“Whites are individuals” is a common argument brought up by White Americans. It is part of a set of closely related arguments:
- Whites are individuals. There are all kinds – bikers, soccer moms, coal miners, business men, goths, etc – so you cannot make general statements about them.
- To make a general statement about Whites is itself racist. It is stereotyping them. It is hypocritical. It is seeing them according to skin colour and that is racist.
- The “not all Whites” argument: “All Whites are not like that”. They bring this up even when no one said all Whites were anything. But that is how they heard it. It amounts a straw man argument.
These arguments seem to be driven by two things:
- “Blacks are racist too.”
- They are uncomfortable with being called White because they have been taught not to be race conscious.
Just for the record, I do know that Whites are individuals. I live in America, a country that is mostly White: I work with them, they are on television and presented as individuals with their own storylines and not as racist stereotypes or even as too-good-to-be-true supporting characters.
On the other hand….
It does seem like most of them, like at least 60%, at least in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, all went to the same Secret Course on Whiteness. They do act in certain common ways, ways that support racism.
And, based on comments on this blog, this stuff extends well beyond New York. In fact it seems to go clear across the country and into Canada, and, in a slightly different form, into Britain and South Africa.
I have never been to the Southside or Oakland, but they sound strangely familiar to me. Another sign that the racism of White people in New York is not just a New York thing.
And having seen the Maori in New Zealand and the Sioux in South Dakota, I know full well that this has surprisingly little to do with the faults of Blacks – or the Maoris or Sioux – and everything to do with how Whites are. Whites do not like to hear that, but that does not make it untrue.
And there is no way I can talk about Whites – or any subject – without making general statements. It would be nice if I could back them all up with studies, but this does not seem to be a well-studied field.
Of course, I am quite capable of making racist statements. But to say that every general statement about Whites is necessarily racist makes it impossible to talk about how racist they are!
The most maddening part is that in America it is Whites who draw the line between themselves and everyone else. They are the ones who apply the colour line and all the injustice that goes with it. They are making themselves White – and yet they do not want to be seen as White!
– Abagond, 2009, 2015.
See also:
the most annoying about this is that whites can be seen as individuals, and will say that they are individuals and yadda yadda yadda…but they certainly don’t mind stereotyping all blacks the exact same.
i always say this it only takes one bad black person to undo any good 10 black people can do. you cant be seen as an individual when your black (im not sure if it applies to other minorities as i am not too familiar with their mistreatments) but whites certainly hate it if you dont see them as individuals.
i refuse to see them as individuals as long as they refuse to see us as individuals.
LikeLike
This is one of my greatest pet peeves. I noticed that when a white person is describing another white person, they focus on specific characteristics. The blond girl, the goth chick or the hot guy. With blacks, it’s just- that black girl or that black guy. And that’s it. Not the girl with the cool glasses, or the girl with the huge dimples or the tall guy. And this is not to say that this is commonplace, but it does occur.
Blacks are often not seen as individuals and that is why some whites think that we look alike.
LikeLike
@alwaysright101:
“i always say this it only takes one bad black person to undo any good 10 black people can do. you cant be seen as an individual when your black (im not sure if it applies to other minorities as i am not too familiar with their mistreatments) but whites certainly hate it if you dont see them as individuals.”
I agree. You see/hear it a lot. People of color are lumped together such as [insert race here] doing this or doing that whenever something bad occurs. As you know I’m Asian, and I remember right after the Virginia Tech massacre happened, I received plenty of glares from people. Later on, I went to a magazine kiosk reading some magazines, and this guy turned to me commenting about the V-Tech massacre, “Oh, it’s a horrible thing what happened there. Why do you think that Asian man did it?” I was taken aback. First of all, I was far removed from the situation as I was Canada not Virginia. And another thing. The killer was Asian so this person assumed I knew what was going through his mind when he went on a killing spree. Anyway, I gave him a piece of my mind and he looked at me as if I shouldn’t have been offended in the first place.
LikeLike
This is why I really dont fk with white people on that level because I dont care how much talk game a person has, you eventually go back to how you were raised. And a lot of them subliminally think they are better than minorities.
