A clarification to my comment on David's "Defining Racism" post (below):
I agreed with David that questions of race and racism can get overwhelming, "especially," I wrote, "for those of us who are white and who benefit from white privilege in this society." What I meant is that for those of us who have lived our lives without experiencing much (or any) racism directed toward us, actually thinking about how race works in society can be a daunting and uncomfortable task. For some, it's easier to remain in denial.
I should have added, though, that whatever psychic discomfort whites experience when thinking about racism pales in comparison to the psychic, emotional, economic, and sometimes physical pain that people of color experience when confronted with racism in their daily lives.
There's a big difference between the two.
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I hope that people see that I commented and maybe extend on this. I'm really glad that you added the last part of this post. Personally I grew up in what I would call "semi-diverse" school. And this was just in high school, but that is when I feel it is important for one to be exposed to other things they are not previously used to. I went to a private grade school which presented to me, in the majority of my time spent 3-8 at one school, maybe 3 people total of different race. I was itching to get away from that situation, I wanted to be introduced to diversity. And I'm glad I made that decision, even though I was still not in a highly diverse school. Honestly, yes, I do have friends and acquantinces (sp?) of different races, but at times I do not think about how their lives are different from mine.
Here is where what Greg added comes in. I whole-heartedly agree with his comment. No matter what extent of discomfort I face from THINKING about racism does not compare well at all with the discomfort people of color ACTUALLY DEAL WITH. I mean, it is good if a person thinking about racism feels discomfort because it is definitely not a comfortable issue, but if you are thinking about what many people of color actually have to deal with, maybe you will be even more driven to help them out. Or to extend knowledge to others, so people are not completely ignorant to the issue. Racism as we talked about in class is not a small issue that can be changed in a short period of time, or by even a large group of people. Our society is racist, some may not believe this, but it is. And yes, we may not be able to change that, but we all do need to take even the small steps to try to make people aware of issues and realizing what people of color do face in everyday life. And I think we are all doing a good small step by becoming teachers in an urban setting and take continue to build on these small steps to make a difference.
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