Students were required to address ‘whiteness’ and describe what the term ‘white’ means, as well as explain how they ‘navigate race’ in their daily lives.
Students were required to address ‘whiteness’ and describe what the term ‘white’ means, as well as explain how they ‘navigate race’ in their daily lives.
It’s not just being oppressed in different ways (I’ve got my dose of xenophobia, fatphobia and ableism), but getting oppressed because of being “too privileged”. It’s no longer a privilege when you get it thrown at you at every step, when no matter who, they use this or that of your “privileges” to put you down.
And ironically, racism is also a problem for white people, but because some people seem to assume that being white means you must be racist, so they discriminate you for that.
As for doctors, I forgot about the neurologist who kept repeating “It’s all in your head” and dismissed me by saying I should get some therapy. When I complained to my GP, she pulled up my history, and it turned out he wrote that he examined me and found nothing wrong. If by “examined” he meant that he saw me sit in front of him while he kept insulting me, then sure.
I’ve also been told several times that I “have many resources”, which seems to be code for “you’re so privileged already, you don’t need anything”.
I understand and don’t doubt that this is really painful. And it’s awkward as hell to navigate assumptions some people might make because of certain privileges you have - that’s shitty. But it’s not racism, or similar to racism. It’s not oppression (related to a power structure that is woven into societal institutions), it’s mean behavior. People are being assholes to you, and some of them might (? Did they say that, or did you assume?) be claiming inaccurate watered down interpretation of the sociological concept of privilege as an excuse, but this is very different than racism, which comes with a whole mess of legal, historical, legislative, state backed, institutionally sanctioned, violence and does not really depend on interpersonal interactions. It’s not to take away from the things that happened to you, it’s just a different thing. The structure of society’s institutions in many countries is oriented to favor white people, even as individual interactions that white people have in the world can easily be cruel or negligent. I’m sorry that people have been dismissing your needs and that you haven’t been able to get good medical care without being gaslit or talked down to (me too!). But that is not anti whiteness. (Though it might be misogyny or ableism) It’s a failed medical system making excuses to hide its own lack of resources. People kind of suck, many institutions suck. Racism, though, is a very very specific form of oppression that white people just do not experience. This is also true with money. Oppression goes far beyond being condescended to by professionals or having people make sarcastic comments about your finances. Rudeness is not oppression. Your problems are very real and you deserve help and compassion for them. But they are not caused by your whiteness or your privilege.
I see where you’re coming from, and I thank you for your words, but after reflecting on this whole thread, I’ve come to realize that, with very few exceptions, the people I’ve met in life have been one or more of:
It suddenly explains all the interactions that left me baffled at the time, and it makes me sick. Maybe I’ve been just unlucky, or bad at seeking out people who don’t fit any of those, but at this point it makes me want, more than ever, to leave and not look back.