"White fragility: Why it's so hard for white people to talk about Racism"

I read this book by Robin Diangelo for the faculty book club in the fall of 2018.

Definition: -intended to describe a very specific white phenomenon. White fragility is much more than mere defensiveness or whining.  It may be conceptualized as the sociology of dominance" : an outcome of white people's socialization into white supremacy and a means to protect, maintain, and reproduce white supremacy.  The term is not applicable  to other groups who may register complaints or otherwise be deemed difficult (e.g., "student fragility.") p. 113

Racism will continue to exist, probably for the rest of my lifetime.  Although I can never completely overcome my biases, I can see myself on a continuum, where I am constantly growing and changing.  

Diangelo lists these assumptions, as a better way of making a difference in our environment, interactions, and norms:

• Being good or bad is not relevant.
• Racism is a multilayered system embedded in our culture.
• All of us are socialized into the system of racism.
• Racism cannot be avoided.
• Whites have blind spots on racism, and I have blind spots on racism.
• Racism is complex, and I don't have to understand every nuance of the feedback to validate that feedback.
• Whites are / I am unconsciously invested in racism.
• Bias is implicit and unconscious; I don't expect to be aware of mine without a lot of ongoing effort.
• Giving us white people feedback on our racism is risky for people of color, so we can consider the feedback a sign of trust.
• Feedback on white racism is difficult to give; how I am given the feedback is not as relevant as the feedback itself.
• Authentic antiracism is rarely comfortable.  Discomfort is key to my growth and thus desirable.
• White comfort maintains the racial status quo, so discomfort is necessary and important.
• I must not confuse comfort with safety; as a white person, I am safe in discussions of racism.
• The antidote to guilt is action.
• It takes courage to break with white solidarity; how can I support those who do?
• I bring my group's history with me; history matters.
• Given my socialization, it is much more likely that I am the one who doesn't understand the issue.
• Nothing exempts me from the forces of racism.
• My analysis must be intersectional (a recognition that my other social identities-- class, gender, ability--inform how I was socialized into the racial system). 
• Racism hurts (even kills ) people of colo 24-7. Interrupting it is more important than my feelings, ego, or self-image.  

I have bolded the ones that struck me the most and/or that I would like to work on. 

Find the book here on Amazon