“I was taught to treat everyone the same” and “I am a good person; therefore, I am not a racist.”, are common quotes that are being said by White individuals everywhere and are perfect examples of white fragility. White fragility as said by Robin DiAngelo is, “the inability to cope with conversations about race that don’t protect individual white people’s sense of innocence” (Balkissoon, 2016).
When White people are confronted with the reality that they are being racist they become easily offended and are quick to say that they are not or they come up with excuses as to why they aren’t a racist. The fact that some individuals are so quick to deny the possibility of them participating in racism, shows the lack of knowledge surrounding the problem. If you are White, you are not pardoned from the structural, systemic or any particular racism that occurs in society. They are just as active in it as anyone else.
White people are not aware that they benefit from everything in society. Everything is evolved around being white. From hair products to commercial ads on television and the radio, it is all white. They are the superior race and therefore, by the definition of racism, they are able to be racist.
Instead of arguing and denying that White people are the superior race and that everyone is being treated equally, it needs to be encouraged to take responsibility for your actions. Being White does not excuse you from racism. Racism is still an ongoing problem in society and it needs to be talked about. Whiteness should not be equated with innocence because White people are just as much as the problem in racist acts as any other race.
References
Balkissoon, D. (2016). Whiteness is a racial construct. It’s time to take it apart. Retrieved from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/whiteness-is-a-racial-construct-its-time-to-take-it-apart/article32301637/
Chandria Yang 
Hi Chandria! Thank you for posting your reading response on racism, I really enjoyed it. I liked that you used concise language and that you kept it simple, when you do this it encourages people who may feel daunted by the topic to read and invites them to do some deep thinking on the subject. I think another thing that would add a lot of power to your response would be a personal element of how you have reacted to this idea of white fragility and ignorance. It may give the reader a personal testimony to connect to. Overall it was well written!
-Jillian
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Hi Jillian! Thanks for the comment. I glad you enjoyed reading my piece! When I was writing my response, I felt pretty uncomfortable. I had a hard time trying to figure out how to write this piece without feeling like I am offending anyone. At the beginning I tried my best to choose words that I felt would raise the least amount of controversy. As I continued writing, I realized that feeling uncomfortable is natural. I just accepted the challenge and just wrote what I felt and tried to encourage others to really think about white fragility!
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Hello Chandria. I enjoyed reading your reading response. You make a good point about how white people need to realize that they have been benefitting from a system that oppresses people of other races. Your piece manages to point out the fact that there is institutionalized racism that all white people take part in without talking down to the people who do not understand or know this fact. It was also good that you mentioned the fragility of white people in dealing with this fact. Overall, a good response.
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