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The history white people need to learn

I'm aware of only three ways that power goes from being concentrated to being shared or transferred:
1) death or other inability to wield power among those who hold it,
2) revolution,
3) those in power decide to share it.

I'm not a big fan or 1) or 2). However, if you have other options, I'm all ears.

No other option is needed. I truly believe that far more white people are accepting, and in some cases even eager, for option 3 than you give them credit for. I do not see "sharing", as you put it, as removing any power from me.
 
No other option is needed. I truly believe that far more white people are accepting, and in some cases even eager, for option 3 than you give them credit for. I do not see "sharing", as you put it, as removing any power from me.

When the notion is removed and abstract, people favor option 3; they are less favorable when there is an impact in their lives.
 
When the notion is removed and abstract, people favor option 3; they are less favorable when there is an impact in their lives.

I agree they would be less favorable. However, I still maintain that is is dramatically over exaggerated about how the the white race is is opposed to raising other races to their level.

Things like removing extra surveilance in stores, equal sentencing for crimes, increased funding for inner city schools (among dozens and dozens of examples)...do not have to have a single negative impact on my life. Any argument that it will is hollow and empty to me.

I reject the notion that I have to lessen my privileges to increase those of others. That by raising them up I lower myself in any way.
 
The article is written to those who self-identify as white. I think we are all aware of the observation you made, but the point of the article is to educate people who self-identify as white, that white-ness was a concept created to tilt the balance of power.

When I consider my societal position, I identify as a straight white married male. The author wants to let me know the meaning behind the group I identify with. She argues that being white is not having a particular skin color, it's a social construct that was formulated to achieve the ends your post mentions.

You have convoluted view. You really think everyone views world through your lenses? Of course no. This is elitist American softness. Your parents have been on the top for so long that your children are starting to question whether or not they deserve their princely crown. This is natural juvenile questioning.

What you speak of is white guilt. I am victim of Russophobes and I make promises that whiteness is not a concept. My people are more persecuted world wide in this day than Jews or Africans.
 
[size/HUGE] boobs [/size];906128 said:
You have convoluted view. You really think everyone views world through your lenses? Of course no. This is elitist American softness. Your parents have been on the top for so long that your children are starting to question whether or not they deserve their princely crown. This is natural juvenile questioning.

What you speak of is white guilt. I am victim of Russophobes and I make promises that whiteness is not a concept. My people are more persecuted world wide in this day than Jews or Africans.

It's true. Believe it or not, even in this day and age, it is still socially acceptable to discriminate against trolls.
 
First of all, the title of this thread is egalitarian condescending racism that implies the po' white trash jes gotta be told somehow what it takes to be enlightened.

If you tried to tell the black folks how to fix themselves with the same kind of graciousness, you'd be hauled out on the street and strung up on the big elm tree in the town square today.

It's not a "problem" that one class of folks has where another class doesn't have it. We all have it.

I thought you were gonna actually be smart and try to tell the story of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, or the Navajo Trail of tears, or of Chief Pontiac or Sitting Bull. Maybe Blackhawk, who Abraham Lincoln helped run down, joining in the chase to avenge the slain settlers who trespassed on an Indian treaty settlement and drove the indians out, and lost their bid to hold that ground. Abraham Lincoln spoke warmly about the need to kill the Indians, and after the Civil War our government went on the warpath to run the Indians off the Great Plains. A clear policy of genocide.

Another tragic tale of our shameful history is the saga of how General Miles pursued Chief Joseph from Oregon through the northern plains and cut him off just short of assylum in Canada.

Most Indians today have a lot of Black ancestry simply because both groups were occluded from "acceptable" society and opportunities in life for over a hundred years since the Civil War.
 
I agree they would be less favorable. However, I still maintain that is is dramatically over exaggerated about how the the white race is is opposed to raising other races to their level.

The use of "opposition" signals a level of intent that I don't propose exists in large quantities. What happens is alterations in behavior.

Things like removing extra surveilance in stores, equal sentencing for crimes, increased funding for inner city schools (among dozens and dozens of examples)...do not have to have a single negative impact on my life. Any argument that it will is hollow and empty to me.

I reject the notion that I have to lessen my privileges to increase those of others. That by raising them up I lower myself in any way.

If black people are being watched less, white people will be watched more (they don't get paid for not watching people). If overall sentencing does not change (I think we both agree that sentences should be reduced/eliminated for many crimes) and black sentences get shorter, white sentences will be longer. Sending more funding to inner city schools means less for suburbs and rural areas.
 
First of all, the title of this thread is egalitarian condescending racism that implies the po' white trash jes gotta be told somehow what it takes to be enlightened.

Not "what it takes to be enlightened", just "what it was" to actually enlighten.

If you tried to tell the black folks how to fix themselves with the same kind of graciousness, you'd be hauled out on the street and strung up on the big elm tree in the town square today.

I didn't see in the article where Daniel said white people needed fixing, much less suggest how to do it. She only explained why "black pride" and "white pride" were not equivalent concepts.

You make good points on the historical treatment of Native Americans.
 
White privilege does not exist.

America does not have an institutionalized racism problem any longer. We have an institutionalized ghetto problem that skews the comp numbers for AAs to whites. Get rid of the ghettos we created to fence in AAs and you'll solve the problem.
 
This seems like it is a part of the comments we have seen that it is ok to be proud of being black or latino or asian, and they each need their own month or whatever to celebrate their diversity, but we are absolutely not EVER allowed to be proud of being "white", and in fact we are supposed to be deeply ashamed of being white. Seems like a deeper more invasive version of political correctness to me.



hey hey beat me to it again. I may have to slash his tires. Or meet up with him at a Panda with my sword.

Oh come on, saying that 'we are supposed to be deeply ashamed of being white' is just such an grossly inaccurate, and frankly, dumb, statement. Nobody is actually saying that, and if they are, they are a small, small fringe of unstrung nutcases. I realize that making this claim serves the purpose of relieving you of any obligation to take such matters seriously, but just give the PC persecution complex a rest, will ya, please?
 
Oh come on, saying that 'we are supposed to be deeply ashamed of being white' is just such an grossly inaccurate, and frankly, dumb, statement. Nobody is actually saying that, and if they are, they are a small, small fringe of unstrung nutcases. I realize that making this claim serves the purpose of relieving you of any obligation to take such matters seriously, but just give the PC persecution complex a rest, will ya, please?

Don't even know where to start with this one. I think there are very legitimiate complaints in LGs post..
 
Don't even know where to start with this one. I think there are very legitimiate complaints in LGs post..

How about starting with the claim that 'we are supposed to be ashamed for being white?' Do you really think this is an accurate statement?

I don't, I think it's a classic example of the logical fallacy Reductio ad absurdum.
 
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