prejudice against white people

[Medusa]

Re: prejudice against white people

It does seem though, that whites are one of the few groups of people that can't be openly proud of their race.

[Heka]

It does seem though, that whites are one of the few groups of people that can't be openly proud of their race.

Cos white people have spent their entire history being assholes. Thats nothing to be proud off. Us whiteys deserve the shame.

[monsno_leedra]

Re: prejudice against white people

Cos white people have spent their entire history being assholes. Thats nothing to be proud off. Us whiteys deserve the shame.

Not very good with history are you? You might think you deserve the shame I sure don't think I do nor does my family.

[Ophidia]

Re: prejudice against white people

It does seem though, that whites are one of the few groups of people that can't be openly proud of their race.

Being proud of something that is purely an accident of genetics seems like getting a trophy for phoning it in.

Be proud of yourself & your own achievements. Be proud of your culture, your people's history, your ancestors' struggle to survive predators & illness long enough to breed successfully.

Being proud of your race, though? Most people these days can't even agree if 'race' exists as a human phenotypical trait or not. Just google 'does race exist' - or my favorite conundrum: "how does law enforcement/forensic scientists know if a skeleton is black, white or other?".

[Heka]

Not very good with history are you? You might think you deserve the shame I sure don't think I do nor does my family.

I know the history of my country fairly well, and yes, people here deserve to feel shame.

I don't personally, I'm only second generation, but I am still put out by thr way indigenous people here have been, and still are treated, also the way we treat other races.

It is shameful.

[Medusa]

Re: prejudice against white people

Being proud of something that is purely an accident of genetics seems like getting a trophy for phoning it in.

Be proud of yourself & your own achievements. Be proud of your culture, your people's history, your ancestors' struggle to survive predators & illness long enough to breed successfully.

Being proud of your race, though? Most people these days can't even agree if 'race' exists as a human phenotypical trait or not. Just google 'does race exist' - or my favorite conundrum: "how does law enforcement/forensic scientists know if a skeleton is black, white or other?".

What culture is 'white' though?

[B. de Corbin]

Re: prejudice against white people

At what point can we all start pointing at people from the Middle East and accusing them of being the font of all evil?

[anubisa]

Re: prejudice against white people

I think some people do deserve the shame. However, not all of us do. I wasn't born in Nazi Germany when Hitler was torturing all the Jews. (Though I wish I could have given the coward a good smack in the head.) Nor was I born in the time when people were hanging blacks for being black. (Again, I wish I could have given the cowards a couple smacks in the heads.) So you can't blame yourself for something you didn't do. Be proud of your race. I personally am of Hungarian origin and the other side of my family has Cherokee and is from the hills of Kentucky. I'm not entirely sure of my history, but you have to be proud of your family and not let others get you down.

[Ophidia]

Re: prejudice against white people

What culture is 'white' though?

That's what I'm getting at. White isn't a culture, it's a highly variable skin tone. My culture is 'American', possibly 'poor white trash' or 'lower middle class'. My dad's culture was German/Prussian. My mom's culture was southern American, coming from French Canadien way back when, so probably originally French/Gaulic with some Mohawk thrown in there. My husband's 2nd generation Hungarian. Ever since my husband found out that he looks like Vlad Tepes (same eyes, nose & moustache) was portrayed, and that he's probably got some of Attila the Hun's DNA, he's been very proud to be Hungarian. I still struggle with the whole concept of cultural pride, because honestly southern Americans are some hateful people, and I don't feel proud to be associated with them. The French weren't very hospitable to the indigenous Canadians they encountered, either. So I tend to focus more on being proud of personal achievements than beating myself up for being related to incestuous racist hillbillies.

At what point can we all start pointing at people from the Middle East and accusing them of being the font of all evil?

When they start using Comic Sans.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: prejudice against white people

T
When they start using Comic Sans.

Not when they try to establish a hell-on-earth that Northern European dead white guys abandoned 300 years ago?

Oh darn.

[thalassa]

Re: prejudice against white people

At what point can we all start pointing at people from the Middle East and accusing them of being the font of all evil?

I think these guys beat us all to it...in a very civilized, low key, gotta read between the lines sort of way.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: prejudice against white people

I think these guys beat us all to it...in a very civilized, low key, gotta read between the lines sort of way.

That was an interesting read.

It's prolly unfortunate that they chose "Western Civilization" as their term, because since the 60s that particular term has developed negative connotations (we've learned self loathing - which is where all this "white guys are naughty" crappolla comes from. We should have learned self criticism instead. The first is a vice, while the second is a virtue).

What they are actually looking at, and identifying as Western Civilization, are more correctly (IMHO) the historical antecedents of The European Enlightenment - or, if one prefers, the rise of Humanism.

[Watchful Wanderer]

Re: prejudice against white people

As bad as it may be, racism pales in comparison to speciesism.

[thalassa]

Re: prejudice against white people

As bad as it may be, racism pales in comparison to speciesism.

Not really.

[Jera]

Re: prejudice against white people

I live in South Africa and "white guilt" is part of everyday life for white people of my generation, despite most of us being born near its end or after its dissolution. Because of Apartheid we have learnt that we are the baddies and that we should be ashamed of ourselves, our families and our history. Our majority-black government is allowed to openly criticise whites, if any white politician or celebrity does the same it is front page news and they are shamed. Our president and the former leader of our ANC Youth League danced and sang a song on TV in Zulu which, when translated, means "bring me my machine gun so I can kill a Boer". When confronted about the lyrics of the song they said it was an "Apartheid struggle song" and if we have a problem with them singing it we are racists. The whole matter quickly died down, because no white person wants to be branded a racist by the media. Being branded a racist in this country is worse than being branded a murderer or a rapist. When the government is challenged about service delivery and other problems, they still blame it on Apartheid.
This is how things are.
Skin colour is part and parcel of everything in this country. A simply survey on your local grocery store requires you to fill in your race. BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) means that you can lose a job to a less qualified person simply because they are non-white and you are white, and your company has a requirement to have a certain number of non-white staff.
I don't like racism, to whomever it is directed to. I shudder when I hear older Afrikaans people complaining about "those vokken kaffirs taking everything from us". But maybe we do deserve it.
I wonder if the white Apartheid government would have continued their regime if they knew what things would be like in the future for their descendants?