Whites Have Built Insurmountable Defense Mechanisms to Avoid Dealing With Racism
Many whites have developed a plethora of excuses to avoid an honest discussion on white supremacy. Colorblindness, reverse racism, classism, Black laziness, are some of the excuses used to continually deny the reality of global racial oppression against Blacks and to avoid having to do something about it. In fact, in an article written by Emma Gray and Jessica Samakow, two editors for The Huffington Post, the authors write, “people who are discriminated against don’t get to just wake up and decide race doesn’t matter, that it doesn’t exist.” The fact that whites are aware that they have the option of “not seeing race” further proves that they do see color, and that they do benefit from the color of their skin.
Whites Benefit Tremendously From White Supremacy
Historically, white supremacy has afforded whites all sorts of privileges and advantages. When addressing white America, Gray and Samakow declare the following:
“Think about how often that applies. If you’re pulled over by a cop, your innocence is assumed. If you’re looking to move, your neighbors will believe you’re a good person without any proof. If you’re shopping in a store, you won’t be followed by an employee. You don’t get to choose whether you benefit from white privilege or not — it’s the structures in place that automatically grants it to you. Denying that only makes you complicit in continuing that cycle.”
In a highly competitive world, it’s hard for any human being to give up that which provides them advantages. Is it realistic to expect Whites to give up the very advantage that ensures their success over other groups? Marcus Garvey once said potentially “every white man is a Klansman, as far as the Negro in competition with whites socially, economically and politically is concerned, and there is no use lying.”
