Why Do White People Think the Devil Needs an Advocate on Racism?

Leave the Devil out of this Argument

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We’ve all been in a room with that person who seemingly derives joy from draining the energy from people standing against racism. With a smug look so insincere it could make Mount Vesuvius erupt in rage, they revel in their mediocre challenge of racism with great pride.

The white devil’s advocate often announces they are playing ‘devil’s advocate.’ For instance, I’ve heard many of them begin their half-baked retorts with a big ‘ole "BUT," then followed with "don't you think..." As a white-Mexican who’s unpacking his internalized anti-Blackness and imperfectly standing against racism, it can be annoying to come across a wall so uninformed and unbreakable in its ignorance. I can only imagine how devastating it must be for people of color, particularly Black people (across the diaspora), to come across such virulent certitude. But, not all white devil’s advocates are overt in their challenge of racism; some can be pretty pernicious in their counterarguments.  

Racist justifications will adapt and make (regressive) progress as we advance our anti-racist discourse.

I engaged in a conversation about racism and ‘white accountability’ with a self-identified cis gay white male ally—I’ll call him Settler Sam. Though my internal “code red” alarm activated from the start of our conversation, I continued the discussion with Settler Sam in hopes of turning it into dialogue. We were specifically talking about one of Rachel Cargle’s Sunday School posts; she highlighted a white woman's internalized superiority and problematic statements and provided a critical discourse analysis on them. Settler Sam was upset with Rachel’s approach and felt like she was abrasive in her critique of how racism manifests in white people and everyday exchanges.

He made deflective statements like “I feel attacked. We should all be working together instead of tearing each other apart” and “there needs to be a sense of togetherness if we are going to move forward.” Side note: Why is it that we (white people) always evoke a fallacious sense of 'togetherness' regarding combatting racism? He disingenuously asked questions about ecological justice and suggested “we work towards healing ecological destruction” instead of focusing on identity. The frustrating irony is that countries where many people of color live, for instance, Latin American and African countries, are disproportionately affected and exploited by U.S. imperialism. They are entangled in a bottomless pit of debt, leaving them destabilized and at the mercy of white supremacist capitalism. Race IS a vital aspect of the ecological destruction he deceitfully mentioned, but I digress.

Hashtag: Deflect much.

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