White men say they love justice, which they fear worse than hell.
If I were a good white man, I don't know what I would do. We will curse ourselves for being the kinds of people we will have to be to be powerful, but we will not surrender it. This paradox of power, that those who possess it are simultaneously weakened by it, seems to support Elliott's contention that racism cripples everyone. Stressing that she doesn't believe that it is the responsibility of people of color to educate the rest of us, she urged discussion participants to recognize the structures within white culture that are unjust and to change them. I still get a good dinner and a good enough bottle and a conversation that makes sense every now and then.