Are you living in a white country but not (completely) white yourself? Are most of your friends white? Do you think racism is no big deal? Do you think poor Black Americans only have themselves to blame? If so, you might be whitewashed. Read on!
My standard advice to the whitewashed (a work in progress):
- Know about:
- Spend time with non-white family and friends, especially those who share the same non-white background as you do. Do not cut yourself off from them. You will need their support and wisdom all your life. When they talk about racism, listen. Sure, maybe they are bitter, maybe they grew up in a different time, maybe they made some bad choices in life, maybe they lack your advantages in education and so on, but there is more truth to what they are saying than you imagine. The older people in your family have way more wisdom than you know. They have been down a road you will probably have to travel in some form.
- Make sure that not all your friends are white – it is great that you get along with white people, but when racism hits they will not understand, they will say you are just imagining things, they will play it down, they may even defend it.
- Anyone who uses racial slurs or tells racist jokes cannot be a true friend – not to you. They are racist, straight-up. They are poisoning your mind.
- Prefer books over film and television – especially books by people with the same background as you, especially coming-of-age books. If you cannot find anything by someone with your particular background, then go for Black American authors: they are easy enough to find and have plenty in common with all non-white people living in white English-speaking countries. Generally avoid film and television – they mostly teach internalized racism. See below for some book recommendations.
- Know your history – of people who share your non-white background. If you are full or part Chinese American, for example, then know the history of the Chinese in America. That might sound blah-blah-boring-so-what, like ancient history that has nothing to do with you, but the more you know the better off you will be down the road, the more you will understand what is going on.
Books:
Prefer books by people with your background, whatever interests you. Here are some books I recommend. Some of my commenters might have much better suggestions.
Gene Yang: “American Born Chinese” (2003) – graphic novel about a Chinese American boy who wants to be white. More profound than it looks. More.
Beverly Tatum: “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria”(2003) – how racism affects Americans growing up. She has sections on growing up black, Asian, American Indian, Latino, mixed race and white, presenting the current science. More.
Malcolm X & Alex Haley: “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” (1965) – his fight against racism inside himself and in America.
Thanks to Kiwi for suggesting this post.
– Abagond, 2013.
See also:
Abagond 
Thank you for this advice. Oh how is needed because are many with this white oriented attitude. It is good you mentioned watching less television and reading more, especially black books I have almost became almost no television it is mostly the news I turn it on to see like you posted tv is made by whites for whites and all that white fantasy is serves no purpose for blacks especially our children it works against their self image. No wonder in our current times black kids are picking up white dolls during psychological testing and saying they are the best and prettiest.tv plays a role in white washing too. You are a great thinker and writer.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on oogenhand and commented:
I am 1/8th North-African (North-Africans can have the Jewish religion). What about blackwashing?
LikeLike
My advice to the White Washed minorities.
1) Know that the White AmeriKKKlan society and media sees you as inferior.
I am so sick of Whitewashed minorities siding with Whites over their own people but when the time comes when they are discriminated against, Then they will know how White AmeriKKKlan truly sees them.
2) Befriend people of your race
Even though you barely have friends of your own race, ethnicity or culture, try to befriends a few of them so that they could have your back when you are discriminated against in White AmeriKKKlan society.
3) Embrace your culture
Be proud of your culture and heritage and don’t ever disrespect your culture or heritage even in front of Whites. That is a no no to me. Your culture is apart of who you are.
No, I am NOT Whitewashed and I was until I started reading this blog about three years ago. I live in a predominantly White area and I grew up thinking that White was right. Although I am pretty much grown up and realized that Black is beautiful, my little brother still thinks White is better than him. And think about it, my little brother is pitch dark and all yet he thinks and acts like a White boy and has little to no regard for his own Black people. I really hope he wakes up.
And the Puerto Ricans who live next door to me think that they are better than me and my mother because they have lighter skin and straighter hair. The Puerto Rican woman’s oldest daughter wouldn’t talk to me because she thinks she is better than me. Plus she looks White so she feels I can’t be caught with this Black girl.
LikeLike
It’s so sad to me that whiteness is so pervasive that it gets into the heads of the people it is working to keep down. But I have learned that it’s not my place to point it out. My focus needs to be on white people like me.
I swear, I’m gonna stop thanking you for every post because at this point, I hope, it’s a given. You are helping me so much put words to thoughts and feelings which I think is important when I’m trying to point out racism or teach other whites how far gone we are wrt racism.
LikeLike
Whiteness is more than brainwashing, it’s a deep, punctuated mental illness.
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] Are you living in a white country but not (completely) white yourself? Are most of your friends white? Do you think racism is no big deal? Do you think poor Black Americans only have themselves to … […]
LikeLike
Relax, whites will be gone soon. They are not breeding, and they can’t even talk about this problem without being labeled racist. The country is yours. Almost 50% of kids in the U.S. born out of wedlock now, but we can’t stop now. So keep up the good work. Soon the U.S. can be like Africa and Latin American, a true land of democracy and freedom! I’m not sure how this comment would violate your comment policy, but feel free to delete. Echo chambers are a lot more comfortable.
LikeLike
Know your history and don’t have all white friends or this could be the result:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyTER6g8JP0)
LikeLike
@Kiwi :extinct is right about one thing, I think, Whites will be gone soon. I wonder if whiteness has such a hold that it will continue when whites are no longer. If it’ll just be hyper-colorism.
