I do not think I have ever been as devastated as I was when I read your article “White Guilt” by Shelby Steely. Reading your words gave me the impression that the whites were more disturbed by guilt, and this is likely because of the way they treated the blacks. The guilty feeling by the White as a result of their bad deed is no doubt an act of cowardice. Did the waiter really ask you to leave the restaurant? , that was uncalled for. Did the Caddy master tell you that he was, doing you a favor by not allowing you caddy at his white club? Like seriously? I strongly feel that you underwent a harrowing experience which was obviously uncalled-for (Steele 2014 p 56).
The Civil Rights bill that was established in 1964 that bestowed equality on the blacks was indeed an admission of the white guilt. This means that the inequalities that existed between the blacks and whites were intense. Had the white society been right, there would have been no need for enacting the law. You have also stated in the article that “you cannot feel guilty about anyone without giving power to them” (Steele 2014 p 56). Tell me honestly, did you actually feel sympathy for the waiter considering the way she had mistreated you? I do not believe that, but assuming it is true that you felt sympathy, and then that speaks volumes of words about you (Steele 2006 p 125).
There is a guy like you at my School. The man- I will call him Armstrong. Armstrong is the kind of person who is above anything petty and he chooses to brush off any matter that he considers trivial. The guy however had some form of physical disability and as such his movements were facilitated by use of a wheelchair. Unfortunately, he used to experience discrimination from some students. Some students did not even want to associate themselves with him. I found this absurd. I had to act in order to help Armstrong; I thought. I approached Armstrong and introduced myself after which I offered to assist him. Since that day, I walked with him and I never looked back.
Luckily, I happened to be a student leader, and I used my influential position to push for more support for the disabled students in the institution. I applied different scholarships for him on his behalf. Meanwhile, other students continued being disdainful about him. One day, Armstrong was notified by the Institutions management that he was among the three students who had successfully secured the annual presidential scholarship award. He was jubilant and humbled by the works of God. At that point, fraternity started paying attention to him including those students who disassociated themselves with him.
If you had witnessed this, you probably would have likened it to the “White Guilt”. The blacks were discriminated upon due to racism never mind the fact that they did not choose to be born black. Armstrong had a lot of potential and people needed an “eye opening” in order to realize his great potential. I know that if you had been a student at my school, you would indeed assist Armstrong just the same. I wonder what you would have done. I am confident that you are the kind of person who does not advocate discrimination. Indeed if one feels guilty as a result of wrongdoing, then the “victim” is only made powerful
Works Cited
Steele, Shelby. White Guilt. S.l.: HarperCollins e-Books, 2014. Internet resource.
Steele, Shelby. White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006. Print.
