Such “overly reductive” statements like the ones the speaker made are likely to incite feelings of white guilt, and make white people less willing to join in dialogues that even relate to issues of racism (such as classicism). And it is very important to include all people in these discussions. Because of white privilege, white people have the opportunity to ignore issues of race that surround them, since they are not directly confronted by them. I remember being shocked at hearing people discuss our “post-racial” society soon after Obama was elected across my predominately white college campus. By making general, incorrect statements about white people being “greedy” and “oppressive,” instead of describing the numerous historical factors that have made white people the privileged race in our society, such a speaker is likely to make people less willing to talk about race at all.

I do believe, however, that classism is inextricably linked to racism. The way the country has been structured since its creation has caused this. Though it is possible to speak strictly about classism in certain contexts, I believed that in most other contexts this would lead to a very incomplete discussion about the issue. Of course other factors such as gender and education also have strong roles in classism, and should not be forgotten. But it cannot be ignored that in our society whiteness has great advantage, especially in regards to socioeconomics. For example, “studies suggest that working-class whites are typically better off in terms of assets and net worth than even middle-class blacks with higher incomes, due to past familial advantages” (Tim Wise, White Like Me, viii). By acknowledging such facts, we are not ignoring the existence of classism, but better understanding its many components.