White people think one thing and black people think another thing about the same event. And we automatically, before we really know what happened, kind of pick our sides.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think you learn more from looking at how things occurred and what happened afterward, not just at the event.
It's no surprise that White people say things when they are together about Black people.
It's really interesting to me how all of us can experience the exact same event, and yet come away with wildly disparate interpretations of what happened. We each have totally different ideas of what was said, what was intended, and what really took place.
I still think that we have a hesitance to talk about things racial. And I think we do it at our detriment. We go from incident to incident, and we have spikes in which race becomes something that we talk about, as opposed to talking about race in those less contentious times when I think we might make more progress.
The reason people think it's important to be white is that they think it's important not to be black.
No one ever talks about the moment you found that you were white. Or the moment you found out you were black. That's a profound revelation. The minute you find that out, something happens. You have to renegotiate everything.
Nothing is black-and-white, except for winning and losing, and maybe that's why people gravitate to that so much.
Once you begin to explain or excuse all events on racial grounds, you begin to indulge in the perilous mythology of race.
I don't think anyone is black and white and I think we change our minds and our attitudes about certain things as we grow to our maturity.
White Americans have the option of not having to think about race on a daily basis. People of color don't. Race is a major deciding factor in their lives and the histories of their families.