And still at you, my issue is white men who only date Asian women. And how it can’t be racist if it’s a preference or perceived as positive.
LikeLike
In my opinion washed individuals are so exhausting and irritating. I had two friends that were like this. It drove me crazy. Seeing how they couldn’t relate to anything that was black oriented. They introduced me to a lot of cool things, but it was very had for me to keep my opinions to myself. For example when we went to worship on Sundays they never wanted to go to any of the churches in the community. Instead they wanted to go to the huge white Episcopalian or the popular mega church across town in the very white part of the city. What was insulting to me was when they would say ” I’m just trying to take you out of your environment and introduce you to something nicer. That’s very insulting. They are good people but they are very confused in my opinion.
LikeLike
It’s sad to me when black people don’t know their history and think so highly of whites over their own people.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@qweerdo: I am not sure about what you mean about how you feel about white men dating only Asian women. Are you enraged or fine about it or do you think it depends on how they do it and why??? your post is ambiguous.
Since racism is not a question of colour only (as British Romas experience everyday, and as Jews know all too well) I am sure that racism will still be an issue when the whole world is mixed race. Bigots and idiots will not be eradicated that easy.
But I do believe (based on experience) there are people of all hues who really are not racists. What’s the difference between a white non-racist and a non-white non-racist? The former is a bit naive, the latter is on his/her guards. The former is naive, because they do not realise that a non-white starts from a position of pain. Meaning: a non-white has not just his/her experience of racism, but that of his/her group. It is heritage. Everyone has heritage, but the whites never reflect on that. So when non-whites get a knock, it bruises an already tender place, and it hurts a lot. So maybe yes, non-whites could over-react, exactly like someone with a broken arm will scream with pain if you casually pat them.
LikeLike
*It was very hard for me to keep my opinions to myself* typos in above comments.
LikeLike
I suggest that you expand the media section to include more than just books. There is an excellent film that is quite appropriate for this topic. “The Debut”, starring Dante Basco, tells the story of a teenaged Filipino named Reuben “Ben” Mercado. Ben is utterly ashamed of his Filipino heritage and only socializes with Whites.
On the eve of his sister’s debut (akin to a sweet 16), Ben has a series of experiences that awaken in him an understanding of his identity that was previously lost on him because of his whitewashed thinking. The film should be required viewing for non-Whites in this country. Best of all, it is a film in which the narrative is being told entirely by Filipinos, from the actors to the directors and writers. It is a rarity for such narratives to be told without being colonized by Whiteness (see: The Last Samurai, The Last of the Mohicans, Dangerous Minds).
You can view the trailer for “The Debut” on Youtube
LikeLike
@ extinct
White Americans are not the big believers in freedom and democracy that they think they are. Without thinking too hard:
1. Slavery and genocide, as Kiwi pointed out.
2. George Washington fought for the freedom of white people only.
3. Native Americans could not vote till the 1920s. Most blacks could not vote till the 1960s. Left up to whites, blacks would STILL not be able to vote in all states.
4. The Japanese American internment.
5. The Patriot Act.
6. Voter suppression in 2012.
7. Weakening civil rights for Muslim Americans since at least the 1990s.
8. Racial profiling and mass incarceration of black men.
9. Cointelpro.
10. Courts that only work well for those with money.
11. Top political parties pretty much only represent the rich.
12. Cases of covert American involvement in regime change well-known enough to have their own Wikipedia article::
1893 Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii
1949 Syrian coup
1953 Iranian coup
1954 Guatemalan coup
1961 Cuban invasion
1963 South Vietnamese coup
1964 Brazilian coup
1973 Chilean coup
1976 Argentine coup
1979 Afghanistan resistance
1980 Turkish coup
1981 Nicaraguan ‘contras’
2002 Venezuelan coup attempt
13. American military interventions, 1890-2010:
1890s: South Dakota, Argentina, Chile, Haiti, Idhao, Hawaii, Chicago, Nicaragua, China, Korea, Panama, China, Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, Minnesota, Samoa
1900s: Philippines, Cuba, Idaho, Oklahoma, Panama, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Korea, Nicaragua
1910s: Philippines, Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, China, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Colorado, Haiti, Texas, Germany, Russia, Yugoslavia
1920s: China, Haiti, Russia, Panama, Guatemala, West Viriginia, Turkey, Mexico, Honduras
1930s: China, Haiti, El Salvador, Washington DC
1940s: China, Japan, Germany, Italy, Detroit, Iran, Yugoslavia, Uruguay, Greece, Philippines
1950s: Philippines, Puerto Rico, Korea, Iran, Vietnam, Guatemala, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, China, Panama
1960s: Vietnam, Cuba, Germany, Laos, Iraq, Panama, Indonesia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Detroit, USA, Cambodia
1970s: Vietnam, Cambodia, Oman, Laos, South Dakota, Mideast, Chile, Angola
1980s: Angola, Iran, Libya, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Lebanon, Grenada, Honduras, Virgin Islands, Philippines, Panama
1990s: Angola, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Liberia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Los Angeles, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, Haiti, Zaire (D.R. Congo), Liberia, Albania, Sudan, Afghanistan
2000s: Yemen, Macedonia, USA, Afghanistan, Philippines, Colombia, Iraq, Liberia, Haiti, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria
LikeLiked by 1 person
You people should go live in the middle east, or china or japan if you think there is racism in america go live in japan or the middle east and see how they treat blacks there. They are 150 years behind the white north american’s thinking. ANd what about moslems and east indians- they are very very racist people as well who like to cry and bark racism but they are very very difficult people to get along with. In japan if your not japanese u cant even u the same bathrooms as japanese people. In saudi arabia u will never never ever be a citizen of that count ry even if u live there for 500 years. If your seen with a bible in some moslem countries u are thrown in jail and even tortured- hows that for racism! The white nations are the most giving in the world and the nonwhites are very greedy- some have alot more money than we do yet they do not help any other race when they come to their nations and have no social programs. If u think whites are racists go live in india- see how well u are treated there, maybe u can me 3 dollars an hour (because in canada they pay their OWN people 8 an hour in the construction trades so they can get rich and they never hire anyone other than their own people hum i think i recall this is called RACISM………..how about all the white and black and native canadians here for generations pushed aside for nonwhites who just arrived for good jobs. In india a woman has to go right home after work so she wont be raped due to she is too liberated…….blacks from africa are quite lazy people I see this alot in canada- they have no work ethnic like canadians do…….they seem to want everything handed to them…….the way I see it now let each group take care and hire their own race, there are enough of every race now to do that. Why do whites have to bend over to help every tom dick and harry- we also have alot of poor people in canada who are white……..
