Macon D at Stuff White People Do has an excellent guest post by Nikki of Irene’s Daughters about how white people like derail an argument about racism by pointing out that their family never owned slaves. I particularly like this point that she made about white guilt (Cayce is her sister):
… conversations with white people about race often get sidelined by the white person saying, “You just want me to feel guilty!” But, as Cayce pointed out, no reasonable anti-racist wants white people to feel guilty for either past or current wrongs — instead, we want them “to feel engaged, empathetic, righteously indignant even, over the injustices in our society.” These are feelings we can take to the bank; these are feelings that aid us in the fight against racism. Guilt, helplessness, and especially defensiveness changes nothing.
See also:
Hey Abagond, thanks for the link! Cayce and I are not actual sisters, though we are good friends and colleagues. She, Kate, and I do occasionally call each other “sister” in an encouraging sort of way.
You have a great blog here — thanks again for the link, and for all the excellent posts!
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Anti-racism is something of which I barely skimmed the surface while in college. It seems to be that first positive step in the right direction.
Of course, as all big social things that need to be fixed, it hinges on the willingness of 90% of the white people in this country (assuming that the last 10% are genuinely concerned about racism and actively seek a means to stop it), to accept that the overtly racist past has made this overtly and underhandedly racist present, but it is possible to have a “just world” society.
White people, white history, white mistakes are principally responsible for racism, but when it begins to wane, non-whites need to be prepared to work even harder at what we’ve worked at and waited for since the early 1500s…a racially level playing field. Even then, we’re talking about the end of racism, not necessarily of classism, homophobia, xenophobia, and sexism.
I know that I’m speaking in very general terms here, but it’s hard for me not to do so, especially considering the future can only be a theory…
For anybody that reads this post and wants a short but effective introduction to anti-racism, I suggest the book “HEART OF WHITENESS” by University of Texas’ Dr. Robert Jensen. It’s a fascinatingly honest piece of writing that integrates his experiences with racism with what any person of any color can do to correct it, assuming the openness of the recipient.
Abagond, I would like for you to read this book. I think that you’ll at least find it interesting. It’s short, 100 pages or less. And after you read it, I hope you’ll be moved to place a synopsis and a reaction here on your blog. I also hope that, if you haven’t already, you make an entry about anti-racism.
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Oh cool. Thanks for the recommendation. If I can get a hold of the book I will do that. At the very least I will do a post on anti-racism.
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Thanks, Nikki. Your blog looks interesting too. I added just it to my blogroll.
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Thanks, abagond!
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I suggest the book “HEART OF WHITENESS” by University of Texas’ Dr. Robert Jensen. It’s a fascinatingly honest piece of writing that integrates his experiences with racism with what any person of any color can do to correct it, assuming the openness of the recipient.
Excellent book!!!!! Of course I got my allegiance to my alma mater 🙂
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Lovely post, I’d like to read that book too now!I liked what Alexandria wrote.
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I would just like to say to all people that have been inslaved in any way,by whites,or even any American. I am so very sorry,I truly wish I could turn back time,and change it all. However I can’t,but I can do my part in trying to make sure it never happens again. I can teach my 16 grandchildren (Four are multi-racial) we are all equal in the eye’s of God,and he expect’s us to stand up for anyone being treated disrespectfully. i don’t know if my way is the best way,but I will continue to search for the right thing. I enjoy reading about how to stop this racial devision in America. I think we have come a long way,but I also this we have farto go. If we each in our everyday lives do what we can to make a change,I believe a change will happen.
God Bless us all,and help us to be more like him.
Pat Hague
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I knew this topic was somewhere.
I call to Americans, STOP FEELING GUILTY ABOUT THE PAST. THOSE PEOPLE IN THE 18th – 19TH CENTURY ARE DEAD AND GONE. As individuals, we cannot take responsibility for their actions and we need to stop feeling guilty about any of it.
We don’t want people to feel guilty. This will not change the past and only makes people feel uncomfortable and helpless. So stop it.
But we do need people today, in the Here and Now to look at where we are squarely in the face and recognize the problems and then take action to go and fix them. The USA was built on the history of slavery, genocide and ethnic cleansing, and we need to acknowledge that fact and see what we can do today to make things right.
It does not mean
– forgetting about the past
– erasing it from our history books
– feeling guilty
– pretending that being colour blind will make it go away
It does mean
– learning about our past, our history as a nation
– acknowledging what happened and what can be done
– being colour blind will not fix it.
