Valinda

“If, however, I understand racism as a system into which I was socialized, I can receive feedback on my problematic racial patterns as a helpful way to support my learning and growth. One of the greatest social fears for a white person is being told that something that we have said or done is racially problematic. Yet when someone lets us know that we have just done such a thing, rather than respond with gratitude and relief (after all, now that we are informed, we won’t do it again), we often respond with anger and denial.”
― Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

“I am often asked if I think the younger generation is less racist. No, I don't. In some ways, racism's adaptations over time are more sinister than concrete rules such as Jim Crow.”
― Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

“They assume my status is binary: either I'm a joyous triumph, or I'm a miserable wretch. They recognize no spectrum, only two states of being: happy and unhappy. But I've never felt 'happy.' I've felt joy. I've felt bliss. But those feelings are ephemeral. Being 'happy' implies permanence. It implies you completed all the prerequisites. And now you get to sit atop of your giant pile of happy, forever.”
― The Oatmeal, How to Be Perfectly Unhappy

“The problem with 'happy' is a lot like the problem with Pluto. Several years ago, Pluto lost its designation as a planet, which caused a lot of uproar. But Pluto itself was never the problem. It's our definition of 'planet' that was the problem. 'Planet' comes from a Greek word, meaning 'wanderer,' and was used to describe bodies that move in the sky against a fixed background of stars. It was a vague way of describing a complex thing. Does a planet move in a fixed orbit around the sun? Does it clear a path within that orbit? Does it have moons? Does it have to be a certain size? These were questions that arose when we clarified our definition of 'planet.' THese were the smart questions that got Pluto downgraded. Pluto is no longer a planet because our definition of planet wasn't very good. I'm not 'happy' because our definition of happy isn't very good.”
― The Oatmeal