--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only white men have the luxury of…" description: "\"Only white men have the luxury of ignoring race.\" — Richard Powers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/richard-powers-8111_ignoring_only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignori_1222166.jpg" --- # Only white men have the luxury of ignoring race. ![“Only white men have the luxury of ignoring race.” quote by Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/richard-powers-8111_ignoring_only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignori_1222166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/richard-powers-8111_ignoring_only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignori_1222166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/richard-powers-8111_ignoring_only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignori_1222166.jpg) > “Only white men have the luxury of ignoring race.” [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. White men often overlook racial issues, reflecting a privilege that allows them to ignore systemic inequities. **In simple terms:** White men can ignore race due to privilege. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and confront racial blind spots. Themes race privilege social justice awareness Mood critical empathetic Type sociopolitical reflective When to use this quote - corporate policy - education - community activism Key Concepts critical race theory social critique Questions to Reflect On - How can privilege be responsibly used? - What steps reduce racial ignorance? A Different Perspective Not all white men are oblivious; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ignoring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignoring/) [Ignoring Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignoring-race-2281082/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Only](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/only/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-man/) [White Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-men/) ## Related quotes > [“When the children were asked how many white people were “mean,” they commonly answered “almost none.” But when asked how many blacks were mean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/when-the-children-were-asked-how-many-white-people-were-mean-they/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [Kids raised on a culture of ‘We’re not going to keep score in the game because we don’t want anybody to lose.’ Or just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-rock/kids-raised-on-a-culture-of-we-re-not-going-to-keep-score-in-the-game/) [Chris Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-rock/) > [I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/i-have-asked-some-of-the-great-white-chiefs-where-they-get-their/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [The government at all levels is overly represented by white men. That's part of the problem, and I'm a white man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beto-o-rourke/the-government-at-all-levels-is-overly-represented-by-white-men-that/) [Beto O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beto-o-rourke/) > [When the Negro finds the courage to be free, he faces dogs and guns and clubs and fire hoses totally unafraid, and the white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/when-the-negro-finds-the-courage-to-be-free-he-faces-dogs-and-guns/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The first white men of your people who came to our country were named Lewis and Clark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chief-joseph/the-first-white-men-of-your-people-who-came-to-our-country-were-named/) [Chief Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chief-joseph/) > [We must have an America in which White men and women can live and work, in their homes and in the streets of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lincoln-rockwell/we-must-have-an-america-in-which-white-men-and-women-can-live-and/) [George Lincoln Rockwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lincoln-rockwell/) > [We have heard stories about white men who make the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/we-have-heard-stories-about-white-men-who-make-the-powerful-guns-and/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [These European White Men, then, with civilization in their blood and in their destiny, crossed the Atlantic and set up a new civilization on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-klassen/these-european-white-men-then-with-civilization-in-their-blood-and-in/) [Ben Klassen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-klassen/) > [White men should exhibit the same insensibility to moral tortures that red men do to physical torments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophile-gautier/white-men-should-exhibit-the-same-insensibility-to-moral-tortures/) [Theophile Gautier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophile-gautier/) > [Because white men can’t police their imaginations, black men are dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-rankine/because-white-men-can-t-police-their-imaginations-black-men-are-dying/) [Claudia Rankine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-rankine/) > [You think about every piece of idiomatic speech adopted by white men over the past ten or twenty years; virtually all of it comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-row/you-think-about-every-piece-of-idiomatic-speech-adopted-by-white-men/) [Jess Row](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-row/) > [The mass criminalization of white men would disturb us to the core.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/the-mass-criminalization-of-white-men-would-disturb-us-to-the-core/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Golf is a game where white men can dress up as black pimps and get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/golf-is-a-game-where-white-men-can-dress-up-as-black-pimps-and-get/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [The white men despise the Indians, and drive them from their homes. But the Indians are not deceitful. The white men speak bad of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-hawk/the-white-men-despise-the-indians-and-drive-them-from-their-homes-but/) [Black Hawk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-hawk/) ## More by Richard Powers > [I write the way you might arrange flowers. Not every try works, but each one launches another. Every constraint, even dullness, frees up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-write-the-way-you-might-arrange-flowers-not-every-try-works-but/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [If you're going to immerse yourself in a project for three years, why not stake out a chunk of the world that is completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/if-you-re-going-to-immerse-yourself-in-a-project-for-three-years-why/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“It seemed to me that half of life’s problems would be solved if one of us had a vagina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/it-seemed-to-me-that-half-of-life-s-problems-would-be-solved-if-one/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Information may travel at light speed, but meaning spreads at the speed of dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/information-may-travel-at-light-speed-but-meaning-spreads-at-the/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Science is not about control. It is about cultivating a perpetual condition of wonder in the face of something that forever grows one step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/science-is-not-about-control-it-is-about-cultivating-a-perpetual/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [What we can do should never by itself determine what we choose to do, yet this is the way technology tends