Hi Tim, thanks for reading.

Unfortunately that response seems to ignore what I’ve actually written in favor of a caricature of what it imagines “liberal” people must believe. To address each point:

1. This piece is specifically about how each of us is responsible for racism. We didn’t choose to be born into this system, but here we are.
2. This is silly. I’ve lived in urban and rural places, and I’ve never been dumb. I have, however, interacted with many more different kinds of people in urban environments, which is to be expected.
3. I don’t believe in white guilt. Here’s something I wrote in another essay about the extremely common misconception that calls for social justice are about white guilt: “Let’s be clear about one thing: Coming to terms with the fact that I will never be fully free of my white supremacy is not the same thing as accepting a burden of shame, guilt, or self-pity. No one is asking for my shame, nor yours. Self-pity and shame are selfish, narcissistic responses to the problem of white supremacy, and if you’re experiencing these emotions in the context of a conversation about race, it’s likely a sign that you’re centering your own feelings at the expense of someone else’s.”

4. DERP.