White Supremacy Characteristics Self-Reflection Guide
Reflection tools and tactics can be great to do some great inner work to engage with others in a more meaningful way. However, it’s tempting to use this as a way to formulate how to use this to change others and attack others whether it’s in the form of oppression olympics or woke olympics. It’s true that there are disproportionate impacts on people. It is also true that the benefits of oppression are disproportionate as well. Playing in these olympics reinforces many of the characteristics of white supremacy. White supremacy characteristics become a weapon to pummel each other instead of an opportunity to heal yourself and others from the toxic environment created by the characteristics.
Here’s a basic definition of oppression Olympics from Wikipedia, Oppression Olympics is a characterization of marginalization as a competition to determine the relative weight of the overall oppression of individuals or groups, often by comparing race, gender, socioeconomic status or disabilities, in order to determine who is the worst off, and the most oppressed. With oppression olympics, we can get caught in a loop of only looking as these characteristics as descriptions for how we have been harmed and not consider that we have been harmed and we learned to use these characteristics to “fight back”. While it’s understandable and human nature to do so, using the tools of the oppressor rarely leads to liberation.
Woke Olympics and Social Justice Arrogance as defined by Dr. Jamie Washington is a dynamic that refers to the weaponization of “social justice” knowledge and understanding. This dynamic creates a competition of
who knows the most current, updated and popular information about any social justice issues. It creates a “shaming and blaming” environment and makes it uncomfortable and almost wrong not to be informed. The dynamic is often one that is rooted in intellectual or cognitive knowing and manifest in ways that does not advance DEI and social justice efforts. Often creating “us-them” “in-out” “woke-clueless” categories.
Dr. MLK gave us a reaction to a side effect of woke olympics in his reaction to a Call for Unity letter by white clergyman while he was in the Birmingham jail. While MLK spoke of white moderates in his time, we can now add white progressives thanks to language from Robin DiAngelo’s book Nice Racism.
All this to say, this reflection workbook is about healing, self-reflection, and action. We have been immersed in this culture for all of our lives and build a habit of engaging with these characteristics in some form or another. Habits form strong neurological pathways in our brain, and it takes time to build new habits to replace toxic habits. This workbook is meant to help build those new habits and consider what may need to occur within our bodies and mind and in partnership with others to repair and heal. This will not be easy but will be a maladjusted journey that is worth taking.
