Table 1 Characteristics of White... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture (Okun, 2021)^*

Characteristic	Definition (Okun, 2021)
Fear	“White supremacy culture’s number one strategy is to make us afraid. When we are afraid, we lose touch with our power and become more easily manipulated by the promise of an illusory safety.”
One Right Way	“The belief there is one right way to do things. Connected to the belief in an objective ‘perfect’ that is both attainable and desirable for everyone. Connected to the belief that I am qualified to know what the perfect right way is for myself and others.”
Either/Or Thinking and The Binary	“Reduces the complexity of life and the nuance of our relationships with each other and all living things into either/or, yes or no, right or wrong in ways that reinforce urgency, one right way perfectionist thinking, and abuse of power.”
Denial and Defensiveness	“The habit of denying and defending against the ways in which white supremacy and racism are produced and our individual or collective participation in that production.”
Right to Comfort, Fear of Conflict, and Power Hoarding	”The internalization that I or we have a right to comfort, which means we cannot tolerate conflict, particularly open conflict.”
Individualism	“Our cultural story that we make it on our own, without help, while pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps, is a toxic denial of our essential interdependence and the reality that we are all in this, literally, together.”
Progress in More/Quantity over Quality	“The assumption that the goal is always more and bigger with an emphasis on what we can “objectively” measure as more valuable than the quality of our relationships to all living beings.”
Worship of the Written Word	“Honoring only what is written and even then only what is written to a narrow standard, even when what is written is full of misinformation and lies. An erasure of the wide range of ways we communicate with each other and all living things.”
Urgency	“Applying the urgency of racial and social justice to our every day lives in ways that perpetuate power imbalance and disregard for our need to breathe and pause and reflect.”

Characteristic	Definition (Okun, 2021)
Fear	“White supremacy culture’s number one strategy is to make us afraid. When we are afraid, we lose touch with our power and become more easily manipulated by the promise of an illusory safety.”
One Right Way	“The belief there is one right way to do things. Connected to the belief in an objective ‘perfect’ that is both attainable and desirable for everyone. Connected to the belief that I am qualified to know what the perfect right way is for myself and others.”
Either/Or Thinking and The Binary	“Reduces the complexity of life and the nuance of our relationships with each other and all living things into either/or, yes or no, right or wrong in ways that reinforce urgency, one right way perfectionist thinking, and abuse of power.”
Denial and Defensiveness	“The habit of denying and defending against the ways in which white supremacy and racism are produced and our individual or collective participation in that production.”
Right to Comfort, Fear of Conflict, and Power Hoarding	”The internalization that I or we have a right to comfort, which means we cannot tolerate conflict, particularly open conflict.”
Individualism	“Our cultural story that we make it on our own, without help, while pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps, is a toxic denial of our essential interdependence and the reality that we are all in this, literally, together.”
Progress in More/Quantity over Quality	“The assumption that the goal is always more and bigger with an emphasis on what we can “objectively” measure as more valuable than the quality of our relationships to all living beings.”
Worship of the Written Word	“Honoring only what is written and even then only what is written to a narrow standard, even when what is written is full of misinformation and lies. An erasure of the wide range of ways we communicate with each other and all living things.”
Urgency	“Applying the urgency of racial and social justice to our every day lives in ways that perpetuate power imbalance and disregard for our need to breathe and pause and reflect.”

^*Table organization originally developed for (Author 2 and co-authors, under review, 2024)