Race & Ethnicity
Related: About this forumSo not at all, huh ?
I guess this might seem reactionary to some but it's not meant to be. I'm not here to denigrate, invalidate, or claim superiority. Nor am I here call anyone a liar or say that they have some sort of special status that they don't deserve.
But I am here to say this, that just because I'm a white male doesn't mean I deserve to be shushed like some small child whenever the subject of race comes up. I don't claim to know what it's like to be non-white in this society. Hell I have a hard enough time as it is relating to other middle-class white males. Actually now that I think about it the fact that I'm a High-Functioning Autistic and belong to a social demographic that is probably one of the most easily victimized might give me a better clue than many people think.
But either way I have a brain inside my head that is just as capable as anyone's of taking a critical look at racial issues in our country. Oh and God forbid I actually point out someone's racism when there not white. Cause ya know not white=not racist. But I'm white therefore I can't possibly form an opinion on the matter that's not either mired in white superiority or white guilt.
I'm a human being. As a human being I deserve not to have atrocities hung over my head to silence me just because my skin tone is similar to those who committed said atrocities. Some may think that all this just another temper tantrum by some random white male. But that's just it.
I'm not here to deny that unquantifiable wrong was committed in our country's history in order to maintain the power of white males or to expand said power or that native peoples were driven from their tribal homelands by white males.
But I am here to point out that Non-Whites have their own forms of racial ignorance about whites. Yet with some a double standard exists that they can call us out when we're being ignorant but we can't when we see the same damn thing. Granted in the scale of social ills that exist in our society this ain't that bad. But it's still bullshit. I still have as much as right as anyone to speak my mind on a given subject. Yeah I know it's unimaginable that I'm not basing my opinion on the idea that white people are superior to every other race. Cause I'm a stupid ass white boy. What ideas could I possibly contribute to such a discussion ? right ?
This is no doubt going to make some people angry. Honestly people, I'm not looking to antagonize randomly. I've had enough life experience to realize that the majority of people regardless of race don't consciously think like this. But the fact is that when it comes to discussions about race many whites, especially white males, have to tread very, very lightly when it come to what they say. Often no matter how valid or factual their point may be. Lastly, yes plenty of ignorant shit has been said and continues to be said. My point isn't that it shouldn't be called out for what it is. But rather that modern day white people have just as much right to speak their minds on the subject of race as anyone else and that we can do so intelligently.
JustAnotherGen
(33,572 posts)BTW - Can you point out where someone was called a stupid assed white boy?
I would like to see that thread/post.
De Leonist
(225 posts)I was not talking about anything that happened on D.U. This is something that has happened to me in IRL more than once, the most recent time being just this Friday. This thread was more about me venting and addressing something that I don't really see talked about much. The "stupid ass white boy" comment was just to add emphasis on a given point. Though I have been called that as well when I pointed out to a classmate back in college that he was stereotyping a Latino classmate of ours.