ABSTRACT
This chapter takes up the topic of guilt, and the confusion between true guilt and a form of defensive denial of guilt, called by some authors “guiltiness”. True guilt arises from the painful recognition that one has caused damage, or wishes to cause damage, to someone whom one also loves. In true guilt, it is recognized that damage cannot be undone, but reparation can be made that sets feelings of love alongside destructive feelings and actions. Guiltiness seeks to avoid or dispel guilt, like a true quick apology. It is suggested in this chapter that what is called white guilt is actually white guiltiness and reflects an effort to reassure oneself that the damage caused to indigenous peoples, to slaves and former slaves, and so on, is in the past, that errors have been corrected, that it is time to move on.