to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/what-we-can-do-should-never-by-itself-determine-what-we-choose-to-do/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [I really like science because it seems to be that place where you get the big picture, everything connects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/i-really-like-science-because-it-seems-to-be-that-place-where-you-get/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [For me, university was just awful because it was closing one door after the other of all these candy shops of professional possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/for-me-university-was-just-awful-because-it-was-closing-one-door/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [We will live with racism for ever. But senses of self, senses of belonging, senses of us and of others? Those are up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/we-will-live-with-racism-for-ever-but-senses-of-self-senses-of/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Reading is the last act of secular prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/reading-is-the-last-act-of-secular-prayer/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [Time passes, as the novelist says. The single most useful trick of fiction for our repair and refreshment: the defeat of time. A century…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/time-passes-as-the-novelist-says-the-single-most-useful-trick-of/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [A book is still atemporal. It is you, in silence, hearing voices in your head, unfolding at a time that has nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/a-book-is-still-atemporal-it-is-you-in-silence-hearing-voices-in-your/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [My dream has always been to suspend myself in space when I write, and lying horizontal in bed is the closest to doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/my-dream-has-always-been-to-suspend-myself-in-space-when-i-write-and/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [“Je ne fais aucun mal en restant ici. I do no harm by remaining here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/je-ne-fais-aucun-mal-en-restant-ici-i-do-no-harm-by-remaining-here/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) > [The use of music is to remind us how short a time we have a body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/the-use-of-music-is-to-remind-us-how-short-a-time-we-have-a-body/) [Richard Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) [Explore all 84 Richard Powers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/) ## More Ignoring quotes > [Destroy gossip by ignoring it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariane-corbito/destroy-gossip-by-ignoring-it/) [Mariane Corbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariane-corbito/) > [“I tried to leave you alone, Fitz. To find what peace you could, even if it excluded me from your life.” Ten years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-tried-to-leave-you-alone-fitz-to-find-what-peace-you-could-even-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I hate it when someone says they are not ignoring you but yet they are not talking to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/i-hate-it-when-someone-says-they-are-not-ignoring-you-but-yet-they/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [By ignoring tomorrow, we undermine today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamais-cascio/by-ignoring-tomorrow-we-undermine-today/) [Jamais Cascio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamais-cascio/) > [When someone starts Ignoring you, just back off without staying there with them Just to know the reason for avoiding..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vishak/when-someone-starts-ignoring-you-just-back-off-without-staying-there/) [Vishak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vishak/) > [You can't delete people out of your life . Forgetting them is hard and ignoring them doesn't work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-delete-people-out-of-your-life-forgetting-them-is-hard-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In Holland I have seen well-meaning, principled people blinded by multiculturalism, overwhelmed by the imperative to be sensitive and respectful of immigrant culture, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/in-holland-i-have-seen-well-meaning-principled-people-blinded-by/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [I am not ignoring you, just trying to reduce my expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/i-am-not-ignoring-you-just-trying-to-reduce-my-expectations/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [It's unfair when we find ourselves loving those who don't care about us while ignoring those who truly care and love us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/it-s-unfair-when-we-find-ourselves-loving-those-who-don-t-care-about/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [I'm focused on my future. I'm ignoring my past, apart from the bits that I draw from to help me focus on my future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-harding/i-m-focused-on-my-future-i-m-ignoring-my-past-apart-from-the-bits/) [Aldous Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-harding/) > [While you're ignoring me, someone else is begging for my attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/while-you-re-ignoring-me-someone-else-is-begging-for-my-attention/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not ignoring you I just want to see if you can enough to make an effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tine/i-m-not-ignoring-you-i-just-want-to-see-if-you-can-enough-to-make-an/) [Tine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tine/) > [Law 36: Disdain things you cannot have: Ignoring them is the best revenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-48-laws-of-power/law-36-disdain-things-you-cannot-have-ignoring-them-is-the-best/) [The 48 Laws Of Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-48-laws-of-power/) > [Pretty girls behave best when you ignore them. Of course, they have to know you are ignoring them, for otherwise they may not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/pretty-girls-behave-best-when-you-ignore-them-of-course-they-have-to/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [The best way to fight stupidity, is by ignoring it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-kelly/the-best-way-to-fight-stupidity-is-by-ignoring-it/) [Kelly Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-kelly/) [Browse all 383 Ignoring quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignoring/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only white men have the luxury of ignoring race.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Powers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignoring-race/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ignoring" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignoring-race/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/richard-powers-8111_ignoring_only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignori_1222166.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/richard-powers-8111_ignoring_only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignori_1222166.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/515/richard-powers-8111_ignoring_only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignori_1222166.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only white men have the luxury of ignoring race.” — Richard Powers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Powers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-powers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only white men have the luxury...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignoring-race/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-powers/only-white-men-have-the-luxury-of-ignoring-race/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```