Racism and white fragility

 This week the article that really stood out to me was the article about white fragility. White fragility is something that I've often heard about, but I've rarely if ever heard it defined or broken down. Racism is often discussed in conversations I've been a part of, but if the conversation turns to white fragility it is often for a short time. I think it's important to note that a majority of my friends are white, and my entire family is. I find that a big portion of my circle doesn't really recognize white fragility as being part of the conversation too often. That being said, as white people we have always been in the majority, or we've never been a minority due to our skin color. As Robin DiAngelo said in the article titled White Fragility "Racism is not fluid in the U.S.; it does not flow back and forth, one day benefiting whites and another day (or even era) benefiting people of color. The direction of power between whites and people of colo is historic, traditional, normalized, and deeply embedded in the fabric of U.S. society"(DiAngelo, 56). Essentially what is being said here is that white people have always been in a position of power while people of color are forced to find whatever space they can in a white-dominated society.

The fact that our society is a white-dominated society is bad enough, but when white people refuse to recognize their role and the privilege provided to them within the society then a major problem will ensue. People in positions of power have a responsibility to uplift their fellow men and women to a level of equality. However, to DiAngelo's point more often than not white people take a role of innocence and martyrdom; in her article DiAngelo stated "White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves"(DiAngelo, 54). White fragility turns the conversation focus from looking at the people who have been oppressed and moves the focus to the oppressor. Shifting the focus on such a complex and deeply seated system of oppression is dangerous and likely to further entrench individuals in their way of thinking, thus furthering racism and prejudice.