All white people are racists...or "white fragility" ??

[brewer]

I understand her family were held in camps here during WWII and that seems to be where a lot of her resentment comes from.

My parents were children (teens) during Pearl Harbor. That's where theirs came from. I was told to feel the same way they did. I didn't understand growing up and still don't. They didn't resent all Germans, just Nazi's. Never heard a thing about Italians. I got the evil eye when with my Asian partner.

I'm kind of dumb founded that subsequent generations (often many times removed) still hold onto the resentments of the distant past. I'm sure that I'll get some flack for this statement but what can I tell you. The article in the OP has labeled me a racist, so there ya go.

[TheRocketSurgeon]

And me: Well, at a family reunion, it was discovered that we are direct descendants of General Robert E. Lee. What the fuck am I supposed to do, pay myself reparations? I got up, looked in the mirror and apologized to myself. Just talking about race as a definite reality is too mixed up crazy.

Agreed!

By the way, Robert E. Lee was not a slave owner, and was an abolitionist. He wrote and spoke out against slavery. He fought for the Confederacy out of a sense of patriotism to his state, not because he was in favor of the "Southern cause". Interesting tidbit that most people don't know. So at least you don't have to be ashamed of that part of your heritage.

I'm as Euro-gene'd as it's possible to be, and yet I have dark eyes and dark brown, almost afro-esque curly hair, courtesy of my Cajun French ancestry. Because I tan easily, I am often mistaken for mixed-race toward the end of summer, and I get quite the kick out of the confusion of people trying to make that determination. When asked, I reply, "does it matter?" (Sometimes I'll say I'm Cajun, since I know most people don't know our heritage in racial terms or they confuse us with the Creoles, so it confuses them even more.)

[Regina]

I think everyone has some racism in them. It's not just white people, your Asian friend, who has also been raised in a society which has undertones of white supremacy, will also have racist views. People are products of their environment. I think when you're born and raised in a country like America, where the notion of "race" and white supremacy is so deeply woven into the fabric of the country, it's downright impossible not to have some racist views. That doesn't mean you're inherently a bad person, it just means you've been indoctrinated with a lot of shitty conditioning you need to unlearn.

I think most people (especially white people but not exclusively) don't see themselves as racist just because they agree that slavery, genocide, segregation and lynching are bad. That's all we see as "racism", when people are "really" being hurt, we see the more subtle manifestations as harmless and petty when people complain.

I'm white and I do think "white fragility" is a thing, there are a lot of white people who act like being told they said something a bit backwards is somehow worse than experiencing racism. Sure, I think there comes a point where people definitely can say prejudiced, fucked up, hell I'll even say racist things about white people, but being told "be careful, that sounded problematic because..." is not racism.

[Rhondazvous]

This is me a year ago because I figured you wanted to see my natural hair.

This is my mommy! She's so awesome and pretty!

I don't have any pics of the sperm donor.

You have some pretty eyes. Lovely. Don't ever complain about your bouncy hair. Mine curls up so thick and tight that Moses couldn't part it. Pharaoh would have caught the children of Israel if Moses had been trying to part my hair

[BrokenQuill92]

This is me a year ago because I figured you wanted to see my natural hair.

This is my mommy! She's so awesome and pretty!

I don't have any pics of the sperm donor.

You have some pretty eyes. Lovely. Don't ever complain about your bouncy hair. Mine curls up so thick and tight that Moses couldn't part it. Pharaoh would have caught the children of Israel if Moses had been trying to part my hair

Surely it can't be all that bad! Try a detangler comb and curl pudding

[TheRocketSurgeon]

Me (that HAIR!!!), my Beloved, and our son, taken last month. Talk about "Moses couldn't part it!"

[Rhondazvous]

And me: Well, at a family reunion, it was discovered that we are direct descendants of General Robert E. Lee. What the fuck am I supposed to do, pay myself reparations? I got up, looked in the mirror and apologized to myself. Just talking about race as a definite reality is too mixed up crazy.

Agreed!

By the way, Robert E. Lee was not a slave owner, and was an abolitionist. He wrote and spoke out against slavery. He fought for the Confederacy out of a sense of patriotism to his state, not because he was in favor of the "Southern cause". Interesting tidbit that most people don't know. So at least you don't have to be ashamed of that part of your heritage.

I'm as Euro-gene'd as it's possible to be, and yet I have dark eyes and dark brown, almost afro-esque curly hair, courtesy of my Cajun French ancestry. Because I tan easily, I am often mistaken for mixed-race toward the end of summer, and I get quite the kick out of the confusion of people trying to make that determination. When asked, I reply, "does it matter?" (Sometimes I'll say I'm Cajun, since I know most people don't know our heritage in racial terms or they confuse us with the Creoles, so it confuses them even more.)

I'm not clear about the Cajun/Creole connection. But I'd be more than happy to learn.

A white man who can pass for Black. That shows you these classifications aren't based on anything scientific.

I knew Lee was fighting out of loyalty to his state, but I didn't know he was an abolitionist. Based on what I know about why the North was fighting the South, I've often wondered if what Lincoln did to the Southern states was any different from what Russia did to the Slavic states. We've has several threads about the Civil War but never from that angle.

[downbeatplumb]

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.

Ghandi hated black people.

[Rhondazvous]

I think everyone has some racism in them. It's not just white people, your Asian friend, who has also been raised in a society which has undertones of white supremacy, will also have racist views. People are products of their environment. I think when you're born and raised in a country like America, where the notion of "race" and white supremacy is so deeply woven into the fabric of the country, it's downright impossible not to have some racist views. That doesn't mean you're inherently a bad person, it just means you've been indoctrinated with a lot of shitty conditioning you need to unlearn.

I think most people (especially white people but not exclusively) don't see themselves as racist just because they agree that slavery, genocide, segregation and lynching are bad. That's all we see as "racism", when people are "really" being hurt, we see the more subtle manifestations as harmless and petty when people complain.

I'm white and I do think "white fragility" is a thing, there are a lot of white people who act like being told they said something a bit backwards is somehow worse than experiencing racism. Sure, I think there comes a point where people definitely can say prejudiced, fucked up, hell I'll even say racist things about white people, but being told "be careful, that sounded problematic because..." is not racism.

You and Alex K are right on point. It’s possible that the difference between racist and non-racist is a matter of degree. Just like the difference between poison and medicine is a matter of quantity not substance.

Sometimes people say things and it’s hard to know how to respond. We can’t have the same response to everything that sounds like it might be racist. I was listening to this White woman talking to another White woman. I wasn’t eves dropping. I was just there. Apparently some Black guy had been fired because he did not have the proper license to do his job. When the White woman talked to him he said, “That’s easy for you to say. You’re the same color as the boss.” She got mad and told him, “Look, if you want to play the race card then you go get somebody from the NAACP and I’ll get somebody from the KKK and meet you down at the courthouse.” I wasn’t sure how to feel about this because I know this woman and she loves herself some Rhonda. I also know that this same company fired a White man who was over charging customers. Who was the racist here?

[Catholic_Lady]

Me (that HAIR!!!), my Beloved, and our son, taken last month. Talk about "Moses couldn't part it!"

Beautiful family.