Responding to "Whiteness" Article

Typically, when I come across text or speech that makes me feel uncomfortable, angry, or that makes me think something along the lines of "This is so utterly wrong and foolish, it's ridiculous." It's not infrequently that I become provoked by some ideas or expression, sometimes after listening to something on the radio or reading something on the news.

I read this article this morning, and it provoked a strong negative reaction within me. I found myself disagreeing with the statements, but also . I want to try to rationalize my reaction, and attempt to understand why I not only disagree but vehemently oppose the content of that article.

Before I start, I must ask myself why I am going to start picking on this article. For some reason, what is mentioned in that article matters to me. Perhaps it comes from interactions with my peers and understanding others' belief systems. If my best friend or close family member were to adopt such a belief structure as outlined in the article, how would I contend with that? Would I express my disagreement and discomfort with that belief system? Would I explain my position and what, if anything, would I dissuade them from believing?

"Whiteness and the normalization of white racial identity throughout America's history have created a culture where nonwhite persons are seen as inferior or abnormal."

Seen as abnormal by whom? Some 80 year old redneck grandpa? Or your high school history teacher? This passive tone is annoying, but also hard to dispute. I don't doubt that someone sees nonwhite persons as abnormal. The vagueness in the statement is difficult to counter; but it also says very little.

"This white-dominant culture also operates as a social mechanism that grants advantages to white people"

Why is the group identity of white people important anyway? Why do you believe that individual's primary identity boils down to their race?

"Persons who identify as white rarely have to think about their racial identity because they live within a culture where whiteness has been normalized."

This sentence makes upsets me especially. My racial identity hasn't been very important to me. The above sentence victimizes those who think about their race; it suggests that they have no choice BUT to think about their race. I think it's dangerous to simplify or summarize the opinions of any group of people into such a statement, especially if the size of that group is on the order of millions or billions of individuals.

And what good would it do to talk about race? It's an honest question. Part of me thinks that this might be perceived as a stupid question, simply because I've heard discussions centered around this theme so often, on the radio, on the news, and by large corporations.

Last month, I asked my Google Assistant "How are you?" and it told me a fun fact about Black History Month. Ok Google (ha, get it?), it's acceptable if you believe that racism is prevalent, and the celebration and promotion of Black thoughts are good ways to combat that. But it's not immediately obvious to me why that should be accepted as a common belief, as common as the belief that the world is round. And shoving that ideologically motivated fun fact down my throat seems disagreeable at best.

Perhaps part of my incompatibility with the ideas expressed in the article boils down to my disagreements with assertions that I do not agree with. 

"People of color must always consider their racial identity, whatever the situation, due to the systemic and interpersonal racism that still exists."

What surprises me, once again, is how the author of this work feels so comfortable in making such generalized statements regarding POC, a group which, to my understanding, is in the billions. I mean, is there not so much more to humans in general than race? Or is race the primary predictor of an individual's beliefs about race?

"White people can possess other marginalized parts of their identity, but their race is not one of these."

A restatement of the above sentence is: "The white race is not marginalized" Why divide people along race? Why not split them into something as trivial as little-endians and big-endians, as was done in Gulliver's travels? I suppose it might be claimed, as is done by the article, that society is inherently racist. Perhaps here, one's perceptions, upbringing, and outlook on the world can play a large role in influencing one's opinions. Nevertheless, such is a very heavy-handed claim, not one to be taken lightly.

There's a lot to discuss for one post. Perhaps I'll pick back up soon.