Well, I *think* the use here is 'native'/'inherent' -- so "White racism is endemic" means "White people are naturally racist." And I don't think that's a bad thing to disagree with. Am I missing something?
My first reading--one I have not yet convinced myself was wrong--was that it was an outright denial of systemic racism resulting in white privilege, in favor of an "isolated acts" model. Even if one reads it more narrowly as claiming that systemic racism is merely not all-pervasive, I'm still not sure I can accept. If he means "There is an imaginable future in which white people are not racist" then I agree with him but a) strongly suspect he is arguing against a straw argument, and b) question what "white people" would mean in that future.
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Date: 2008-03-18 08:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-18 08:45 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-18 08:50 pm (UTC)