Let’s crank this thing up a notch. Two articles that have caught my attention recently [Thankx Tsholofelo for the first one] and have a lot to say in this Race conversation that we’ve started and are engaging with each other on [although am still hoping to see more of that].
These feel like they could be part of the ‘can of worms’ and ‘Pandora’s Box’ i was promised [threatened with?] when i said that i was going to start a conversation about Race on my blog, which thus far feels like it hasn’t happened. But i have this idea that a lot of people who are a greater part of the problem, if i could even get them to read these two articles, would easily dismiss them.
The only problem is that there is so much truth in each one. And it is truth that white people [who have traditionally or historically been the dominant race group in both Americaland and South Africa] really could do well with hearing, and trying to understand.
I have only included snippets from each article in this post, so do yourselves a favour and go and read the whole article and then come back here and share your thoughts, whatever they may be.
The first is an article titled, Racism 2.0: Living in a post-racial America by Zach Freshley [the lines i have quoted are not one section but rather different thoughts i have pulled out from different places in the article]
If I had a dime for every time I’ve been called “the whitest black guy I know”, I could pay off the national debt. Ok, not really, but you get the point.
That HAS to be one of the most offensive things someone can say to a black person i imagine? Black friends help me out? And the worst is, i have this strong inherent feeling whispering to me from some distant memory that i have probably said that to someone before. Completely not meant offensively. i dunno, am i over-reacting? today it just feels really unkind…
Wrong. Racism is sneaky nowadays. It lurks in our conversations. It slips its way into the way we interact with people of different races. It embeds itself into the way we think. It’s not blatant and it’s not obvious. And most times, it’s not even intentional. But its subtlety is exactly what makes it so dangerous.
People say things like this all the time and it drives me crazy. You take one look at the amount of melanin in my skin and assume that you know everything about me. You assume you know the type of music I listen to. You assume you know how I should dress. You think you know all these things because you don’t see me as a unique human being. You see me as a category. You see me as a box to be checked on the census form.
And while I don’t apologize for anything I’ve said, I don’t want you to read this as a white person and feel like I’m attacking you. Because I’m not. I just want to let you know how we as minorities feel. I wanted to give you a small taste of what I go through on a daily basis. Not to elicit sympathy. Not to make you feel like a terrible person. I just want you to think. I want you to think about the way you treat people you don’t even know simply because they have a different shade of skin than you do. I don’t want you to treat me any differently as a person because I’m black. I don’t want you to see the color of my skin and make judgment calls on who I am because of it. I don’t want to be Black Zach. I want to be Zach who happens to be black. And if I can get you thinking about that distinction and how it applies in your life, then I’ve succeeded.
the second article is one that has been doing the round on the book of facements and it is titled 18 things white people seem to not understand [because, White Privilege by Macy Sto. Domingo and i think there was maybe one i didn’t agree with, but the rest are so true [and i only came to realise, see or believe a bunch of them since living in Philly and now Oakland where we have witnessed them first and second hand to be true]. Again, go and read the full list, but here is a taste…
2. White Privilege is being able to watch a movie, read a book and open the front page of a newspaper and see yourself and your race widely represented and spoken for.
4 White Privilege is living in a world where you are taught that people with your skin tone hold the standard for beauty.
9 White Privilege is not having your name turned into an easier-to-say Anglo-Saxon name.
10. White Privilege is being able to fight racism one day, then ignore it the next.
14. White Privilege is being pulled over or taken aside and knowing that you are not being singled out because of your race/colour.
15. White Privilege is not having to teach your children to be aware of systematic racism for their own protection.
It is quite easy and maybe tempting to dismiss some of these things, either by denying that they are true at all or by throwing out a ‘Can’t we just be done with this all and move on?’ statement which refuses to admit and own up to the reality that some people face. White privilege for the most part, with people i know at least, is not something we necessarily have chosen, but rather something we need to realise we have simply by having been born white in the country we were born in. I encourage you to read through both of these articles with fresh eyes, really seeking to hear the truths that are being shared. The come back here and let’s engage in some conversation.
How does reading that make you feel?
[To jump back to the start of this conversation on Race, click here]
[…] Some thoughts from the Internet – on Post-Racial America and White Privilege […]
I think it’s great that we are having this dialogue , it’s like a racist rehab and it’s good that certain things are always said .
White supremacy is as relevant as can be and is a salient dynamic. White supermacy is not only structural but ingrained in the mind of the black man subconsciously.
Dr. H.F Verwoed (mastermind behind apartheid) had a PHD in Psychology (cum laude) and this man understood fundamentally what the basis of oppression required – a psychological strong hold . To annihilate any sense of pride and actualization from the black race.
To this day black folk still do have a sense of inferiority and the white structure has a superior complex ( I say this referring to structural norms)
A significant example of these “societal norms” are how black women continuously and tirelessly try to look like their white counterparts, as this has been deemed the general standard of beauty, if you don’t believe me just take a stroll in a shopping center and you’ll notice how 80% of imagery only portrays one look and that look is associated with blue eyes and blond hair .
Black women straighten their hair, resort to bleaching skin( noticeably a popular facet with Indian women as well) and some even recourse to getting cosmetic colored contact lenses to fully embody the western paradigm which is the standard upon which attractiveness is measured .
I go back again to my initial argument of white supremacy being a strong psychological subconscious strong hold .
When Africa was first colonized by European powers the intent and driving forces were to ridicule and declare inferior the black mans culture and knowledge systems for the purposes of assembling western civilization and this still goes on today, white supremacy is most prevalent in movies and other media.
A movie which claimed accolades a few years ago titled “Precious” is probably one of the most emotionally traumatic movies there is that is a supposed “portrayal” of black peoples lives.
Hollywood has made fortunes by projecting black people as gangsters, hoes and thugs, Arabs and Indians as fundamentalists who seek world domination through terrorism and thus continues to perpetuate negative stereotypes over and over again and this gives birth to the ultimate white privilege and white is no longer associated as the initial face of wrongdoing.
If you’ve ever watched The Cosby Show, you’ll remember that Bill Cosby( a genius) understood my sentiments, he showed that black families have issues but portrayed them dealing with their issues in a more healthier fashion, why can’t The Cosby Show be made into a movie ? Isn’t that a representation of black families ?
The reason why the Madea brand has become so popular with black people is that for the first time Tyler Perry is making movies that are portraying black folk as successful lawyers and accountants , he like Bill Cosby understand the power of TV as a medium, however though movies like “Precious” 10 years from now will continue to have a negative resonance and brand black people as drug addicts and gangsters, this all shows the pivotal impact of white supremacy as a latent racial segregator in the 21st century.
Thankx Mhlengi, it seems like a large mountain although i think the first step is alerting some people to the fact that there is a mountain at all – the ‘surely apartheid finished and was done with 20 years ago’ crowd… and then as more and more people arrive we can start taking pieces out of the mountain and maybe the very act of standing side by side with our shovels attacking the same piece of dirt is what is needed for us to move forwards on this…
i have not seen Precious so it is difficult to comment, BUT i would ask [knowing the premise of the movie] if the problem is not if we only show movies like that and not counter with the Bill Cosby/Madea examples you gave because, at least in the neighborhoods we have lived in over here, the Precious narrative feels like an honest one but it is when it is the only story given that it becomes the problem because it is seen as the only way black people are [same as if all superheroes are depicted as white people etc etc] – thoughts?