Secret Racist?
Hello! I just realized that I have a lot of drafts that are stuck in my inbox (LOOK AT THE PICTURE BELOW). I decided to start clearing my inbox and start writing regularly again.
Warning 2nd time: Not fully finished (DESPITE IT BEING 30 MINUTES LONG TO READ), with a lot of errors, but I hope you get the point of what I was trying to write in my “Stuck In My Draft Inbox Series”
For this one, I wasn’t sure if I was going to publish it or not, (this is from November 15th, 2016 when I remember every happening to me at school. I was influenced by many of the articles I’ve seen the past few years. Don’t be surprised if you see something you wrote here).
And for those keeping track, I’m down two! WAHOOO!
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I remember sitting around a group of my bros, and they said they hated white people. These group of guys and gals said they hated white people. And they are white people. LOL. GTFOH.
Influenced by many as I put this article together. I haven’t publicly talked about race too much amongst friends, family, etc. No I don’t write those long angry Facebook statuses. I have a tendency to talk about it in person. Now it’s changed. This is my first ever post on the complex issue. And maybe my last because it took so freaken long to write.
I’d like to extend my challenge to you and come with me on a journey wherein I’ll try to elucidate just what it is people of color and even our less melanin-endowed friends are up in arms about.
Let me tell you in a form of a experiment.
Indianapolis, IN is where I live. I travel quite a bit.
We hired a caregiver, and compared services in general. We wanted to do a experiment to see if we would get equal service regardless of address.
At the address near the Children’s Museum, the quality is not that great. Many companies don’t want to deliver pizza there. There are more abandoned homes with boarded up houses. We notice that the caregiving company sent untrained workers. I can’t even tell you how many guys try me.
My mom mentioned I bet you if we were in Carmel or downtown, we would get better service. You could walk to the library without getting sexually harassed.
Now, in Carmel or Downtown is a whole different story. Service is swift. Stores are nicer. Security is present. I won’t lie, I feel safer. Guys don’t bother me AT ALL Carmel or downtown. Well wait, I take that back. Downtown can even get a little sketchy.
Those, however, are facts that my friends does not need to know. Many of them don’t live with the racial segregation and oppression in their homes. Getting back to the company, it doesn’t dawn that the very fact that white workers refuse to work in an increasingly Black neighborhood to work in a White suburb might itself be a aspect of racism. Or the fact that if are in an area or a zip code that in a perceived black neighborhood/”ghetto” that the service goes down. Notice if you go in a McDonald’s in a ghetto neighborhood versus the one out in the burbs? It should be the same no matter where a person goes. I usually don’t talk with most of They doesn’t have to experience racism, and so it is not real to them. So guess what? No matter how much I try to tell some of my friends that racists things have happened to me, they are convinced that it’s my fault. It’s not so much of what they say, it’s what they do. Silence=Agree With Racism. If I’m wrong, I’d love to see them prove me wrong. They are scared to speak against the same system that gave them the power. Hell they are not willing to bite the hand that feeds them.
Again, if you are white and grow up in a culture like that (in which MILLIONS do) that pathology will be apart of you. The only truly NON RACIST white people that I’ve ever encountered are the individuals who actively seek to confront their own internalized racism and go about deconstructing it. These are the white folks that will listen to their peers of color as opposed to whitesplaining and getting offended (and subsequently making it all about themselves)…
White people do not think in terms of we. White people have the privilege to interact with the social and political structures of our society as individuals. You are “you,” I am “one of them.” Whites are often not directly affected by racial oppression even in their own community, so what does not affect them locally has little chance of affecting them regionally or nationally. They have no need, nor often any real desire, to think in terms of a group. They are supported by the system, and so are mostly unaffected by it. -John Metta
Segregation
I don’t talk about race with many white kinfolks because first of all, they don’t give a damn. Secondly, if you been told that you are better, why should you have a conversation with someone who you perceive is beneath you? I hate to say it, but most of my white friends are not interested. I don’t hate them for it, of course. The ones who engage are pretty cool (there is a few that genuinely want to understand). When I was younger, the white people in my grade school thought they were doing the black students a favor. My mom overheard the principle saying “If it wasn’t for us, those kids wouldn’t be doing much anyways.” Those kids. Racism was assuming that I was sexually promiscuous. If anyone knows me, they know that I don’t put out to every guy with pants on. No matter what I did, I would never be the perfect Catholic in their eyes. Since I didn’t fit their prejudges and stereotypes, they weren’t sure how to handle me. And the black kids? I had long hair (down my back), and many of them were not too nice to me (especially the girls). To this day, I don’t consider most of the people (black, white, purple, blue) from my grade school friends.
