#143

No wonder I didn't remember what you were talking about.

You buried your explanation about substituting "white" for "black" and "black" for "Jews" just a little too deeply.

Thanks for this thoughtful article about the reality of the racial climate in Seattle. I have found that a lack of an inner awareness of white privilege runs rampant in white liberal progressive community. It is frustrating to see so many 'aware' individuals who fight for environmental injustice, use natural healing, organic and whole food nutritional practices etc are unexamined in their racism (and for some their classism and the race/class intersection in their lives). Seattle is full of this kind of white liberal. I know we can do better, fellow white people.

I didn't stop reading this because it made me uncomfortable. I stopped reading it because it was frickin' boring.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

A hallmark of white Seattle - navel-gazing. Seattleites are very proud if they associate with black people or minorities. I recently rebuked a friend who tended to use racist blanket-descriptions.
His first defense was that he heard someone of that race use a term. Well, if you're a hanukkah-bush Jew who's always been surrounded by other Jewish people and Jewish culture, you get to make dubious insights.
But if you went to Seattle Prep and never left - then you don't get the privilege of using "Jew" in a discussion about the failed banking system, when you know neither Jews nor bankers.
His next defense - "I know LOTS of ethnic people!" Really? How many? He did some exaggerated hand math and held up the result. "Five!"
If you can actually count the number of non-caucasian people you know - on one hand - you are the product of a racist environment.

I recently found a living testament of my great-great grandparents in Virginia and Alabama that descrube what shall be done with their "niggers" if they are to pass. The language is possessive, cold, but so eerily normalized. I'm sad to say i heard my grandpa repeat such a discourse when i was a child. Nit everyone has such a tangable experience of white privlege and its manifestarions, but it does make you think about legacies of racism and their role in anti-racist activities. Just as the discourse was normal and tolerated then, so our words and actions now may be measured as racist by our children. Why not err on the side of changing a status quo of thought and structure than simply "accept our prejudices and be real"?
I dug this article and find its ultimate call to action necessary in light of the other option: complicity in a harmful system. We might not have slave recirds, but, as Jen points out, we have statistical records of a segregated, unequal, and actively discriminatory society. So, let's get down to it.
Cheers, Jen!

Here's the problem. All people are "racist" by nature in that they automatically and instinctively feel more comfortable among those who resemble themselves. I don't care whether anybody likes it or not; it's a fact, and facts are stubborn things.

If you try to guilt trip people over this, then stress builds up, and people have a pent-up demand for a politically-correct target to spew their anger and frustration on. They pick a target that they can PROJECT their racism on. They want to find somebody they can hate for beint "racist", even if their target (or rather, scapegoat) population manifests little or no racist behavior.

During the 1990s, the leftist/pro-Muslim axis picked three groups of people: Serbs, Russians, and white Christians in the South.

I'm a Serb and an Orthodox Christian, and I live in the South. I absolutely despise what you hypocritical and self-righteous monsters did, and are still doing, to my people.

Just sayin'.

Jen, why are the hate crimes blacks perpetrated in the 90's against Asians and Jews called "disputes between communities" but the same hate crimes committed by whites against blacks or Muslims are called "hate crimes". This needs to be looked into and people need to be taken to task for refusing to acknowledge hate crimes committed by people of African decent. PS- Seattle is soooo racist young black men can stomp to death an elderly white man for fun and be out of jail in less then a year.

@245...

"All people are 'racist' by nature..."

Speak for yourself. Remember to speak for yourself--you have no idea what's going on in people's minds until they tell you. And even THEN, they might be lying. Anyway, I don't buy that "Avenue Q" rap--don't lump me in with all these "people".

It sounds more like you're talking about tribalism. If you're talking about tribalism, okay--science DOES back that up. But I wouldn't necessarily frame that as "I'm here with you because I HATE THEM, not only because you look like me". I think there might be a difference, and that you might be blurring these two ism's a bit carelessly.

@Andrew S.

Is that always true?

I don't know what's more of a wake-up call for me: this article, or the following comments!

I enjoyed this article very much. It's good to see race issues get major coverage. We don't live in a "post-racial society", if such a thing could ever exist. It's good to be called out on white privilege (and class privilege, which often goes hand in hand).

I do think that we shouldn't conflate having intermittent racially-based thoughts with being a racist. I agree with the previous commenter who said that if everyone's a racist, the term becomes meaningless. It's more useful to talk about actions and thoughts rather than giving people labels. A mean thought now and then doesn't make you a mean person. Doing something careless once or twice doesn't make you a careless person. For something to be a trait, it has to be repeated, ingrained, habitual, or otherwise generally characteristic of the person. It's better to avoid sticking someone with a label unless they've clearly earned it. Instead, I'd talk about actions or thoughts. We can raise our awareness of negative racial thinking and make a choice to act differently.

Stranger, you've gone so far to the extreme left that even your readers are calling BS on you. Wise up.

Wow, a CARW meeting sounds like the most awful thing in the world. Only in Seattle...

"When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses."
- Shirley Chisholm

Thank you for writing this article. Yes, it's really uncomfortable for us white people to talk about this. And yes, we need to keep trying and learning. It's something I struggle to do every day and it's hard as hell. But I have people of color in my life that I love, and I want to improve my own skills in talking about racism because I care about them. Combatting racism feels like trying to melt an iceberg with a match, but every bit of effort helps.

@ # 252: Now that's funny!

@228: The problem is the wealthy continue to get wealthier, while the rest of us get poorer. They're grabbing a bigger and bigger slices of the pie, leaving less and less for the rest of us. In a way it's immaterial whether they "deserve it"; you don't have to make a moral judgement against rich people to see that if that continues, there are going to be unpleasant consequences for society. It's hard for an economy or a society to work when the vast majority of the wealth is held by a tiny percentage of people. Already we're seeing the economic consequences of the fact that the middle and lower classes simply don't have money to spend, anymore.