It’s easy for them to generalize and group people of color together, but they get to be individuals. And when you call them out on their BS you’re the racist! Or they make up some term reverse racism and say black people get all the benefits. Yeah ookay
Have you noticed that whenever a white person commits a serious crime they always want to psychologically evaluate them and find out “why” they did it. Let it be a black person they wanna lock that Negro up for the rest of his life no questions.
LikeLike
@ leigh204
every time i hear about an incident that has to do with a person of color (or religion), such as the fort hood incident, i immediately think “oh no now the psycho “patriotic” white american is gonna come out and harass every person of that race/religion for the actions of one person”…and you never hear the end of it either.
i hate it when people punish you for what someone else did…yet whites act so surprised and get angry when the same is done to them…
i wish i could hear more stories from other people of color who are not black, but do deal with the same issue of being blamed for other peoples actions by white people.
LikeLike
@alwaysright101:
Regarding the Fort Hood incident, when Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was found out to be the shooter, and that he was a Muslim, an extremist one at that, others were decrying, “See, a Muslim did it! They hate us! They’re out to get us! Those terrorists! ” I hated how Muslims were painted with a broad brush. Nevermind that I have a couple of Muslim friends and they would never dream of doing anything like that.
LikeLike
Leigh,
I agree with you, and it puzzled (and saddened) me that some people’s minds always immediately jump to stereotypical rhetoric. When I first heard some of the details (I was really worried because my roommate is from Fort Hood and both of her parents are in the military), the first thing that popped into my head was how sad it is that many of our servicemen and women aren’t getting the psychological help they need. (I’ve been following the stories on the rising numbers of soldiers committing suicide.) It never even occurred to me to think “Muslim = terrorist”.
LikeLike
You with that Virgina Tech massacre and witrh the sniper I assumed they were white becuase of the columbine high school masacre and things similar to that and I was on a message board the way white people were like you “Not all white people do that!” “Those people don’t represent me!” “Those are just two messed up boys!”
Now on that same message board and the subject was about ‘stop and search’ and how black people and other people of colour get racially profiled wheter they “look like a terrorist.” they found it perfectly okay becuase those people do it more often.
Alright white people do those massacres in the school more often so how come it is not OK to profile them and search them?
LikeLike
Brilliant! You just demonstrated how asinine “not ALL Whites” argument is because no one would beg, badger, demand or insist, much less whine, that the statement you listed as an underlying argument (“Blacks are racist too”) must include an explicit, though hardly helpful IMO, quasi-quantifier qualifier like “many”, “most” or “some.”
I’ve yet to see one person who raises the “not ALL Whites” issue show me the rule in English grammar or what-have-you that requires such a qualifier. Likewise, I’ve never once seen someone explain exactly how the observation/statement in question that says, “Whites do X” assumes the quantity-qualifier “ALL” as opposed to “some” or another quantity-qualifier. But I guess that would (1) require people to be honest brokers and (2) genuinely try to ascertain what the quantity-qualifier is from the actual written/spoken context vs. the race-garbage people (certain Whites in this case) bring to the discussion.
I mention the written/spoken context because I’ve had to check myself (my initial reaction) and ask if/how its different when POC take issue with, what seemed to me to be clear(er) examples of someone White, e.g., stereotyping “ALL” Black people as X, Y or Z. I’ve also realized that the written/spoken context is important because I know there are times when a White person makes a statement saying, “Blacks do Y,” and no Black person would snap to the “not ALL Blacks” response because both the context and spirit of the comment wouldn’t warrant such a tortured, worn-out knee-jerk “you said Blacks and didn’t include a qualifier, therefore you meant ALL Blacks” type of response.
I guess what I’m trying to say is: statements that wrongly stereotype a group have a certain character to them that make them very distinct and different from statements that makes mention of some general observation about the group. But I don’t know if that really gets it.
I guess it’s really about our history/experiences, at least in part. I say that because, while it’s clear that all racial/ethnic groups can and have developed negative stereotypes about other groups, the reason why we have these race/racism discussions is due to the negative stereotypes formed and promoted in society against non-whites and the negative impact of those stereotypes on the lives of non-whites.
