White people in North America live in a social environment that protects and insulates them from race-based stress. This insulated environment of racial protection builds white expectations for racial comfort while at the same time lowering the ability to tolerate racial stress. Although white racial insulation is somewhat mediated by social class (with poor and working class urban whites being generally less racially insulated than suburban or rural whites), the larger social environment insulates and protects whites as a group through institutions, cultural representations, media, school textbooks, movies, advertising, and dominant discourses. Racial stress results from an interruption to what is racially familiar. In turn, whites are often at a loss for how to respond in constructive ways., as we have not had to build the cognitive or affective skills or develop the stamina that that would allow for constructive engagement across racial divides. leading to what I refer to โฆ
White people in North America live in a social environment that protects and insulates them from race-based stress. This insulated environment of racial protection builds white expectations for racial comfort while at the same time lowering the ability to tolerate racial stress. Although white racial insulation is somewhat mediated by social class (with poor and working class urban whites being generally less racially insulated than suburban or rural whites), the larger social environment insulates and protects whites as a group through institutions, cultural representations, media, school textbooks, movies, advertising, and dominant discourses. Racial stress results from an interruption to what is racially familiar. In turn, whites are often at a loss for how to respond in constructive ways., as we have not had to build the cognitive or affective skills or develop the stamina that that would allow for constructive engagement across racial divides. leading to what I refer to as White Fragility. White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium. This book explicates the dynamics of White Fragility and how we might build our capacity in the on-going work towards racial justice.
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Review of "White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
It's very good. I was defending myself and individualism in my own mind as I started reading it, and had all those defenses challenged by the time I'd finished, which felt like a valuable lesson in itself, if somewhat unmooring.
A couple times, I thought I'd accidentally flipped back a page or two, and was reading something for the second time but it was just the same story or point being re-written, so the editing could have been a little tighter for my tastes.
Review of "White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This book taught me a great deal about why I perceive race the way I do and how I can change my perception of and reactions to racism and prejudice. In the current political climate (I read this during the 2020 protests), I am grateful to have found this work so I can grow as a person and help others who need support without saying or reacting to things incorrectly.
Review of "White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This was an amazing book that all of us white people should read or listen to. It challenges the reader over and over again. Usually, I grow tired of books that repeat the same idea but from a different perspective. In the case of this book, it is necessary.