LikeLike
It does not matter what people say everyone likes and feels comfortable with their OWN race, this is natural. I do know my history my family came in 1630 to quebec and helped to start the fur trade with the natives. We had very little and worked very hard up until 1956 when my dad graduated from law school………we are not all rich like u see on these stupid tv shows. Travel and make observations- the small towns are dying in canada and they are white and all the money is kept in the big cities to help immigrants to come illegal for a free townhouse, free healthcare etc so now we are broke as we spent 10 times what california did in ontario canada for 10 million people and all u see if joblessless and growing poverty so obviously bringing all these 3rd world people is making us worse off and driving down wages……..
LikeLike
I don’t think I was that hard to understand. If a white man fetishizes an entire race of women, I think it’s wrong. There. That’s pretty clear.
@Jane: So what you’re saying is that your European ancestors came over here and stole or bought stolen land?
LikeLike
Jane, those places couldn’t be any worse than America has been to black people. The only reason America is not as racists as it was is because black people fought back. If we left white people to their own devices you guys would still be as violently racist as you were in the 1800s. Everything we have we fought for. White people didn’t give us anything, we had to take everything, everything you consider a god given right we had to fight for.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@ Jane
What does the slaughter of Christians have to do with racism? Consider Egypt. Coptic Christians in that country are the same ethnic group as the Muslims of that country (Arab). The Coptics are being killed because of ideological differences, not racial ones. Ordinarily I would coddle such poor logic as being the result of simple ignorance, but you are an unremarkable and willful bigot that posses the same Eurocentric myopia that plagues the mindset of many White bigots.
In sum, acknowledging the racism of other ethnic groups and countries is a valid statement in so far as it is true for instance, that the Japanese are an overtly racist society. However, your point is argumentatively irrelevant. This post is specifically dealing with racism as enacted upon non-Whites by Whites, both institutionally and psychologically. More pointedly, this post is about the internalization of that racism and how one may seek to be unbound from those shackles. Your rantings do not invalidate the truth of the claims made by this blog post.
If you have come to educate yourself, then seek understanding and pray about what you have read. God is the giver of wisdom to any who seek and ask of Him. But if you have come to spread ignorance, then you should keep your thoughts to yourself.
LikeLike
Jane cut the derailing nonsense. I love how bitter idiots come onto the latest thread to spout their whiny garbage in hopes of steering the conversation off topic.
LikeLike
So whites are responsible for doing some horrible things. um, I get it. I had that rammed down my throat for years and years and years. Sure, I feel terrible for that. Even if it’s not my ancestors directly, I should bear eternal guilt if we have the same skin hew. Surely non-whites never perpetrated any heinous acts. Rwanda couldn’t be genocide if there were no white people.
Anyway, if you hate white culture so much, go spend time with more non-whites, like you said, especially in places with no whites. You can see how things are in Africa. Even check out downtown Detroit. This is the future as whites disappear and white flight overtakes more cities (though because about 50% of African American fetuses are aborted, the future belongs to Hispanics mostly—just a demographic fact here). This is not racism, this is just a fact. You should be preparing for the future instead of arguing with dinosaurs.
LikeLike
Two things:
One, Thanks for this post. I too was whitewashed, and it took a while for me to be at the mindset to where I am today. I still have work to do, but I will not stop. What’s sad is that the some of the people I grew up with who are back are whitewashed. I got into it with a few over the BET Awards and movies like “The Blind Side”. It was frustrating as hell. In the end I didn’t want to talk to them anymore about the subject because it was quicksand.
Two, I’m working on a series of graphic novels that will cut straight to the heart of everything: racism, sexism, homophobia, and anything else. I sent the first to comixology on May 7, and I haven’t heard from them yet.
Here’s a preview of it:
http://brothawolf.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/usu-preview-comic/
LikeLike
extinct,
No one here said nonwhites haven’t done heinous acts. And no one here said anything about hating white culture. Your anger is making you read things that aren’t there and make racist assumptions. That’s right, I said racist assumptions.