What is racism?
“Racism” in and of itself isn’t solely relegated to the rantings of: boisterous, sweaty, nasty, trucker cap wearing, tobacco spitting, wife beating, monster truck driving, KKK members in Alabama and Georgia. One doesn’t need to pepper their timeline with Donald Trump fanfare and swastikas to be a racist. One can also be that “benign” racist who jokingly says, “Omigod, that is like sooooooo Ghetto!” One can be that racist — with the compliant black “friend” — who makes so many tiny microaggressions that, after you walk away, you stop and wonder if they are in fact a racist (which they were to begin with).-Prince Charmingly Petty
Racism is wearing a hijab and being called a terriorist and they did nothing wrong. Racism is stopping a South American Asian in the airport security line, profiling them as terrorists because of perceived danger, not actual danger. Some are profiled as terrorists because of their clothes or our religion.
Racism is not slavery. Racism is not needing to realize that top notch schools exclusively means white schools. Racism is not white restaurants. Racism is getting less salary and wage in the workforce because of your skin color. President Obama’s election to the white house did not end racism. Racism is a cop shooting an innocent man minding his own business. It is a 12 year old child being shot for playing with a toy gun in a state where it is legal to openly carry firearms. In my specific college situations, racism is getting worst treatment than my friends. Racism is assuming that I stole something versus buying it. Racism is a security guard following my black cousin in the store because they think he’s going to steal something, while my white cousin or Asian relatives could have gone in that same store to get better treatment while I was sitting there watching the whole thing. Racism was stereotyping me before getting to know me and assuming that one size fits all. Colorism is black people thinking I don’t experience stereotyping and racism because I have “European hues and good hair.” Oh boy, far from the truth, I just don’t complain or put a two page paper on Facebook about it. My personal definitions of racism? Racism is getting weird stares from black people when I hang out with my white boyfriend (and I only said it that way because of the topic of this article, I just say boyfriend or trap king). Using racism as a crutch is always always always making things a racial issue when race wasn’t an issue (I may take some heat for that one, but I HATED when people pulled the race card in college and wanted me to use it as a crutch). I will have to be honest and say I’ve experienced racism from both white people and black people. While racist incidents have not happened to me as much since college, I do take note when they actually happen.
The reality of the United States is White people are associated with being successful, and black people are associated with being unsuccessful. When a white person commits a crime, as a single person themselves are bad. If a black person does commits a crime, the whole race gets stereotyped based on that one person. White people are in a position of power in this country because of racism. The question is: are you afraid of another race getting in a position of power? Do you have an issue having a black boss or Indian boss? If you saw a racist incident, would you speak against it? Or would you stay silent? A little sidenote: The American government was primarily created by slaveholders, and the foundations for its economy were built on slavery. Which is why we find today that racism is all the more difficult to address because it is embedded in the very foundations of American society and institutions.
Throughout American history, white has been the dominant and preferred race. Today, we live in a culture that prioritizes whiteness. Our media makes whiteness the default and the standard (If you aren’t white then you better emulate it or else your life will be a shamble). If you are white and grow up in a society like that (in which MILLIONS do) that pathology will be apart of you. Newsflash: According to United States Census Bureau, by 2020, white children will be minorites. By 2044, Demographers predict will be fewer white people than Hispanics and people of Multi-Racial ancestry. Does this idea of losing your position frighten you or you ready to rock and roll with it? DO you think that black person, Hispanic person, or Indian person getting the job over you means that something is taken away from you? Do you think having a 4.2 on your college application automatically entitles you to get in your first choice of college?
Have you considered that:
Structural economic dynamics including increased competition globally and the decline of unions, globalization and bad macroeconomic policy beyond your control is a factor? Sometimes a person has a connection that you don’t have. People do work with people they know, like and trust.
A classmate with lower GPA and test scores was accepted because the parents had money to donate to the school?