This is an interesting article and one which I am still trying to wrap my head around. The myriad thoughts going through my head are no doubt compounded by the fact that I am not from Seattle -- never been there, in fact -- so how I view what Seattle considers to be race relations are probably colored by my own ignorance and prejudices(how is it that the "5th whitest city in the US" is only 66% white?). Regardless, is the article's point that the litany of disparities between Seattle's black community and the rest of Seattle would somehow evaporate if only white people would understand their racism? I don't mean any disrespect, but that strikes me as either arrogant or naive.

Race is a far more complex issue than it is often treated as, and this has the counter intuitive effect of making race seem far more complex than it is.

When we are looking at race, we have to unpack a whole host of things that are totally unrelated to the color of the subjects skin - economic differences, cultural differences, subcultural differences... these are hugely important issues dividing people both within races and between races. To simply pack all these differences under the topic of race simply makes the problem of race even more insoluble, while doing almost nothing to address many of the factors behind segregation, inequality and the unconscious biases we all carry. Race is an important factor here, but it is not the subject heading.

I looked at the CARW website. If accepted to participate, prepare to pay $150. It's more than I'm willing to spend on an experience that this article makes sound like nothing so much as church. From the questions on the application, I doubt I'd be accepted anyway.

So to attend, I'll have to rely on my imagination...

"Hello, my name is Robert, and I've been white for forty one years. I haven't had a racist thought in almost 18 minutes."

(all) "Hi Robert!"

"Thank you. This may seem presumptuous for my first statement of participation, but I think we need to change the focus. Class is the invisible structure that defines everything. Class is the center that goes unnamed and unstudied, and that needs to be explored and exploded. Of course questions of class and race are related. But class remains more fundamental to privilege. It's virtually synonymous with privilege. For a truly fairer society, we need a movement of class traitors.

"I propose to call it the CACB, or: the committee of anti-classist bourgeois.

"How do you know you're classist? Ever have a negative thought based on socioeconomic bias? How do you know you're bourgeoise? What did your parents do for a living?

"Once you realize you're a classist, the question becomes what to do about it. How do you talk about classism with people who don't want to see it? Exposure may be the key that trips awareness. Bourgeoisness, as a structure, limits your ability to listen to proletarians, to see them, to believe them, so exposure on the terms of the proletarians is important. CACB would force awkwardness out into the open. Its simple philosophy will be that bourgeois need to follow proles on matters of class.

“A CACB members would attend committees headed by separate economic- justice committees run by proles. In the name of that holiest of principles, diversity, CACB members would volunteer to do chores and run errands for proles of all races: African American, Latino, Native, white—even non-Filipino Asians!

“It’s important to recognize that class affects everything you do, and that to act otherwise is just naive. The test of how classist you are is not how many people of color you can count as friends. If you’re bourgeoisie, you have to own it. None of this I’m-not-bourgeoise, don’t-I-raise-awareness-of-white-privilege stuff. Bourgeoisie leftists have to see class to the terms they actually benefit from it. Bourgeoisness is a real force that you’ve personally benefited from if you’re bourgeoisie. As bourgeoise you have to own the development of your classist lens. Because whether you’re aware of it of not, you have one.

“It could just as well be called Deeply Embarrassed White Leftists Talk Awkwardly About Privilege.”

I wonder what the reaction would be?

Being bourgeoise neither by birth nor circumstance (oddly, considering the all- encompassing nature of white privilege), I’d be ineligible for the hypothetical CACB. On the off-chance such an organization ever should form, however, I do mean to be supportive. Drop by any time if you want to clean my toilet!

P.S. “Abrahamsen” is a Norwegian name.

@260: Heh, good point about it being like church. If I wanted to have my inner thoughts judged as thought crimes I could just go back to being Lutheran. It would be cheaper. ;)

I wanted to read this story, but then she quoted a SLOG comment.

Hey 1389AD, noticing your handle put your comment about how 'everyone is a racist' in some much needed context.

You know, the whole the Battle of Kosovo being resurrected by Milosevic in his Gazimestan Speech to stoke the fires of Serb Nationalism and to tell the Serb people to prepare for upcoming Battles.

I looked at the CARW website. If accepted to participate, prepare to pay $150.

I'm only forkin' out that kind of dough if someone will flog me. $150 to be yelled at? Hell, I can watch Fox News for that.

You might not be a bigot, but you are a racist.

Okay, I'm a racist. Happy, are ya? I am.

@Robert Abrahamsen

They have monthly meetings that are free.

http://carw.org/meetings/

As long as there is race, there will be racism; there is no getting around it. And I have just about had enough, even at the tender age of 30, of 'white guilt.' If there is injustice of any sort, I am willing to combat that, but don't tell me that I am complicit in such 'injustice' just because I want to live my life. You say it is all due to the 'system' that these sorts of 'injustices' occur. Well, the fact that things sway to the benefit of white people would follow since they in fact put said system in place. Obviously it is not perfect and needs to be adjusted so that all races benefit, but last I checked, we are the most diverse nation in the world. Please correct me if I am wrong. That inevitably entails more trials than the whole world has ever encountered.

I mean, someone please point out to me this utopia of post-racism that Seattle needs to aspire to be or feel guilty about not being?

@257: I couldn't have phrased it any better myself!

Unfortunately, racism has the potential to appear even more exacerbated in less-white cities. It's obvious that, despite our demographic composition, we will have to find ways to mitigate systematic racism. I was born in Ballard, have lived in a multitude of places, and I understand how white it is. Hell, it was a bunch of Scandinavians. Now it's a bunch of hipsters. Still white. It's unfortunate that one of our only utensils to stigmatize awareness of diversity and racism issues at a foundational level (the racial tiebreaker) got the axe from the Supreme Court. It should have upheld the 9th's holding that the school district had a compelling interest to maintain racial diversity.

Aah. The old "if you're defensive about being called a racist then you're obviously a racist" trick. :)

Serious question, though -- Is an individual who passively benefits from systemic racism a racist?

Is there a difference between systemic racism and individual racism?