If you were to take the time out and actually read and think what’s being said here and elsewhere by POC, you wouldn’t be so butthurt about things you think you’ve read. This post isn’t about you. So, check your ego at the door. This isn’t about hating whites. So, stop that nonsense.
LikeLike
Jane,
Like I ask all incomers who make the usual comments, why are you here?
LikeLike
Jane, are you Quebecois? If you are, that would explain your racist mindset. Jane, I am a multi-generational black Canadian (my family arrived in 1819 and 1855 respectively) You must be smoking crack along with Rob Ford the mayor of Toronto because you are delusional. Jane, let me clue you in; blacks have always been discriminated against as much as their black American counterparts, they were small in number so you just don’t learn about them in school except for the underground railroad. That segment, or should I say tidbit, is probably interjected into the curriculum to show that the Canadians were more moralistic and kinder than those dastardly Yanks. It also serve to make white feel good about themselves for helping those lowly culluds, many of those culluds as it turns out are ungrateful for this aid.
There is nothing new under the sun ‘Jane’. Your babblings about immigrants sucking at the public teat is a bunch of bullsh*t if ever such existed. For those that do fall between the cracks it is due to the white supremacy inherent in Canadian society. It starts in kindergarten and progresses through to adulthood. Jane, do not mention multi-generational blacks in the same breath as you do inherently racist white Canadians such as yourself. The only reason you mention them is to show you are not ‘raciss’. Sure, their are kerchief heads among them but that is a symptom of white supremacy. I became aware of how white racism worked at a very young age, even though I couldn’t put any sociological terminology to it at the time. Jane, you are par for the course when it comes to white Canadians. Jane get back on the pipe along with you fellow racist Rob Ford, you were designed for one another!
LikeLiked by 1 person
@ Extinct
Your very username hints of your polluted mindset. Your rhetoric about a future “belonging” to Hispanics affirms the initial inference. Cease with your paranoia and fear mongering. As it stands, no one here is denying the misgivings of other ethnic groups. However, it is not necessary to mention such activities in tandem with mentions of White misdeeds. White evils stand on their own, and do not require a constant comparison or justification that is framed by similar wrong doings on the part of other groups.
And for the record, the Rwandan genocide is in part an event which White culture takes some measure of blame. By redefining the borders of what is now modern day Rwanda, as well as favoring of the Tutsi people, an imbalance was created that led to an entirely hostile political climate. More or less, the Belgians are the initial source of blame for what happened. Of course, the Hutu are still responsible for their actions, but the entire context of their actions are rooted in Belgian political interference.
Also, the economic state of Detroit can be entirely blamed on the American automotive industry, which more or less established an economy for that city and rapidly abandoned that economy in favor of overseas production. I’ll give you a hint, White people own the corporations that comprise the automobile industry. So when the economy left, the city never really recovered. Those who left, did so. Those who chose not to, or could not afford to, remain there today. Black people have little to do with the state of Detroit.
LikeLike
[…] Are you living in a white country but not (completely) white yourself? Are most of your friends white? Do you think racism is no big deal? Do you think poor Black Americans only have themselves to … […]
LikeLike
@Extinct
If you have such disdain for Blacks and minorities so much, why don’t you go on Stormfront and express your opinion? Your type belongs there and will fit in with the racists posting on the site. Honestly I find your posts rather offensive towards Blacks and other minorities. You will never know what Blacks and minorities go through in this racist country or society because you have White skin that gives you privileges over others. So coming on here and disregarding the opinions of minorities and Abagond’s post is not going to cut it. You seriously need to do some self reflecting and try and evaluate why you feel the way you do about Blacks and minorities.
LikeLike
Personally, I am sick of racist White trolls coming on here and putting down minorities to boost their own self esteem. Why do they feel the need to feed their obsession and disdain for Blacks by coming on here and posting all kinds of crap? I don’t get it. As a young Black woman, I am trying to understand the nature of Whites in this country. And the Whitewashed minorities who seek the approval of Whites in this racist societies.
LikeLike
I’m not going to stay here and get into an argument with you guys. There’s no point, because you don’t want to consider an alternate view. You want to demonize whites here without anyone to defend them, so go right ahead. Adeen, I’m sorry that politcically inconvenient truths have upset you. You make some assumptions about me that just aren’t correct (you essentially resort to an ad hominim attack on me, instead of focusing on substance). I’m not into Stormfront. I guess anyone who defends anything of “white” or “western” culture must be a nazi, huh? I grew up in areas where I was a “minority”–and didn’t think anything of it, really. I was raised with all the politically correct drivel you guys were and have internalized, and I didn’t grow up rich or “upper middle class”. I now live in a part of the world where I’m definitely a “minority”. I dont’ have any close white friends here. On the other hand, one of my closest friends here is black. I like him as a person and I respect his personal achievements. He doesn’t get any AA here, never heard him make excuses, but still manages to kick @$$. My kids are mixed. That won’t win me any brownie points with the white supremicist crowd. However, if you guys really think everybody’s lives would be so much better without white people, then I encourage you to travel places where there aren’t any white people. If that kind of lifestyle suits you great. If you think your lives would be so much better if only your ancestors could have been left to themselves in West Africa or the Aztec empire, maybe you’re right. Certainly would get you a non-western experience.