Some people may be chosen because they are some big wig’s son, preferential treatment, looks, (do you think any college would turn down Prince George or President Barack Obama’s daughters? Come on now). There are many reasons people are given preferential treatment.
On the college side of things, choice is influenced by money. For example, let’s just say a white 4.2 student applied and a black athlete with a 2.5 applies. Sports are major money maker for colleges. Athletes make the school look good. If the black athlete helps the college sell out sports tickets, the black athlete will get accepted every time. If the athlete is a football or basketball player, you can forget it. Now the same can happen to a black person with a 4.2 if they need a player on a particular position and the candidates are the maniacs (4.2) and an athlete that happens to be white. The white athlete will get chosen.
It’s too easy to say that affirmative action or blaming Indians, blacks, when there were other factors in play.
How White Guys Play Into This:
Want to know why white men are always blamed for racism? I’m not assuming the white guys I’ve known in my life as racist, or assuming that a white guy I cross paths with is racist. (I’m dating one of them, and he will never be the “master” of me.) But America, we normalize and glorify the Hugh Hefners. From 1789 on up, the USA had over 200+ years of white men being the lead of the country. Generations and generations of white men has been molded throughout history and told that they are the only ones that can lead. Look around you. Who’s the CEO of your company that you work for? More in likely, a white guy.
This has been around for a long time.
Even before that, according to Karl Marx, concentration and centralization of capital was eventually to throw the petty bourgeoisie (the capitalist class who own most of society’s wealth and means of production) into the ranks of the increasingly immiserated working class, just as the peasantry were to become proletarianized despite their attachment to the land. However, the urge to self-employment, to own the means of livelihood, coupled with the growth of the services sector and the persistence of ‘shopkeepers’, mean that this class continues to defy not only elimination but also neat categorization into the proletariat (the class of wage-earners, material value is based on their ability to work) or the salariat (the class of workers in an economy who receive salaries) and as such it is usually accorded the status of a survival from a previous era. It represents the solution to the class struggle. This class was progressive in a limited sense, as witnessed by its claims at various times for co-operatives, credit institutions, and progressive taxation, as a consequence of felt oppression at the hands of the bourgeoisie.
Getting classes from the same economic and race to fight one another is another tactic used to destroy. The inbtwns (the petite bourgeoisies) fighting the haute bourgeoisie the upper middle class), and as usual the proletariats tried to overthrow the bourgeoisie.
The petite bourgeoisie is located between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat in terms of its interests as well as its social situation, meet and become blurred. In other words, you might be upper middle class (and came from the working class), but not quite Warren Buffet rich.
If you look back at history, economic classes clashing (say that 10 times) is very very common. Capitalistic “bourgeoisie” white men keeping others from getting power is the name of their game. They also know that racism, sexism must be used to keep people down and has to be used in between groups.
White men between us and Trump know for this system to keep working for them, they have to keep kicking everyone else off the ladders. And all the Trumps at the top need to do to maintain this system is make sure there are enough white men doing the kicking. Everyone is as free as there are ladders and white men to kick people off of them.
And most everyone is climbing. Most of us will die never making it to the top. Our names will be forgotten. Most of it spent servicing the men above us with nothing of our own. -Holly Wood, The KKK Isn’t Reading The New York Timed OP-ED Pages
Personally, I’m not asking white men to hand over their fortunes to me, because I got my own. I don’t hate white guys either. What do many of them want? They want a world where everyone (people of color, religious groups, and white women) have to depend on them for EVERYTHING. As a reminder, I had to tell several of them that no, I’m not stupid. No you are not the only ones that know something. I’m the head handcho of this company, don’t think you can come in here trying to run my company. I’m in charge. But I live in a country that tells them that they know everything and they are supposed to be in charge of everything. Trump was just the next logical repeating pattern of putting and keeping white males in power.
However, if you read those books, they are feeling the heat. Trust me.
White men feel butthurt because they aren’t getting their chance to boss a woman like Melania Trump around. They’re mad because they want to be able to treat immigrants like shit, too. They’re mad because their boss is a woman and nurse sick revenge fantasies every time she makes him to do his job. They’re mad because Black actors on TV live in bigger houses they do. They’re mad because they see Trump living the life they feel is their birthright as white men.-Holly Wood
“When you’ve had the luxury of presuming yourself to be the norm, the prototype of an American, any change in the demographic and cultural realities in your society will strike you as outsized attacks on your status. You’ve been the king of the hill and never had to share shit with anyone, what is really just an adjustment to a more representative, pluralistic, shared society seems like discrimination. When you’re used to 90 percent or more of the pie, having to settle for only 75 or 70 percent? Oh my God, it’s like the end of the world.”-Tim Wise
It’s not the end of the world folks, it’s just a changing world and it’s time to adapt. Charles Darwin said it best “It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able to adapt to and to adjust best to the changing environment in which it finds itself.” Any who, lets get back to the point.
