Okay, White 'Murrica....

[Thumpalumpacus]

It's a fallacy no matter the context.

I disagree.

Saying 'you do X too' can a way of pointing out hypocrisy, or lending perspective (as i tried to do here). It only becomes a fallacy when you add 'therefore it's OK for others to do X.'

And you think I lack this perspective ... why?

Three things:

1) "White guy from Texas" is not the same as "generic white guy." Sorry, but statistics indicate that a white guy from Texas is, in fact, far more likely to be racist than a generic white guy.

Well, that makes it all right, then.

Sorry, assuming that because of tendencies, tied to either skin color or geographic location, that an individual is probably a bigot is unsupportable.

Do you assume all white guys from Texas are bigots?

2) My experience has been that white racists will sort of "feel me out" to see if I'm also a racist (aka 'one of us'). They do this with things like racist slurs and jokes. My job, as a decent human being, is to cut them short the instant they go down that road and let them know in no uncertain terms that no, I am not 'one of them.' If I say nothing, they'll assume I'm ok with their narrow-minded bigotry.

... which is pretty much what I assessed, and how I reacted.

3) In the gas station example you gave Blackout, that kid was reacting to a perceived injustice. He thought he was getting cut out of his rightful place in line. Jumping from there to "it's because you're white" is not much of leap, given the likely experience he's had in his life. No doubt there have been numerous times in his life when he was treated unfairly by white people due to racism.

That doesn't mean his reaction was right - it wasn't. he needed the little lesson you gave him with the pic of your son. Hopefully he learned something from it.

I get that. Explaining isn't justifying. His leap was wrong, and it made an unfair accusation.

But it also means that his assumption was not "just because you're white." It was because you were white and supporting a perceived injustice. In other words, the assumptions are coming not only from your skin color, but from "white + X."

Wrong. He said that I was for letting the other guy go first only because I shared the same race.

Let's not pretend that stereotypes exist in a vacuum. Speaking in a Southern accent increases the statistical likelihood that you are racist.

I don't speak with a Southern accent. I spent four years of my youth growing up in Iran, and a significant portion of my life in Southern California. This has pretty much erased any accent I had.

You sure are one for assumptions, aren't you?

Ditto for any of the classic "redneck" tells, like a 4x4 pickup with a gun rack, or a redneck hat. Not all Southern white rednecks are racist, but the incidence of racism in that subset of Americans is significantly higher than in the subset of All White Male Americans.

So you say. According to the FBI, the three leading states for hate crimes are California, New York, and Michigan.

I realize that Southerners - especially those who are anything but racist good ol' boys - resent these stereotypes, just as any other group resents negative stereotypes. Thing is, no matter which group you belong to, you're gonna carry some baggage. Kinda sucks, but there it is.

So why is complaining about that -- expressing that resentment -- wrong?

One of the things i find most people never realize is this: no matter what you wear or how you look, you are in costume.
Choose your costume with care.

Would you speak more clearly here?