Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Addendum

It's been over a year since I finished this antiracism project, and I find myself needing to add to it. Clearly I forgot some topics worth covering. So, here we will discuss the topic of white individuality, because too many of us are still not understanding why it's so damaging and unhelpful.

Why white People Must See Ourselves As A Collective

The only group of people in this nation allowed to see themselves as individuals, is white people. We demand our individuality at every possible turn. I’m not one of the ones who didn’t vote for Trump, I’m one of the good ones, gosh darn it! And I should get credit for it! And I’ll make sure to remind anybody I can, at any possible time, that I am in fact, one of the good ones.--Does this sound and feel familiar to you?

Do you know that antiracists have to talk to white people like this all day, every day? The extremely predictable arguments and demands are cookie-cutter identical. Why? Because white people are a collective. We think the same way, we argue the same way. But we think we’re clever and unique. And yes, this applies to the liberal ones, too.

white people collectively elected Trump again last month. Literally. The majority of us voted for him. That means that the minority of us who did the work of trying to get Harris elected, failed. Why should we get cookies or singled out as good for our failed efforts? We won’t dismantle white supremacy by individual efforts, but with collective efforts.

There is no “us” and “them” when it comes to white people an racism, there is only “us.” We collectively benefit from racism, and until we collectively work to dismantle it, and actually dismantle it, our individual efforts don’t mean anything. No cookies for me, or you.

Are you spending your time on social media arguing with Black antiracists about this? Don’t lie, yes you are. You’ve been doing it all day. You think you know the way to dismantle racism in this country, and apparently it’s not seeing yourself in part of a larger collective, it’s in arguing with people who actually experience racism as you try to get them to change their minds so you don’t have to change yours. This is active racism and you, the individual, are making it more difficult for us, the collective, to end racism. You say you want to do the opposite, so why are you making it worse?

Here is a link to another article about it, for further reading. We must get used to being a part of we. Sit in your feelings for a while, but then start doing better.