In the wake of CBS laying out the red carpet for a discussion of Robin di Angelo’s notion of “white fragility” — baldly asserting that all whites are pretty much racist, and denying it only makes it more obvious — CNN.com offered the same one-sided welcome, led by medical producer Sandee LaMotte. It began:
Overgeneralization — not “facts first.” This….is CNN.
Q: Is this a “Me Too” moment for racial equality or is the conversation going to fizzle and fade as it’s done in the past?Q: The theme of your book White Fragility is how white people are perpetuating racism by being too fragile to discuss the subject openly and honestly. How can white people be fragile If we have white privilege?
Q: If someone was to say to you, “I don’t understand how I have been shaped by my whiteness,” what would you tell them?
Q: You write about the “pillars” which support white fragility. What are they?
Q: Why is a book on racism written by a white woman flying off the shelves and resonating with people at this time?
Q: There’s much to be done. What are the key things white people can do — right now — to begin to make a more permanent change?
Even the liberal whites are racist. They’re apparently the worst kind! “You say in your book that white progressives can be more difficult than outright racists when it comes to conversations about race. I believe you say many black people see it as racism ‘by a thousand cuts.'”
You can’t claim all whites are unconciously racist without hammering the liberals, too. And they’ll be the most willing to rush to prove they are not….like giving “white fragility” a completely free pass on CNN.com.