guilty
guilty
really guilty
See these babies here? They were all born caucasian, white, of European decent. I have many African friends who hate it when people refer to Africa as a country because all the people in all the countries are very different from one another. When it comes to white people however, it seems to be ok to bunch them all together because they’re all the same right? These babies are being charged with crimes against humanity at birth. Why? Because they are white and male (that’s even worse!).
I’ve been having conversations with people about past crimes against humanity and what could be done to make sure it doesn’t happen again and try and sooth the pain suffered by those in the past. Now Africans have slaughtered Africans for centuries, Native Americans still hate each other based on their tribe, different types of Muslims kill each other in their countries and Christians in theirs and Europeans have battered other Europeans since the beginning of time. People say that will never change, and all you can do is just get on. But when it is one race against another, then you remember, then there is a common enemy that everyone can all gather together and rally against.
It seems to me that in too many conversations I have had lately that people think the way to solve, oh lets say the Residential School problem that Canada had, would be to do the reverse to the white people. If they were pushed down wouldn’t they eventually rise up and push back and then it would go back and forth forever? How can white children today be blamed for something they had no part of? That would be the same as calling all Iraqis terrorists. That would not be accepted by anyone, so why are these white babies being judged from birth to be responsible for what happened in the past? Should they grow up to be appologetic for who they are?
Granted everyone should recognize the horrors of the past and everyone has hurt everyone at some point but as a white person should I be born ashamed? Is that right? Is it racist to be proud to be white now? Every culture can be proud of themselves without infringing on others’ rights, but if a white person is not appologetic for the genetic make-up they were born with it makes them white and fascist. I am in fear of even putting my name to this article because I am a white man and I don’t think it is wrong to be who I am and for some reason that upsets people. I feel like I shouldn’t have to be sorry for shit I never did, I agree that it is bad and will work with you towards a better way but why should I feel responsible for some bad things some other white people did in the past? I don’t know them. Even if it was my father and I am the direct descendant of an evil person, should I appologize for that? That would be like blaming kids who are abused by their parents for the abuse.
Not to mention if you are someone who hates white people, even the ones born today because you have felt wronged by them at some point in your life, think to yourself: has someone of the same colour as you ever wronged you directly? What about historically? Yes. Are you going to hate your family for it? My family are all great people, none of whom are bigoted and I’ll be damned if anyone will judge them for being white because some unrelated white people at some point in the past 2 thousand years did something wrong. I’ll be damned. So I give you the pictures of a few babies who will be judged form birth, because in the minds of many they are a problem. The main point here is that every race faces bigotry from other races, it’s not like caucasians are the only one with this problem, far from it! It’s just that it seems when a race is teamed up against they can band together and fight for their rights as equals, but if you’re white you cannot do this, you have to appologize and be sorry for who you are…
This is not a planned out article it is just a rant based on my experiences of the past month. I hope it makes sense, but feel free to leave comments on it so I can see if any point has been made. This is something I could write about forever with points, facts, and personal experiences but I just feel exhausted by the subject sometimes. This is all for now. I keep my name off of the article to avoid impending judgenent that I don’t need added onto me right now.
like the pictures. nice art work
Very strong position made here. You may hear back from some…which is good in journalism.
Hello there,
You raise some interesting points here that are simliar to many of things that I am studying right now in Grad studies. In your discussion of responsibility and guilt, I believe you are neglecting a few major things. It is firstly important to understand what it means to be white. What is whiteness? What does this entail and include. It is also important to remember that you cannot seperate whiteness from power and privilege because to be white, means that you will have a position of power and privilege within the capitalist world that exists today. This white privilege is simliar to privilege that is experienced by other groups that have an experience or aspect that is normalized, for instance heterosexuals, christians, males and so forth. I do not believe that anyone is saying that one should feel guilty for crimes of oppression that have been committed in the past largely by white christian males, however, it is important to recognize that the continued existence of white christian males and the power and privilege that is accorded to them through societal, ideological and individual accords is impossible to ignore. Once has recognized that they do inhabit a position of privilege, they must ask themselves a very difficult question. How much privilege and power is any one individual willing to give up, so that others may experience true social justice.
I think you got a lot of things wrong my friend, but I appreciate your taking the time to post a thought provoking comment. First of all this article is stating that too many people bunch white people together and think that they’re all the same, come from the same social class, have the same benefits and are all responsible for the same good things and same shortcomings. Claiming all Europeans are from the same social class and benefit from the equal power and privilege (leading to America) is about as dumb as saying Africa is a country, which is also alluded to in the article.
You definition of “whiteness” is incredibly wrong if you think that all white people come from the same territory and are allowed the same benefits from being white. I am trying my best to keep this rebuttal short so I will just say re-read your history books on Europe and perhaps Irish/Italian emigration to the U.S. and you will change your ideas on your dubious statements about whiteness equaling privilege. When it comes to white people suppressing others, don’t you think that they suppress each other as well? It happens within all races: the Muslim divide, Northern and the Republic of Ireland, Russia and the former Soviet countries, Poles and Germans, Turks and Armenians, tribal differences in Sudan and Rwanda and Kenya, the class system in India…shall I go on? I think that what you’re thinking about is a class system, which can have relation to race obviously, but do you think George Bush Jnr. would have become president if his dad wasn’t George Bush Snr.? He would have had no connections otherwise and could have been just a white bum no one cares about. You have to be in that class and have those connections too, which is not afforded to everyone in the race. You thinking so is just baffling.