LikeLike
I just lost a bet twice.
Extinct misses the point of the post and even the comments and carries on with the fear mongering. Nice.
LikeLike
@ Jane @ extinct
What in the world do your comments have to do with the post?
LikeLike
@Extinct
Honestly, I don’t hate Whites. I am against White supremacy and internalized racism that goes on in my race and culture.
And having Black friends doesn’t guarantee you a non racist. You aren’t explicitly racist at all but from reading your posts, unconsciously you are and you don’t even realize it. I am not trying to attack your character but I am just judging from what you posted on here.
@Gen
Exactly, that is my point. He missed it.
LikeLike
@abagond, to be fair, not necessarily directly a response to this latest post, except your assertion that somehow being “whitewashed” is necessarily bad (it’s someone’s personal choice how they want to act–you might call Obama “whitewashed”, but he’s 50% white, many “African Americans” and almost all “Hispanics” have similar mixing, who is to say they can’t act “white” if they choose to?), but more your blog, generally, which seems to be focused on trashing white people and “white”/western culture (doesn’t make sense to comment on older posts now, does it?). You have people here like Adeen who is referring to “White AmeriKKKlan society”. Jane’s response to that is telling—go almost anywhere else in the world (outside of places controlled by either white people or your ethnic group) and then come back and tell me if you think America is racist (seriously, try this–not just a short trip, either). Anyway, carry on, and btw, that pic you have on the front of your blog is definitely priceless.
LikeLike
@ extinct
1. You can always comment on older posts. All the active commenters will see it in addition to nearly a thousand lurkers.
2. Please stay on topic or I will start deleting your comments. What you said about whitewashing was on point and far more useful for this thread than hearing about Rwanda for the 200th time and Detroit for the 161st time. If you can tie Detroit to whitewashing or the advice given, that is fine, but to just suddenly start talking about it is a derailment.
3. If you want to talk about something for which there is no post, there is the Open Thread.
4. Most of the arguments whites use on this blog have been gathered together in the Broken Records department. The one you are making is Broken Record #3: Whites are not uniquely evil:
https://abagond.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/whites-are-not-uniquely-evil/
5. I do not control what Adeen says any more than I control what you say. Anyone who stays within the Comment Policy can say whatever they want:
https://abagond.wordpress.com/comment-policy/
6. I have every right to criticize white people and Western culture. Particularly on a blog and in a country where whites bash blacks ALL the time – as you just did. Blacks do not owe whites gratitude, blind loyalty or a held tongue. To expect that from them is racist and paternalistic.
LikeLike
extinct,
If you don’t know what this post is, you may want to quit while you’re behind. You’re misreading what the post is saying, making blind assumptions, try to distance yourself from a problem you’re running away from and deny privileges you have. Your ramblings are predictable and they present a side we’ve been told millions of times. I’ve heard it before. We will hear it again. Why not consider OUR alternative view instead of flat out reject it and accuse us of doing what you’re doing right now?
LikeLike
Abagond,
You made an excellent point here:
“I have every right to criticize white people and Western culture. Particularly on a blog and in a country where whites bash blacks ALL the time – as you just did. Blacks do not owe whites gratitude, blind loyalty or a held tongue. To expect that from them is racist and paternalistic.”
In the first place from experience, criticizing whites has been based on facts and truths personal, historical, political and social. It’s been recorded and documented by the volumes.
Most of the time (9 times out of 10), whites bash black people based on myths, half-truths and lies. For instance, white people love to use Detroit as an example of the failures of black communities. They do not factor in circumstances that resulted in Detroit being in the state that it’s in due to corporate and political greed and corruption that severely affected communities, especially black ones. They always leave out how there outside forces beyond the people’s control helped shape conditions, and if whites were involved, that is absurd to them. They can not take that possibility let alone accept the fact.
Lastly, white people in America have that white mentality that sees black people as “childlike”, or rather as the children they don’t care for too much. They see us as ungrateful when we speak out. They can’t stand it that some of us are not kissing their butts anymore like it use to be. They miss those days of being masters, and they resent us for not tolerating their BS anymore.
What’s even more troubling is the fact that their own whitewashing is destroying THEM as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@ extinct
They can be as whitewashed as they want to be, but I can also advise against it.
Whitewashing leads to internalized racism, where you are racist against yourself, the people of your race, your roots. Mainstream American culture, the kind taught at school and seen on television, is not “neutral” or “one size fits all”. It has not “transcended race”. Quite the opposite: it is racist because it had to excuse what was done and continues to be done to blacks, Indians and Mexicans, to Latin America and Asia.
LikeLike
Jane and extinct are nothing but boneheaded racist trolls. They aren’t trying to learn are change their racist mindset. This advice that Abagon is giving doesn’t work for idiots like them. It’s like casting pearls to swine. They just trample over them.
LikeLike
@brothawolf: good point on Detroit. How stupid people can be? It was the big business that destroyed Detroit and Flinte etc.
@kiwi: people like Jane also conviniently forget one other thing too: everyone else excdept the native americans are immigrants or their descendants, each single one of them, including ALL THE WHITE AMERICANS.
LikeLike
@extinct:
You seem to miss a one thing: the discussion here, this whole blog and its whole content is part of the “western” culture. Majority of the blacks commenting here are westeners just like you. Most of them are americans too, just black americans. Their experiences and lives are as much “western” as is yours, onöy that it is not white western version of it.
