Nguyen,Mary_28432

In the fourth chapter of White Fragility , Diangelo describes her own experiences as a white person and the privileges of white people. She compares the lives of white people to the lives of people of color, and how both sides of the race card prove different outcomes. She starts the chapter off by describing how she “belongs” in society because of her skin color and in part because of how she was raised by her parents. “If I were born in a hospital, regardless of the decade in which I was born, any hospital would be open to me because my parents were white” (51). I like how thereafter she describes the social hierarchy of white people compared to people of color. She writes that white people are given more opportunity and are treated better in almost any situation; the scenario she gave was the hospital. She claims that white people would receive better treatment and have more experienced healthcare workers attending to their needs than people of color would. Like I have mentioned bef...

In the second chapter of White Fragility , the author Robin Diangelo, emphasizes how white people are the superior race in society. I am not saying that I like the reality behind it, but that is just how things are in our world today, and how it has been for the longest time. White dominance has been around for the longest time, since our country gained its independence. Even before that, when European immigrants began colonizing North America. They brought over slaves from Africa through the Triangular Trade. Since then, white people have seen black people as a race inferior to them, and all other races to be inferior to them as well. There is something that Diangelo mentioned that caught my attention. She derives this quote from a historian, Ibram Kendi, who claims that “‘The beneficiaries of slavery, segregation, and mass incarceration have produced racist ideas of Black people being best suited for or deserving of the confines of slavery, segregation, or the jail cell. Consumers of...

The author of White Fragility , Robin Diangelo, emphasizes how “fragile” or how weak white society is when the topic is race. She writes that white people will get defensive in those situations. It is even more inspiring when the author herself is white, and she speaks openly about her own race. I like how Diangelo says that “My experience is not a universal human experience”; she is acknowledging the fact that her race does not get the same treatment as other races (Diangelo 7). She is acknowledging the fact that her race, the white race, will never truly understand what it is like to not be white. It is true when Diangelo writes that people will never really know what something really is or the meaning behind something until they take time to learn it. If they do not dwell into and get to know the ins and outs of that topic, they will be ill-informed and not fully understand it. This is seen when she states, “Unless we have devoted intentional and ongoing study, our opinions are nece...

Michael Eric Dyson, the author of the Foreword in White Fragility , makes a claim that racism has been an issue for black society since America’s beginnings. When the land of America was colonized, slaves were brought over and have been the inferior race since then. Dyson also claims that it goes for other races as well, not just blacks; if you are not white, your race is inferior to whiteness. No matter how much the other races fight to be seen equal in the eyes of white society, whites will never see eye to eye with them. This can be seen when Dyson writes, “whiteness is the unchanging variable… whiteness… in its purest form, in its greatest fantasy, never ends” (Diangelo ix).  Dyson also claims that when white people are caught for committing a crime, you can technically say they have a greater advantage for committing the crime than any other race. He states, “It is a category of identity that is most useful when its very existence is denied. That’s its twisted genius” (ix). I ...

Hey guys! My name is Mary Nguyen. I was born in Houston, Texas, but I grew up in Plano, Texas, which is a city right outside of Dallas. Right after my freshman year of high school, I moved back to Houston to live with the rest of my immediate family. There are five members in my family: my dad, my older brother, my younger brother, and my sister. I lost my mom when I was three years old, so I do not really remember much about her, but I have heard a lot of good things about her. A lot of times I wonder how different my life would be if my mom was still alive.  I tell myself often that if you put your mind to something and believe in yourself to do that one thing, then you can go far in your life. You can accomplish your goal, no matter how many times you have failed to do so. But if you do not believe in yourself or keep a positive mindset, or you tell yourself that you are not capable of doing that one thing, it is a great possibility that that negative mindset interferes with you...