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All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 14, 2015 at 11:55 pm
Ok, I've got an Asian-American friend who just goes on and on about race. Being white, I will admit I do not know what it is like to be discriminated against just because of my skin color. However, that does not mean I don't know what it is like to be discriminated against for something out of my control (gender, mental health, etc.)
So she sent me this article:
Why White People Freak out....
and it seems to me to imply that just being born white into a western culture automatically makes a person behave in a racist way, often on accident. It goes on about how many white people get defensive when white privilage is brought up (I get this, I feel it sometimes. After all, it's not any more my fault that I'm white than that the person I'm talking to is not), so yes, I see that this happens. But does that make me racists??
Isn't assuming all "whites" behave racist....racist?
I'm so confused by this topic. It really seems to imply that white people are born racist, and that we cannot escape it. Is that, in itself, not racist?
Fuck color, seriously. I don't care if you are black, asian, catholic, jewish, or think you are a vampire. My entire life theory is based on being non-judgemental....yet I'm basically being accused of being judgemental automatically because of my skin color?
Someone, please explain this to me, so I can stop being the racist asshole I apparently was born to be.
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RE: All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 15, 2015 at 12:04 am
(This post was last modified: September 15, 2015 at 12:25 am by BrokenQuill92.)
I'm not quite sure what you're upset about, no has said you're racist. The article has said that privilege needs to examined and the effects of privilege on people beneath whiteness in the social hierarchy.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree...ot-helping
http://news.discovery.com/human/psycholo...150825.htm
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RE: All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 15, 2015 at 12:15 am
I'm so white I basically glow in the dark. One of the only people I've ever considered a good friend is black. My husband is "brown" (he's too much of a mutt to really have any particular dominant ethnicity). I associate with other white people too. I do judge people- based upon their actions, intelligence, how they conduct themselves and the way they speak (i.e. with intelligence or like a total ignoramus), not what they look like. Stupid comes in all colors. Perverts come in all colors. Narcissistic, psychopathic and sociopathic people come in all colors. Good, intelligent, contributing members of society also come in all colors. I choose to associate with the latter. Things like skin color, ethnic background, sexual orientation, gender ect... don't really matter to me. Those factors seem irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
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RE: All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 15, 2015 at 12:18 am
Asians are no slouches when it comes to racism, either.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Asia
It's a negative human trait which must be opposed.
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RE: All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 15, 2015 at 12:29 am
(September 15, 2015 at 12:18 am)Minimalist Wrote: Asians are no slouches when it comes to racism, either.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_Asia
It's a negative human trait which must be opposed. I keep telling people we can't oppose racism if half of the population refuses to acknowledge its a problem. A good chunk of white America thinks as long as they're not waving a confederate flag and screaming nigger then there's no problem.
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RE: All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 15, 2015 at 12:34 am
I was raised in a very white, upper-mid suburban neighborhood, mostly. It is what it is. I don't have a guilt trip about it, but it's not something I'm proud of, either.
I've dreamt lately of living in an airpark. Those places go for millions. You get a hangar for any personal planes you have. Sure, it's going to be predominately white. Again, no guilt trip about it. But such whiteness is also not what I crave.
I'm fairly suspicious of affirmative action and handouts and such. But it's from the standpoint of really wanting people hired on their own merits, not color. Now..how else do we tackle racism in hiring? I have no clue. I just don't. Maybe AA to a certain degree. But I also question the need to make a perfect racial fabric everywhere.
I just skimmed through the article. Frankly, I'm a bit tired from the day, so I'll need to respond to it tomorrow. But frankly, I'm sick of taking race into account for everything. I'm not counting my friends to make sure they meet a racial quota, whether perfectly diverse or all-white.
"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring." - Carl Sagan
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RE: All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 15, 2015 at 12:39 am
Roght, so...I should I focus on race instead of teaching colorblindness?
I'm legitimately confused here. When I raise my very, very white daughter, how do Ido so in a way that she won't contribute by to racism?
Currently, we don't discuss it. We live in an area with a heavy hispanic population, and most of her friends are hispanic or black. I do not talk about it, and neither do their parents o their kids. Why would we? This seems to be working for us. But this article, and BQ's comments here seem to imply I'm doing it wrong?
/facpalm
This is not an easy issue. And it seems to place all the onus on me. I guess that's why it's distressing. I don't want to hurt people! So how do I avoid it?
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RE: All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 15, 2015 at 12:44 am
(September 14, 2015 at 11:55 pm)Aroura Wrote: Ok, I've got an Asian-American friend who just goes on and on about race. Being white, I will admit I do not know what it is like to be discriminated against just because of my skin color. However, that does not mean I don't know what it is like to be discriminated against for something out of my control (gender, mental health, etc.)
So she sent me this article:
Why White People Freak out....
and it seems to me to imply that just being born white into a western culture automatically makes a person behave in a racist way, often on accident. It goes on about how many white people get defensive when white privilage is brought up (I get this, I feel it sometimes. After all, it's not any more my fault that I'm white than that the person I'm talking to is not), so yes, I see that this happens. But does that make me racists??
Isn't assuming all "whites" behave racist....racist?
I'm so confused by this topic. It really seems to imply that white people are born racist, and that we cannot escape it. Is that, in itself, not racist?
Fuck color, seriously. I don't care if you are black, asian, catholic, jewish, or think you are a vampire. My entire life theory is based on being non-judgemental....yet I'm basically being accused of being judgemental automatically because of my skin color?
Someone, please explain this to me, so I can stop being the racist asshole I apparently was born to be.
Can't explain it either. I agree 100% with your sentiments. You're right. Calling us racist just because of the color or our skin, is the very epitome of racism! Lol.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
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RE: All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 15, 2015 at 12:55 am
(This post was last modified: September 15, 2015 at 1:37 am by vorlon13.)
I know what a DRQ is, and I have no objection to becoming one. To date, the opportunity (IOW, an appropriate someone willing to let me do it to them) has not arisen.
Yet.
I'd actually get a kick out of discussing it on Tosh.0 in one of Daniel's "Is it Racist?" segments.
(don't bother Googling 'DRQ', you'll never find it)
And, LOL, while 'DRQing' used to be profoundly ne plus ultra summa cum laude outre, it sure isn't anymore these days, thank you rule 34.
The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it.
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RE: All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??
September 15, 2015 at 1:20 am
(September 15, 2015 at 12:04 am)BrokenQuill92 Wrote: I'm not quite sure what you're upset about, no has said you're racist. The article has said that privilege needs to examined and the effects of privilege on people beneath whiteness in the social hierarchy.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree...ot-helping
http://news.discovery.com/human/psycholo...150825.htm
I don't think Aroura was implying that the article is calling white people racist, just that her friend thinks all white people are racist, and used the article to illustrate why. I could be wrong...
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
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