Well.. Ms. Graves got a whole bunch of folks on this here website to talk about it. I would guess that is her goal anyways - and not a bad goal at that. I don't necessarily agree with her, (and I sure can see how she might rub some college kids the wrong way,) but it might make some folks think a little, never a bad thing. And I sure as heck thank jebus I am not a young black man - talk about having the deck stacked against you.

#271

Serious question, though -- Is an individual who passively benefits from systemic racism a racist?

I don't think so. Not necessarily, at least. Systemic racism is the racism of a whole group of people, especially those with the power to make and enact policy. A white person who is as non-racist as a person can possibly be, can -- for example -- still benefit from the racist favoritism of others.

Whether passively benefitting from systemic racist is compatible with being a non-racist -- that's a different question.

I guess the moral issue is whether it's right to benefit from favoritism of any kind.

#273 - i guess it's kind of a philosophy of ethics question. where does guilt by inaction lie on the moral spectrum?

These comments really make me appreciate Jen's piece more.

Look, everyone is racist. We can't help it as human beings. There may be some rare exception but as a general rule, if you are human you are racist.

I may not feel like I've discriminated against someone in any meaningful way but the fact that my first thoughts when I see or meet someone are partially determined by their race means that it may have happened.

This fact, over time, perpetrated by the majority, results in more overt discrimination.

Personally, I'd say I'm more of a classist.

Take what people wear as a trivial example... I would cross the street if I saw someone dressed like a thug, no matter their race (and I've seen people of all races dress like thugs). And I would NOT be nervous with a person who was dressed in a business suit (at least not about my physical safety - the safety of my economy is a different story :).

So I guess the lesson is if you want to get the jump on me in the street, wear a suit.

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"'I'd love to interview you; you're so eloquent,' I tell him, immediately hearing myself sound like one of those people who said candidate Obama was so well-behaved (well-groomed, polite, pick your nice adjective) for a black man.

"'I can't believe I just called you eloquent,' I say. He gives me a knowing look..."

I can believe you called him eloquent.

You, when seeking a subject to interview on any subject, wouldn't prefer to interview a person who is eloquent over someone who just doesn't care? I do understand the point you're trying to convey, but...

Maybe I'm just socially awkward (I am), & I don't understand the rules, but I actually have commented positively on others' facility with language, regardless of race, and others have commented on mine (I'm "white"). I don't think I would ever do so to a complete stranger, though.

To me it's hard to understand your calling this African American man "eloquent" as anything other than a compliment that I myself would be happy to receive, given that the compliment was made in the context of interviewer seeking interviewee.

The only way (apparent to me) that the compliment could be understood as a racist snub is if both parties involved presuppose that "black" individuals, are not normally eloquent, and that the "white" (& "naturally silver-tongued") person is somehow grandly bestowing a title of "eloquent" upon the "black" person, who, in turn ought to be grateful for the "white validation"... or something.

In reality, I think, few people (regardless of race) are actually eloquent. I know I am not one of them, and that this post itself is pretty awkwardly constructed.

It is difficult, when talking to a stranger, to establish what worldview the other party is speaking from. I guess, ultimately, I do understand how your comment on this man's verbal facility could be slightly irritating to him, and possibly interpreted as racist (given that you were a stranger to him, and also "white").

"The Racial Contract" by C. Wright Mills. For anyone interested in seeing a philosophical foundation for concepts like systemic racism and white privilege this book might be a good place to start...in fact I think I'm going to pick it up again right now! You might say that political philosophy is a parlor game. It is. I still think it's worthwhile, but that's a different thread.

A key belief that folks need to get over in this thread:

Racism is not a series of intentional hateful acts or speech,

Racism is not even the unintentional ways that dominant groups tell people of other groups that they do not belong, that they are not normal, etc. Those are called microaggressions. Microaggressions do reinforce systems of racism, sexism, heteronormative patriarchal privilege, etc. They are dehumanizing and mean, and again, mostly unintentional. That's the "you're so articulate" thing.

Racism is a system of oppression. It is state-sanctioned, and produced both legally and extralegally. It has the effect of producing group-differentiated vulnerabilities to premature death (and, as the writer writes, to benefits for the dominant group). So the question for white readers is, have you benefited from the system of white privilege? Well, yes. Duh.

@280: I don't disagree, but I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do about that fact once I've been shamed with it. I wasn't born white just to fuck with you. Should I quit and take a worse job so that I"m not "exploiting my white privilege" by getting a good one? Who would that benefit?

You are the biggest shower of pusses I've ever had the misfortune to weep upon. Sure, we white folks are all racist ass bags, but the fact that you shriveled feebs feel the need to form PC action support groups to make yourselves feel better almost makes racism more admirable than your own silly, Seattle middle class hang-ups.

Fuck Olympia and TESC for ever instilling this very silly impulse among the populace (and I grew up in Oly and then Seattle). I hate capitalism as much as you cats, but I know straight-up LAMENESS when I see it...

end of...

Jen, thank you for writing this article! There is and will be a lot of push back from many of our White brothers and sisters as they grapple with the idea of having prejudice AND institutional privilege. You have chosen to stand in the gap, thus you have made yourself a target for people's anxiety, fear, anger, etc. As you continue on this journey I call "racial reconciliation and culutural competency", I would encourage you to seek support from others who are on that journey as well. And please don't stop addressing this highly relevant, urgent, problematic, yet neglected/suppressed epidemic. Peace.

Trolling is not necessarily a bad thing and can be good

sure there are some trolls who are bad but don't paint the whole chassis with the same spray gun, ok

ps - Just now realizing I'm the "eloquent" speaking man of color you spoke with after the Brownie Points panel. It was good to meet you, Jen :-)

- post #284

Nowadays, Black-on-White racism is far more common than White-on-Black racism. Unfortunately, its a taboo subject that people like Jen Graves will never write (or talk) about, though they secretly know its an increasingly real and untackled issue. Usually the Blacks who act this way towards Whites are the first to cry racism or discrimination when the tables are turned. It's bad enough Blacks largely sqandered the rights and freedoms they earned during the Civil Rights movement, but they are now acting and treating others the way they themselves don't like to be treated!

