Apparently all of a sudden people have noticed that racism has existed in this world now that a white woman has become a "victim" in a staged scenario where an African-American hairdresser calls her out for being at a barbershop with her black boyfriend. Reactions from the other black patrons range from sticking up for the white woman, to silence, to a diversity trainer trying to facilitate communication and understanding between the white woman and the hairdresser.
I don't have an issue with this video per se, but what I find interesting and somewhat disturbing is that it is THIS particular video that gets people riled up. THIS is the video that goes viral and has white people sharing all over Facebook about racism. And what is so ironic is that I have shared dozens upon dozens of posts on Facebook about racism towards people of color, and with the exception of the few people I can count on every time, I am met with...............silence. And now all of a sudden this rah rah rah about this white woman in a barbershop? And it's inspiring people to speak up about racism when they encounter it?
I can't tell you how many times I have spoken up about racist comments and racist behavior when I've encountered it only to have it cause conflict in my life. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop doing it, but I know that people DON'T speak up because they're afraid. They're afraid of confrontation. And particularly as a person of color, I'm often the ONLY one in a room full of white people trying to explain my perspective, and people want to change the subject. Or there's an awkward silence. No one has a camera on me making a video that's going viral where a million people are going to say, "Good for Meg! She spoke out against racism!" Yet a couple of black women spoke up for a white woman and social media goes crazy!!!!
This blogger captured exactly how I feel, but from a white woman's perspective:
(Taken from Why "White Girlfriend Enters Black Barbershop" Makes Me Uncomfortable)
"This outpouring of
support for this video – found in hashtags like #colorblind, or comments
like ‘inspiring!’ ‘let’s move forward to combat racism,’ or ‘I got
teary-eyed’ — almost all from White folks, makes me feel uncomfortable. It really does.
“Why?!” you might
ask. ”Aren’t you dating a Black man?!” others yelp. There is an
expectation that I, as a White woman, would revel in this demonstration
of Black folks ‘sticking up for me’ (in the majority of cases), or even
worse, be pleased with those who failed to intervene, who illustrate just how hard it is out there for us white women.
NO.
It’s really not
hard out here in these streets for White women. Actually, it’s pretty
damn easy. Yes, as women, we are oppressed in many ways. There are
double standards, there are oppressive gender norms, there are
republicans attacking our reproductive rights at every turn. But y’know
what? Those issues effect all women, and generally have a disproportionately more negative impact on women of color, who often lack the resources and privilege to overcome these barriers. So let’s skip that part.
We navigate this world with White skin, which has afforded us a
wealth of privilege from birth. It has allowed us historical privilege
which allowed many of our families to accumulate wealth in the form of
assets that simply were not avenues available to Black or Brown
families. It has afforded us the ability to embody our identity as
individuals, to never speak as a monolith for our ‘group’ of white
people, and to be considered the ‘default’ conception of ‘American’ in
almost every situation. We have benefited immensely from the material,
structural, and social privileges that come with white skin.
So why are we SO freakin’ pumped about this video?
It’s almost as if
people feel that this video is empowering to White folks. Let’s talk
about some of the reasons White people, consciously or not, are excited
about this video:
1. Ohmygod, it shows that love is colorblind! That’s such a cute
narrative. ”I don’t see color. It doesn’t matter if you’re white,
brown, purple, orange, or green.”
2. Look at us White people!!! We are so advanced and generous. You
see, we won’t just DATE Black folks, we will take shit for ‘em too!
Poor old white girls, we just have to sit there and take it from those
ANGRY BLACK WOMEN! We are pretty much saints.
3. It confirms the narrative that REVERSE RACISM IS REAL!
I mean look, they only set up ‘real life situations that could happen’
on these shows, which demonstrates that if us White people try to do
something like get into a relationship with a non-White person, WE JUST FACE SO MUCH OPPRESSION!!!
These are all problematic. If you’re one of the women or men who is just so progressive
that you don’t even see color… well, then you may well be failing to
acknowledge and honor a major part of a person’s identity and experience
navigating this world. Secondly, this video reinforces the perception
that there are a ton of Black women out there who are just sitting,
stewing, getting angry about all the White women who “take away” their
Black men, who are just waiting to spew hatred on the first interracial
couple they see. This is a harmful perception, it is reductive, and I
don’t think that we should be reinforcing it on TV – nor should we be
crafting white women into the martyr of the show.
Lastly, this little social experiment lends false credibility to the
idea that reverse racism is real. We won’t get into the multitude of
reasons that this just patently isn’t true, but this video is dangerous.
And people’s love for it is dangerous too. But why? Aren’t people just excited that Black folks are taking a stand against all this hate on the White woman?
The problem is, whether Black folks rallied to defend this White
woman, or sat in uncomfortable silence, isn’t the point. The point is
that this video reinforces the narrative that reverse racism is real,
and that White folks are unjustly and undeservingly oppressed and
discriminated against by Black folks. Maybe this seems like an
insignificant example, I mean, it’s just a little barbershop experiment,
right? But it lends credibility and strength to the idea that these
cases are happening everywhere, and that this is just the beginning.
That Black and Brown folks are oppressing us White folks in other
ways, like how we’re now discriminated against in the workplace or
college admissions processes because of affirmative action.
As a White woman who is in a relationship with a Black man, I remain a
privileged person. If I am in a barbershop and a woman – White or
Black – begins to give me shit because of my relationship, do you know
what I can do? I can get angry and I can yell at her, because I don’t
need to worry that if the police come, myself or my friends may be
roughed up, searched without cause, or injured simply because of the
color of my skin. I don’t have to worry that all of those around me
will just see my outrage at her comments just as a product of me being a White woman, not because of my individual anger and hurt at her comments.
White folks embrace and excitement of this video simply makes me
uncomfortable. This is my truth. For those who shared it, I wonder why
it struck you as so deeply important. I wonder why it took this
instance – of a white woman being discriminated against – to care
deeply. Maybe it’s because you’re happy that Black folks stuck up for
her, and think that it is a tribute to how ‘evolved’ we have all become
on race. But then I wonder why I don’t see you regularly posting ‘what
would you do’ videos of Black and Brown folks being discriminated
against and White folks reactions – whether good or bad.
At the end of the day, I’m simply left with a pit of discomfort in my
stomach, and a lot of questions about why a White woman’s
discrimination and ‘rescue’ have moved so many. Perhaps us White folks
should begin to try to answer those questions, no matter how painful the
answers may be."
