White Fragility

Book, 2018

Premise - Robin DiAngelo writes about her sociological concept of "White Fragility" - the discomfort white people feel when confronted about racism, and the defensiveness with which they respond. She speaks as a white person, for white people, to encourage them to understand how white people have been socialized in a particular way, despite our deep-rooted beliefs in individualism, and that this needs proper recognition in order to end institutional racism.

Review - This book must be exploding off the shelves right now. It comes highly recommended, and for so many white people just now having their revelation of "Oh... I'm white..." and what that means in terms of their complicity in a systemically racist world, this is the book to which people are (and should be) flocking. Luckily my sister already owns a copy, as I am not sure how difficult this book is to come by right now. With any luck, it'll be sold out everywhere.

The book is most definitely aimed at white readers. I do not know the value the book would have for a person of color as an educational resource, so I won't comment on that. I do understand its value for white readers though, particularly for those just beginning their understanding of systemic racism. It's also useful for those who have been fighting racism for quite some time so as to reinforce the idea that there is WAY more to learn, and some things you'll never understand despite all the learning in the world. Depending on where people are at in terms of their realization of their own racism, this book might be an uncomfortable slap in the face. It's supposed to be. It's supposed to help white people realize that a slap in the face isn't going to kill you. You won't die for being white.

There is also value, for white readers, in hearing this coming from a white author. For one, it's unfortunate but true that it may make her voice more trustworthy and less of an attack than if it were to come from an author of color. Secondly, the author shows immense vulnerability in admitting real instances of her own racism, and how they were rectified, and what she is still learning.

I also appreciate the level of nuance that Robin is able to give. The title may be jarring in it of itself, to define white people as a race. White people are not used to being categorized by race. Yet, still, she takes her precautions in understanding the nuances between different subcultures of white people. All the same, they all still remain the same - All white people still benefit from being white. From a personal perspective though, I really truly appreciated the fact that she, towards the beginning of the book, acknowledged people of mixed race and how this complicates things.

Personally having a mixed race, part-white identity made for a really strange reading of this book. It almost acts as a shield, an excuse to be like "Ok, well this doesn't entirely apply to me, because I'm not fully white." That said, I read this book as a white person. I feel without race, which is to say I feel white, as books like this so clearly point out.

When reading books about systemic racism, one overarching thought always comes to mind - We have a huge language problem. Massive. The way racism is defined in this book is not the way it is defined in the dictionary, nor is it the way it is used colloquially, nor is it the way most people understand it. Makes sense - white people wrote the dictionary. There's no singular word for systemic or institutional racism. So most antiracists are trying to reclaim the word and just use the term "racism" to describe what is systemic. That is how racism is defined in this book, and it must be the most confusing thing for white people to relearn. So I often wonder, should we have another word? Should we always distinguish between individual racism and systemic racism? Is that shielding the fact that the impact of systemic racism is far greater and therefore should own the word "racism"? I don't know. I read another book, Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race, that uses the term "White" with a capital W to define systemic whiteness, the way "patriarchy" is used to describe the collective superiority of men. I quite like that distinction, though I can't say I know what's best. Is creating a distinction between "White" and "white" still just diverting the individual responsibility away from white individuals?

Racism as discrimination and prejudice is a vastly different concept that really gets little attention in this book. It's almost brushed aside as, yeah, most of the time it's painful, but it won't kill you. Systemic racism kills. The distinction that is made between comfort and safety is a hugely important one. White people will be made uncomfortable in discussions of racism, but not unsafe. Black people, in a systemically racist world, are unsafe. So when black people are accused of being "overly sensitive" or "triggered" by racist statements, it is not the discomfort that we are protecting black people against, it is the lack of safety it leads to. This is another hard thing to wrap one's head around because, ideally, no one would have to be made uncomfortable. I sure don't like making people uncomfortable nor do I like being made uncomfortable. So naturally, this was an area where most of my own personal defensiveness arose, and had to be relearned.

For the most part though, I actually found what she said to be validating more than anything. She talks about confiding in other white people when upset so as not to burden POC, the types of reactions she most often sees among white people in workshops, etc. etc. During this highly raw time in seeing a lot of varying perspectives, it's very comforting and validating to read someone's opinion that closely mirrors your own.

Only substantial criticism? Lots of bullet points felt overly repetitive. I get what she was going for - really hammer in the point into people's brains so they get it. But I found myself constantly asking "Didn't I read that exact bullet point already?" (94/100)

Quote - “It’s been said that racism is so American that when we protest racism, some assume we’re protesting America.”

What to read for - She literally had a section for all of the issues that I had been thinking about. Appreciate the section on White Women's Tears, very relevant for the Amy Cooper situation.

If you liked this book, I'd recommend Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race!

Written by Robin DiAngelo

Published by Beacon Press