Susan Sontag quote?

Question

What exactly does this quote mean?

"The truth is that Mozart, Pascal, Boolean Algebra, Shakespeare, parliamentary government, baroque churches, Newton, the emancipation of women, Kant, Marx, and Balanchine ballets don't redeem what this particular civilization has wrought upon the world. The white race is the cancer of human history."
-Susan Sontag

I know what most of it means, but I don't really understand some of it. So can someone just tell me exactly what it means, and put me out of my frustration? Lol.

skaizun, thanks for the answer, but this is not my homework. I was just curious.

Answer 1

She means that the white race has done more harm than good.
C. :)!!

Answer 2

The quote is from Ms Sontag's "Styles of Radical Will", in a chapter entitled "What's Happening in America (1966)".

Considering that Ms. Sontag was white, herself, it is a very profound statement to say that the greatest achievements of (white) mankind cannot atone for the sins that they have perpetrated to other races and to the planet itself (your quote is incomplete, but captures the essence of her intent, nevertheless).

Ultimately, though, the quote is rhetorical, as virtually none of the people or items cited in her quote were American! It is also sophistry, as there have been plenty of non-whites who have destroyed peoples and the environment throughout history, among both "civilized" and "primitive" cultures. As with any good writer, Ms Sontag was trying to stir a hornet's nest and sell books (I'm not saying that her statement wasn't earnest, though).

IMHO, in the context of today's sorry world, there is plenty of blame to go around for our modern day ills, most of which should go to international bureaucrats and politicians, regardless of their age, sex, race, etc, etc, etc., who allow worldwide travesties (pollution, drugs, civil wars, gangs, etc), to continue, unabated, while focusing all their nations' resources on hopeless causes, such as Iraq, to point-out the most current one.

I hope you give me credit for doing your homework!