This article will cover basic definitions of racism, intersectionality and how White Fragility is an inherent bias that must be overcome in order for White Allies to properly support POC in our joint fight against fascism.
Do White People experience Racism?
Short answer: No.
Letâs start from the basics. While white people are not inherently âevilâ for being white, they still benefit from racism and the oppression that POC (People of Color) have faced in the past and still face, currently.
Does this make them privileged? Yes. Does this mean they canât be affected by other forms of oppression? No. White people can still be affected by Xenophobia (which is different from racism, and oftentimes gets confused for it), transphobia, homophobia, ableism and any sort of oppression that being a member of the LGBTQ+ community entails.
What is the difference between Xenophobia and Racism?
A British White person can be xenophobic towards an Irish White person, or an Italian white person, but they CANNOT be racist towards other white people, nor can a POC be âreverse racistâ towards a white person.
This means that xenophobic hate stems from the fact that these âotherâ white people are from a country that is different from their own, and they share different values and upbringing. Xenophobia has roots in nationalism and is closely tied to very specific cultural values that are not shared by those who are foreign to that country, and are therefore âdifferentâ. Again, both white people and POC can experience xenophobia, but only POC can experience racism.
Racism ONLY affects those of us who are NOT white and have features and skin color that are visibly registered as not white.
Black people, specifically, have suffered one of the most violent and unforgiving forms of racism: Slavery. This means we were stripped off of our personhood, believed to be not human at all, and considered undesirable in all manners. Even today, we still deal with the horrible ramifications of Slavery and how it changed us forever, with some of us not even knowing our origins or where our families come from because they were kidnapped from their home countries to be slaves in the United States, and sold off like property all through the American continent.
Another horrible example is the genocide and ethnic cleansing that Native people experienced once European settlers arrived to colonize America, not just in the United States, but all through Latin America too. Both Black and Indigenous populations continue to experience the ramifications of these horrible historical events even today, so no, racism is not âoverâ as much as the system wants you to believe.
And no, racism IS NOT only an âAmericanâ issue as Iâve seen some European people say, either. Britain itself is the core of imperialism in the modern world and white people through Europe can be just as racist as American white people, or even worse. Remember: Colonization came from Europe.
Racism, unfortunately, is a global issue that affects POC all through the world. As long as the âdefaultâ societal system favors whiteness, racism will continue to be a global systemic problem.
Now, this brings me to the topic of Colorism.
What is Colorism?
It is a specific type of oppression under the Racism umbrella, that affects those with darker skin tones more violently. This means that POC are judged as âbetterâ or âworseâ depending on our proximity to whiteness. The lighter our skin color is, the more âdesirableâ or âacceptableâ we are to white people, and the more âprivilegesâ we have in society. Which is why light-skinned POC benefit from Colorism, and can sometimes subconsciously perpetuate racist rhetoric. Does this mean that light-skinned POC do not experience racism? No, they still do, theyâre just seen as inherently better because of their skin color, because this is how the system is set up. The closer you are to Whiteness, the more privileges you have.
Even in countries where the majority of people are not white, we still see the repercussions of colorism because features that are closer to whiteness such as pale skin, straight hair and small noses are praised and desired, while individuals who do not adhere to these physical standards are further marginalized.
Now, back to explaining why White people do not experience racism: They are not judged, ignored, deplatformed, abused, denied opportunities or murdered on a systemic scale because of their race. Itâs not about individual grievances or someone being mean to you once or twice, itâs about how society at large views you and how this system affects you. Racism is NOT an interpersonal problem, itâs a systemic one.
So no, even if someone calls you a cracker once or says that white people canât handle spices or whatever, thatâs not racism. For it to be racism, POC would need to have the same form of systemic power as white people, and be in a position to oppress them (ie: Colonize them), for it to be considered âracismâ. Which is not the case.
Since racism as a systemic form of oppression was invented by white people, they cannot experience any form of racism as a group that entirely benefits from it. If this bothers you, be mad at your ancestors and their friends for doing all that in the first place, not the POC that have to live with the consequences of their actions.
Conclusion: White people cannot experience racism. They can only benefit from it.
What is White Fragility and how does it manifest?
âRobin DiAngelo coined the term âwhite fragilityâ in 2011 to describe what she views as any defensive instincts or reactions that a white person experiences when questioned about race or made to consider their own race.â Source:Â https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Fragility
In my own words, White Fragility means that you have an immediate negative reaction when the topic of race is brought up, especially by POC. This can manifest as defensiveness, anger, denial, or even violence. You are unaware of your racial biases, see any criticism towards your privilege as a personal attack, and refuse to listen to what is being said in good faith.
This, of course, makes having productive conversations almost impossible, because fragile white people refuse to even engage in the first place. This makes some white âAlliesâ who are also marginalized in other ways, like being LGBTQ+ or disabled, difficult to work with when it comes to organizing movements that fight against fascism and other societal problems. They refuse to decenter their whiteness and see POC in their communities as âsecondaryâ or an afterthought.
Now, for obvious reasons, this will never work because if you are not intersectional in your fight against fascism, you are ignoring the root of all systemic problems: racism. The dehumanization of other humans because of their skin color. As long as racism remains, no other form of oppression will ever be eradicated. This means that if you do not understand that racism is the core of all the âevilsâ we are trying to fight against, you are just another cog in the machine that keeps oppressive systems going, as much as you claim to âhateâ Nazis and other bigots.
So why do you need to overcome your own White Fragility? Because if you donât, then you are more prone to derailing conversations, sidelining POC, sabotaging movements and âleadingâ fruitless attempts at fighting something without truly understanding the cause. You will take up valuable space and cause fractures in the communities you belong to, because you refuse to listen to POC. This is what causes division. This is what destroys movements from the inside.
