On Aug. 12, white supremacists and neo-Nazis clashed with counter protesters in the city of Charlottesville, Va. At 1:42 p.m., a car rammed into a crowd of counter protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and wounding multiple others.
Within minutes, Lorde, a white pop artist, took to Twitter apologizing for the actions of her race, writing “all white people are responsible for this system’s thrive and fall. We have to do better. I’m sorry.”
On the surface, this comment seems harmless, but the white guilt it symbolizes takes away the attention from real issues at hand and even presents some of its own.
By definition, “white guilt” is the feeling of guilt felt by white people due to the racism of other whites either in the past or present. When the words “white guilt” are read, they evoke an image of repentance or atonement.
It’s true that the first step to fixing a problem is to recognize its existence. However, white guilt is not recognition of the problem — it is mostly a defense mechanism used to separate apologists from white supremacists. By expressing guilt, white apologists put themselves on higher moral ground than others.
Often, this self-elevating behavior acts as a “cover for a fundamentally poor self-image,” according to Emma Lindsay of Medium.com. Some white people feel the need to express guilt because they fear they are fundamentally racist.
Even though white apologists aren’t directly hurting anyone, they are putting up a shield against their own fears of being racist. However, once the shield goes up, it doesn’t come down. By convincing themselves they are not racist without real reflection, many white people are preserving any racism that they might actually have. By acknowledging the problem exists, they ironically reinforce the same problem in themselves.
Lorde’s tweets seem innocent, but in reality they’re a harsh indicator of an increasingly dangerous trend. But not all is lost. If those who feel guilty carefully reflect on the root of that guilt, they can bring about positive change.
Instead of tweeting about racism and taking responsibility for everything all white people at any time or any place have done, they should think about whether or not the problem exists within themselves. That way, they can truly acknowledge the problem, and work to fix it.