This article was fascinating to read. While I am aware and acknowledge that there has been racism in this country for years, I never thought about it from the viewpoint of an African American, about how they must feel or how they view whites. Is the reason I don't really see it as overly prevalent because I would not be affected by the racism? In our INST 150 class, we have the freshman read an article titled "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" which talks about the somewhat ignorant bliss whites live in because they are never affected by their race. This article lists all the privileges whites hold and they are broad, covering issues of politics down to not worrying about bandaid colors matching our skin. The link online is here: http://mmcisaac.faculty.asu.edu/emc598ge/Unpacking.html
Hooks discusses the terror blacks have felt in response to white supremacy for years. Even though times have changed, that terror is still prevalent. "In contemporary society, white and black people alike believe that racism no longer exists. The eagerness with which contemporary society does away with racism, replacing this recognition with evocations of pluralism and diversity that further mask reality, is a response to the terror. It also has become a way to perpetuate the terror by providing a cover, a hiding place. Black people still feel the terror, still associate with whiteness, but are rarely able to articulate the varied ways we are terrorized because it is easy to silence by accusations of reverse racism or by suggesting that black folks who talk about the ways we are terrorized by whites are merely evoking victimization to demand special treatment" (176). She talks about an experience she had going to a cultural studies conference where she felt white domination within the conference itself, down to even the way the speakers were arranged on stage. Upon feeling the all too familiar terror, she overhead some white women mocking her terror and attributed that to their ignorance: "Their inability to conceive that my terror is a response to the legacy of white domination and the contemporary expressions of white supremacy is an indication of how little this culture really understands the profound impact of white racist domination" (176). Am I guilty of not understanding the terror African Americans feel because I happen to be white and therefore ignorant of this?
Hooks specifically cites the book by Toni Morrison, Beloved, talking about the impact black terror has on the individuals because it is so deeply wounding. She cites a specific incident within the book, where "the memory of terror is so deeply inscribed on the body of Sethe and in her conciousness, and the association of terror with whiteness is so intense that she kills her young so that they will never know the terror" (176). This entire concept both fascinated and embarrassed me. Have I been like those ignorant women making light of feelings some people have had? Have I just overlooked them? Since I am not in the "minority" group, does that mean I only see white ways? Definitely gave me something to think about.
Hooks discusses the terror blacks have felt in response to white supremacy for years. Even though times have changed, that terror is still prevalent. "In contemporary society, white and black people alike believe that racism no longer exists. The eagerness with which contemporary society does away with racism, replacing this recognition with evocations of pluralism and diversity that further mask reality, is a response to the terror. It also has become a way to perpetuate the terror by providing a cover, a hiding place. Black people still feel the terror, still associate with whiteness, but are rarely able to articulate the varied ways we are terrorized because it is easy to silence by accusations of reverse racism or by suggesting that black folks who talk about the ways we are terrorized by whites are merely evoking victimization to demand special treatment" (176). She talks about an experience she had going to a cultural studies conference where she felt white domination within the conference itself, down to even the way the speakers were arranged on stage. Upon feeling the all too familiar terror, she overhead some white women mocking her terror and attributed that to their ignorance: "Their inability to conceive that my terror is a response to the legacy of white domination and the contemporary expressions of white supremacy is an indication of how little this culture really understands the profound impact of white racist domination" (176). Am I guilty of not understanding the terror African Americans feel because I happen to be white and therefore ignorant of this?
Hooks specifically cites the book by Toni Morrison, Beloved, talking about the impact black terror has on the individuals because it is so deeply wounding. She cites a specific incident within the book, where "the memory of terror is so deeply inscribed on the body of Sethe and in her conciousness, and the association of terror with whiteness is so intense that she kills her young so that they will never know the terror" (176). This entire concept both fascinated and embarrassed me. Have I been like those ignorant women making light of feelings some people have had? Have I just overlooked them? Since I am not in the "minority" group, does that mean I only see white ways? Definitely gave me something to think about.
3 comments:
Read this article too. So many fallacies and ignorance that it went from starting out as an informative piece to nothing but racist propaganda and I dare not disagree because I am white and that makes me a racist. Such a double standard presence in this article and really a waste of writing talent.
Read this article too. So many fallacies and ignorance that it went from starting out as an informative piece to nothing but racist propaganda and I dare not disagree because I am white and that makes me a racist. Such a double standard presence in this article and really a waste of writing talent.
You know nothing, John Snow. You really just filled your own head with fallacies and ignorance. It's sad how limited your thinking is.
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