White Wokeness

I’ve got as much privilege as can possibly be crammed into a single human being. I have learned a great deal from perceptive people of marginalized groups, and I am going to continue to read and think about what they have to say. I don’t always agree with them, but I always end up seeing things differently from encountering their perspectives. However, one of the things that makes it hard for me to learn from those perspectives is the warped perspective created by “White Wokeness”. Not every white person who writes about these issues has this warped perspective. (I’d be condemning myself if I claimed that.) But I think these are pitfalls that any white person has to look out for if you are going to participate in this debate.

Because marginalized people live with discrimination all the time, they have to maintain their sanity by picking their battles. Consequently, when a genuinely marginalized person bring up something that hurts them, they do it regretfully, because the pain has become more than they can bear. When I sense this pain, I realize that this is something that I must take seriously if I am to be decent person.

Secondly, there is always an unstated expression of respect in such a communication. They are taking a risk when they express these feelings, which involves betting on the possibility that you will listen to them, try to understand their point of view, and change your behavior. Sadly, this is a bet they often lose, at the very least with me. I hate being wrong about anything, and I’m very good at defending myself. But when I remember the…