White Fragility
The dominant theme of the book is, of course the multiple ways in which the concept of white fragility is expressed. White fragility is the discomfort and anxiety felt by white society when the natural insulation against the reality of racism is penetrated by certain triggers capable of producing a range of emotions spanning the spectrum from anger to guilt to denial.
The History of White Supremacy
Another theme the book explores is the relationship between systemic racism in America and its history as a country constructed upon a foundation of white supremacy. In this context, white supremacy doesn’t mean skinheads waving rebel flags from their pickup trucks, but the actual inculcation of a nationwide acceptance of blacks as inherent inferior specimens by virtue of “allowing” themselves to be captured, enslaved and held in generational bondage. Slavery and subsequent Jim Crow oppression is so deeply rooted int the consciousness of America’s racial divide that it has successfully engendered a view of white supremacy as a subliminal matter of fact that is still a guiding force in the continuance of systemic racial attitudes.
Racism for Non-Racists
The book also explores the various subtle ways in which racist attitudes are fostered and manifested even those who most confidently announce their lack of it. Among these examples are white privilege, a condition by which whites enjoy advantages in society denied people of color simply by virtue of being white. Another example is exemplified by the seemingly anti-racist film The Blind Side which the author deconstructs to reveal as an almost textbook example of the “white savior” form of racism which posits that underprivileged blacks must depend upon progressive, good-hearted whites in order to fully achieve their potential. Similarly constructed is “aversive racism” which forwards the idea that if the conditions of racism are discussed without directly referencing racism, then it precludes the idea of discourse being racially motivated. And, of course, “color-blind racism" which assumes the truly radical notion that if racism isn’t acknowledged at all, then it will cease to exist.