An illustration of this is this excellent talk on the Danger of a Single Story Restructure featured on her blog. The simple point and simple difference is this: “people of color”, by and large, don’t have a “single story”, stereotyped view of Whites. In fact, for the reason Abagond (and Chimamanda Adichie) gives, the nature of society and the overall greater degree of interaction POC have with Whites, for POC, to view Whites in monolithic terms.
So, I think the “Blacks are racist too” mentality is indicative of a simplistic mindset that not only has no regard for the written/spoken context… but tries to either pretend that the nation’s history/society isn’t asymmetrical when it comes to race/racism or, conscious of the lack of racism/stereotyping symmetry, tries to manufacture some by pretending Whites are being viewed as monoliths and negatively stereotyped.
But then, again, there is the phony post-60’s fallback position a lot of White people have apparently adopted that noticing race, let alone explicitly mentioning or paying attention to it is racist (e.g. the anti-affirmative action arguments). The position is phony because the same people who use that pretense are the first ones to take another post-60’s fallback position that the KKK type of “evil”, church bombing, lynching mob, “I hate n*ggers” white supremacists are the “real” racist. That is, they themselves associate “real” racism with actual actions that have negative, material consequences for those experiencing it.
LikeLike
Very good point about the single story. That Adichie speech is excellent. I did a post on it too:
LikeLike
Nquest said:
“I’ve yet to see one person who raises the “not ALL Whites” issue show me the rule in English grammar or what-have-you that requires such a qualifier. Likewise, I’ve never once seen someone explain exactly how the observation/statement in question that says, “Whites do X” assumes the quantity-qualifier “ALL” as opposed to “some” or another quantity-qualifier.”
Excellent point! I find it amazing how SOME whites notice the missing quantifiers and yet miss the whole point of what you are saying.
Whites are supposed to have higher reading scores than blacks, but you would never know that from the comments on this blog.
I rarely have to “explain what I meant” to blacks but it seems I am doing it all the time with whites. I find it hard to believe that whites are that thick. You would never guess they had so many great inventors. I think this casts serious doubts on their IQ tests.
LikeLike
The phrase “all whites” among commenters is not trollspeak, like “whitey” or “nigger”, but it is towards that end. Azrazyel, who I wound up banning, used it, for example. Most people who use it are themselves white.
LikeLike
Always Right said:
“i always say this it only takes one bad black person to undo any good 10 black people can do. you cant be seen as an individual when your black (im not sure if it applies to other minorities as i am not too familiar with their mistreatments) but whites certainly hate it if you dont see them as individuals.”
I completely agree. When whites screw up their failings are personal, individual. When blacks screw up it makes all blacks look bad – because they are not seen as individuals but as members of a race.
Example: when Mugabe screws up Zimbabwe it is because he is black, but when rich white bankers screw up Wall Street, throwing millions out of work, it has nothing to with their race. There is no running story about “how whites screw things up” because they are seen as individuals.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And, linking this to another post, if people are going to talk about “white” inventors, they should also talk about “white” serial killers and all the rest.
White inventors here:
LikeLike
Another thing that I get from white people is that they ask questions about why other black people have done somthing. Like I know every black person across the globe.
Like with Leigh just because you are Asian and so was the V-tech murderer that guy thought you obviously knew his motives despite the fact that you live in Canada and have never met the dude.
Oh and if Oprah said something related to black people then it must be the gospel truth. “Are you sure? Because Oprah said…”
I don’t care what Oprah said it don’t apply to me and it doesn’t apply to a lot of other black people.
LikeLike
Right: because blacks and other people of colour do not think and act as individuals. The full range of humanity is found only in the white race. This gets back to the single story.
LikeLike
Good evening. I just had to cosign with Leigh204 and Nquest. One other thing that annoys me is that a lot of White people who are guilty of this thinking get offended when you let them know you cannot speak for every Asian/Black/Hispanic person. They want to accuse you of being oversensitive. And this behavior has been going on for decades. In the 1960s my mother (who is from a middle-class Black family from Connecticut) was asked “Why are you guys rioting and tearing up your own neighborhoods?” (this was during the Watts riots) the fact that my mother had never even been to California and was the child of a U.S army Capt. and grew up in a conservative environment wen over everyone’s head. It was thought that since she was Black and the rioters were Black she would understand everything they were feeling, when in fact even the rioters themselves had different ideas and experiences.
