Why are White People the ones who get called racists?

[painted wolf]

I'm not sure I did any straw grasping... I mentioned historical events that contributed to the development of the stereotype and some reasons it remains... yes, I did bring up the OP IMHO demonstrated a basic ignorance of a few facts, but I don't consider that grasping or a character attack.

wa:do

 

[Revoltingest]

I found the entire OP puerile; equating things like the NAACP and the lack of caucasian clubs at schools is trivializing the history of racism in the U.S. imo.

And statements like that create a climate hostile to open discussion.

 

[Nepenthe]

And statements like that create a climate hostile to open discussion.

I disagree particularly when I already addressed the OP's false assumptions in my post #50 and didn't give my opinion of its puerile nature until much later. I sincerely think the OP was puerile, the question itself isn't but the way it was presented was silly and trivialized a complicated issue. I don't think I was hostile.

But my post #50 is a thing of beauty. Honestly.

 

[Dezzie]

Yes, and the desire of many to ignore it and not understand it is why it still prospers.
Until we as a species, and Americans as a nation actually face our history and our tendencies toward racism we can never suppress it. We can't simply keep sayings things like... "well it happened way back then, and I'm not racist so everything is ok" or "why can't they just get over it".

wa:do

I wasn't saying that everything is okay. Especially now... I'm just saying that people need to grow up and stop acting immature. Pin pointing individual races on certain crimes isn't fair. It's obnoxious and rude IMHO. No one said anything about ignoring our past, present, and possible future... I was merely stating that people need to just knock it off. Racism is a childish way of dealing with things.

 

[Revoltingest]

I disagree particularly when I already addressed the OP's false assumptions in my post #50 and didn't give my opinion of its puerile nature until much later. I sincerely think the OP was puerile, the question itself isn't but the way it was presented was silly and trivialized a complicated issue. I don't think I was hostile.

It seems to me that you just explained why you are hostile, which the word "puerile" exemplifies.
Mind you now, I'm not really criticizing you for this, since even I will occasionally engage in sincere hostility.
But we should all be aware of our effect on others.

 

[painted wolf]

I wasn't saying that everything is okay. Especially now... I'm just saying that people need to grow up and stop acting immature. Pin pointing individual races on certain crimes isn't fair. It's obnoxious and rude IMHO. No one said anything about ignoring our past, present, and possible future... I was merely stating that people need to just knock it off. Racism is a childish way of dealing with things.

It is childish... but it's also instinctual... and that is why it needs to be honestly discussed.

Racism is an extremely complex issue. Simply saying "grow up" can't fix it.

wa:do

 

[Nepenthe]

It seems to me that you just explained why you are hostile, which the word "puerile" exemplifies.
Mind you now, I'm not really criticizing you for this, since even I will occasionally engage in sincere hostility.
But we should all be aware of our effect on others.

Fair enough. I used puerile towards the OP in the "silly" and "trivial" sense, but I understand your point.

As much of a point I can take from a kilt wearin', shack dwellin', Scottish immigrant, drunken groundskeeper that is...

 

[Alceste]

OK, well, as I said, I could be wrong, and it is an interesting subject for discussion regardless of whether or not Klaufi has been hanging out with white nationalists. Apologies if any offense was given - I was really ****** yesterday as I have been reading some ugly stuff about the Depression (and the white nationalists active in Quebec at the time).

So, to get myself back on track here:

African Americans have the NAACP. That's not racist. If a white person tried to make an organization like that, it would be racist. There are school African American Clubs, Asian Clubs, Latino Clubs, but no Caucasian clubs. If we tried to make one, we'd probably be taken to court.

This is the "white" NAACP:

I don't see any lawsuits going. You?

If minorities were adequately and proportionally represented in our halls of power, they would have no need to form non-governmental organizations in the hope of exerting political influence.

(photos are of the US senate, US congress, EU parliament and UK House of Lords)

When filling out applications or taking standardized tests that ask for your race, they list African American, Native American, Hispanic, Alaskan Native, etc, and then they list White. Why doesn't political correctness apply to white people?

How does this follow? I'm not sure what you're trying to say. The fact that "white" is on the form is offensive? Or the fact that it comes last? Is it possible that the form is just alphabetical?

Anyway, I think those forms are an unwarranted invasion of my privacy, and only perpetuate the myth of "race", an arbitrary classification with absolutely no scientific or empirical basis. If forced to fill one out, I tick "other" and put "homo sapiens" in the blank.

So why are only White People portrayed as racists?

Haven't you heard of a guy called Ahmedinejad and his feelings about Israelis? What about the attitude of the Han Chinese toward the people of Tibet? Rwanda? East Timor? Iraq, Turkey and the Kurds?

For people who may want to interpret this as me trying to show that it's okay to be racist or whatever, you're wrong. I do not support racism. I will not lie, I am very proud to be a White person. However, if I was of African Descent, Asian, or Hispanic, I'd be equally proud. You should be proud of your ancestry, but not to the point that you think yours is better than another's.

I feel quite sorry for anyone who feels "pride" over such pointless trivialities as the colour of their skin. Surely there must be more to us than a bundle of physical characteristics randomly assigned to us at our birth?