– recognizing what works and what does not work with methods such as affirmative action, reparations,
– identifying alternative methods to fix these problems.
– some of it may make us feel uncomfortable, but we need it to get over our feelings in order to get over what happened.
This is our responsibility today, so stop feeling guilty everyone.
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@ Jefe
Well said.
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This is nothing new; when Charles Dickens was doing his own activism…..one of the things he brought up was that you can’t make it so it sounds like the people you are talking to have any responsibility in any way towards what you are trying to get fixed.
Otherwise they get defensive and spend all the conversation defending themselves.
If you really want the problem fixed you have to focus primarily on that so people will get involved.
Instead of trying to defend themselves and the people you know against your accusations.
Or to put it another way; if your an activist do you want to get a problem solved or do you want to feel self-righteous?
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I can’t speak for anyone else, but I want the problems solved, or at the very least addressed and brought out on the table. America’s refusal to go head to head with its race problem and its history of slavery, warfare, genocide and ethnic cleansing is one of the reasons I did not like living there.
As soon as I hear things about guilt, or about how “You people did this, you people did that”, I see people trying to deflect.
It is nothing about feeling self-righteous (for me, at least) just like it is not about feeling guilty. But white guilt IS one of the problems. It is one of the reasons the country does not talk about it and avoids the topic.
Nothing cleans out a room full of white people faster than a discussion about racism.
I hardly get to talk to any (white) Americans when I am outside the country. One of the reasons is because whenever I meet any of the them, I have to avoid talking about the USA. Within minutes they start talking about stuff which indicates they deserve some sort of white privilege (either at home or abroad). I can’t even bring it up because they will run away.
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jefe, should people feel guilty about the racism they perpetrate?
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I was specifically referring to the aspect of personally feeling guilty about something that people did 200 years ago. That is ridiculous. The guilt they are feeling is about identifying as white, not about what people did 100-200 years before they were born.
It is a waste of time and effort to feel guilty about that.
“should people feel guilty about the racism they perpetrate?” I suppose you mean about what people are doing today.
I guess I should say that people should not JUST feel guilty. They need to feel remorse and then take action to rectify the situation. It is no different for us, as a country, to feel remorse at what we did 100-200 years ago and go and rectify the situation.
Now, I realize that, guilt, can be a stage in the process, occurring somewhere between acknowledging what has happened and feeling remorse, before taking action. Most white people are still stuck in the guilt stage. They realized they did something, but can’t get over feeling guilty.
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jefe, I agree. Saying you feel guilty without doing something to rectify the situation is just self-pity. An attempt to gain sympathy and to distract people from the real issue. White guilt(tm) is nothing more than white people’s tears.
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We can’t get over feeling guilty because:
– it’s 100% okay for poc to utterly despise us without any reason other than “they benefit from privilege”, as if anybody can just magically end racism like that;
-And we have to adore and respect poc who think of us as not up to par with them,
-And all our cultures are inherently evil and we should look at them with shame and hatred. We’re not humans equal to poc at all,
-And it’s been too long for Americanized/ Canadianized/ Australianized/ etc. people to go back to their real culture,
-And it’s wrong to bond (for lack of a better term) oneself out of existance by assimilating in a poc culture,
-And it’s wrong to create a culture from scratch,
-And it’s wrong to take pride in anything a white person has,
-(Provided it’s even right for any group of white people to have anything)
-And it’s wrong to live away from poc, who by and large should hate me,
-And only they should hate us, white people shouldn’t even hate themselves,
-And all the advice i’ve gotten is ‘stop whining’, ‘give up being seen as an equal’, and ‘start living for poc only’,
-And books might have the answer but nobody can spend five seconds giving their answers. Knowledge is produced to be sold. Also, all supposed helpful books cost dozens of dollars and i have no job due to being 18 with parents ignorant of their prejudices and isms.
-And it’s cultural appropriation to use innovations from poc, even if one gives credit and works to end racism. As if any culture can stay stagnant.
-And most of all, if we make any mistakes no forgiveness is allowed because “they supported a racist institution with their actions”. Even if said mistakes has temporary effects.
I do realize some if this stuff is whiny, but screw it, i must speak from my anxieties if i want them to go away.
I get behind working to end racism, and respecting poc, and acknowledging privilege, but why must those things be my entire life. I know, for instance, not all poc, such as Abagond and Jefe don’t believe all those things but they are always seen as whitewashed for having a lick of empathy.
I don’t expect to change anyone as much as i expect to be corrected.
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I also get behind the fact white people are not superior and i still have umconscious biases.
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