LikeLike
okay this doesnt have anything to really do with the topic but i was interested in other races experiences in this country and something interested me…
Chief Wahoo.
I was reading articles about how lots and lots of whites absolutely refuse to believe that the caricature is racist and some were even saying “redman and redskin” are not derogetory…
i couldnt believe they couldnt see the racism in chief wahoo…not to mention the caricature is just plain scary looking…
i was reading articles in which native americans compared it to the stereotypes you see of blacks (especially blackface and the “darkie” images of the 1800s) and i had found a picture that put up four images one with chief wahoo, and then a stereotype of a hispanic, a stereotype of an asian and a stereotype of a black person, to try to show how the chief wahoo is racist to native americans.
i dont get how come whites refuse to see the racism in it the same they would with other races (well i would hope)…is it due to the fact that most indians live on reservations and that most people do not have or meet many if any native americans in their life compared to other groups? or is it because native americans are the most underrepresented group in america in media and entertainment?
LikeLike
Excellent subject. I am going to post on it.
LikeLike
To alwaysright101:
They don’t really care because they don’t have to, the Native people are pretty much forgotten, they don’t see how it’s racist because they don’t really exist to them.
***************************
Being lumped into a group can go from annoying to deadly! I remember when 9/11 happened, I had Trini and Jamaican friends who couldn’t even leave their homes, simply because of what they look like.
___
I see a crusade being launched against brown skinned Latino people because of this same mentality. Brown is now synonymous with “illegal immigrant” and apparently that means scum, but of course, this doesn’t apply to the undocumented people from European countries.
___
I remember chewing this guy a new one when the Micheal Vick thing happened. I was around the corner and overheard this guy saying “See, and they wonder why they get called n*ggers”. I couldn’t contain myself.
LikeLike
I did a post on Chief Wahoo here:
LikeLike
Whites are supposed to have higher reading scores than blacks, but you would never know that from the comments on this blog.
Just because you can read, doesn’t necessarily mean you can comprehend what is written. I may able to read a science article, but ask me if I understand most of it? No. With this argument it is probably similar. They may read and speak on racism but due to a confluence of views, life experience etc, the comprehension may vary greatly. Most are in denial about racism to start so I doubt they would even want to comprehend what the racialized person is saying no matter how clear the racialized person is. Many think you are calling them racist when you have an honest conversation with them pointing out modes of speech and behaviour of underlying racism to them.
Another thing that I get from white people is that they ask questions about why other black people have done somthing. Like I know every black person across the globe.
A woman I worked with asked my why black people don’t carry I.D. She was then outraged when I told her I don’t know every black person so could not help her. She was angered by my response. Needless to say I refused to engage her further. This happens frequently, this is not an isolated incident, but for sheer stupidity, stands out in my mind the most.
LikeLike
Herneith said:
A woman I worked with asked my why black people don’t carry I.D. She was then outraged when I told her I don’t know every black person so could not help her. She was angered by my response. Needless to say I refused to engage her further. This happens frequently, this is not an isolated incident, but for sheer stupidity, stands out in my mind the most.
She just mad because you gave her a logical answer. Don’t get me started on how when there is a conversation on race and they look at you like you are a spokeperson for 40 million Negros lol
LikeLike
@dani:
You mean you don’t? LOL!
LikeLike
leigh204 ,I’m sick of Asian people or other minorities trying to relate to us because they’re a minority. The most racist people I’ve encountered in my life have been Asian people. Your ancestors did not come to America on slaveships like ours did. All the stereotypes related to Asians are positive. Asians are viewed as the model minority.
So stop trying to relate to us. Asians run our hair industries. And now Asians are trying to colonize certain parts of Africa, so the Asians are no better than whites. leigh204, stop being holier than thou.
LikeLike
What is this mess this week? Pick on Leigh204? Jeez> Can’t an Asian person come on this blog and be able to relate her experiences as an Asian person in this country without being attacked for it? No, she has not had the exact same experiences a Black person may have, but it doesn’t mean she cannot empathize and try to relate to what the black experience is. She is after all, a minority in this contry, which means she is still subject to racism just as we are.
