White people can absolutely be on the receiving end of racial prejudice (i.e. some people believe white men can’t dance), racial bias (white kids might be less likely to be picked for a basketball team), or discrimination (white poor people are denied access to safe housing). All of these are problematic, but none of them are racism.
The spiritual, legal and moral justification for the Colonisation of North America originates in The Papal Bulls of 1455 and 1493, which were decrees or announcements of a law under the official authority of the Roman Catholic Pope. These decrees supported the genocide and enslavement of non-Christians by granting rights to Christians, i.e. European sovereigns.
Many of the systems that are in place and considered standard actually reinforce racism. For example, you can argue that capitalism is neutral, but its application often reinforces racism by disadvantaging people of colour and privileging people who are white-identified. Hierarchies within organizations will often with staff make ups that uplift the dominant culture.
It is shocking to realize that in less than 12 generations, Indigenous people in Canada have gone from sovereignty over 100% of the land to occupying only 0.36% of the land through the system of reserves. In Canada, the Crown (federal and provincial governments) currently has control over 89% of the land.
CBC producer Craig Desson poses the question, “If Montreal lies on unceded Indigenous land, can anyone actually ‘own’ property on it?” In the article, he consults Mohawk Council of Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Otis Simon who confirmed that Aboriginal title to the land was never extinguished and therefore all who come after are “artificial title holders”.
The "Bootstrap Theory" is the theory that all people, no matter how meager or challenging their beginnings, can achieve great wealth if they work hard enough. There is no evidence that people from one race work harder than people from any other race, therefore, everyone should have the same probability of upward mobility regardless of race.
Many people who consider themselves spiritually enlightened or liberal believe that “everything happens for a reason” and “you get what you deserve”. These assertions are usually said in the context of some challenge that has been overcome or some unexpected outcome. And they are usually said by white, upper middle class people who have little experience of suffering or oppression.
Much of mainstream media ignores or minimizes the voices and experiences of Indigenous, Black and other POC on the one hand, and inflates crime statistics and negative imagery on the other.
People live life steeped in their own reality. If someone in your life names a struggle they are having because of racism, it is an invitation to hold space for them to share their experience. As a white-identified person you have no experience of racism to draw on so you may not be able to understand.
We tend to judge ourselves by our intentions but others judge or experience us based on the impact our actions have on them. This creates a gap in the awareness or understanding of the doer regarding the experience of the receiver of any action.
One of the consistent harms that people of colour experience is hearing from white identified folks that they don’t see colour. Often this statement is offered up with the intention of providing comfort or ease. It is meant as a denial of one’s racism, exclusion or othering.