Don't believe me? Think about how many times you ever called a Black person a "N****r", then think how many times a Black person has called you, "Honky, Whitey, Cracker, White ______" or worse. It seems too many African-Americans have embraced their stereotype of being loud, rude, angry, and violent. What would MLK think?

#274

Yes, I agree.

#276

I'll keep that in mind. :)

@heidirh

The only way (apparent to me) that the compliment could be understood as a racist snub is if both parties involved presuppose that "black" individuals, are not normally eloquent, and that the "white" (& "naturally silver-tongued") person is somehow grandly bestowing a title of "eloquent" upon the "black" person, who, in turn ought to be grateful for the "white validation"... or something.

Very close. Except that instead of both parties presupposing that black individuals are not normally eloquent, it's generally just the white individual presupposing it.

Otherwise, right on.

This article clued me into the next racism trend, owning your "whiteness" and somehow using that to punish black people.

Also those crazy orgs mentioned in the article are interesting!

All in all a wonderful piece.

@275: Actually, I'm more of a flutist.

@Louisep

Oops -- your corrected version is what I intended to say. But I was also trying to say that the black party somehow would be aware of this unspoken presupposition on the part of the white party.

@Heidirh

I see. Yes, you're right, the black person would be aware of what the white person was assuming.

I like the term white privilege. Reading comments I think of money privilege, political privilege, location(or geographical)privilege, scholastic privilege,religious privilege, etc.
This is a compensating effort to give us status when we really feel like nothing, superiority when we really feel inferior, comfort when we really feel discomfort etc.
So, I think that privilege exists across all elements of society since we are all human and have the same basic traits.
Looks to me that it would be helpful to be honest, open, and real on an emotional deep level. However this can be painful, vulnerable, and embarassing and we need to support each other for this process to happen.
Having this awareness makes it possible to reevaluate our image of ouselves so we may be more natural and confident about who we really are and respect ouselves as well as others. Hopefully this can lead to being more fully human and have less real need to be artificially privileged.
This takes a lot of risky work and most of us are don't know how, are impatient and want a quick fix or band-aid. However, this is the only real worth while approach that is deeply satisfying.

Thanks for a great article. Please keep writing more like this!

What #284, Color and Composition, said. Ditto. Thank you for this piece!

What #296 said.

@Tricky (and a lot of other commentrs), you should probably not go see "Avenue, Q".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RovF1zsDo…

Thank you for this article! It articulated some things that have been rolling around in my brain for awhile. As mixed (white/Chinese) Asian American who grew up in the Seattle area, I was encouraged to be "white" not only by my Chinese mother, but by the broader society I was living in.

It wasn't until I left Seattle for Chicago that I was really able to understand race and racism in a constructive and, for me, transformative way. It was in seminary that I learned all of this! As I turn my eye back to Seattle, I'm astonished at its strange culture – one that prides itself on being socially progressive and yet uncritical, almost willfully ignorant about race, one of the primary social issues in this country.

Seriously though, racism and racist are words that are over- and imprecisely used far too much, as in this article. The word she should have used is "Prejudiced." Racism implies a direct power imbalance and the ability or intent to cause pain, suffering, embarrassment, violence, economic difficulty, social ostracism, or the like through conscious actions.

On a person-to-person, day-to-day level, having a negative internal reaction to someone and/or drawing negative conclusions about a person or group based on no evidence beyond the basis of their race (or gender, disability, perceived or known sexual orientation, attractiveness is prejudice.

For the record, progressing from that internal prejudiced feeling to provocative confrontation with or a negative action toward someone "different" is called bigotry.

To wit:

The lady that clutches her purse to her breast when a black man in a business suit, with the Wall Street Journal tucked under his arm sits down next to her on the subway is prejudiced.

The man who screams the "N" word or the "F" word out the window of his car when passing by a black person or gay person, respectively, is a bigot.

The state that tries to re-impose poll-testing in a conscious effort to undermine the ability of poor black citizens to vote is racist, as is each legislator who supports such a notion.

Here endeth today's lesson in the nomenclature of negative racial feelings.

Thanks for this article. It is the by far the best explanation of racism (white privilege) that I have read. The reaction of white to antiracism that you describe is being mirrored in the comments.

Most whites are outraged at being confronted with their racism but at the same time benefit from white privilege while also denying it exists. Part of the problem is that racism has been redefined to be open, blatant descrimination of the southern Jim Crow flavor, rather than the insidious two-faced kind of the rest of the country.

If you start to pay attention, racism is everywhere you look. These insights are fundamental to blacks, but no one listens to them for even a second. Denial, denial ...

Thanks for this article. It is the by far the best explanation of racism (white privilege) that I have read. The reaction of white to anti-racism that you describe is being mirrored in the comments. The reaction is 'what did I do to enable white privilege?' when really the question should be 'what did you do acknowledge and fight white privilege'?

Most whites are outraged at being confronted with their racism but at the same time benefit from white privilege while infuriatingly also denying it exists. Part of the problem is that racism has been redefined to be open, blatant discrimination of the southern Jim Crow flavor, rather than the insidious two-faced kind of the rest of the country.

If you start to pay attention, racism is everywhere you look. These insights are so fundamental to blacks, but no one listens to them for even a second. I wonder (facetiously) why that is?

@300: Amen!

Few things:

-I really enjoyed this article... serious props to white people trying to examine their privilege, and who acknowledge racism. This is a cruel world so I know that white people have their own sh** to worry about, and I would never want a (white) person "wringing their hands" and feeling bad about themselves or their privilege, but I think its important for everyone to examine their privilege. I'm a woman of color... but I recognize my privilege as an American, as a native English speaker with a "standard" PNW accent, and as someone with access to education and opportunities... and I struggle with all of that but I don't beat myself up about it, and no one is asking whites to beat themselves up either.