Not trying to downplay your points on some of the things you say Franchesca but pointing out Leigh204 as someone who should be seen as an enemy of POC on this blog is just not the way to go.
LikeLike
Some Asians are racist against blacks, but I do not see how that applies to Leigh. If she said something racist then please let me know. Maybe I missed it.
Asians in North America experience racism too, even if not to the same degree as blacks, so some of the experiences are the same.
The model minority stereotype is still a stereotype. There is no such thing as a “good” stereotype because all stereotypes are lies that strip people of their humanity.
I do not want to get into an Oppression Olympics here – the only people who benefit from that are whites because it divides people of colour – who, if they can stick together, will be a majority in America before long.
LikeLike
@Franchesca:
leigh204 ,I’m sick of Asian people or other minorities trying to relate to us because they’re a minority. The most racist people I’ve encountered in my life have been Asian people. Your ancestors did not come to America on slaveships like ours did. All the stereotypes related to Asians are positive. Asians are viewed as the model minority.
Although I’m only an individual, I’m really sorry that other Asians people were racist towards you. Also, I’m sorry that black people were subjected to slavery – to all people (of color) who have suffered under oppression.
Ironically, years before the Asian model minority came into play, Asians were viewed as a threat so much so that restrictive legislation was enacted (The Yellow Peril). And the model minority is a myth used to pit minorities. The us versus them mentality.
So stop trying to relate to us. Asians run our hair industries. And now Asians are trying to colonize certain parts of Africa, so the Asians are no better than whites. leigh204, stop being holier than thou.
Again, I am one person. I’ve been recounting my experiences only. I have had my fair share of racism…believe it or not. When I was a little child, my parents and I moved to a new neigborhood. We had racial slurs scrawled on our garage. Another time, we had our car smeared with feces and the windows smashed in. I could go on. My parents didn’t know what to do, but they were proud people and they stood their ground and not let these racist jerks win.
I go to blogs/sites like abagond’s because I identify with the racism. I truly want to learn from everyone’s experiences.
*sigh* Look, I am no better than anyone else. I’m trying to be a better person because I want to be a better human being.
LikeLike
Leigh204 continue to post and please continue to recount your experiences. You of all people should not have to explain why you are on this blog or any Black that is not Asian. You have been welcomed here and many readers value your input and ideas.
Francesca, Leigh has every right to post her experiences as Canadian of Asian descent. She has made it quite clear that she has a unique level of empathy as a person of color and to Blacks in particular that makes her input valuable. In fact, I wish that she would post more of her thoughts as an Asian Canadian.
Lastly, certainly there is discord among people of color and there will probably never be a mass unity Kumbaya coalition among people of color, but one person of color can have just as much power in forging understanding and commonality, then any toothless Rainbow coalition or assumed solidarity among groups based on being people of color.
LikeLike
co-sign with what Mayhue said.
Just keep doing you, Leigh, never mind what others say. 🙂
LikeLike
@Leigh:
Pay this person no mind. You don’t have to justify yourself to her or any other detractors. You mention history, it’s to bad people don’t know much about it, particularly relationships between racialized people. If they did, they would know that at various times racialized people ‘stuck’ together for safety. I know at least in Toronto, where the black population was small before the onset of mass immigration this was especially so. I get angry when I hear people make these remarks because of what I know of my history. It’s quite obvious(maybe not to many), that this is a divide and conquer tactic. White people know they are outnumbered. In order to maintain their privilege they have devised this mode of dealing with people. How soon we forget the “Yellow Peril’ which lasted well into the 20th century in one form or other.
Devising this ‘Model Minority’ stereotypes has probably wreaked havoc on the Asian diaspora. They talk of the successful Asians but what about the impoverished ones, or the ones not doing so well. Being ignorant of the differences of the various Asian communities doesn’t help either. Yes there are prejudiced Asians just as there are other prejudiced racialized people.
If my 95 year old grandmother with a grade 5 education can and does realize this, why can’t so called younger generations who are supposedly better educated? We are in a sad situation indeed. As my grandmother says; “all coloured people should stick together not fight amongst themselves for whatever the white man chooses to throw their way”. You see, back in her day, when the black community was small, they couldn’t afford to cut off other racialized people. It’s to bad many racialized people today choose to see the differences instead of the commonality among racialized people. If they saw the commonalities they would make a potent force in society. Those that choose to go with what the white man ‘throws’ them, and fight amongst themselves are going to be in for a rude awakening some day when they need help and no one is there, or left to help them.
