The roots of [liberal] racial resentment

A few months ago I wrote a piece titled Why White Women Won DEI and the response was scathing and swift.

Comments that were the hardest to read fell into two groups.

1. I'm a white woman in DEI and most of the people of color I know doing this work earn more than me or from what I can tell you're making more than me, so I don't think we (white women) won.

2. Thanks to "DEI" I didn't get job / I didn't get promoted. I worked really hard to get that role and it went to a person of color. I don't see us hiring anyone except people of color.

Phew!

Most of these responses came from people who consider themselves liberals, progressives, champions of DEI, and allies.

Most have done the "essential" reading, they've gone to trainings.

And yet, there's a deep desire to materially benefit from public pledges of support for DEI, anti-racism work, social justice.

When these desires or perceived entitlements are not met, it can lead to feelings of frustration, hopelessness, and betrayal, which can in turn result in outward displays of various fragilities or even violence. Stein et. al. in Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures

My own reaction to these comments was not one of compassion or understanding. It was defensiveness.

Had I not spent over a decade at the bottom 20% of the income ladder with no generational wealth to lean on?

Had I not paid my dues?

Did all the years of struggle not justify being in the top 20% now?

So here's where I've been looking to make sense of it all - Hospicing Modernity by Vanessa Machado de Oliveira.

There's a framework in this book called CIRCULAR that's deeply resonated and offered a new way of looking at behaviors that feel challenging, and how I too am complicity in holding up oppressive structures.

In a nutshell, here it is ????

1. [C]ontinuity of the existing system

Making choices that don't compromise our position of advantage. Only accepting change when it benefits us and doesn't take away from our comforts.

This is why 1st and 2nd gen graduates, even Black and brown folks, don’t want to give up legacy admissions. The security and promise of a future that an Ivy League education offers is tangible; making it free for everyone is not.

1. [I]nnocence from implication in harm

Believing we aren't causing harm because of a stated commitment to justice/DEI.

This is why people with racial, gender, and socioeconomic privilege don't see themselves as being complicit in racialized/ableist/transphobic behaviors - especially those who identify as allies.

1. [R]ecentering the self or majority group/nation/etc

Prioritizing our own feelings or those of the majority, instead of understanding the bigger picture of inequalities and issues in society.

This is why so many of us in high-income countries like the US, Canada, UK understand the implications of climate change in theory, and yet are making decisions every day as leaders, entrepreneurs, and intrepid consumers - that have adverse impacts on people in the global south.

1. [C]ertainty of fixed knowledge, predetermined outcomes, and guaranteed solutions

Wanting clear, simple answers to complex problems, or being inflexible about moving an issue forward, demanding fixed, totalizing knowledge.

This is big philanthropy believing nets and meds can solve malaria. Because their instincts told them and their McKinsey consultants confirmed their bias - instead of an investment in infrastructure that reduces stagnant water where the mosquitoes breed. Or DEI leaders believing trainings and ERG groups will solve the lack of upward mobility for people of color.

1. [U]nrestricted autonomy, wherein interdependence and responsibility are optional

Value independence, and not being aware of responsibilities to others. Choosing not to be accountable to others.

This looks like wanting to give my child the best future possible and sending them to private school, at the cost of degrading public education over time and increasing inequality. I’m only responsible for my children, not all children.

1. [L]eadership, whether intellectual, political, and/or moral

Believing only certain people or groups have the right answers or should lead change.

This is saying you believe in diverse representation and continuing to hire white folks to senior leadership positions because "they can hit the ground running". Or saying we only hire from ___ university because their graduates are the best equipped to help us solve our challenges.

1. [A]uthority to arbitrate justice

Acting as if we (or someone we trust) have the final say on what’s right or true. Feeling as though we should determine who and what is valuable and deserving of which rights, privileges, and punishments.

This looks like pushing women, people of color, queer folx, and other underrepresented groups out of the organization when they face harassment, instead of "valuable team members" who have privileged and proximate identities to leaders and decision-makers.

1. [R]ecognition of one’s righteousness and redemption

Wanting to be seen as the good guy, even while not actually doing meaningful work to address issues.

This is expecting praise for raising pay by $1-2/hr for minimum wage workers while silently taking a 6-figure bonus that is the equivalent of a 100-employees' raise.

In other words, while the intellectual work of tracing and connecting the social, political, and economic histories and contexts that shape the colonial present is a vital part of any decolonial effort, simply garnering more ‘information’ about colonial power relations does not necessarily disrupt dominant frames of knowing, being, hoping, and desiring that are themselves continuously (re)made through colonial relations. - Stein et. al. in Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures

This framework has been a powerful guide in helping me name my own feelings and my complicity.

I hope it supports your journey.

Onwards!