"What white people don't want to hear about racism but should know" by Alice Hasters: About mosquito bites, hunched shoulders and a watering can that should be emptied

Let's start with this: I am white. That means I belong to the target group that is directly addressed by the title and invited to read the book. However, not because what is written resembles my life. My life and that of the author are different, mainly because of the color of our skin. Alice Hasters writes: "As a white person, you have a certain ease. You just don't worry about certain things that I worry about." And in her non-fiction book published in 2019, Hasters contrasts this lightness with a heaviness that she possesses as a Black woman and that white people should understand.

"FOR EXAMPLE, YOU'RE NOT AFRAID OF APARTMENT VIEWINGS OR TRAVELING TO RUSSIA. I AM AMAZED AT THE SELF-CONFIDENCE WITH WHICH YOU WRITE JOB APPLICATIONS. OR THAT YOU CAN WALK THROUGH SMALL GERMAN TOWNS WITHOUT YOUR SHOULDERS BEING PERMANENTLY HUNCHED. I'VE NEVER FELT LIKE YOU."

When Alice Haster's book was published, I wanted to listen to it the way I always listen to audiobooks or podcasts: while exercising, unloading the dishwasher or driving. But I quickly realized that this didn't work: I was just lying on my sports mat, standing around absent-mindedly in the kitchen with the plates or my thoughts were no longer on driving, but on her voice. Why? Because this book is not something to read in between. Alice Hasters demands your attention and, more importantly, she gets it. Through her pictorial use of words, her vivid narratives and her impressive courage to break the silence, Alice Hasters creates the necessary concentration for the gravity of her book with remarkable ease.

"THESE SMALL MOMENTS, THEY SEEM LIKE MOSQUITO BITES. BARELY VISIBLE, BEARABLE INDIVIDUALLY, BUT IN SHEER SUM THE PAIN BECOMES UNBEARABLE."

Hasters reports on a total of five areas of life in which those affected are repeatedly confronted with racism: Everyday life, school, body, love and family. She not only provides insights into the history and origins of racism, but also writes about her own experiences. She talks about the particular conflicts she has to live through with her white boyfriend, about self-doubt, self-discovery and about numerous moments when she was asked questions: Questions about her origins, about her hair, why she doesn't straighten it, whether her name is Nancy and whether she can even get a tan in summer. She writes relentlessly about her past and her present, about who she was and who she is now, about how her own thinking has changed as she now openly names everyday racism and the thoughts of white people have remained. She describes how she was considered a good dancer per se, a thief and a stranger. Mosquito bite by mosquito bite, she reveals her most intimate situations and thoughts. She also emphasizes that racism is a system that is deeply rooted in our society. For example, black protagonists are rarely depicted in children's books and a Müller family always buys the fruit in the math book. There is no shampoo for Afro hair in the drugstore, but there is for "normal hair" (according to the label). Black actors usually play a supporting role in films and the skin color of a Black person is usually explicitly mentioned in a book. German colonial history is almost completely ignored at school and Kant's writings only deal with enlightenment and reason, and it is usually not mentioned that he divided humanity into different races.

"BREAKING SILENCE IS SCARY, PRECISELY BECAUSE THERE IS A RISK OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD OR HURT. THINGS HAVE TO BE SAID, EVEN IF THERE IS A RISK, SAYS LORDE. WELL THEN, I'LL START WITH THAT."

Hasters starts by opening up in this personal way for one main reason: to encourage readers to open up too. With her book, she impressively draws attention to the fact that white people need to be honest with themselves and reflect on their own actions and thoughts. Because if you generally classify black people as fast, that is racist. If you are surprised when a woman with a headscarf speaks German, that is racist and if you touch the hair of black people without being asked, that is also racist. Everyday racism is everywhere and often happens unconsciously, as Hasters repeatedly emphasizes. However, if it is made known, those affected are rarely met with understanding and insight. The fear that they really were racist is far too great. Instead, those confronted prefer to reject the accusations directly.

"RARELY DO WHITE PEOPLE FEEL SO ATTACKED, ALONE AND MISUNDERSTOOD AS WHEN THEY OR THEIR ACTIONS ARE CALLED RACIST. THE WORD RACISM IS LIKE A WATERING CAN FULL OF SHAME, POURED OVER THOSE WHO ARE CALLED RACIST. BECAUSE THE SHAME IS SO GREAT, IT IS RARELY ABOUT THE RACISM ITSELF, BUT ABOUT THE FACT THAT I AM ACCUSING SOMEONE OF RACISM."

The title, which does indeed sound somewhat awkward and quite provocative, hits the nail on the head: white people should read this book, even if they might not want to. They (and I am of course not excluding myself from this) should understand which statements, actions and ways of thinking are already racist and therefore discriminatory in order to become aware of their own prejudices and change their thinking. This kind of self-reflection is ultimately the only way to achieve change and therefore improvement. Because the time has long since come to pour out the watering cans full of shame. And you have to do that yourself.

"A DISCUSSION ABOUT RACISM IS NOT WORTHWHILE IF PEOPLE'S ONLY AIM IS TO SAVE THEIR OWN BACKSIDES FROM REPROACH. IF YOU WANT TO FIGHT RACISM, YOU HAVE TO ADVOCATE CHANGE - AND THAT STARTS WITH YOURSELF."

Note: The fact that Black is capitalized in this article and white is italicized follows the author's example. Neither Black nor white refers to skin color or a biological race, but is part of one's identity.