Even the fact that America has a growing number of violent hate groups, populated mostly by white men, and that nearly *all* serial killers are white men can not shadow the fundamental truth of white male goodness. In fact, we like White serial killers so much, we make mini-series about them.-John Metta
Remember that White people are good as a whole, and only act badly as individuals. A white person smoking meth is a “kid next door” and a Black person doing it is a “criminal.” On What Would You Do On ABC, there was a group of white kids vandalizing, and a group of black kids vandalizing. The white kids were ignored, seen as playing around, etc. In the black kids case, they were approached and the police were called several times. In suburban areas, drug use is quickly rising, quicker than in urban areas. Do you notice that they call the high schoolers “good”? They get called “the girl next door that abused drugs.” Ghetto black kids are called gang bangers and thugs.
There’s a CBS story that admits to unconscious negative attitudes towards minorities. Lets face it, police bias exist.
Why is it on TV so much today? Because we have smartphones, and back in the 1950’s and 60’s, that kind of technology didn’t exist.
There’s a story from The Independent with a racist undertone, saying that Black and Muslim killers are terrorists and thugs and white shooters called mentally unstable? So the white folks that commit these sorts of crime is called shooters and are excused? Yet a Muslim or a black person does the same thing, they are called thugs and terrorists? Remember the Orlando shootings and Muhammad Ali passing away within a week of each other? It was slick and beautifully cunning. One week, Americans were scared of gays in public restrooms and memorializing Muhammad Ali, a Muslim sports figure. The next week, they suddenly started caring about gays and starting being afraid of Muslims.
Did anyone else notice the quick switch of attitudes towards different groups based on the situation? This is talking specifically about the different way we in this nation treat different groups and people of color.
More Questions I’ve Heard/Seen/Etc
Mixed? Caught In The Middle? What are you?
Instead of re-inventing the wheel, I’m going to steal this Cosmopolitan article and steal a few words from Dear Mixed People, You Are Not Half Black. Sorry.
First point really resonates with me. You don’t act like [insert ethnicity]. Really? What do these people act like? Are you going to follow up by pointing out stereotypes that I don’t fit? THIS. Cosmopolitan and Ariel Nagi HIT IT RIGHT ON THE HEAD. I’m usually not nice to people that suddenly ask “WHAT ARE YOU MIXED WITH?” WTF? I’m a human being fool.
When I think of mixed, I think of mixing food in a kitchen. Mixing red and blue to get purple. If you can’t say multi-racial or bi-racial and act like you got some damn sense, I just won’t try too hard to hold a conversation with you. I HATE MIXED. I’m not sure if people have the mental capacity to drop the term mixed.
Black is a culture-substitute. Nigerian, Jamacian, Ethiopean, etc. are races & ancestries. White is a culture-substitute. French, Italian, German, etc. are races & ancestries. Know your ancestry. Define yourself. Embrace 100% of your cultures with 100% of you, not half of you. -Ebrahim Asseem
Your melanin makes you Black but Black is NOT a race, it is a color & a culture-substitute when you don’t know the specific country in the motherland your ancestor came from. #EbrahimAseem You don’t have to say you’re full Black, nor pick sides or choose one race to identify. No. Embrace all of you. Every racial ingredient. Just innerstand you partake in a regal ancestry & nucleus all life springs from. Melanin. -Ebrahim Aseem
He makes really good points in his article. Go read it when you get the chance. There’s really no such thing as “half.” You can’t drive half of a car.
When I ask people what’s up with the rude questions, they say they are curious. Just because you are curious, doesn’t mean you have the right to be rude. P.S. I rather someone say ancestry than “mixed.” For crying out loud. I was so disappointed in an 100 Black Men of Indianapolis when one guy who was a part of the organization asked me if I was mixed. I didn’t even answer. And I didn’t join as a mentor. Apparently you are supposed to be top notch people and still said mixed?