LikeLike
Exactly look at the Black Panthers not every single member was black what about that Asian guy who was part of the black panthers Aoki something I forgot his name but some people here may know who I am talking about.
LikeLike
@AO, abagond, Mayhue, Herneith, & Aiyo:
I’ll keep on doing what I’ve been doing and share my experiences…provide some input. I greatly appreciate your support. It means a lot. Thank you all. 😀
LikeLike
It does seem like most of them, like at least 60%, at least in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, all went to the same secret course on whiteness. They do act in certain common ways, ways that support racism.
excuse me?!? it probly has sometihng to so with environment. example- a group of people who share the same area of a city\suburb, have the same religion,language, history, interests. etc.
here in the midwest, whites are generally protestant/lutheran middle class people who like sports, drinking, etcet. they[not menaing whites, just the certain group im talking about] share common attributes with one another based on uncontrolled cirumstances such as where,when your born, and how your parents raised you. whites dont “go to a secret white course.” you childish and ignorant to say. you could say the same thing of any race, or group of people. just as black have a certain american culture, which connects them, due to being in neighborhoods together, having the same, or similar religions, same language, customs, interests, etc. I dont go around saying blacks go to a black course..
LikeLike
one general question ….WHAT IS YOUR F”KING BEAF?? seriuosly, every other post is about whites this and whites that, im mena, f”k off with the supremacist statements like “It does seem like most of them, all went to the same secret course on whiteness”
come on now, what is that? i understand a lot of what you write about is in defence, defence against a blatent american histroy of prejudice and wrong, but for f”k sake, do you really belive some of these accusations? im not saying this as a white person, im saying it as a human being. you can be proactive and defensive without becoming a mockery of things you believe. ooop, gotta stop writing now, im late for my whiteness meeting. too a loo!
LikeLike
reading over some of these comments, it seems there are a lot of people who think similar to you abagond, which make me feel uncomfortable, seein as im a white person who doesnt fall into your ” im white, im individual, black people are all the same, black people etcetc” catagory. i dont know. i want your opinion on how to fix this problem.not the small problems, the big one : How to fix the tainted race relations in the US? Id be interesting if you wrote an article on that, instead of one displaying more reasons to seperate us all from each other by throwing around petty names and assumptions. whats your answer to solving race relations. honesly.
LikeLike
The reason I write so much about white people is because of people like you.
I do not sit down at my computer and think, Gee, how can I bash white people today?
No. It goes more like this: before I start writing a post on Erykah Badu or Tamil prison camps or whatever I read through my comments. Then, of course, some white person says some fool thing and that sets me off. Before I know it my “500 words a day on whatever I want” is about, guess what, white people.
And, by the way, I do believe everything I write. Otherwise I would not bother to write it. Not that I am always right, of course.
LikeLike
white guy:
Here is the best answer I have so far about helping to end racism – or at least make it less bad:
You cannot control how 300 million people in America act, but you can control your own actions, question your own beliefs, etc. And if you become less racist, then you just made America less racist. Their is no magic answer: it will be built on personal change, one person at a time. Think Johnny Appleseed.
LikeLike
The white studies/white privilege movement is nothing more than the old fashioned racism of the 19th century in a new, improved package.
Want to find the most sexist and racist countries in the world? try those populated by people of color: Mexico, India, Pakistan, Japan, Saudi-Arabia etc, etc.
If you want privilege-earn it!
LikeLike
Blogger Macon D’s Nov. 30th post includes two 20/20 videos that show racism in action. People actually called 911 to report some black males sleeping in a car. One caller said they looked like they were getting ready to rob someone – how can you look like you’re getting ready to commit a robbery while you’re asleep?! Meanwhile, some white males were vandalizing a car in broad daylight!
Those videos make it clear that a key element in addressing racism is the need to expose it, the full extent of it. We need to understand the magnitude of what we’re dealing with, hence the need for posts on whites, racism, and all the associated issues.
