Reply #65: I understand and accept

[darkstar3]

that I have experienced certain privileges in life because of my race and my gender. I am more aware of it than most in the area, in fact.

However, while I don't take issue with your reposting of this list, I DO take issue with the comments below it. The dismissal there of the phrase "it's not about race", and the dismissal of the possibility that black people can be bigoted against whites. (Let's not get into a debate about the difference between racism and bigotry and just accept the fact that, regardless of skin-color, everyone retains the capacity to be a flaming bigot.)

Sometimes, it really isn't about race, and there's no reason to make it so. There is absolutely no reason for a black woman to say to a white coworker "I guess you wouldn't know anything about that" with regard to weaves, rap artists, gospel music, or other items traditionally considered to be a part of AA culture. There is absolutely no reason for a black person to blatantly accuse their direct supervisor of racism when their job performance is rightfully called into question.

(For the record, the manager in the above example is a dark-skinned woman of Indian decent who grew up in South Africa during Apartheid. To accuse someone who experienced that level of racism of actually being racist herself seems pretty unacceptable to me.)

It IS important for people in a place of privilege to realize what that position has given them, but we should never excuse bigotry, and we must all therefore accept that sometimes, it really isn't about race.