Acknowledging Privilege and Bias Without Shame
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

Acknowledging Privilege and Bias Without Shame

It’s possible to recognize that in-your-face racism exists in the United States and to also believe that the “white privilege” framework is misleading and a counterproductive way to discuss it among intelligent humans. In fact, the harder the DiAngelo model of self flagellation is pushed, the less traction for actually finding meaningful solutions to racial disparities in both outcomes and equality of opportunity is gained.

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The White People I Hate
Chris Churchill Chris Churchill Chris Churchill Chris Churchill

The White People I Hate

I’m a white guy. My wife is white, by today’s standards anyway. By that, I mean she’s Sicilian. She doesn’t speak Italian but her parents did. She is of Sicilian descent, shall we say. And there was a time not too long ago in American history where Italians, specifically Sicilians (you know, the brownish ones), we’re not truly considered white. Maybe the measure back then was, “Would they sell him the KKK robe?” And the answer in my wife’s parents’ case would be “No. Don’t sell those Sicilians this nice, fresh, white KKK robe.” See what I mean. Societal constructs, blah blah blah, etc.

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White Privilege: Finding Pragmatics Apart from Spiritual Dogma
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

White Privilege: Finding Pragmatics Apart from Spiritual Dogma

The automatic response to a white guy rejecting this approach is that it makes me uncomfortable and that I’m fragile. I’m anything but uncomfortable with having conversations. I believe that dialogue rather simply being told to shut up and listen is the key to growth. That said, having a dialogue about sin with a religious zealot is a cul de sac from which there is no escape.

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Tell Them One Thousand-and-One Times and Then Change Your Tactic
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

Tell Them One Thousand-and-One Times and Then Change Your Tactic

If you were watching that parent scream at his child, you might suggest he try another tactic rather than hostility and demands. You might suggest that another approach to his child might bear a more fruitful result. You might suggest that his frustration and rage, while perhaps completely justified, is not achieving the result he wants. And, sure, he might tell you to stick it up your ass but at least you tried.

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I Fully Acknowledge My White Privilege.  Now What?
Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall Don Hall

I Fully Acknowledge My White Privilege. Now What?

The terms "white privilege," "white fragility," and the concept of "white tears" have been so overused (at least on my FB feed and on Twitter here in my haven of diversity that is Chicago) that it has all become nothing more than empty rhetoric. This is not to say these things do not exist. There should be no question as to the necessity for acknowledging these conditions that exist in our fundamentally white supremacist institutionalized system.

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