LikeLike
A beautiful example of what I said in another post, “how white people think”:
“White people generally give each other the benefit of the doubt, but they do not extend it to blacks.”
The full post here:
LikeLike
Henry, it sounds like you are trying to shift the blame to countries of color instead of accepting that countries populated by whites are guilty as well. If not, how come we don’t see the U.S., England, France, Germany, and other countries mostly populated by whites in that list?
As far as the privilege argument goes, whites have developed their privilege by robbing, raping, enslaving and marginalizing POC for so long to establish themselves with privileges other races do not have.
LikeLike
This is a comment to what Islandgirl wrote in November 2009
Islandgirl said:
“This is one of my greatest pet peeves. I noticed that when a white person is describing another white person, they focus on specific characteristics. The blond girl, the goth chick or the hot guy. With blacks, it’s just- that black girl or that black guy. And that’s it. Not the girl with the cool glasses, or the girl with the huge dimples or the tall guy. And this is not to say that this is commonplace, but it does occur.”
Blacks are often not seen as individuals and that is why some whites think that we look alike.”
This is true, as a white sexist racist male I can confirm it. All black does look the same. It’s a reasonable explanation for that. They look different from the people you use to see and normally socialise with, but they have one common character; they all look black and that’s what you see, if you are white and only hang out with other whites. The individual things disappear.
Whit people who mingle whit different people from different races and cultures, you will see less of that. Abagond will probably claim this is a typical white mans excuse or claim, but I do not care. I claim this issue you bringing up is not a white thing exclusive, and it’s not intended to be discrimination. Once I was taking the buss in an African country a fat German boy who looked nothing like me, sat some seats behind me. A man asked me if he was my brother because we looked almost the same. I became seriously offended by that.
If you black you should try shoving a friend’s passport that does not look like you at all to a passport checkpoint entering a North European country. I’m almost certain they will take no notice and believe it is you. It’s the same whit Asians.
LikeLike
as a white person, i am completely disgusted by your blog, honestly.
i’ve been going through it, and reading it, and i love the way you whine, and cry, and fuss about racism about blacks, but almost EVERY post is racist against white people. i think that’s awesome, really.
whatever makes you feel better, and helps you sleep at night, abagond.
you’re stuck on slavery [i know, typical ‘whitey’ telling us to get over it.], you make generalized statements left and right about white people [i know, you can’t point out how racist i am without your precious generalized statements], you accuse white people of EXACTLY what you do in this blog [i can’t imagine how you’ll argue that one down]. but, you’ll comment me back about slavery still hurts us today, you’re a racist white person, you don’t know what it’s like for black people, blah, blah, blah.
but, it doesn’t matter, i’m white, so i’m racist, and i’ll NEVER live down that STEREOTYPE that you placed on me. but wait, i bet accusing you of stereotyping is probably racist, too.
LikeLike
Indeed
LikeLike
@heather
you make generalized statements left and right about white people
Have you seen the generalised statements and comments on here about black people?
I guess you dont find them as offensive though…
LikeLike
@Bulanik
Your comment put an expression on my face…not dissimlar to that of the cat from this animated movie
LikeLike
i admit, when i read the title and saw the picture i LMAO’ed! those ‘white’ women all look pretty damn near identical! was that deliberate irony?
LikeLike
@heather,
Abagond backs up his words with actual examples that many (probably most) ‘black’ people regularly experience.
note: experience is present tense, as in it happens to us within our lifetimes.
and yes, everything you’ve said is exactly what a typical/ sterotypical colour-blind ‘white’ person says. you may be moaning about being stereotyped but you’re doing nothing to counter it. all Abagond is doing is pointing that out.
LikeLike
The picture at top shows women from Fox News. There might be some duplicates – it is hard for me to tell!
LikeLike
@ Heather,
“as a white person, i am completely disgusted by your blog”,
This blog wasn’t made for you.
“honestly.
i’ve been going through it, and reading it, and i love the way you whine, and cry, and fuss about racism about blacks, but almost EVERY post is racist against white people.”
Pointing out racism isn’t racism. If you are more offended by posts that point out inequalities (glaring ones that you don’t even have to “google” to see if you actually are observant) than the actual racism that these posts are pointed out, that’s a problem.