That’s my answer to that question.
You’re spoiled and have it easier than I do because of your skin color!
I hate this, because I’ve had my fair share of hard times. My skin color didn’t stop my friends and family from passing away to suicide, murder and abuse. I had my fair share of hospital runs. Because I don’t complain or reveal every painful situation to my friends, many of them think I’m free falling riding on cloud 9. I do have a tendency to post happy things on social media (and remember people post the book jacket of their lives, not the whole book containing the bad and the ugly). My skin color is not the reason why I have my ventures. It took a ton of work, disappearing from people I care about and not giving up on myself when others around me did. Nothing was handed to me, and I find this assumption to be unfair.
Why do they say that we have white privilege? We have hard times too you know!
I stated this above, but because you are white, you are associated with being successful, being right, and being smart. Your culture is seen as the norm, and everyone ‘s elses culture is seen as secondary. Yes, I’m sure you do experience hard times like everyone does. If you are non-white, stereotypes work against you. For example, when Mr. Trump said the little statement that your schools suck, what do you have to lose? Why did he assume all black folks are stupid? Too many times, the assumption is that every black person is the same: stupid, ghetto, ignorant, poor, etc. I’ve gotten stereotyped based on the worst circumstances. When the people who are racist towards met me, they are in for a shock. I’ll tell you a few school stories below. If you wear an hijab, you’re an terrorist. Muslim? You’re a shooter. I can guarantee you if you had to take a test on Asian, Indian, cultures, most white people would fail it. Many of them don’t take the time to learn about another culture because it doesn’t concern them, and their way is seen as normal anyways. Why learn about someone else who you see as beneath you anyways? (For those who learn new languages and cultures, GOOD FOR YOU. Ask others to join you!)
Racism is the fact that “white” means “normal” and that anything else doesn’t cut the mustard. Racism is our acceptance of an all white Downton Abbey Or Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find cast because of historical accuracy, ignoring the fact that this is a make believe world. We are in a world made up of different cultures, and we always zero in on one. Notice when there’s an all black cast, or all Chinese cast, or all Indian cast, they mention it? Or there’s some uproar as to why that shouldn’t happen?
The norm is white. And racism is the fact that we all accept that it is white.
That is racism. Religious and visible minorities experience racism, hatred and vile comments more often than you might care to think.Once you let yourself see it, it’s there all the time. Or you can choose to not see it.
Racism In College?
The one thing that I understood as a young kid was that racism exists and can happen to me, but to use the race card as a crutch is not cool. The one of many things that turned me off about college? I pay attention a lot more than people care to realize and that’s why I wrote this post in the first place. The issue I had was people at my school always pulling the race card out instead of looking for solutions ALL THE TIME. For example, instead of looking for a solution or talking about it, a professor would say something like you’re a minority, this might happen to you because of your skin color. (I’ll explain below why I hate the word minority). Or assuming that I’m stupid. Ok, if it hasn’t happened yet, why are we wasting time on it? At some point in time, how about having the conversation about me being responsible, or finding out what I can do to make the situation better? That’s the words I was looking for and it barely happened. One of the reasons why I’m able to make moves today because I took control of my destiny, ignored cultural conditioning, and turned setbacks into comebacks.
Cultural conditioning is a very strong.
ON the other hand, when racist incidents did happen? They swept it under the rug like nothing didn’t happened and didn’t attempt to address it. It was the attitude that I was making these things up.
In my University experience, it kept showing me that women and minorities don’t belong in leadership positions. And in some instances, it showed me that I wasn’t welcome and wasn’t cared for. If this sounds like an Emma Watson speech, you are on target. I did steal a few of her words here.
