Reading Response 3

White identity is brought into structural and systemic racism in the sense that people tend to believe being labelled as a white individual is, in a way, as damaging as the hate that spreads towards a person of colour. The word “white” is often times kept out of our mouths with the fear that there is an unspoken wrongness to it, similar to other words that are more often avoided, such as the label of ‘Indian’. Whiteness has been brought to the eyes of society with an overall image of innocence and though many of the people that fall into this category of race can recognize this, it is still purposely overlooked due to discomfort, along with being terribly suppressed as previously mentioned. From the article, I found that a piece to be noted is that of which Dr. DiAngelo often tells people “it isn’t a personal failing to ascribe to white supremacy. It’s what we’ve all been taught from birth.” Understanding that every person has been brought up with the disadvantage of openly taught white supremacy brings ease to my mind without doubt as I am sure it would for many others.

The “bad apple” concept, being that a rotten apple spoiling a whole batch of good apples is comparable to one case of racism ruining the reputation of all white individuals connected to the topic, being every white person in society. This idea is further supported in the article as it covers effects of racism and the struggle it creates in people's choice of wording. Knowing that we are given the opportunity to have light shed on the topic of whiteness, white privilege, and racism brings me comfort as it allows myself and others to further understand these concepts and bring this learning forward into use in each and every part of life.