"She’s heard it so many times, in fact, that she came up with a term for it: "white fragility," which she defined in a 2011 journal article as “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include outward display of emotions such as anger, fear and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence and leaving the stress-inducing situation.”" - Andrew C (✔)

"SAB: What causes white fragility to set in? RD: For white people, their identities rest on the idea of racism as about good or bad people, about moral or immoral singular acts, and if we’re good, moral people we can’t be racist – we don’t engage in those acts. This is one of the most effective adaptations of racism over time—that we can think of racism as only something that individuals either are or are not “doing.” In large part, white fragility—the defensiveness, the fear of conflict—is rooted in this good/bad binary. If you call someone out, they think to themselves, “What you just said was that I am a bad person, and that is intolerable to me.” It’s a deep challenge to the core of our identity as good, moral people. The good/bad binary is also what leads to the very unhelpful phenomenon of un-friending on Facebook." - Andrew C (✔)

"SAB: I notice as we’ve been talking that you almost always use the word "we" when describing white people’s tendencies. Can you tell me why you do that? RD: Well, for one, I’m white (and you’re white). And even as committed as I am, I’m not outside of anything that I’m talking about here. If I went around saying white people this and white people that, it would be a distancing move. I don’t want to reinforce the idea that there are some whites who are done, and others that still need work. There’s no being finished." - Andrew C (✔)

"SAB: Do you ever worry about re-centering whiteness? RD: Well, yes. I continually struggle with that reality. By standing up there as an authority on whiteness, I’m necessarily reinforcing my authority as a white person. It goes with the territory. For example, you’re interviewing me now, on whiteness, and people of color have been saying these things for a very long time." - Andrew C (✔)

Eesh. I probably suffer from a bit of white fragility. - Brent Schaus

On Sunday I read a decent post that explores racism on the self-deception facet. Here: http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.ca/2015... - Micah

Micah: great article :) - Brent Schaus

I totally have white fragility, but I like to think I'm stronger than I was. When I first read about the Invisible Backpack of white privilege I couldn't accept a lot of it. - Heather