Why is it that there are still white people who rarely know anything about how racism works? With so much information available today in books, research, online resources and the media, there are very few excuses for not having a better understanding. As white people, we must ask the question: why do we choose not to know this information and/or ignore the voice and experience of black Bermudians?

Too many of us socialise in virtually all-white environments, with the occasional polite interaction at work. Even those who consider themselves as having close black Bermudian friends rarely talk in any depth about how racism/discrimination affects them. There are those with even less contact with black Bermudians who continue to insist they know how to fix things and state what they believe black Bermudians need to do to raise themselves up.

For instance on May 22, an elderly white lady of Irish descent called in to Magic 102.7 radio talk show and, to paraphrase, made the following observations:

• Tired of black people blaming whites for everything

• If black people got educated and worked harder, then they would get ahead

• Irish people were discriminated against as well, but they worked hard and overcame it

• Blacks are not the only group that was mistreated

• She was discriminated against in the 1970s, even though she is a Bermudian, when blacks applied for jobs

• Bermuda runs the risk of becoming a banana republic

• The Progressive Labour Party is the reason why exempt companies left Bermuda

• Racism exists because we keep talking about it

• Slavery ended hundreds of years ago

There are so many outrageous misconceptions, biases and stereotypes embedded in the observations; and many of these statements are found as examples of racism in academic textbooks and research.

She also evidenced a lack of empathy or real understanding about the reality of black Bermudians. But there is something far more concerning about this type of world view, as it demonstrates white obliviousness to the black Bermudian experience, which is not only extremely worrying but also dangerous. That there are others who hold the same world view is demonstrated all too often on Facebook blogs and newspaper article commentaries.

Her comments demonstrate an anxiety and resentment towards black Bermudians and a belief that whites are disadvantaged in Bermuda, and have similar or equal experiences of discrimination. She appears quite comfortable in her role of lecturing the black community on their supposed “failures”, and doesn’t fathom that her ability to do so in such a public matter is an example of her racial privilege.

The danger in this kind of world view is that it is not only untrue and/or largely exaggerated, but it frustrates and angers the black community, worsens the division, increases tension in our community, marginalises the voice of black Bermudians further, and reinforces systemic racism. Such world views do not lead to a more unified community; as such, there is a responsibility on all of us to challenge those individuals who continue to hold on to archaic and stereotypical views and opinions.

The government Census statistics continue to show equity discrepancies between black Bermudians and whites, but these are ignored in favour of the myth that black Bermudians do not work hard enough or are lazy. This lady talked about her experience of discrimination in the 1970s, obviously unpleasant enough that she remembers it to this day, but yet fails to believe or have empathy for black Bermudians who experience marginalisation and discrimination as very real and a continuing destructive part of their everyday lives.

She lives on an island where the majority of people are black, and still does not know, cannot see and chooses to deny other people’s reality or truth. It is a state of white obliviousness that is scary for the future stability of our island.

That there are white people who do not see or understand black Bermudians’ experiences does not mean that whites are horrible people, nor does it suggest they are all racists, but it does suggest a disconnect and isolation from the black Bermudian experience, which should lead us to think twice before pontificating publicly about a subject that we simply don’t have the knowledge or experience of to comment on. Black Bermudians can talk until they are blue in their face about their experiences of marginalisation, bias and discrimination, but there are too many white people of this lady’s ilk who refuse to listen or fail to find out more about life experiences outside their own.

I once read a story of a white woman attending a slave market in the United States who later wrote a letter to her friend describing how a black enslaved woman begged and pleaded not to be separated from her child; and then watched as they were sold to different slave owners, with the enslaved woman collapsing in grief. In her letter she told her friend how she herself became distraught and that when she reached home took opium to calm herself so she could feel normal. Not realising that her reaction to what she had seen was normal, and she was in fact medicating herself to cope with the horror she had witnessed.

To live in a society that normalised degradation and brutality meant people had to reassure themselves that they were right and in those days many lived in a world of purposeful cognitive dissonance — attending church on Sunday and beating enslaved people on Monday.

Cognitive dissonance continues today, and despite all the evidence showing continuing inequity, discrimination, bias and marginalisation, there are those whites who continue to deny the black Bermudian’s reality and experience. For if we were to accept that reality, it means that so much of what we’ve been taught, understand and believe is wrong, and our world view of ourselves and others is incorrect or biased. This denial of the reality of others lessens our own humanity.

• Lynne Winfield is a racial justice activist