Denial Card Trumps Race Card

From Counterpunch, April 24, 2006.

The Absurdity (and Consistency) of White Denial
What Kind of Card is Race?
By TIM WISE


...Asked about the tendency for people of color to play the "race card," I
responded as I always do: First, by noting that the regularity with which
whites respond to charges of racism by calling said charges a ploy,
suggests that the race card is, at best, equivalent to the two of
diamonds. In other words, it's not much of a card to play, calling into
question why anyone would play it (as if it were really going to get them
somewhere). Secondly, I pointed out that white reluctance to acknowledge
racism isn't new, and it isn't something that manifests only in situations
where the racial aspect of an incident is arguable. Fact is, whites have
always doubted claims of racism at the time they were being made, no
matter how strong the evidence, as will be seen below. Finally, I
concluded by suggesting that whatever "card" claims of racism may prove to
be for the black and brown, the denial card is far and away the trump, and
whites play it regularly: a subject to which we will return.