Blog Post 6- Lewis

 In the article, Defending Race Priviledge on the Internet, by Anastia Kanjere, the idea of white frigility and white vulnerability is discussed in depth. Specifically, Kanjere denotes three ways in which whiteness and white vulnerability is maintained by this very demographic. One of which is by way of appealing to the real world where commentators essentially try to convey the idea that the way in which things have always been, the status quo, is a basis for nullifying the validity that certain things are racist or corroborate biases and inequalities and by denoting racist ideologies in fictional settings as simply being based on historical events and are therefore not inherently actually racist. Kanjere gives frequent examples where this is present, the first being in the HBO Hit, Game of Thrones, where there are many misogynistic and racist connotations reinforced throughout. Kanjere pulled information from message boards where commentators on the subject, rejected the idea that GoT was inherently sexist/racist because George RR Martin intended this to be true based off of historical events, he based the show around. 2 weeks prior to this post, I had actually watched a clip where George RR Martin addressed this, where his defense was that the show was based off of the Anglo-Saxon time period that would have had such inequalities present. However, what he didn't address was the way in which he propagated such ideas of racism and sexism through indirect action throughout his writing and the subsequent live series. Another form of appealing to the real world that Kanjere explains is an appeal to the status quo, the example she gives is a commentator disagreeing with the fact that it is inherently a serious problem that feminism has mainly served white middle-class women because this has always been true and therefore, it is a nonissue. Kanjere notes how this is not only incorrect, but a dangerous slope that many individuals go down to avoid taking substantive action on societal issues. 

I myself have witnessed an appeal to the real world occur. I have been a volunteer with a mental health organization for the last 3 years where I've led support groups for 15-18 year old males where we talk about all things related to mental health- family dynamics, specific conditions, etc. Part of my job as an outreach volunteer has been assess at-risk members and help them find resources to assist in the issues they are facing. As these are often individuals under the age of 18, there is usually a certain level of cooperation with parents. One of our kids had been experiencing significant mental health issues- anxiety, depression, that myself as well as the social-worker I worked in tandem with, believed required more professional help. Upon discussing this with his parents, his father had said that the support group was enough for him and that when he was young- he faced similar challenges and simply needed to get through it. This would be a euphemism in saying "Just be a man" or "Man up". This line of thinking, where you nullify an individuals or a groups struggles by saying that we all go through it, that I went through it and therefore it's not an issue, is extremely dangerous. Although this doesn't directly tie into the article by Kanjere in terms of relation to white fragility, I believe it does help further the concept of appealing to the real world by showing how this is also used in alternative ways to oppress different demographics.

Anastasia Kanjere (2019) Defining race privilege on the Internet: how whiteness uses innocence discourse online, information, Communication & Society, 22:14, 3156-2170, DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2018.1477972