Cultural Avoidance Quotes

People try not to think about what's going on in sub-Saharan Africa. They edit it out of their daily lives. Especially Americans. We prefer a fantasy version of Africa.

White people are very wily when it comes to race. We will do everything that we can to get out from under the idea of race.

The PC way of handling culture has been to not talk about it. But we should be talking about it.

We don't discuss race, so just the discussion of race has become racist. We've been trained that it's such a lightning rod that we don't even want to say the word.

The less I talk about being black, the better.

Class is the most difficult subject for American writers to deal with as it is the most difficult for the English to avoid.

American culture is not about experiencing our shame, it's about denying it. It's been that way our whole history.

I'm from the Midwest, and I loved my family. I had a very good time as a child, but I was also - I have a theory about Jews growing up in the Midwest, that there is an ultimately sort of wonderful avoidance of a lot of things, and a great acceptance of whatever is happening.

We don't like talking about race in the U.K. - it's a very sensitive subject. People get extremely defensive and run for the covers, but I believe we have to talk about it.

Launch your boat, blessed youth, and flee at full speed from every form of culture.