Thursday, January 29, 2015

Welcome.

Welcome to my first post.  This is a blog about being a white person.

No, please, don't go!  It's not like that, I promise.

Throughout the past several years, I have come to the conclusion (as have many before me) that whiteness is defined only in opposition to non-white bodies.  That definition is enacted through violence against people of color, from microagressions at an individual level to colonialism on a global scale.  The result of my realization is a desire to be a good ally and advocate for people of color, and to do what I can to signal-boost those voices in my community.

At a personal level--the level of identity and personal history--this comes up short, though.  "White guilt" doesn't seem to do it justice; how can I embrace a history and heritage, a whole culture, that I see as rooted in violence?  Where does that leave me in terms of my identity?

I know, poor me.  I understand the irony of complaining about a loss of heritage as a white person in the United States.  In no way do I think people of color are responsible for assuaging my guilt, or whatever it is.  In fact, the intended primary audience for this blog is other white folks who are trying to disentangle violence in their history from their authentic values, precisely because I don't think folks of color should have to hear us complain about it.  I feel that it is the responsibility of white folks to do this work, to examine our own identities and how we may be perpetuating our tradition of racialized violence, and in turn replace it with a culture of love, respect, and appreciation.

(Of course, if any POC are interested in reading, I'd love to have your thoughts!  I just don't think I'm entitled to them.)

In this blog, you can expect to see my personal reflections on a variety of topics related to racial identity.  I'll also provide links to the works of people of color as a way to practice advocacy and signal-boosting.  I'm hoping that folks will feel encouraged to comment, but I will be monitoring commenting pretty closely.

Thanks for reading!

1 comment:

  1. THIS WHOLE BLOG IS RACIST.

    Okay, I just thought we'd get that out of the way so you can move on to doing what you do, i.e. expanding horizons and kicking ass. Proud of you for doing this.

    ReplyDelete

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