"White Like Me"-- White Denial

I think this book, White Like Me, shows some very interesting insight into the hidden and covered up racism that still exists in this nation. I was never oblivious enough to believe that all people in our country were treated equally and that people were no longer prejudice or racist against those who were different than them, but it is frightening to realize how previlent racist behavior still is in the United States of America and how strong that racism is. This chapter is all about the denial of the white citizens of this country which really explains why I have been so oblivious to the problem for all these years. Tim Wise writes about the issue of racism in our country and how the white citizens seem to constantly be undermining the problem. Whites deny that racism still exists within our borders, saying that black citizens need to lighten up and not take everything so personally. One of the points Wise made that really stood out to me, was about an incident with racism that Oprah experienced. I would never think that someone as powerful, influencial, and highly praised world wide as Oprah is, would ever be faced with racial discrimination. However, when she was in Paris a few years ago, she called a store ahead of time to tell them she was on her way and was going to purchase a gift for her friend Gail. She arrived at the store just after closing and they refused to let her inside to make the purchase. On one hand, this sounds perfectly normal. The store has already closed so no matter who you are, how famous you might be, they might not give you special treatment and open it up to let you in to make a purchase. On the other hand, could it have been an act of racism? Although the store denied that this action was made because of the color of Oprah's skin, it was still a concern and made her feel as though she were being discriminated against for being African American in a predominantly white area. The fact of the matter is, I will probably never have to endure this kind of humiliation and rejection for my race. Wise pointed out that although the store might not have been acting in a racist way, they might have just had to close up and not have been able to make an exception just because Oprah was there, she still knew that it was possible that the reason she wasn't being let in was becasue of her skin color and whites will never expereince that same feeling of concern and feel so self-conscious becasue of the color of their skin. If we are not the ones being discrimnated against and constatnly facing situations that make us question whether or not people are treating us diffrently because of the color of our skin, we can not truly understand the pain they expereince and the harm this does to their self-image. As whites living in a predominantly white society, we do not experience racism on a regular basis and we do not have to have it always in the back of our minds. We do not see people painting their faces and throwing parties that mock our race and stereotype us for the color of our skin. We do not have to constantly question if people are judging us and finding reasons not to trust us or respect us because of our skin. We do not live in fear of being discriminated against or even attacked because we were born with a different pigment than other citizens. Tim Wise used his own personal experiences and revelations to make this point clear to the reader. He talked about racism he witnessed first hand and how blind whites were to it. He did not need to resort to statistics to try to make his point because the truth was in human behavior and actions. I have never expereinced or witnessed this kind of racism first hand, or at least never consciously realized that it was going on. But I have read stories like this before. Wise talked about an article he read where a white man requested that no black doctors, nurses, or observers be present in the operating room during his wife's surgery. He claimed it was because he did not want any blacks to see his wife naked. Two hospitals rejected his request but one caved and allowed his wife to be operated on by only white doctors. I have heard these kind of stories before and it makes me sick to think that people are still holding these racist values. Still, I have never had to worry about people holding my race agaisnt me, so the issue of racism in this country has not been a very previlent part of my life. Like most white Americans, this makes we live in denial of the problem. Being unaware and unexposed to the issue prevents progress from being made. I think that was Tim Wise's main point in this chapter. If we do not face the issue head on but only cotinue to live our lives peacefully without regard to racism, we will never bring change to this nation and its issue with race.