Jessica J. Ordonez
CSLG – 6145
Dr. Ceballos

Color of Fear Analysis Paper

Question #1
The 3 major themes that are highlighted in David’s utterances are the following: 1. White people are seemingly unaware of their White privilege and the fact that they are part of a group.

Throughout the video David clearly expresses that he does not feel that being white makes him any special. He finds the topic of racism “extremely exciting” because he never really understood why “they” had to cause struggle and strife and why “they” couldn’t feel happy.
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And when the subject of racism was mentioned to me I found it extremely exciting because I grew up in this area with friends of all races and we would read in the news - see on the television of racial struggles in other areas and could not comprehend how that could be - why they had to cause struggle and strife for each other. Why couldn’t they be just like at home, happy and productive together? (Transcript)

David’s comments clearly demonstrate how clueless he is about his own White privilege. In the beginning of his dialogue David explains that he has never felt that he was “in control” of anything. Yet, in the same statement he goes on to explain how he has owned vineyards and orchards that employed several minorities. David’s own words appear to be oblivious to him. It appears that he is speaking without even listening to himself. In one sentence he states he has never felt “in control” and immediately after that he states that he has employed “many of your people” (speaking to the Latino man). If employing “many” of anyone’s people is not power and control, I do not know what is. The book explains in Chapter Ten that White people would rather not think about their Whiteness. They are “uncomfortable or react negatively to being labeled White”