Most of them do not wish to go anywhere because USA is THEIRS too. They are critical of it for a good reason and it is their right. Besides, when critisism ends, it spells the end of any society. Just check the history, not just the “white” part of it and you’ll see. Once debate ends, once the people stop being critical, the end is near.
LikeLike
@ exctinct
Stating that you have “close” Black friends, that you look at the individual and not their race, that you have mixed children, are all commen rhetorical strategies used by White bigots in order to derail an argument that addresses White racism and its effects on non-Whites. Assuming for a modicum of veraccity to your claims, having Black friends doesn’t not signify that you are not a racist. Especially if said friends are whitewashed and therefore contribute to your bigotry by affirming your beliefs. Having “black friends” is mostly coded speech that is followed by “they don’t think the way you do. In fact, they agree with me.” It is essentially the bigot’s version of an appeal to authority, which is a logical fallacy.
LikeLike
Having black friends and mixed children means nothing. You can still be a racist.
LikeLike
@Extinct
And I have every right to criticize Western society, it is apart of the rights as an American. Yes, this society deserves to be called AmeriKKKlan for the wrong doings they have done against Blacks, Native Americans and other people. And to this day, this country still profits from the wrongdoings they have done to minorities and people living in third world countries.
And I am an American too, America doesn’t only make up of only Whites.
@Mary
He still is a racist, I don’t buy his ”I have mixed kids” or ”I have a Black friend” crap.
LikeLike
@ Adeen, Neither do I.
LikeLike
@Mary Burrell
Same here. I believe MOST Whites in this country are racist whether they realize it or not.
Only a few are able to acknowledge their racist ways and change their ways and treat minorities better. Extinct and Jane aren’t one of these Whites at all. They fall into the implicit racist category, the ones who unconsciously or subconsciously believe that they are better than Blacks and other minorities. And they don’t realize it either.
LikeLike
This is my first time to leave a comment, but I have really enjoyed reading your blog for a few months now. You have lots of really interesting posts. It has been part of what inspired me to create my own blog.
Anyway, another piece of advice I would add, is simply being aware of the problem – sincerely aware and mindful virtually all the time. This can make such a big difference, is easy to do, and is in someways the first thing to do.
LikeLike
@ Jane
I deleted your two latest comments as being off topic. This post is about whitewashing, not about reverse racism in Canada.
LikeLike
Kiwi,
Actually, I haven’t missed it, the ‘go back to Africa’ response whites like Jane love to use. And you’re right about the premise behind it.
Jane,
On that note, I don’t know about the rest of the folks here, but I was born in South Carolina, a state in the United States. I didn’t come from Africa, at least not directly. Besides, my ancestors didn’t come from Africa on their own free will. We were forcibly kidnapped by Europeans and Americans to serve them unconditionally at the cost of their cultures, languages, and even their lives. But your whitewashed mind doesn’t want to process that tidbit of info seeing as how you’re already mentally unstable as you’re now just babbling off topic.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought Jane’s inchoherant rambling was off topic as well. I wondered what she was going on about.
LikeLike
*incoherent* Oops typos.
LikeLike
@ kiwi
Yeah they love to derail posts and pit every race against each other while they escape through the back door. They always start sheit within different groups then step back when they start destroying themselves and step back in to take the land and resources. I live in tx and there are a lot of latinos here and a lot of them do not like black ppl, but I can’t really get too upset because we are all under white supremacy. Whites don’t want us blacks,browns,yellows,and reds to unite which is why white supremacy must stay in place or if it is destroyed everyone that they burned will be coming after them. They’ve seen what damage we do together when we unite, the black Seminoles and some native americans united and were whoopin the armys arse during the Gullah wars.
LikeLike
Any recommendations of books about Jews in America during slum days I have only found one it kind of hard to find any books about Jewish heritage that doesn’t have to do with ancient Egyptian or Nazis.
LikeLike
@Kiwi
Great logical but where did you get it from?
LikeLike
In other words, “Dont be non racist” Wow! What a lovely man you are!
LikeLike
I love seeing these brainwashed Whites come here with that non-sense. LOL. First they talk about how they’re accused of being racists, then they start spouting racist rhetoric and put their foot in their mouth without ever having a conscious inkling what they have done.
I guess even a drowning man will grasp at straws.
LikeLike
@ exctinct Just because you’re a White person that has mixed kids does NOT make you exempt from being a racist. Heterosexuals are parents of homosexuals yet some are homophobic. Hell, the phenomenon of Blacks hating themselves and other Blacks shows the complexities of White Supremacy/Racism. So please don’t discount the subject of White-washing.
LikeLike
I have known many people who got whitewashed, realize it, want to change it, but also realized that their whitewashing has changed them forever. They can’t “go back” to an un-whitewashed state. They might have too much trouble learning the social skills and to unlearn some of their education to remove the whitewash.
Are they forever destined to become the marginal man?
LikeLike
@Abagond and all commenters here, what about the blackwashed media in U.S.? That not counts?
Are all you nuts? Stop this false conspirance, whiotes have other thing to care than waste time with all you.
LikeLike
@ Abbas…. “Blackwashed media?” Seriously? Bwahahahaaa!
LikeLike
Blackwashed media?
Where can we find this?
