Here's one thing about being a white guy: You hear a lot of "private" talk from other white guys who assume you're on the same side of the fence as they are and feel free to start spewing, especially when they've had a few drinks, or they're (ahem) "angry," and this is the kind of shit they spew.Maybe we all hope that the people we are with at any given moment think just like us. But wouldn’t you think that on a touchy subject like blatant racism one might be a little more cautious? That’s not been my experience though. There is a certain portion of the population that is very sure their hatred for Blacks or Hispanics or Arabs, or all of the above, is a widely held belief. And when I say “population”, I’m talking about white population here (including many women, I might add), because that’s the ethnic group most likely to convey their racist inner thoughts to me.
Unfortunately, the only thing I ever seem capable of expressing to them is my utter bafflement why they think I would ever be on their side. Mind you, guys like this are in the far minority, but there are more of them floating around out there than you'd think.
As Neiwert points out in another post, confronting these people accomplishes nothing and may even be counter-productive in some ways. You then are dismissed as, to use an old phrase, just a “n**ger-lover”, or “politically correct” as it’s known today.
No larger point here. I just find it strange the assumptions some people make about my thought process just based on the color of my skin. But then, that’s what racism is all about, isn’t it?
5 comments:
It's bound to happen dude. When you move to an all white subdivision, send your kids to an all white school, work in a all white business, shop at all white stores, on an all white side of town, and attend church at an all white church - well then dude it's just bound to happen.
You've made it into white people's nirvana, not by accident, but by a series of choices which other white people have been making for decades.
It's called "White Flight", and it's based upon the desire of whites, whether conscious, or subconscious, to put as much distance between themselves and black people as they can possibly create.
Now there's always an exception. If perhaps a black software engineer, or lawyer, or doctor makes it into the mix - well, then there's either nothing one can do about it, or one more progressive will embrace this as "progress". This we tell ourselves sets us apart from the common lower class white racist who simply fears all non-whites.
So you see there is a reason that you have been targeted for such secret revelations of other white people's fears and anxieties about living in an increasingly non white America. It's because you are White just like them - as the title of your post suggest.
I have admitted that I am a racist, and quickly followed it up with the accusation that everyone is. And I mean that. There are no exceptions. It is the nature of the beast - the beast we call mankind. There is after all something very dog like about humans. We seek in every way possible to create groups based upon just about any notion possible and then we proceed to characterize those who don't fall into this group, or that group as being less than us. It's tribalism, and it's just a part of being human. It's also what makes it so unlikely our species will survive.
So I cast no stones which don't ultimately come back to hit me, but I feel your questions are in a way silly, and suspect you already know the answers, and that in fact you are just asking those questions to open a dialog about racism.
So here is my contribution.
This happens to me too. A Nosy Nelly neighbor is always talking about n-words this and that.
I remember way back in high school, in government class, a kid who sat behind me asked me, point-blank: "What do you think about n-words?"
I was so shocked to be asked that question that I don't think I could respond to it.
That last comment is kind of along the lines of what I'm talking about. Some people have no problem with this kind of thing and assume the rest of us are the same way.
Well, back to my "white employer" (by the way, where are the 'black' or other minority workplaces that I'm supposedly avoiding with my blatant white flight?)
No actually you're the exception. In fact all the "individuals" who live and work in such communities are exceptions.
There's no one to blame.
And when we look at the big picture - it's all just a huge misunderstood statistic that trouble makers, and social scientist are making up to make us feel guilty.
Do you guys ever see real racism. I have people tell me N-word jokes but they leave it at that. Does this mean they are racists?
I am not sure what it means to really be a racist. Do you have to put a hood on and burn crosses in black folks yards or do you have to not rent a house to them? By only using speech are you a racist
? If so, then what about people like Chris Rock, or the many rappers who use degrading lyrics in their songs.
I personally feel that you have to commit some kind of physical act to be labeled a racist. These acts can include not promoting or hiring or not selling/renting a house because the other person is a minority. Now I do not advocate what Matt Hale did, incite violence with his rhetoric, but honestly just telling a joke doesnt make you a racist in my mind.
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