Basically what I perceive this article to be saying is that if a white person is born today, whether of privilege or not, one cannot blame them for something else another group of completely unrelated white people have done elsewhere in the past. No one should grow up guilty or ashamed of who they are/what they look like because your race and what has been done by your country is not something you can control whether you’re black or white or brown, etc. As for recognizing what has happened in the past, sure, no one said history should not be taught. But if a poor Irish immigrant to New York in the ’20s manages to create a rags-to-riches story for himself, what should he give up and for who’s social justice does he need feel indebted to? Perhaps we should focus on getting everyone on level footing and start from there rather than preventing others from progress because of history.
As a final thought, this article points out that most races/cultures have punished each other more so than any outsiders have such as Europeans. So if someone is going to “give up” something perhaps we should re-examine warring Native American tribes (Algonquins killed everyone around them); African tribal warfare in the Congo, Angola, Kenya, Ethiopia/Eritrea (well in fact most of Africa); the Pushtuns dominance over Hazaras in Afghanistan; Sunni and Shi’a Muslims killing each other all across the middle east all the way into India and their mix of other religions; Iraqis to Kuwaitis; I could go on forever. Every country, every people have done something terrible to another at some point, even just in the past couple hundred years. So WHO should give up WHAT and to WHOM my friend? Isn’t everyone in need of some social justice these days? Racism should be punished at all levels, but who should we punish?
I feel as though you did not actually read this article thoroughly, as it makes a pretty good point not to bunch all pasty white people together, which you just go ahead and do here. Also to day that you don’t think people are holding the current generation of whities responsible for the past all I can say is: cracka please! You know it happens, it has even happened to me (my first trip to Hyde Park here in London I was accused of owning a plantation and being a slave owner because I told one black guy not to interrupt another black guy and in doing so, that made me a racist) Please do so again and leave another comment for this is a very good starting point for a debate (which I think this article was supposed to do). Also, I went to the same University as you and I know how certain things are taught by certain people. Don’t buy into everything you hear in grad school. If they are teaching you about “whiteness” and how it entails everyone….I allow you to use violence
Our centres for higher learning must continue to encourage orignial and non-stereotypical understandings such as were put forward by Nicole, the grad student.
The fact that this person is able to attend a university, and is at the graduate level puts her into an elitist position. No apology expected here, is there? How can she repay the less fortunate? What sex and/or race should come forward to receive what benefits she has been more fortunate to receive?
I agree with everything you say there big guy. Despite my one heck of a rant, everyone has a good point.
Well, this is an interesting topic. I also agree that debate is important. I also understand that you feel I am missing the point of your article, but I would argue that instead you are missing the point that I make. I am not arguing that racism and oppression does not exist for all kinds and colours of people. I am also not denying that I have a sense of privilege. Obviously I do, I am white and middle class. However, if you believe that attending university at a graduate level creates elitism, then you believe in meritocracy, which does not exist. Regardless of whatever education I recieve, I will still be a member of the working class, I will never break out of the status of working class. I may “improve my lot” by acquiring more material goods, but my actions will still be controlled by those with money. Now, as for white privilege, I cannot believe that you would begin to deny its existence. And in doing so, I would like to refer to you a writing by Peggy MacIntosh titled “White privilege: Unpacking the Invisible knapsack”. I am not denying that white people face oppression, obviously they have, and continue to face oppression. However, we must understand that although historically white people faced oppression they were also allowed privileges that allowed them to overcome these disadavantages. Using both the Irish and the Ukranians as examples, we find that both of these cultural groups faced drastic measures of oppression when they arrived in the Americas, however, these people were able to overcome these obstacles based on their own hardwork, and on the advantages accorded them through their skin colour. If someone that is white speaks a certain way and dresses a certain way, there is not necessarily an obvious way to determine their class or ethnicity. However, if you are not white, there is no way for you to ever hide this, it is displayed at all times for all to see and judge. There is no escaping your place in a world of oppression. Please read the article by Peggy McIntosh, and maybe that will help to clarify this point about white privilege. Perhaps I am simply not explaining it well
I read that article in a class with Charity Marsh back in my univeristy days with you, I know what you’re talking about there. As for your bit on never escaping the working class, I totally agree with that too because this white privilege of being CEO’s of major oil companies and so on is still only available to a select few.
As for your description of being white and being able to hide your ethnicity, that is true. I spoke with an Irish girl here, and she said her parents had moved to London in the 70s and were told not to speak while on public transit and areas where people can really hear their accent for fear of descrimination. So they had a way of cloaking themselves I suppose. I agree with what you have written here the second time much more and have nothing to debate you on further I feel (and I do agree that your point is more clear this time).
Thanks for stopping by!
There are other physical and/or cultural features besides the colour of one’s skin that may be used to oppress, should one be so inclined. Head, hair, eyes, nose, surname, religion, sex or linguistic and language mastery to name a few have been used.
For opportunity based on sex, our educational system is now so geared to females that males are now displaying a far reduced measure of achievement. Will this make things better? Is this fair? Will this cause retribution at a later date?
My Fair Lady was a poignant yet fictional example of one trying to escape a class identifier through manipulation of colloquial mannerisms.
Now as for being of the working class. Who is it that you see that is not a member of this group (other than Paris Hilton and the Royal family)?
Now, that nasty thing called money. How much of our lives is not impacted by scarcity? How do humans disperse goods, and to whom? Have you ever read Utopia by Thomas More?
Finally, the matter of apologies. Who should make apologies and to whom shall they be made, and for what? Is there an official appointed to hand out such decisions? Does everyone get a chance to vote on this or will certain groups be denied full representation?
I decided not to lay into people who commented on this post anymore, but now I feel as though Mr. Eric is taking care of business for me, which is much more relaxing on my behalf. Now I can sit back and watch this unfold, but if only more voices would join in…