Quotes from "Forest and the Trees"

"When the subject of race and racism comes up, for example, white people often withdraw into silence as if paralyzed by guilt or other feelings they don't dare express. Or they push back angry and defensive, as if they are being personally attacked and blamed for something they didn't do" (Johnson).

I feel this quote contains the primary issue when attempting to address class issues. People with privilege interpret the argument of racism and class struggle as a personal attack. We feel that we are being blamed for racism and that we are personally responsible. As a result we focus on defending our character than actually addressing the issue; Johnson's example of this is 2005's Hurricane Katrina. When federal officials addressed the disaster publicly they focused on defending white privilege and denied the lack of response time had anything to do with race. Since those with privilege do not like to acknowledge they have privileges over others, the issue of racism is cast aside and the focus of the conversation become defending the character of white people.

"The fact that I benefit doesn't make me a bad person, but my participation in the system does involve me in what happens to them" (Johnson). 

 Those with privilege tend to feel that having privileges over others equates to being a bad person; when in fact this is not the case. But having privilege effects the influence one has within their class to promote change. Although one person cannot suddenly make the world 'nonracist', one can choose to be part of the solution rather than the problem and help to influence the smaller circles in which they participate such as the workplace, family gatherings, and the local community.

"The only way to get past the potential for guilt and see how I can make a difference is to realize the system isn't me and I'm not the system" (Johnson 16).

The key argument that Johnson wants us to takeaway from this chapter is to recognize the difference between the role of participating within a system and how the system functions. Although the path of least resistance within the system may urge us to exert our privilege over others in order to succeed, our actions do not necessarily correspond to those values. In order for a racist or sexist act to happen one has to act a certain way within a social system. Society may be racist/sexist but our individual actions determine whether or not these values are perpetuated.