I was catching up on my Colbert this afternoon, wanting especially to see the interview with Jon Stewart. They talked about the election, the virus, and our overdue reckoning with institutional racism.
As part of the latter, they drew attention to how two white guys were talking about racism, and how some white people can only hear about racism from other white people.
Jon mentioned that he, Jessica Williams, and Jordan Klepper had a bit in which Jessica would talk about racism, Jordan would shut her down, Jon would restate Jessica’s point, and then Jordan would agree.
The best Daily Show with Jon Stewart video that does this is “Helper Whitey,” a discussion about the confederate flag. (ooooh, timely too)
Karlissa actually tackles this ridiculousness in our new book. When discussing ethos, we should remember that some people, those not inclined to agree with you, will dismiss you for having too much ethos. Too many whites don’t believe black accounts of racism. Too many men don’t believe women’s accounts of sexism.
And that’s why we all have to speak out. I’ve seen white students’ resistance fade a bit when I talk about white privilege, just like I’ve seen some men’s shoulders go down when another man embraces feminism.
This shouldn’t be how it is.
But it is.
Speak up; speak out; speak loud.
