"People who only feel empowered when they have a foot on someone’s neck to hold them down are shouting to the world with a bullhorn that they lack basic self-worth."
Indeed. A recent article in the Greater Good Science newsletter explored how self-compassion varies with ethnicity and political leaning. 20000 people responded to a self-compassion quiz published on that site, and the results showed that white people and mixed people generally score lowest in self-compassion. By political inclination, those who identified as very conservative were lowest.
Black people scored highest. This is is probably one of the keys to your people's survival and thriving against all odds. This is great wealth, beyond any numbers. Do Black parents teach your children self-compassion?
There's some interesting discussion going on regarding this and other articles on self compassion at the Greater Good site. While many people agree that self compassion is a good idea and wish to cultivate this, a few people express ideas that self compassion may make a person weak, lazy, and uncompetative. I recognized the voice of white supremacy in these disparaging comments.
The linked article is a worthwhile read. It also links to exercises for developing self-compassion.
As an autist, I didn't pick up on social cues very well in my formative years, so I was explicitly taught many of the things that most people learn by osmosis. This outsider view lets me see how white supremacy is transmitted through the generations. I remember being explictly taught to hate myself. It was part of my religious training. Racism hurts everyone.
