Admitting that white people are privileged is difficult because they “have an emotional stake in denying white supremacy.” Also, white people “vote in ways that actually are against” their self-interests “in order to enact policies that hurt” black people and members of other minority groups.
Such is an argument in a 2,423-word essay at the website Everyday Feminism entitled “Here Are the Real Reasons Why We White People Struggle to Admit That Racism Still Exists.”
The author behind the argument is Jamie Utt, a self-described “diversity and inclusion” consultant and trainer based in Minneapolis.
“I see my fellow White people so wrapped up in defending the idea that systemic racism doesn’t exist that we are unable to empathize with the real pain caused to people of Color by racism, both interpersonal and systemic,” Utt, who is white, explains in the essay.
He capitalizes the words “white” and “color” throughout his piece.
Then, using the pronoun “we” throughout, Utt explains the many ways he believes white people except for him exhibit massive racism.
“White People Have an Emotional Stake in Denying White Supremacy,” is one of four headings Utt uses.
“Admitting that we’re acting in racist ways or supporting racist systems is terrifying,” the diversity trainer declares. “And it hurts.”
“Scarier still is doing the deep emotional reflection to understand the ways that we may be truly racist deep down,” Utt argues.
“I have an emotional stake in reacting defensively to allegations that I have hurt a person of Color with my privileged actions,” he also pontificates.
In the same set of paragraphs, Utt alleges that white people “disproportionately vote in ways that actually are against” their self-interests and contrary to their own economic concerns “in order to enact policies that hurt people of Color.”
That statement links to a 2012 article in The Guardian, a left-leaning British newspaper. The Guardian’s piece asserts that racism is part of the reason white people vote for Republicans.
Utt, who sports a soul patch and hefty black stud earrings in both ears, is a graduate of Earlham College. He has a degree in peace and global studies from the private Quaker liberal arts school, where tuition, fees and room and board run $53,510 annually.
In addition to diversity and inclusion, Utt offers presentations about bullying prevention, sexual violence prevention and student leadership and motivation. His focus is on schools. He offers corporate consulting as well.
In July 2012, when James Holmes murdered 12 people and injured 70 others during a midnight screening of the “The Dark Knight Rises,” Utt published a blog entry suggesting that there are questions “we should be asking” about “White culture” and “White masculinity.”
Everyday Feminism is “one of the most popular feminist digital media sites in the world.” The founder and CEO is Sandra Kim, is “a person with multiple marginalized identities.”
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