ABSTRACT
Understanding the vicious circles in which we are caught requires attention to the ways in which all parties participate in their perpetuation. Clear understanding of the participation of whites, I have suggested, is impeded by an excessive focus on racism and outright discrimination, which diverts our attention from the more subtle, but perhaps more formidable and unyielding impact of indifference and the feeling that “those people are not my concern.” Appreciation of the role of blacks is obscured in a different way. Here, the reality that the overall impact of our patterns of racial interaction is most palpably harmful to African Americans, combined with knowledge of the shameful history that initiated these patterns, can funnel our vision toward a view of African Americans as simple victims. In the process, the circular nature of the patterns between us may be obscured altogether.