LikeLike
What is the Blackwashed media? Is it some new phenomenon?
LikeLike
@ToALLcomenters
See MTV, full of black clips (I not hate all, but man it’s what most pass!)
B.E.T
Black Hebrew TV
All media trying denigrate white people (no, I’m not white supremacist).
White women go after black men (It’s so coll an black man with an big D***!
Black women ignored(again is the black washed media!)
WAIT!!! Who rules media is… JEWISH!!!! Oh my Gods, isn’t just!
LikeLike
@Abbas
You mean BET as ”Black washed media”? Honestly I think you are an idiot coming on here and saying that media is trying to denigrate Whites. Media is not going to denigrate Whites, trailer trash! In fact, the media favors Whites over anything! That is why the shows on TV have mostly Whites on it and the women on the magazine covers are mostly White women. Whites have the most privileges here in AmeriKKKlan! You guys are never discriminated against, never looked down upon and are the most well off group in this country even in this bad economy.
You don’t know how it’s like to be discriminated against, spat on and stereotyped. I do because I am a Black woman! This is what this blog is for to address the issue of the media denigrating Blacks. You know Blacks are not as privileged as you yet you come on here and express your fears of Blacks and them taking over.
Get off of here and don’t come back either! Stay in your trailer park and while you are in there, watch losers on Faux News like Herman Cain, Glenn Beck etc tell you lie after lie about minorities being the ”bad guys”.
I am sick of these stupid trolls coming on here!
LikeLike
^ Exactly, that is NOT blackwashed media. Those are cases where non-blacks are determining the media contact.
LikeLike
@Jefe
Caucasians are in control of the media. There is no such thing as ”Black washed media”
LikeLike
Yep, I know — that is why I asked the commenter to define.
LikeLike
@Adeen You’re an black washed, nothing is prohibiting me to come here and no – you’re the true troll!
LikeLike
Google, Yahoo, Bing all turn up zilch for a search on black washed media.
Still searching for examples. . . . .
LikeLike
Japan is not a third world country. I have no clue as to what Jane is really talking about because usually the persons comments seem like they have no experience behind them. I lived 13 years in Japan mainly Osaka and I can tell you being black in Japan I didn’t have any more racism than the next foreign person. A lot of whites actually start to feel it there but having living in America and being black I know, when we do racism we do it well top notch, down to a science. I have wondered across Europe, Asia, and South America and every place has its problems and good points
LikeLike
@ Extinct,
please use good examples Rwanda isn’t one because is behavior that was encourage by colonialism. Which yes means under white rules. Please find a better one or history majors will forever wonder if you are joking, ignorant, or plain and simply crazy. However the answer to your question would that genocide happen if there was no whites, no it would have because that particular situation was caused by splitting two people up and giving favors to the one group during white rules. There was always some tension there but exploiting it caused it to build up and crack. Would it have happen another way, we may never know. Many a tribe in Europe, Asia, America, and Africa have gone the way of Extinct because of warring tribes.
LikeLike
@ some comments here
Some white people are so scared when blacks don’t give due deference to them or act ‘grateful’ for the civil liberties that they take for granted.
And it is so glaringly obvious.
It is a very scary thing to them when black people assert themselves and want to find an identity separate from white folks. When they actually feel pride instead of seeing themselves as lazy, ugly, and criminals.
An it seems you can’t be truly American unless you are basically a dark-skinned white person.
It took me a long time to realize, but I used to be whitewashed to some degree.
I am just know figuring out that I don’t have to be acceptable to white people. The idea was revolutionary and freeing.
I am going to read up more about black history, racism, an will check out the movie that was mentioned.
I love this site!
LikeLike
@Lonely Voice,
I actually went and took a look through every post dating back to 2006. There is a lot of information here. I hated studying history in High School, but later on, I found it to be very interesting.
I actually also watched “The Debut” long before it was mentioned on this thread. There aren’t too many American films out there that focus on the Filipino-American experience out there. But all these kinds of things are good for all Americans to expose themselves to and to know the difference between a depiction of a character by whites and by non-whites.
You don’t have to define yourself according to white people. But you don’t have to be hostile to white people. Just go and define yourself according your own identity that is not dependent upon the depictions that white people have created.
LikeLike
Hah,
Thanks to Ben E for reminding us to put this book on the list.
http://www.udel.edu/PR/drivenout/aboutbook.html
DRIVEN OUT: The Forgotten War Against Chinese Americans
By Jean Pfaelzer
Professor of English
University of Delaware
Instead, what Hollywood fed people is stuff like the movie “Shanghai Noon (2000)”, a comedy.
>o
LikeLike
My nephew is growing up part white, part Vietnamese and part Chinese. I think that American born Chinese could be essential reading for me and his uncle.
LikeLike
@ Jefe
Blackwashed media?
Where can we find this?
LOL!
LikeLike
Jane was pulling some Thief-thief shit there. Man, shut the fuck up.
LikeLike
Are you saying we need to segregate ourselves? And when you say white are we talking just skin color or people that had ancestors that came to America from Europe?
LikeLike
Why that is white people don’t have to work for things. They get everythang for free. While we work hard for nothing. I hate white people they are racist.
