*For the record, I think Taylor has occupied a decent (though not
tremendously significant) amount of space talking about his inability to be
able to talk about particular topics: just thought the irony was worth noting.*
"...claiming a racial identity may be the first step on a political journey: it may be the beginning or the product of a consciousness-raising experience (116)."
"White people can claim whiteness, people like Noel Ignatiev say, as a way of recognizing the racial privileges that they still enjoy, and as a first step toward disclaiming those privileges, all in the spirit of justice that animated radical abolitionists like John Brown (116)."
"...claiming a racial identity may be the first step on a political journey: it may be the beginning or the product of a consciousness-raising experience (116)."
"White people can claim whiteness, people like Noel Ignatiev say, as a way of recognizing the racial privileges that they still enjoy, and as a first step toward disclaiming those privileges, all in the spirit of justice that animated radical abolitionists like John Brown (116)."
I chose to highlight these particular
passages because they illustrate what I perceived as a significant challenge,
particularly to the white people in our class. (To clarify, I intentionally
spell white with a lower case "w" in an attempt to practice a racial
grammar that subverts the dominance of whiteness.) While reading this chapter,
I kept wondering why white people felt compelled to join this class, especially
those who are not majoring in Philosophy. Granted, this is a liberal arts
institution that prides itself on the "diverse" mindsets of its
students, who are supposed to be open to exploring fundamental questions about
identity, etc. etc. But still the question remains: why this course?
It is striking, as Taylor illuminates, how pervasively impactful race-thinking continues to be (especially in the United States) from the semantic attribution of meaning to bodies and bloodlines to the interrelated structural distribution of goods along such lines of racialized distinction. It may be noteworthy to speculate why others would intentionally join this class, but I do not have to room to engage in that sort of discussion*. Kidding. My following comments are primarily informed by commentary I have listened to in previous classes as well as reading the blog posts. (Someone could have joined the class because s/he/x is a Philosophy major and had to take a class...but this for my intention is insignificant.) One might join the class quite simply based on a desire to understand more about Race (What is it? Why do we talk about it so often? I have some experiences I think are based on race, could this be true?). Ostensibly simple enough.
Perhaps someone may have been seeking out affirmation in their own preconceived notions about Race (Well, clearly I know what that is. But just to be sure...); it is a bit presumptuous and condescending, but also not of primary concern here.
The case that warrants the most unpacking, I believe, is that of the person who chose to join this class perceiving that by doing so, s/he/x has affirmed something about her/him/x-self. Take for example comments such as, "I mean, I don't think any of us here is racist because...you know, other people on campus don't have the opportunity to take a course like this. (abridged from original)" or "I'm from X area, but I was actually going to go to X school because it has a minority dominant population. (altered from original)" These statements all have an underlying theme that sounds at best, steeped in evasion from guilt. I find these statements to be particularly problematic because they express an intentional effort to distance the speaker from being perceived as racist. Couple this with the fact that in a class with thirteen white people, only two were willing to identify themselves as racist, whereas, most were willing to admit to be recipients of structural advantages based on history. (I do not consider the non-white people in this comment because, as I stated, I disagree with Taylor’s frighteningly broad conceptualization of racism.) I note this to make this claim: aversion or refusal to accept that 1) one’s racial identity is informed by the semantic and structural forces of white supremacy and 2) the implications this produces is not working to challenge racism. Returning to the first cited quote from Taylor, actively claiming a racial identity (as well as its tragic and resilient history) is a decidedly political statement—one that may alter one’s self-understanding. So I end this with a challenge to the white people in class to openly, honestly grapple with accepting your racial identity.
**Note: no one is expecting you to raid a federal arsenal and try to bring the “new Jim Crow” to its knees as John Brown attempt; the vast majority of non-white people would not even consider such a feat.**
It is striking, as Taylor illuminates, how pervasively impactful race-thinking continues to be (especially in the United States) from the semantic attribution of meaning to bodies and bloodlines to the interrelated structural distribution of goods along such lines of racialized distinction. It may be noteworthy to speculate why others would intentionally join this class, but I do not have to room to engage in that sort of discussion*. Kidding. My following comments are primarily informed by commentary I have listened to in previous classes as well as reading the blog posts. (Someone could have joined the class because s/he/x is a Philosophy major and had to take a class...but this for my intention is insignificant.) One might join the class quite simply based on a desire to understand more about Race (What is it? Why do we talk about it so often? I have some experiences I think are based on race, could this be true?). Ostensibly simple enough.
Perhaps someone may have been seeking out affirmation in their own preconceived notions about Race (Well, clearly I know what that is. But just to be sure...); it is a bit presumptuous and condescending, but also not of primary concern here.
The case that warrants the most unpacking, I believe, is that of the person who chose to join this class perceiving that by doing so, s/he/x has affirmed something about her/him/x-self. Take for example comments such as, "I mean, I don't think any of us here is racist because...you know, other people on campus don't have the opportunity to take a course like this. (abridged from original)" or "I'm from X area, but I was actually going to go to X school because it has a minority dominant population. (altered from original)" These statements all have an underlying theme that sounds at best, steeped in evasion from guilt. I find these statements to be particularly problematic because they express an intentional effort to distance the speaker from being perceived as racist. Couple this with the fact that in a class with thirteen white people, only two were willing to identify themselves as racist, whereas, most were willing to admit to be recipients of structural advantages based on history. (I do not consider the non-white people in this comment because, as I stated, I disagree with Taylor’s frighteningly broad conceptualization of racism.) I note this to make this claim: aversion or refusal to accept that 1) one’s racial identity is informed by the semantic and structural forces of white supremacy and 2) the implications this produces is not working to challenge racism. Returning to the first cited quote from Taylor, actively claiming a racial identity (as well as its tragic and resilient history) is a decidedly political statement—one that may alter one’s self-understanding. So I end this with a challenge to the white people in class to openly, honestly grapple with accepting your racial identity.
**Note: no one is expecting you to raid a federal arsenal and try to bring the “new Jim Crow” to its knees as John Brown attempt; the vast majority of non-white people would not even consider such a feat.**
Excellent post. It's possible that are multiple reasons for people taking the course. I think you may have identified some of them.
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