-I honestly am so offended by white people who will say racism doesn't exist anymore, or who will dismiss and interrogate a person of color when they talk about a racist experience they've had. The invalidation; the disbelief is more racist and more offensive to me than calling me a nigger. I honestly don't care about a word. But Rush Limbaugh/Glenn Beck/etc and their army of followers perpetuate a SYSTEM that questions OUR experiences and invalidates our voices. And THAT is more powerful, more racist, and does more damage to us then silly name calling.

-That was so true about the worst word you could call a white person is a racist, even if they ARE a blatant racist... I never got that. I think that's evident even in the comments that seem to have a running theme about whether its appropriate to use the term "racist" to talk about white privilege, etc etc. Nowadays, it seems like you would be hard-pressed to find a white person who will call ANYTHING racist.

As a Blind mixed raced Homosexual male I find the whole subject very confusing. I swear I can't tell a white punk from a black gangster. You all look the same to me. I don't like people who mutter or mumble and I hate people who smell bad I mean how hard is it to wash relay even shelters have showers. I know i've lived in some. Do people treat me different because of my color or my blindness? How the F*** would I know! to me an A**H*** is just an A**H*** I am not going to worry why she is one. I would like to thank my husband Jose for typing what I Dicktated

As a non-White person who has done diversity trainings and multicultural workshops over the years it is interesting to see the paradigm established. People of color are helping white folks deal with the issue their culture created; racism. White people need to address the issue as it is so entrenched in their culture and operates on it's own (systemic/institutional racism) without anyone doing anyhting overtly mad-dog racist. So CARW is to commended for at least trying to ask the right question.
And Jen, could you do me a small favor? Could you do an expose of the whiteness of the art world here in Seattle and while you're at it do a breakdown by race of who receives your Genius Awards and who makes those decisions?
I know that every now and then you recognize a rapper for hipster credential validation, but it seems seriously lacking in diversity, in a city known for it's cultural richness. Or used to be anyway.

For all of those people that said Jan is a bad writer you are wrong simply because you posted something. Writers are supposed to make you think and formulate you own opinions. And that is exactly what she has done. She started a conversation between complete strangers whether you agree with her thoughts or not is up to you. I think that Jan did a great job and those who are knocking her writing need to think about what she wrote this for. She is trying to make you think, not give you an answer for an unsolvable problem.

@307: I agree that Jen's a great writer. I'm just saying that JAWIWA and others have some good points, too.
Peace.

I read this whole article and wish i had time to read every comment. I read many of them and noticed how much weight people are placing on "being racist". I know i am super late but f it.

I have been educating those around me, mainly whites, about their privilege for years now and dealing with discussing discrimination at my place of work with my employers and co workers. Empirically and through my years of studying and meeting with the college community; we have learned the best way to carry out this shift in awareness is to address the facts(which is also mentioned in the article by some activist). Educate people about the systemic hierarchies as opposed to telling them that their racist. Thanks for writing and publishing this. word.

cloudy october
publisher-producer-songwriter
black male

"I have been educating those around me, mainly whites, about their privilege for years now and dealing with discussing discrimination at my place of work with my employers and co workers."

My symapathies to your employers and co workers.
I can't count how many times I've had black co-workers who thought it the whole workplace didn't center around them they were being discrimnated against. They were usually entry level employees and demanded not only their co workers be subordinate to them, but upper management. Get over yourself, what you are facing is not discrimnation, but the reality that it's not all about you. Whites have to live with this reality too.

"But black people are racist too!"

Newsflash: Racism ≠ Prejudice

The difference between racism and prejudice/bigotry is power. Are there black (or Asian, Latino, Native America, or any other "POC") people who are hateful, prejudiced, violent, etc. towards white people? Yes. Does that make them racist? No, and here's why:

Racism = Prejudice + Power, and just because we have a black president doesn't mean that African-Americans are now holding the reins. While "minority" people may perform heinous acts of violence or bigotry against whites (just like whites did for hundreds of years before they even had the chance to think of doing anything against "massa"), that doesn't mean their prejudice has as pervasive of a systemic effect on society. Power with regard to racism is bigger than just being able to deny someone a job. It's things like gentrification, where a black owned business that has been serving its community for decades is pushed out to accommodate the influx of yuppies who would rather be within walking distance of Trader Joe's, or forcing lower income people in that black neighborhood to move because they can no longer afford the rising property values that come along with your neighborhood becoming the it place for white hipsters in their mid-to-late twenties looking to buy their first home.

Everyone is prejudice to some degree (class, education, sexuality, etc. in addition to race), but only whites (as a race not always a specific person)* can be racist. Don't believe me? Then you may have forgotten about the fact that IT'S THE REASON EVERY SINGLE BLACK PERSON IS IN THE U.S. RIGHT NOW**.

*I realize there will be the "race is a social construct" people who will detest the term white. It's all about culture isn't it? Well as someone who believes race is a social construct and people should be able to define themselves, I'll tell you this: race is about how other people treat you. As an African American I am treated like a "black woman" whose actions are assumed to be common among "black people" and all the baggage that goes along with that. I may see myself as just a "woman" whose actions are only a small aspect of the human experience, but the rest of the world doesn't. Race is a social construct intended to privilege white people and we live within the society that created it.

**I also realize there will be the smart ass who says "what about African immigrants?" Really? I'm obviously not talking about them (their ancestors felt the sting and bullet of white racism and colonialism too anyway).

"I would drive slowly behind them, as in a funeral dirge. We were getting nowhere. But I noticed that often, white drivers would honk at the men to move aside. It seemed to me the reason they honked was that they were irritated at having an experience that people of color know well: that you're not just entitled to live anywhere you please, that there might be consequences. Honking was an attempt to reassert privilege."

Oh give me a break. Honking is not an attempt to reassert privilege, it's an attempt to get people out of the middle of a public road. Really, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

@311 .... nice trying to justify black people being racist.

