White fragility is the psychological stick the black community can use to make white people feel guilty about racism. Funnily enough it has been created and championed by middle-class white academics.

The idea is that when confronted about racism a white person becomes defensive and angry and this anger can also serve as a tool to close the debate down and allow the said racism to continue never being confronted. But what if it is simply not true?

White fragility is not an idea written in stone. It has not been confirmed as a true or definite by multiple scientists and scientific bodies. It’s an idea floated around by a handful of privileged academics who may even ‘get off’ on the idea of ‘white fragility’ or it’s cousin ‘white privilege.’

In this country we have a basic rule of law, innocent until proven guilty. I am sure it does not need explaining. If I approach you and accuse you of something and I have no recourse then it’s not a surprise that you become defensive.

This would mean that every time a black person is accused of a crime they did not commit and then becomes angry, this anger is used as further proof of their guilt. It’s no different when accusing a white person of being racist especially if all the proven facts are not at hand.

I am certainly not saying that white people have not been racist in the past and are not being racist now. Many have been and we are not dumb to the machinations of the British Empire and it’s belief in white supremist views but it doesn’t stand to accuse every white person of being inherently racist.

There are many different races and therefore many different kinds of racism so why focus on black against white? Fair enough in some countries, or the main white colonial superpowers, their pasts are linked to slavery and also racism. But you could also look at racism in the Middle-East say Arab racism towards black people, and how the slave trade continued on for much longer in Middle Eastern countries, and how racism is much worse in those countries towards black people and also brown people if you are from India, Pakistan, and say the Philippines. What about racism towards black people in Asian countries? again maybe not so violent and more ignorance but still prevalent.

Why fixate on the supposed endemic white racism and ignore all other forms of racism? Do you have a list that you intend to work down? Me and White supremacy was written by a Muslim woman living in the Middle-East so of all the things to be concerned about in the Middle-East; anti-Semitism,  misogyny in Islam towards women, human rights abuses; this woman wants to focus on white people and their perceived racism towards all people of colours?

So how racist are the white colonial powers in relation to other countries and has there been any changes at all over the last 300 years?

We are in no doubt that say Great Britain as a white colonial power was racist and held supremist views, along the lines of white people are more superior to all other races. Although I don’t think all British people thought like this and they were as not supremist as say the Nazis. But however, despite these views there was also a fight against these views in support of the black struggle which ended slavery. This is in stark contrast to say Middle Eastern countries that continued their slave trades and also South Africa as examples and then the white supremist views of say the Nazis that took it to even further lengths.

Maybe with the second world war this is where the buck stops that when societies see the end game of supremist views; as in the genocide of Jewish people, our reflective component kicks in. If it wasn’t for religion and the teachings of Christ, societies would not stop and think about its actions. And while religion is also part of the problem, believing they had a God given right to civilize other nations, it also had the reflective component to question ones actions about what is right and wrong in society. This is what makes the white colonial powers less racist than other powers.

If we look at Great Britain, the United States, Australia, Germany, France, Canada etc as examples then these societies lead the way in terms of multi-culturalism and also liberal values. All these societies were the most racist and now became the least racist. I’m not saying there are not racist views left in these countries but what we are left with are some minorities fighting over equal or more equal privileges than say the white person. Although I would argue that proportionally minorities are actually doing very well in the prior mentioned colonial countries in terms of Doctors, academics, sports people, and even actors.

This black/white paradigm doesn’t feel right because it ignores all other forms of racism and inequalities in the world that also need to be addressed. No pointing and shouting at the white man in England when the black person has far bigger issues in say China, Eastern-Europe, or the Middle-East but it seems easier to have a go at the privileged white societies because actually you are even more free in these societies which is a greater irony.

And hence the ease of the black/white argument. It’s a simple narrative even if its not true. Yes there are injustices to address and looking at what we term unconscious bias but these can be and should be dealt with. The bigger concern is the distraction of the black versus white argument against say the real inequalities of  wealth. Does a black person feel better because there is a black CEO in place when still there are historically low wages for the working classes? Is it better for women to be in positions of power or BIPOC people in positions of power if all they do is uphold the current capitalist status qou? Do you prefer your 1 percent black? Would that make you feel better?

It’s weird hearing Meghan Markle, a woman who married into the most white supremist family in the world, talk about equality when referring to people of colour but not mention wage inequality or the ending of the class system.

This is because it’s not about race but about sowing further division and confusion so that the same very rich people can distract the masses while they continue their slight-of-hand while continuing to  steal the vast majority of wealth in a world while billions are starving.