Good morning! Today’s word is INDIVIDUALISM.

It is the element of white dominant culture that lacks accountability and promotes competition over cooperation.

“Timmy won’t wear a mask because his values are steeped in INDIVIDUALISM.”

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Whenever I teach white dominant culture, folks always want to joke that “these are the kids who always skip out on group assignments.”

Kinda, but nah. That’s how insidious individualism is: it makes you think of a *ctural practice* as belonging just to *one* person

Issa system

Is it the kid who always skips out on group assignments? Sure. But it’s also the kid who aced them but wanted *all* the credit. It’s also the kid who was good in school groups but bad in life community bc we all still internalize individualism as the smog of *culture.*

So, know that the venn diagram of bootstrap believers and people who won’t wear masks is nearly a circle.

It’s all rooted in the idea that it is the individual-not the community or its context-that matters. They believe exceptions are the rule and the rules don’t apply to them.