I admire some of my direct ancestors for their courage and determination in escaping grinding poverty and violence in Russia and Ireland only to walk into the Depression in Saskatchewan, raising (and feeding, and educating) a relatively large number of kids despite the incredible hardship surrounding them. No doubt I would admire their admirable qualities regardless of where they came from to begin with, but where they came from in and of itself is nothing to be proud of.

I just think that things shouldn't be applied to only minorities, or only majorities. If that makes sense

You should be quite relieved, then, that the idea "only white people can be racist" is demonstrably wrong.

 

[Alceste]

What exactly was puerile about it? I find the knee-jerk reactions toward the post far more eyebrow raising than the content of the post itself. It seems people don't find it emotionally palatable, but can't come up with a logical rebuttal, so they attack his character based on a few straw-grasping presumptions.

Hm - what is puerile ["displaying of suggesting a lack of maturity"] about the question "how come only white people can be racists"? Let me think...

:sarcastic

 

[croak]

How does this follow? I'm not sure what you're trying to say. The fact that "white" is on the form is offensive? Or the fact that it comes last? Is it possible that the form is just alphabetical?

I think the fact that it says "White" and not "Caucasian", since it says "African American" and not "Black".

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Maybe those dumb crackers should stop being bigots if they don't want to be called racists.

 

[DallasApple]

Im white as snow..And Im not a bigot..

 

[DallasApple]

In my ethics class today, we learned about hate crimes. From a study on the average person who commits a hate crime, the average hate crime-er was described as usually Neo-Nazi or a Skinhead. Why are white people the racists? There are plenty of nonwhites who commit equally heinous crimes.

African Americans have the NAACP. That's not racist. If a white person tried to make an organization like that, it would be racist. There are school African American Clubs, Asian Clubs, Latino Clubs, but no Caucasian clubs. If we tried to make one, we'd probably be taken to court.

When filling out applications or taking standardized tests that ask for your race, they list African American, Native American, Hispanic, Alaskan Native, etc, and then they list White. Why doesn't political correctness apply to white people?


When a White person calls an African American the "N" word, that's racist. But if an African American calls a White person a Cracker, or a Honkey, it isn't racist.


So why are only White People portrayed as racists?


For people who may want to interpret this as me trying to show that it's okay to be racist or whatever, you're wrong. I do not support racism. I will not lie, I am very proud to be a White person. However, if I was of African Descent, Asian, or Hispanic, I'd be equally proud. You should be proud of your ancestry, but not to the point that you think yours is better than another's.
I just think that things shouldn't be applied to only minorities, or only majorities. If that makes sense

I know this is "beauty school" but I wondered if they had a beauty contest called miss "white " Amerca if that would be a problem.

Love

dallas

 

[Revoltingest]

I know this is "beauty school" but I wondered if they had a beauty contest called miss "white " Amerca if that would be a problem.

Love

dallas

Ode to turning a problem into an opportunity, Jesse Jackson style.

I dun milked out Rainbow Coalition.
Gotta boost my financial position.
Miss White American
got me some game again.
Praise the lawd, I'm back on television!

 

[painted wolf]

I know this is "beauty school" but I wondered if they had a beauty contest called miss "white " Amerca if that would be a problem.

Love

dallas

They do... it's called "Miss America". For most of it's history non-whites were not allowed. That is why other beauty pageants were formed for other groups.
The other pageants still exist as hold-overs from the time, just last generation... when non-whites were not allowed to participate in mainstream American beauty pageants.

There is a good book on the subject called "Ain't I a Beauty Queen" about segregation, beauty and the pageant scene.
Amazon.com: Ain't I A Beauty Queen?: Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race (9780195152623): Maxine Leeds Craig: Books

Enjoy.

wa:do

 

[Revoltingest]

Looking at this gal, is sure doesn't seem a "whites only" club anymore. Wiki says 8 black gals have won it since '84.

 

[painted wolf]

Looking at this gal, is sure doesn't seem a "whites only" club anymore.

I'm sorry... perhaps you missed where I said the other pageants were holdovers from the segregation era... not that Miss America was still segregated.

The history of it's foundation in the 1920's and practice until the 1970's... it was a whites only competition. I don't know about you, but I'm older than the pageant is inclusive.

Again, the other pageants are holdovers from a not to distant past when non-whites were not allowed to be "Miss America".

wa:do

 

[Revoltingest]

I'm sorry... perhaps you missed where I said the other pageants were holdovers from the segregation era... not that Miss America was still segregated.

Didn't miss it. I thought it useful to show how diverse it has been for a quarter of a century. (I didn't intend to appear contrary.)

News you can use! Blacks are more likely!

 

[painted wolf]

LoL i love the onion...

The pageant has been desegregated for a quarter of a century, but it took a decade of that before an African American actually won it. There seems to be some lag time between desegregation in policy and in practice.

wa:do

 

[Revoltingest]

LoL i love the onion...

The pageant has been desegregated for a quarter of a century, but it took a decade of that before an African American actually won it. There seems to be some lag time between desegregation in policy and in practice.

My big problem is that the contestants just don't seem that hot.
Most of'm seem to be the beauty version of low-potential-high-achievers.