in a class focused on racial issues, i feel as if i'm expected to be either blatantly racist or ignorant of my deeply-rooted racism. and then i'm supposed to leave newly aware of my terrible worldview and ashamed to be white.
what if, by chance, i'm NOT racist? is that even considered a possibility? well, of course not, because i'm white. i must be racist. ugh.
oh, and according to my professor, ALL racism in america stems from white racism. other minorities wouldn't be racist against each other if the white man wasn't racist first. it's only logical.
(please note, this post thus far is dripping with sarcasm)
another little conundrum is that something said by a person of color cannot possibly be ignorant because they are the perpetual victim and know what they're talking about. but if they do say something ignorant, nobody can say anything about it, because it's interpreted as racist.
i suppose ethnicity is something so deeply ingrained into who we are that it becomes a profoundly personal and emotional discussion.
journal entry #1 for the class: what does it mean to be white? dang.
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