I need yâall to understand that racism and racial biases are most of the time, unconscious. Itâs not just the bigot on Twitter screaming slurs and obscenities at POC that is racist, you yourself can still perpetuate racist behavior despite your best intentions. And thatâs something you need to unlearn.
As long as white people continue to ignore and refuse to acknowledge these truths, no real progress will be made. Why? Because POC will continue to exhaust what little energy they have in trying to educate fragile white people that refuse to listen, and instead choose to self-victimize whenever theyâre criticized for their biases and privilege.
We need to face and understand the horrors of the past, so we can mend the present and build a better future.
Conclusion: The fight against racism should be front and center, always, so we can truly be united against ALL axes of oppression.
What are microaggressions?
These are offhand comments or actions that perpetuate racist rhetoric, often disguised as ignorance, concern or humor. If your first thought when you see a black person is to offer them chicken because âYou heard black people like fried chickenâ that is a microaggression. If you make jokes that poke fun at someoneâs skin color or culture, that is a microaggression. If you believe in stereotypes and think that POC are a monolith instead of individual people with different cultures, that is you engaging in racist rhetoric that will lead to you perpetuating microaggressions. If you touch a POCâs hair without permission because itâs a different texture than your own, that is a microaggression and if you (rightfully) get your ass beat for that, I will laugh at you.
How to tell if Iâm partaking in White Fragility, microaggressions and other racist behavior, even unconsciously?
You get offended if someone says youâre being racist, instead of trying to understand where theyâre coming from or what you did to elicit that response.
You deny facts and statistics about racism and its repercussions in society because you donât personally believe itâs true, instead of questioning how and why racism continues to affect POC today.
You think that people making white people jokes or being mean to you personally is âreverse racismâ. Itâs not. POC making jokes about white people will never be as âbadâ as actual racism. And no, reverse racism doesnât exist.
You get angry/sad/scared if POC speak up about how white privilege makes you biased and unable to lead movements, and say that you should listen first. You think that you alone should be the leader in these fights and that everyone else should listen to you instead, even though you refuse to see how your actions perpetuate racist rhetoric.
You think transphobia/homophobia/ableism and other forms of oppression that can affect white people are inherently a âwhiteâ cause that should be lead by white people, and you exclude POC from these communities and spaces even though they suffer racism on top of these forms of oppression and are more marginalized.
You say âI have friends of color or I live around POCâ whenever someone criticizes you about your white privilege or tells you not to use certain slang/clothes/hairstyles. Just because youâre in proximity to them doesnât mean you stop being white. You still can be racist even if your romantic partner/family member is a POC.
You self-victimize and treat POC as aggressors if they criticize you in any way, even if they use a calm tone with you, because you inherently see POC as aggressive. This is called tone policing.
You are constantly seeing yourself as the victim whenever the topic of race comes up because you refuse to understand your own privilege and how it can harm POC.
You only engage with other white creators/fans and your community is made up of a majority of white people, with little to no POC in it. This means your efforts in building a âsafeâ community are not enough for POC to feel safe and included, and they donât trust you.
You ignore what POC have to say and instead only directly interact with other white people, even though POC have already said the same things.
You have 0 POC as friends. Because why, in 2025 with access to the internet, is not a single POC interested in being friends with you? Yikes. There is no excuse. Your vibes are probably rancid.
You constantly ignore causes that elevate or celebrate POC and their efforts, and are always âcluelessâ about these things because you only engage with other white people in an echo chamber.
You expect POC to do labor for you, you expect them to educate you, understand you and give you grace by default, even though you do none of those things for them.
You think jokes that make fun of POC are ânot that badâ and anything that affects you personally is worse.
You only consume media made by white people, where white people are always the main characters and the center of every story. You refuse to engage with creators of color or any type of media that features POC because you âcanât relate to themâ.
You get mad whenever someone tells you to not use a word or cultural term that is considered offensive because âfreedom of speechâ or whatever.
You constantly minimize the feelings and emotions of POC and refuse to understand them.
I could go on forever but these are the most basic ones that I see a lot of âwell-meaningâ white people engage in.
How to be a worthy Ally to POC?
Listen first. If you made a POC upset because of something you said or did, stop and listen first. Then try to understand where theyâre coming from. Do not be sarcastic, snarky, get angry or defensive. Listen.
Decenter your whiteness. You are not meant to lead every movement or every community. Itâs your responsibility if youâre a content creator that claims to be antifascist to push the fight against racism to the front of every movement, no matter how small, otherwise youâre wasting everyoneâs time because youâre not fighting the root of all oppressive systems. This doesnât mean that you need to stop caring about other forms of oppression like transphobia or ableism for example, it means that you have to center trans POC and disabled POC in your efforts.
Understand that unlearning racism is a life-long goal. You donât suddenly stop having white privilege because you read a book or two on how to not be racist. You have to take action and apply this knowledge. Every single day.
Check your own behavior first, donât expect POC to educate you or keep you in check. Seek out answers on your own, ask genuine questions, make the effort to read up on history and material already written by POC on these issues.
Keep other white people in check. Donât let them disrespect POC in your presence or in private, share your knowledge with them and make sure you donât keep company that contradicts your values. If you can tolerate a racist in your vicinity, then you too are a racist.
Make sure to engage with, celebrate and support ALL POC, not just the ones that are âeasier to get along withâ or not as âvocalâ. Or only the ones that are light-skinned or white-passing. Center and appreciate those who are further marginalized by colorism, especially those who are dark-skinned.
Donât make excuses for yourself or any other white person when you or they fuck up. Own up to it, apologize sincerely, and work hard to earn back the trust of those you betrayed. And donât blame POC if they choose not to trust you again. Continue to work hard not because you want social media clout, but because these causes are worth fighting for.