LikeLike
Abagond I wrote a long comment on here describing myself, and my situation with racism and being in the military but after rereading I found it highly inappropriate due to your comment policy so I decided to ask you what do you feel about all the celebrities who marry white men or women to be accepted by their white audience? I know it falls somewhere between Whitewashing and Internalized racism, but I think of people like Rashida Jones who would rather say she’s ethnics than black( even in her letter to Tupac 20 years ago, she kept saying your people, instead of “our” people denying that black affilation is far from her mind note she was 17 but still, I wonder has she developed passed that), or Raven Simone’s rant. I know people are trying to avoid being black in a racist America when they are famous but what do you think about? When im done cleaning my comment up and have it align to your policy Ill post it on here Or Tyra Bank and other supermodels and other black celebrities who always preach about racism and being black, or their black struggle but then end up marrying or in a relationship with a white man or woman. I am stating Black Women more because it tends to be black women who do this type of thing more and more, even the wayne brothers promote garbage!
LikeLike
Ok this entire blog has reached the point of reverse discrimination. The idea was to be rid of racism in general but now you are discriminating and hating on white’s.
LikeLike
And btw whoever said that shit about the doll experiment. That was done in the 1950s when civil rights movement was at its peak. So your argument is not valid in current times.
LikeLike
@G
There is no such thing as reverse discrimination.
LikeLike
There is if you are white.
LikeLiked by 1 person
doesn’t that steal your own power a bit to say you can’t do that
LikeLike
What you just don’t give a -beep- about history? The present is what counts for me, live in the moment. Dwelling on the past has made me so depressed to the point of suicide, until I learned to let go and be myself in this modern era. I’m not my ancestors. I don’t know them and I doubt I’d have anything in common with them. They’re old prudish farts to me.
LikeLike
@Niara
Yet much of your learned behavior is just like theirs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If you can’t beat em’ join em'(inasmuch as you can)!
LikeLike
right, “my advice to the ‘lovelorn'” lol
LikeLike
Hi, I know this is old, but I was wondering:
I’m 14 years old, half Egyptian/half White Mountain Apache.
What you do when your own people don’t consider you one of them? My father was Apache and my mother is Egyptian, I was raised in California all my life though, and never got to visit his side of the family, I was raised among my mom’s relatives. My dad spoke about his family, spoke his native language and told me stories growing up. I learned silversmithing and leatherwork, something his father taught him. After my dad’s passing, I started looking for his family and found it. I contacted one of his cousins and while she was really nice, the rest of his family ignored me. They don’t seem to think of me as part of their people, they did not want to help me trace my family tree, look at photos or talk about their family history, basically anything to help me discover this other part of me. I was my father’s daughter, they loved and missed my father, but they wanted nothing to do with me. It left me feeling like they disowned me.
Is it racism on their part? Can minorities be racist to each other? Or was it something else I can’t see? Why can they love my dad, but not me? Why won’t they help my discover who I am? My mom tells me not to worry, that I always have her family, while they are wonderful relatives to me and always made me feel welcome, I still feel incomplete, ya know? I feel like there’s a whole side of myself that is missing. I don’t want to go on growing up not knowing the full picture of who I am. But I have nowhere else to go to ask. Everything is so closed off in that tribe. I can’t help but feel like I’m outside looking in. Certainly doesn’t help that high school makes me feel like that already.
LikeLike
@ Lost Desert Bird
Certainly it could be racism, but I can think of another possibility as well.
From what I understand, the White Mountain Apache traditionally were matrilineal, meaning they counted descent through the mother’s line, not the father.
Because your mother was not White Mountain Apache, they may not consider you to be, either. I’m not 100% sure about this, but I do know there are some other Native American tribes in the Southwest who have this belief.
It is just like how some Jews believe a child of a mixed marriage can only be Jewish if the mother is also Jewish, and they don’t recognize children born to a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother.
I don’t know if this is the case in your tribe, but in some matrilineal tribes, people belong to one of several clans within the tribe, and the clan membership is passed through the mother. If this is the case, your father was not able to pass his clan to you, your mother doesn’t have a clan, and you are basically clan-less.
Maybe you can talk to your cousin about this and see if it is the case. There may be a way around it, like being adopted into a clan — but be prepared that this could take a lot of time, possibly many years, and you will need to show dedication and persistence in the face of what looks like rejection.
One thing you might try is instead of coming to your father’s relatives with lots of questions, start off by just listening to whatever they want to say. If you are able to visit, bring some gifts along — they don’t have to be expensive, just everyday items like home-baked cookies. Do whatever you can to make yourself useful. Show through your actions that you want to be helpful. Wait until much later to ask them for help with your family tree, photographs, etc.
Many tribes are very closed off, and that is partly due to their history. They have a great distrust of outsiders, which is not unfounded. Right now many of your relatives may consider you an outsider. I know that doesn’t seem fair, and it isn’t how some other cultures would greet a long-lost relative. But you may be able to eventually get past this and find some amount of acceptance.
If the cousin who has been most accepting of you is willing to talk about the cultural differences, perhaps you can ask her about the best way for you to approach your other relatives.
You could also look for Native organizations in your part of California. Maybe there will be some people from your tribe who you can meet through these groups. And maybe you will meet some people, from any tribe, who have been in situations similar to yours, who can share their experiences with you and possibly give you some guidance.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Solitaire
A very kind and thoughtful response.
LikeLike
@ Mary Burrell
TY. I just hope the OP finds it helpful.
LikeLiked by 1 person