“i think that’s awesome, really.
whatever makes you feel better, and helps you sleep at night,”
Wow, derailing AND dismissive at the same time? Two-fer! Anyone got a bingo card?
“abagond.
you’re stuck on slavery [i know, typical ‘whitey’ telling us to get over it.]”
Who’s stuck on slavery? The people who are still dealing with the inequalities that it created and are actually discussing them, or the people who insist on enforcing a racial caste system that harkens back to it? Not like it didn’t kill millions of people and destroy hundreds of cultures or anything. Things totally got better after slavery ended! There was no Jim Crow, Black Codes, or segregation of any kind that anyone might be talking about.
” you make generalized statements left and right about white people [i know, you can’t point out how racist i am without your precious generalized statements],”
When 9/10 people experience these things, you don’t get to dismiss them as generalizations, mm’kay?
“you accuse white people of EXACTLY what you do in this blog [i can’t imagine how you’ll argue that one down]. but, you’ll comment me back about slavery still hurts us today, you’re a racist white person, you don’t know what it’s like for black people, blah, blah, blah.”
Yep, Abagond totally is enslaving you guys, killing millions of you, destroying your culture, your ability to get a decent job, live in a decent neighborhood, keeping you from voting, from marrying who you want because they’re a different skin color, etc. Talking about it is EXACTLY the same.
“but, it doesn’t matter, i’m white, so i’m racist, and i’ll NEVER live down that STEREOTYPE that you placed on me. but wait, i bet accusing you of stereotyping is probably racist, too.”
Oh, lets feel sorry for white people! They’re the TRUE victims of racism! No one knows how hard it is that people notice that they benefit from racism!
LikeLike
I’m white and I suffer from heavy discrimination from all races.
LikeLike
@Ace: “Cognitive Dissonance” that’s my diagnosis for what is going on in your mind. They shall be a punishment for that too… Tssss!
LikeLike
These arguments seem to be driven by two things:
“Blacks are racist too.”
They are uncomfortable with being called white because they have been taught not to be race conscious.
Abagond, have you even considered that that might not be the case and some white people simply don’t want to be categorized based on their skin color? Or that, despite whites admittedly being the majority and not having faced or facing the hardships that many people of color suffer from, from an ideological standpoint stereotyping whites is just as close-minded and racist at doing so to people of color?
LikeLike
[…] Not all whites are what you say. Whites are individuals! […]
LikeLike
I replaced the picture of the nearly identical looking Fox News blondes with one of a lynch mob (now also the masthead picture).
LikeLike
With Leigh, it is important to realize that what the commenter did is the same thing that is done to Black people– an absurdly dangerous stereotype. Notice how Black people are quick to condemn Asians for being the model, but not the White people who made it so. And notice how Asian people are quick to condemn Black people for the damages of the racist practices and coding done, but not the White people who made it so. This is indicative of an over-arching theme that only White people can escape. They can be anything, but if you are Black, Asian, Hispanic (let us face it, they ousted them as other), or Native American, you can become the image of what they want to see you as and other minorities can do that to you too, but not to White people. The issue becomes even more apparent when White people feel the need to talk about their ethnicities. They can be Irish, German, or Scottish. They can castigate each other and have fun with it, even do dangerous things with it. When Black people such as the Hutu and Tutsi are mentioned, it is a reminder of the primitivity of Blacks– the inferiority as they dare not say but rather love to hint to. When Asians in America are forced to rally together to be the model, their face becomes Chinese, Korean, or Japanese. They are never Filipino or Vietnamese. But they see it as silly that Asians could possibly have problems with one another! How can they? They all look the same, right? Except, the Chinese tributary system has caused disdain with Koreans. Japanese island hopping and Korean occupation can mean nothing. They expect all minorities to accept their race without acknowledging the damages that they do. They deny or say that the demolition of the groups like the Celts is a concern but are always quick to talk about “Blacks are racist against one another” (when immigrants from various countries in Africa such as Nigeria have not endured and cannot comprehend what it is like to be reminded that your ancestors were slaves and treated accordingly) or “You are a ch*nk” (when the person is Korean or Cantonese and it is obvious that they are too).
LikeLike
[…] Whites are individuals! […]
LikeLike