🎙️ Is Being WHITE a Taboo Subject? In this unflinching episode, hosts Evolve Benton and Jefferson Darrell are joined by guests scott dagostino and Curious Ben for an unfiltered conversation on white privilege, fragility, and the sociocultural roots of whiteness. The group unpacks how systemic racism and white identity are maintained, defended, and often misunderstood—even by those who benefit from them. Through stories of accountability, allyship, and community learning, the episode explores what it takes to truly dismantle white supremacy culture from within.

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🧠 Key Takeaways White Fragility in Action: How discomfort with race conversations derails accountability and recenters whiteness.

The Journey of Accountability: scott and Ben share personal experiences of unlearning, making mistakes, and being corrected with care and community.

Whiteness as a Sociopathic System: A controversial but thought-provoking reflection on how white culture encourages emotional disconnection, competition, and harm. Language and Distraction: Debates around terminology like "white privilege" or "white fragility" often serve to avoid deeper truths about racism.

Cultural Theft: Whiteness not only harms people of color—it erases European ancestry and cultural heritage from white people themselves. Books as Tools for Change: A call to action to "read a damn book" and embrace learning from Black, queer, and trans voices.

🧑‍💼 Guest Bios scott dagostino (he/him) is a journalist and former manager of Toronto's historic Glad Day Bookshop—the world's oldest LGBTQ+ bookstore. His advocacy spans queer visibility, racial justice, and anti-oppression work within the arts and cultural sectors.

Curious Ben (he/him) is a social justice educator and consultant, known for his Instagram activism and equity training work alongside his wife Jamisa. With a background in forensic counseling, Ben brings insights from 20 years of work in domestic and sexual violence intervention, applying those lessons to broader conversations on white culture and accountability.

🔗 Resources Mentioned White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo Excluded by Julia Serano Audre Lorde, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison – Celebrated Black authors everyone reads in university or should read now! Kate Bornstein – Trans activist and author Glad Day Bookshop – A landmark LGBTQ+ space in Toronto Dante King – Speaker on whiteness and sociopathy in institutional settings