In many cases, university experiences shapes a person. It definitely shaped me. I got tired of getting people telling me what my place was, minority this, and minority that. It’s primarily the reason why I don’t trust too many people and work for myself (read my article Why I became An Entrepreneur And Real Estate Investor). I noticed when I looked at my organizations’ websites, there were a lot of male presidents. No I don’t have anything against these people (and I think they are badass). Subconsciously, regardless if they admitted or not, they preferred white males in the presidential roles. As a society in general, we have an idea of what roles men and women should hold (check out my article on that Why We Fear Women In Power). For 10 to 12 males elected they had one female. This happened in several organizations. Throughout the semesters I only experienced 2 females president in all my organizations (it ended u I saw a pattern that is undeniable. I saw college as a preview of the real world rat race, as a system that would tell me that my gender and race is a reason to keep me out of leadership positions. I watched males get elected semester after semester while watching the females lose. So instead of leaving it to chance and relying on other people to vote me in on their board of directors, or make me CEO of their companies, I decided to create my own way. I’ve co-founded and started a dozen companies up to this point. And It upset me because here in the 21st century, skin color and gender still matters. No, I won’t start a gender bias war everyday. More in likely, you won’t see me hold a sign saying “Hey I had a racist thing happen to me today. Come and give me a hug.” No I’m not a sore loser, I usually congratulate everyone with shots (Tequila anyone?) However, all of it added enough fuel to my fire to push me to some of the successes that my friends are seeing today.
I do want to make something clear: There was a ton of good people in college that I still adore to this day. But I was too nervous to build deep connections and bonds because of the painful experiences I had.
Getting back to the original point, I have friends and relatives of several backgrounds. And yes a ton of white people who are friends, relatives and a trap king who keeps talking to me about marriage (but I’m slowing his roll). Honestly if you met me in person, you would know that I’m the last person in the world that would pull out the race card every 5 minutes, but had enough racist experiences happen to me to be aware. And no, I don’t say hey these are my white friends, these are my Indian friends in normal conversation. I don’t pick friends based on skin color, I pick them on how they treat me. I’m using race to explain myself here.
Aren’t more white people killed by police than black people? How do you feel about Black Lives Matter?
We bring up the pressures of being a police officer, and they justify the actions the police took against someone. We don’t address what goes through a person’s mind when a gun is put in their face by a police officer. Am I saying all cops are bad? No. In many instances, if you pick a side, it’s like if you are pro-cop, you are anti-black. And if you are pro-black, you are anti cop. Furthest from the true. I’ve watched family get profiled by the cops, and I have family members who are cops. Awkward.
Yes, but context. When analyzing things like black and whites killed by police, it’s not so, well, black and white. Here’s my understanding of black lives matter: they are not trying to say that other lives don’t matter, they are just saying don’t forget about black people.
To borrow a terrible analogy: If there were a bowl of Skittles and I told you that the orange Skittles were three times more likely to be eaten, despite only making up 12% of the bowl, would you agree that the person eating from the bowl really likes orange skittles?
Now imagine that neither you or I are unfeeling monsters and these are people and not candy.
Black people, despite being only 12% of the population, are three times more likely to be killed by the police than whites.
Despite cooperating with police. Despite being unarmed. Despite not doing anything illegal or to cause one to suspect that they are doing something illegal, black people are more likely to be gunned down than whites.
That’s not a hunch, a feeling, or a liberal media ploy. It’s a fact.
There is no racism. Isn’t there a black president?
We do have a black president. However, one black president serving eight years working with a reluctant and lethargic Republican Senate does not a reparation make. Especially after more than 200 years of slavery, 90 years of Jim Crow laws, 35 years of housing discrimination, and the incessant murders of unarmed black males in this country. See, people of color have been persecuted in this country since before it was a country. And it didn’t stop after the acts of genocide committed by settlers to eradicate the Native Americans or black people were hauled here and sold into slavery like imported farm equipment. If you want to ask how fair the U.S. government is, ask any Native American.
Racism lives, thanks to redlining, housing discrimination, segregation, white flight, mass incarceration, and the myriad other ways white people have historically used to suppress minorities from gaining equality in these United States. White supremacy is a belief, a system, and a way of thinking. It’s judging other races by their worst examples, and judging themselves by their best intentions.
Reverse Racism Exists! As a White Person, I’ve experienced racism!
According to a survey released last year 52 percent of white Americans said they believe discrimination against them is on par with discrimination faced by black people and other minorities. In Canada, a poll taken in 2014 showed that most Canadians don’t think they’re racist — 84 percent claim they have friends of different racial backgrounds — but 32 percent make occasional racist comments, and 27 percent agree with racial stereotypes. Those ideas are at odds with each other, demonstrating a lack of understanding of the basic concept of racism.-Manisha Krishnan, Dear White People, Please Stop Pretending Reverse Racism Is Real
This will be debated until the end of time. There’s a really good article on why some white people feel victimized when people of color express their oppression.
