ll be all “thoughts and prayers” from politicians who take millions in campaign contributions from the NRA and gun manufacturers.
But we won’t hear one single goddamned word about white fragility or the radicalization of white Americans.
Dr. Robin DiAngelo, a racial and social justice educator, explains that “white people in North America live in a social environment that protects and insulates them from race-based stress. This insulated environment of racial protection builds white expectations for racial comfort while at the same time lowering the ability to tolerate racial stress, leading to what I refer to as White Fragility. It’s a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves, and displays of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt…”
That’s right, White People, our whiteness protects us from all sorts of horrible shit that happens to POCs in the U.S. Read or watch the news (not FOX!) for examples, especially right now. Also, our whiteness protects us from the soul-crushing, spirit-grinding indignities that POCs experience every day because they’re living while Black or Brown in the U.S.A.
- Have you ever paid double-digit interest rates on a mortgage or car loan, despite your above average credit score rating?
- Has a teacher or employer ever declared condescendingly “You’re so articulate?”
- Has anyone ever expressed surprise or disbelief when you’ve identified yourself as a highly skilled, educated professional?
- Have residents looked at you with suspicion, ready to speed dial 911, as you walked down a street on which you didn't live?
- Have security guards followed you while you were shopping, and their surveillance began the moment you walked into the store?
- Have the police ever pulled you over, while you were driving an expensive car, despite your adherence to all applicable traffic laws?
- Has anyone ever looked at you, and then requested to change planes, trains or buses?
- Have you ever left, or considered leaving, your birth nation because staying dramatically lowered your children's life expectancy?
- Has anyone ever yelled at you "GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM!?"
If the answer to most of these questions is “no,” you’re probably white. And how do we know, for sure, that our whiteness swaddles us, all cozy and snug, in a white privilege baby blanket?
PEOPLE NEVER, EVER CALL THE COPS ON US WHEN WE SIT THE FUCK DOWN AT A STARBUCKS OR ASSAULT US FOR WALKING INTO A COMMUNITY POOL!
Because when you’re white, you belong everywhere; every public space is yours. But our white-centric world is changing. POCs are gaining influence and demanding justice. They're running for office, winning, and working with their white allies to remake the social structures that have reinforced white racial norms for generations, so these structures benefit all Americans equally. As White Folk have begun experiencing a world where their race is no longer an all access Multipass, many White Folk are losing their damn minds.
Washington Post, The terrible numbers that grow with each mass shooting
And some white men (white women also) are so deeply indoctrinated into the abhorrent faith of white superiority and supremacy, they’re murdering those who fail to recognize their Divine Right to rule the world.
And these fragile, snowflake motherfuckers have elected a racist-as-fuck president who, in cooperation with his congressional and corporate collaborators, will get to appoint a second alt-right judge to the Supreme Court.
For those keeping count, the Roberts Court (April 2017–present) is expected to be five hard right conservatives (Justices Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kennedy's replacement) to four progressives (Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, and Sotomayor). And lord help us, 'Notorious RBG' is 85; Justice Breyer is 79.
Better buckle in folks, there’s turbulence ahead.