What is white superiority? According to Layla Saad, white superiority , “stems directly from white supremacy’s belief that people with white or white passing skin are better than and therefore deserve to dominate over people with black or brown skin.” (me and white supremacy, p. 60,61)
Layla Saad starts her argument about ‘white superiority’ using a nasty hateful email sent to her from a person who is clearly a bigot and racist. (p. 61)
If I were to reply - “I don’t believe that white skinned people are superior to black or brown skinned people and no one has the right to ‘dominate’ anyone else.” My statement would be rejected because according to Layla Saad, I don’t really know what I believe. But she does - she knows my innermost thoughts even at my subconscious level; “This email is violent but also clearly ridiculous. Most liberal people with white privilege are not walking around harboring conscious thoughts like that in their minds. . . . but [that] . . . does not mean that lighter versions of this ideology does not exist at more unconscious levels . . . . And you do not have to harbor the most extreme manifestations of white superiority in order to cause harm to BIPOC and continue to uphold the system of white supremacy.'" (Ibid, p. 61, 62) My guilt according to Layla Saad is in my subconscious thought crimes.
This is a pathological (sick logic) kind of argument! Let’s unpack it.
Layla Saad bases her argument about the existence of ‘white superiority’ on an anecdote, (the nasty email) which is an informal fallacy; ‘people often gravitate towards using their own experiences or those of people around them as evidence in arguments.’
Layla Saad’s conclusion that all white skinned people have white superiority is based on a non-sequitur logical fallacy where she uses an anecdote (an extreme) to establish the existence of ‘white superiority.’
In order to arrive at the conclusion that all white people have this ideology of white superiority Layla Saad uses her mind reading ability - if you’re white she knows your innermost thoughts. This is a GAP between her premise and conclusion.
According to Layla Saad:
This white man - the author of the bigoted racist hateful email - has ‘white superiority’
Therefore everyone who is white at some level harbors notions of ‘white superiority.’ If not consciously then unconsciously.
You are white - you harbor ‘white superiority.’
And - you uphold ‘white supremacy’.
And - you harm BIPOC.
Clearly there is a gap between the premise of ‘white superiority’ and ‘me being guilty of harm to BIPOC!’ Layla Saad fills it in with her mind reading super power. This super power requires that people be stupid enough to accept it and her argument.
Layla’s reflective journal prompt is yet another LOADED QUESTION.
To make the maliciousness of this loaded question explicit - just alter it by substituting Layla Saad’s illogical conclusion about ‘white superiority’ with ‘harm to BIPOC,’ — ‘Think back across your life, from childhood to where you are in your life now. In what ways have you consciously or subconsciously harmed BIPOC. Don’t hide from this. This is the crux of white supremacy. Own it.’
I reject the premise - ‘white superiority’ that the prompt question is based on and all the faulty arguments Layla Saad and others come up with it.
My question is; Who would be stupid enough to swallow this poisonous drivel?