You want to opt out of white guilt?

Move to DC.

Or Detroit.

You will soon discover that white privilege is anything but in these majority-black cities.

Racism isn't intrinsically a white thing.

I've seen racist whites and racist blacks. Of the two, I'd say the more deeply seeded hatred is from the racist blacks.

Of course I may feel that way because it was aimed more directly at me.

As for white privilege generally, I'm the offspring of very poor white parents. We literally scrounged for our next meal.

A middle class black family in the same community, or most certainly in a black-centric power structure like DC or Detroit, most certainly had more 'privilege' than I.

"Racism = Prejudice + Power, and just because we have a black president doesn't mean that African-Americans are now holding the reins. "

Apparently you've never spent much time in DC.

Blacks 'hold the reins' here. Black mayor. Black city government. Black school system.

Most of the local institutions are black run.

And I see a lot of black racism.

There's a reason white business owners here hire black 'facilitators' to get them building permits or otherwise make visits to various city government offices.

I also see a lot of very decent blacks that don't discriminate.

But the suggestion that you have to have power to be racist is absurd. A racist without power is still a racist, albeit theoretically a castrated one.

But I suspect you don't include all forms of power.

The power to influence others through hate is likely just a big a power as the immediate power to, say, deny someone a job.

And I routinely see blacks in DC passing on their hate to a new generation.

Just like I saw whites in rural Tennessee doing the same thing.

"I have been educating those around me, mainly whites, about their privilege for years now and dealing with discussing discrimination at my place of work with my employers and co workers."

You must be fun at parties.

"If you start to pay attention, racism is everywhere you look."

If you start by looking for it, then you can imagine it everywhere.

But also if you look hard enough you will see a lot of people of all races that are decent, hard-working people. And they don't discriminate. And they aren't racist.

But if you are determined to see only racism that's what you will see.

"It's things like gentrification, where a black owned business that has been serving its community for decades is pushed out to accommodate the influx of yuppies who would rather be within walking distance of Trader Joe's, or forcing lower income people in that black neighborhood to move because they can no longer afford the rising property values that come along with your neighborhood becoming the it place for white hipsters in their mid-to-late twenties looking to buy their first home."

First, a lot of those incoming yuppies are black.

How do you figure that's racism?

Second, being 'forced out'? The only real way that happens is if your rent rises (most towns have property tax deferrment programs that ensure the poor won't lose their homes because of rising real estate taxes). And if you lived in a neighborhood for more than ten years 'back in the day' and you never bought your apt when you had the chance (as most nearly everyone in my town of DC did) then honestly it's hard to have that much empathy for you.

With the ease and convenience of being a renter comes the possibility that your neighborhood will change and you can no longer afford it.

I will admit that given today's stunning real estate prices my pat answer is no longer really valid.

But it certainly was in many cities for the last wave of gentrification.

Don't want to be displaced? Assume the responsibility of home ownership.

Is it possible to introduce a white person to your story without proving their antiracism street cred by documenting how many black guys they've slept with, how many African-American artists' work they have on their walls, how their white parents just don't "get it"? It is rather tedious hearing someone eschew how having "black friends" doesn't mean anything but then justifying themselves by letting us know they have black boyfriends.

I grew up in a predominantly black neighborhood in NY, went to predominantly black elementary and high schools, and yet the ratio of black graduation at my high school paled in comparison to the ratio of black attendance. I don't believe this is due to inherent differences in race, but in systemic problems in culture and community. I didn't need to be bused into my high school- it was the closest to my house anyway- but my presence there did not uplift any persons of color. If other students were spending time focused on racial awareness, their time would have been better spent trying to alleviate societal injustices by cracking open a book or two and studying.

Rather than worrying as much about reallocating school children in the hope of finding that magic ratio that cures racial injustice, I'd much rather see a discussion on reallocating resources so that traditionally affluent districts share more in the interest of future generations. Rather than rehashing old racial grievances done to or by our ancestors, can we talk about actually alleviating the problems that allow the resultant imbalances to fester in our society?

Removing unnecessary academic qualifications to jobs is fine, but why not also help people achieve those qualifications? I'm not interested in having the government become a surrogate family that provides for children of color all the things that white (and asian! and Jewish! and many black and latino!) parents can offer their children privately; but I am interested in collectively finding ways to inculcate those structural advantages to end the cycles of disproportionate poverty and crime. If you want to call that assimilation, then so be it. While you dream about rebuilding the foundations of our society, another generation of predominantly non-white children grow up with a lack of skills and resources to escape their impoverished communities here in the real world. Poor blacks can slow the honking cars passing through "their" streets, but those cars will eventually still pass them and reach their destinations, while another generation of socio-economic wraiths walks the streets in impotent rage.

Volunteering to fill servile positions in predominantly black groups is not a conversation on race and doesn't provide any real awakening; any more than spending a night on the street for charity makes one understand homelessness, or fulfilling rape fantasies garners understanding for centuries of the subjugation of Africans. Low-skilled black workers in the service industry are there because they're hired to be there and need the money (just like low-skilled white workers in the service industry); that's fundamentally different from someone who is volunteering to feed their white guilt. A volunteer knows they can go back to their real life when the event is over (just as a faux homeless student can return to his or her dorm), but a real worker doesn't have that luxury. So forgive me if I'm unimpressed by CARW's antics. Instead, why don't they just participate in the groups as peers?

I acknowledge the amount of luck in my station in life. I am more than willing to contribute toward expanding those advantages and opportunities to the less fortunate. Artificially subjugating myself does not make other people better off, it just makes them feel better about their condition. This is the logic of the worst of our reality television. Not feeling complacent enough about your lot in life? Look at those douches on Jersey Shore!

I'm interested in rectifying imbalances in opportunity, whatever their historical origin (not that historical origins are irrelevant in doing so); but I have no interest in flagellating myself for the sins of my ancestral European cousins or my unrelated contemporaries.