I’m not going to re-write the whole article here, (otherwise you will be here for another 4 hours). And as far as history goes, white people have never been persecuted for the color of their skin — so there’s no point comparing their experiences to those of black, brown, and Indigenous folks, according to Anthony Morgan.
But Morgan said even if all people of color straight up said they hate white people, it wouldn’t affect a white person’s ability to get a job, an education, or increase the odds that they’d get carded or charged for a crime. “If all white people had that view of black people or people of color, that would have a very dramatic life impact on the material reality of all those people.”
Another article states Why Some White People Feel Oppressed. If you read the comments, many accuse the author of being racist for using “White People.” The lack of discussion about race leads to no understanding about race and whites simply cannot be convinced of their own privilege. Every time a person of color mentions that our currently society is geared towards a hidden cast system based on the complexion of human beings, they don’t want to acknowledge it because it’s not their reality. If don’t have to think about the privilege.
I think the point of these articles was to separate interpersonal racism from systemic racism. That while a person may not be racist, if a person is white, that person has benefited from a racist system. If you had a scenario where either a) Being the only white person at a Hispanic party, but didn’t feel uncomfortable until someone asked really loudly “What’s she doing here?” or getting blank stares b) you’re a white person being asked to move to the back of an Indian meeting because you haven’t been marginalized or racialized. You might be taking this article and plenty others personally thinking that all of you are being thrown under the bus. That’s not the point. A Black or Hispanic person calling you “white people” just hurts your feelings, not your life. “It’s interesting that as soon as you de-centre whiteness, it becomes about people being anti-white, Debbie Douglas mentioned in one of the articles. So when the focus isn’t on a white person, people of color automatically become angry, revengeful, and hateful. Why is it that in a place created for black, Indian, Asian or people to have a conversation amongst themselves about what it’s like to be those races, whites still feel they need to be the center of attention? Just read everything I said above.
Also you may not directly deny a black, Hispanic, Asian or person a loan or job, but the system has made it possible for you to get the loan or the job because of your skin color. I’m not going to personally go around saying “Hey, you’re white, you get advantages I don’t.” I’m not going to make you feel guilty. Who am I to be a hateful person.
You enjoy the fruits of racism whether you like it or not.
The point is awareness and understanding that when a white person walks into Louis Vuitton, they aren’t followed around by a security guard because they’re white. A black or Hispanic person, simply because they’re black or Hispanic, has a much better chance of security following them, making sure they don’t steal anything.
Let me give you a personal example.
During my college days, I did a friend’s project for a technology course. Her project completely erased off her USB drive because the computer shut down before it saved. She did the work, but it just erased like that (the power of saving every single minute lol). The project was worth 100 points and it was due the next day-she was about to have a nervous breakdown. We were in a STEM field, so I was always around high stress level situations. To build one block, it took hours (in between 10 to 15 hours). I had all ten done, and I didn’t want someone to flunk a course over that. So I helped her out.
We compared projects with each other, and the study group we were in the class. When everyone compared projects, and it was the exact same thing (by the way, everyone had to turn in the same thing. The point was are you able to build the same type of block). So after looking over all 10 projects, and we looked over each other’s work, we turned it in.
In this particular case, racism is the fact that because my white friends got a better grade from the white professor with the exact down SAME WORK, down to the dimensions and measures per square foot. I was the only yellow bella pine slinger in the class. You would be amazed at how many C’s I received because of this lol. This shit is hard to prove, but it happens every single day!
Which side are you on?
Just for the record, I love white people and I love people in general. Some of my best friends are white. My boyfriend is white. I’m a 90’s kid. In other words, I did not live during the most racist times in history. So as I’m writing this, I’m learning. I’ve had plenty of life experiences that I had that I learned from. I don’t pick friends based on skin color and I have friends and family all around the world with many different backgrounds! I’ll put this in the article several times as a friendly reminder. This article wasn’t written out of spite or hate. I find that I’m learning a lot about racism as I go through life. Malcolm X, “Racism is like a Cadillac. There is a new model every year.” I would say the most racism I’ve experienced was in the education system, ironically, a system that I was told that would help me be successful in life.
Have You Ever Had Any Conversations?
