Page 387 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

statements reflected an embodiment of privilege (both gender and race) that enabled his

perspective that the encounter between the grandmother and school personnel reflected behavior

on the part of the grandmother that was unkind and unnecessarily hostile. The lack of response by

the White school administration to requests for protective action by the grandmother of an African

American student and endorsement of the school administration by a White male dialogue

participant reflects what Essed (1991) called “denial of cultural background and identity and an

overruling by the majority” (p. 204). The act of overruling is “a pressuring and acceptance of a

situation or event as irrelevant simply because it is deemed unimportant by someone White” (p.

205). The comments and physical reactions that rippled around the dialogue circle confronted his

positionality of complicit masculinity (Pease, 2010) which allowed him to advise and discount the

position of the grandmother perhaps due to her age, gender, class, race and perceived ignorance.

The role of the facilitator, an African American woman, during this episode of conflict and

tension was carried out in a series of actions that supported need of participants to respond in ways

that could be described as aggressive and emotional. The dialogue facilitator acknowledged

comments made to the dissenter that were loud and disapproving in tone, as normal rather than

problematizing the behavior. This is important given the denial Blacks often face when confronting

racism, or disapproving of racially charged comments (Essed, 1996; Feagin, 1991). She also

worked to maintain a balance of perspectives around the dialogue circle by frequently checking in

with the dissenter about his thoughts and his understanding about the disagreement his comments

provoked. Although it is unknown why the dissenter did not attend future dialogues, even at the

prompting and invitation from one of the conveners/facilitators, his absence raises questions. Did

he feel uncomfortable with the process and reactions to his comments or afterwards did he feel he

was presumptuous in his comments? Perhaps his absence was unrelated to the events that occurred

368