In conclusion, I don't have a problem talking about racism or white privilege (two things which, while related, are not the same and ought not be conflated). But my refusal to accept most of your premises, definitions, and conclusions does not constitute a lack of willingness to communicate.

Also, I don't know where you guys come up with your definitions, but if you looked in a dictionary, you would see that "racism" means a belief that people possess inherent qualities and attributes incumbent to their race. It has nothing to do with power dynamics or state action (although it may permeate these). Prejudice and bigotry are broader words that don't necessarily have anything to do with race.

Redefinition of established word meanings is of cults and ideologies. I hope that's not what you want studies of racial dynamics to become (although in many quarters, it seems to already be there).

"If you start by looking for it, then you can imagine it everywhere."

Ummm... if you can "not look for it" and make it go away for you then that only means that you don't have to live with the effects of racism in your own life.

There's lots of things I can "not look for" and never see. Starvation, sexual abuse, child rape, slavery... racism.

That's because I don't have to deal with these things in the day to day course of my life.

But pretending they don't exist because I have the luxury of "not looking" well, that's just being a blind ignorant fool!

Wow, for an author who seems to be advocating understanding and empathy, she certainly litters her work with a lot of judgemental, hateful stereotypes: "race-baiting right-wingers" "Fox News (a sign you're doing a good job)", "Tea Party" digs.. This author has a long way to go to comprehend her own race .. for her to deign to understand my race (yes, I am an African American, pro-freedom, "Tea-Partier") is simply laughable.

Deeply embarassesd? My actions today is what I am, not the actions of my forefathers. The only racism I see today is the racism directed at me. Dr. Martin Luther King would be embarrassed by some and proud of others.

I do not apologize for being white. White is just a color, not a person.

You know, the more I think I about this, and I re-read the article... the more I must raise my hand and admit that while I am not a racist, I am a culturist. I seek those that have values and beliefs that I can tolerate. And that is saying a lot as I can tolerate much! LOL. Like minded people have always congregated. There is nothing wrong with that. It is called harmony. I would proudly have had Martin Luther King, and many of my black friends as my neighbors. Because our ideas are similar.

For example from the article: "At my first CARW meeting, I shared a story from when I lived in the Central District. Driving the narrow streets, I'd notice that young black men would sometimes walk in the middle of the street and refuse to move for cars. They'd downright lope, slow like the South, where African American families coming to work at Boeing in the 1950s hailed from when they moved to this neighborhood—the only area of the city where they were allowed to live until the middle 1960s. To me, this loping was a form of historical communication, intentional or not: This is our street."

But in your anaylsis he says we are trying to reassert priviledge..... really? Get a clue, it is rude behavior, but something I see in often within that culture of attitude. You say: "Rather than thoughtfully discussing race," he writes, "Americans love to reduce racial politics to feelings and etiquette. It's the personal and dramatic aspects of race that obsess us, not the deeply rooted and currently active political inequalities. That's our predicament: Racial debate, in public and private, is trapped in the sinkhole of therapeutics." Damn skippy, I call it about feelings and etiquette. We are supposed to be color blind and basing our perception and reactions on others reactions. If you can’t respect me enough to obey the law, by not jaywalking, I can honk my horn. The only reason from my perspective is not about political inequalities, but about plain disrespect. Martin Luther King was listened to, because he was respected. If you notice, not many whites got behind Malcom X.

But I did like this part of it: "Based on statistics that show that racial minorities in Seattle are still less likely than whites to hold diplomas and college degrees, the RSJI worked to remove unnecessary degree requirements from city jobs, which earned the RSJI a mocking on the local Fox News (a sign you're doing a good job). " Unnecessary being the operative word. At first read, I thought, oh great they dumbed down the requirements just to promote someone of a specific race, then I re-read and saw the word unnecessary. This helps individuals of socio-economic status, not race. Race is not the issue, people without diplomas and college degrees are. But they choose to try and "show" they are doing something for the blacks... grrr, it is like the politicians that come in every 2, 4 or 8 years and change regulations on something that is working, just to prove they are "doing something". I call it "resume building". Here it is a good thing, but someone decided to call it in the name of recognizing racism, that is not good.

But I do not close my mind, I listen when someone says something is racist. But I can’t be responsible for how someone else’s perception is other than to state my side. So I raise my hand to being a culturist. But I do not apologize for it. Show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are. Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Madcap:

You write with style and grace. Which is a rare and unexpected surprise when reading blog comments.

"But pretending they don't exist because I have the luxury of "not looking" well, that's just being a blind ignorant fool! "

Please show me where I said racism doesn't exist.

Great post, but how are White women less White than White men?

Patricia raises an interesting point.

I assume its because the author started with the premise that the ultimate evil person is a white male. Regardless of the actual individual involved.

Patricia raises an interesting point.

I assume its because the author started with the premise that the ultimate evil person is a white male. Regardless of the actual individual involved.

Sortof the reverse of Martin Luther King's 'judge a person by the content of their character, not the color of their skin(or what's in their pants).'

This article is written by a white person for white people and I think it's an insightful and invaluable article for white folks in Seattle who think that they are somehow "immune" or "above" race or racism. I think we need more conversations like this across communities, but especially among people who benefit from white privilege. Here are some examples of white privilege listed by Peggy Macintosh: http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcint…

This is an article written by a white person for a white audience. People of color have been facing these issues most of their lives but I believe this is an insightful and informative article for white folks in Seattle who might think they are "immune" to or "above" race or racism. In this country, white people have certain privileges and for some examples of those privileges, you should look at Peggy Macintosh's article on White Privilege: http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcint…

I have to disagree with this:

'says Riz Rollins, the writer, DJ, and KEXP personality. "For white people, the only word that begins to approximate the emotional violence a person of color experiences being called a nigger from a white person is 'racist.'

A typical male-dominance perspective: for women "c**t" will do it every time. White men have no idea the emotional violence this word elicits when a woman has this shouted at her. Or maybe they do, which is why they like to use it.

@325: Bravo, Patricia!! You nailed it!!!!