I’ve encountered people who actively seek to confront their own internalized racism and go about deconstructing it. These are the white folks that will listen to their peers of color as opposed to whitesplaining and getting offended (and subsequently making it all about themselves
Black lives matter just want racism to be acknowledged. Some white people are afraid if you mention race, you might get accused of being racist. I can’t speak for everyone, but I did have a friend mention to me that growing up, she was told that she was better than everyone. White is right. White is the only way.
But she did say this. She said white people have a choice. She said as a white person, it’s up to her to ignore her grandparents and know she is not better than anyone else.
Black on black crime?
White people actually kill more white people than black people kill other black people. But that’s not the point! Murder and death are bad, regardless of what color they are.
I won’t win the popular award for this, but guess who vandalized my home during Winter 2016? Black people. Guess who murdered my cousin? A black person. We can sometimes be our own worst enemy, then complain when someone else of another race does something. I really wish some black people would stop saying I have white privilege because I’m yellow with “good long hair”. That shit needs to seriously stop. I’ve had my fair share of getting my ass kicked. TRUST ME.
Yeah I said it. How you like me now? Remember
Racism In Different Countries?
Ireland has many issues with racism towards and from British people due to our violent history but black and white isn’t an issue here in the same way as it is in America. The black Irish people I know identify as Irish in the same way that the white Irish people do and colour doesnt really come into it. We tend to divide people into groups based on their country rather than colour-being in Europe this makes more sense than it would in America! Thats why to me the idea of lumping all white people or all black people together makes little sense as I know many Italian, Spanish and Greek people who are of darker skin than friends who identify as black. Skin colour just doesnt make sense to me as a way to identify groups.
I’m colorblind?
First of all, if you don’t see color, you should see a doctor because this may be color vision deficiency onset by diabetes. If you do see color, but you say you don’t see color because it sounds like an innocuous way of empathizing, stop saying that. It diminishes people of color’s struggle, their fears, and their identities. It means you don’t see them as a person. “I don’t see color” is “I have black friends” lite.
Why is that Colin Kapernick taking a kneel during the national athem? The military sacrificed their lives so he can have the freedom to live, Why do these people think protesting will help?
The goal of these protests is to get people talking about the persistent killing of black people by the police. It’s working because it’s all over the news. Other groups are taking on the cause.
Some Asian Americans even confessed that American culture portrays Black people as thugs and criminals, and their negative attitudes toward Black people may also be influenced by prejudice around skin color or caste that exists within our own communities. As most people find out, stereotypes are just stereotypes.
But stereotypes can be misleading.
Look, I know the Founding Fathers wouldn’t approve of a black man taking a knee during an American Football game. Actually, I don’t think they’d much approve of a black and white people playing sports together, but I get your point. But the thing is, the antiquated beliefs of guys who didn’t know that what they thought about
So does he have to? No. But here’s the thing: He doesn’t have to stand either.
And now I plead.
I’m not asking you to pick up a sign and start marching. I’m not asking you to sit in with protestors at a City Hall meeting and advocate for more policing the police.
And Clay Travis, I’m not asking you to stop writing columns suggesting that LeBron James’ son is three times more likely to be killed by bees, lightning, or a dog than the public servants sworn to protect him.
That would be great, but it’s not at all what I’m asking. I’m just asking you to hear us out without having your ad hom persecution of shooting victims and wisecracks at the ready.
If it’s your wish to remain isolated in your own world where racism is over and down is up, that’s an option.
But being open to empathy, even if we can’t fully appreciate one’s suffering, can keep us from destroying one another. I’m trying to keep open mind to the subtle differences between us and our beliefs and I ask that you try, too.
Because without nuance, we’re all extremists.
If you don’t see a problem with how minorities are treated in this country, it’s because you choose not to. And if you can’t empathize, consider saying nothing. Telling people that their real fears are irrational, their real pain an illusion, or the facts fake is a roundabout way of saying you don’t give a shit. If you don’t believe that people are oppressed, what’s the point of telling them they aren’t? There’s nothing crazier than being an extremist in the fight against something that doesn’t exist, right?
If you made it to the end of my “ Stuck In Draft Inbox Series” you’re awesome for reading through all my mistakes and LONG ARTICLE. And hi, I’m Alesha! I’m an actress, musician and entrepreneur. Follow me on Instagram @aleshampeterson or twitter @aleshapeterson