@325: Bravo, Patricia!! Spot on!!!

Sorry for the double post.

Is that why white people are called "honkies?"

This article highlights what is wrong with so called "progressives" and why they're largely a non-factor politically. Increasingly, I'm beginning to believe that they advocate certain viewpoints not out of a desire to effect change, but because they feel that it improves their own karma in some way. "Hey, don't be mad at me, various oppressed groups, I'm one of the good guys."

But let's assume that white people adopt the perspective outlined in this article and become super introspective about their "white privilege" and fully and openly admit that it has made things easier for them. Okay...then what? Black people suddenly achieve equality? Cops stop randomly frisking black teens? It's a very Underpants Gnome way of looking at things. It's also a very feminized way of dealing with real issues of inequality. "If we just validate the grievances of black people, then..." What? What happens next? That's the part that is missing from this article: how does this actually translate into equality? And by equality, I mean genuine, tangible equality of economic opportunity and justice, not the faux-equality of being included in some big kumabya-circle of validation and empathy.

What is the point in defining (redefining, actually) 'racist' to mean a lesser flaw of acting on bias/prejudice, which every human being does? If I refer to someone as 'tall', I mean they are in the top 10-20% of height, not that they are tall because they are not the absolute shortest person on the planet. Defining tall in a way that applies equally to everyone is pointless-- why even have a word like that? If the word racist is going to retain a useful meaning, surely it must only apply to those who are more extreme in their bias/prejudice.

As for the guys walking down the middle of the street... it's wrong to think a minority group can do no right, but also that they can do no wrong. Why make excuses for bad behavior? Jackasses and morons come in all colors. The white driver who honks the horn is not trying to 'reassert privilege', just trying to get to work on time.

Actually, I don't believe there is anything 'missing' from this article.
I applaud the author for writing it.

"What comes next", is ANOTHER article, which can begin to unearth answers and acts to answer YOUR question. (MikeJake)

We'd never get to that next article without exploring this one. So, in that respect, this article has achieved its purpose.

What utter nonsense. Particularly your idiotic comment about white drivers honking their horns at pedestrians walking down the center of the roadway and refusing to move out of the way of traffic: "Honking was an attempt to reassert privilege"

Uh, sorry, but that is nonsense. The drivers in question honked because the idiot pedestrians were blocking the road!!! I guarantee that if the pedestrians in question were white, the drivers would have done the exact same thing.

But you raise a good point: WHAT IS MORE DAMAGING TO SOCIETY? Actual racism, or idiots like this author who makes a genuinely serious problem into a joke of political correctness? I vote for the latter.

Okay, so I'm posting this comment admitting that I have not read any of the preceding 338 comments, but I have to say:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS ARTICLE!!!

Seattle, and WA in general, is THE WHITEST PLACE I HAVE EVER LIVED AND IT FREAKS ME OUT DAILY!

I moved up from SoCal, since it was where my parents were from, not me, it was not my home. I think of the land here as Home. Forever.

But there is something NOT RIGHT about NE King County, starting with NE Seattle. It's surreal.

Maybe because I am of Italian descent, and occasionally get mistaken for Hispanic, or maybe just because I AM Mediterranean, I'm not white enough for the white folks here.

I know that I live in South King County because that's where all the good ethnic markets are. That's where people will at least talk to each other on the street.

I have tried to broach the subject with some of my friends on my theory that all white people are still at least a little bit racist. It has certainly become more subtle and possibly subconscious and definitely NOT P-C; but it's there, it still affects everyone. I am openly scoffed at when I say that I know that I am at least a little bit racist, even as I try really hard not to be. "But, who understands those rap guys, anyway?" I used to blame it on being a different subculture, but it isn't. It's a non-acceptance of a cultural value I have partially consciously, partially unconsciously assigned to a certain set of skin colors other than my own.

I have to say, even with racism being a problem, I still think classism is a bigger problem in the world right now. I used to eke out an upper-lower class existence, beating my head against walls to break into the middle class...but I never made it. I fell down two years ago.

I am every statistic a "good white girl" shouldn't be: teen parent, welfare-to-work-mom, temp worker, single mama with deadbeat daddies who don't pay child support (they were 10 years apart, I apparently STILL didn't learn enough about men in that time), fired unfairly from a job when my new boss started committing wage theft and I called her on that and her lack of providing training for our team, slapped back into an unemployment/DSHS bottomless pit of misery, and eventually HOMELESS and sleeping in my car with my kids and dog. We're in a shelter now, but it took 5 months in an RV (once the UE got processed, of course too late to pay back rent by about 2 months) to get high enough on the waitlist to get into a shelter.

The hardest part of all those statistics is maintaining your dignity in the face of everyone who says, "Oh well, you MADE THOSE CHOICES, you're the fuck-up, you loser, you drag on society!"

And I can only imagine _how it would be_ if I were not white and somewhat literate, and more curious and persistent than the average bear.
It's really been a VERY dehumanizing and eye-opening experience. Yet if I put on my work clothes and talk to you over coffee, you would not know that I live in abject poverty and am still shell-shocked a year later.

Humans must still have their dignity. I think this article touches a nerve for that very reason. When you strip away all of the socio-economic facade, we are all human and bleed the same. Why is that so threatening to those who have the privileges and the power? Because it reminds them they might LOSE their power. If you feel powerless, you are that much closer to having know dignity.

I feel like my train of thought has wandered, I am not clear, but in the end I agree:

We have to STOP PRETENDING that the 1960s and 1970s made everything okay and equal and groovy for everyone. Just because our parents taught us verbally that Everyone Is Equal Now, and then taught us in word and action otherwise. A societal shift does not happen in one generation alone. The shift cannot happen in silence, denial, or a refusal to call things what they are.

I am so grateful that others are saying, enough bullshit, WE NEED TO TALK. "Keepin' it real" is a cute little catchphrase, isn't it? A casual greeting or farewell, right?

Shouldn't it be a way of life?