Dear White People...

@mitch70

If you’re going in that direction then there is no race (and PLEASE don’t pat your own back on that one).

There isn’t, but one race- the human race. Once people realize that maybe things can start to improve. Or we’ll base things on complexion instead, which is just as stupid, because then white would be the minority.

All I see is liberals hating white people. Can any liberal at least give me a reason why?

I don’t think you understand racism or what BLM is about. I don’t know if you even know African-American history beyond the fact there was an time of slavery, Jim Crow, Civil Rights Movement, a man name MLK Jr, and a man named Malcolm X. The history is more than that. From the beginning until now black people, especially black men have been murdered at very high rate, all because of the colour of their skin. I suggest you go to the “Policing” thread and read the articles I posted. Two, if not all three, are from a university, which not only studies these issues, but also teach Black History.

@lausten

Once we start to ask for equality for all, which is the actual meaning of equality, then all of us will feel some of the pain. That is what you are resisting right now. You are resisting some discomfort so others can simply breathe and get the freedoms you already have. But when we all are doing better, then we will all benefit, so suck it up buttercup.

Exactly! You hit the nail on the head and I think that is what some are reacting to concerning this article and taking it out on me. I posted something they don’t want to face in themselves. Every time a white person feels uncomfortable, especially one who just goes through life without getting to know anyone of a different colour personally, only works with them, goes along to get along, not rock the boat, then when confronted with even the slightest talk of even passive racism, they take it personally, because it hits home to them.

For those who think posting this means I’m racist @mitch70 here is one of the 10 in the article I can easily work with and tell you why it’s a problem:

8. “I don’t see color…”

Congratulations! You’re lying to yourself. Of course you see color. And that’s good! Black people want you to see their color. Their colors are beautiful and the very foundation of who they are. If you don’t see their color, then you also don’t see their culture. If you don’t see color then you erase their very identity. If you don’t see their color, then you also can’t see the pattern of violence they’re confronted with every day. If you don’t see color, then you’re blind to more than just racial injustice. You’re blind to the world.

When it comes to my sons, the first thing that comes to mind when I look at them is that they are my sons. I carried them for (first son) 9 months and 3 days and (second son) 8 months, barely. However, that does not negate that they are 1/2 black. I know this and I know that I know this in the back of my mind. To society (here in the U.S., Great Britain, S. Africa, only to name a few), I gave birth to black children. I cannot deny how society sees them or even views me (a N lover, a traitor to my “race”, for two popular racist terms). Schools, as they were growing up, attempted to categorize them as just “black” and I hated that, because I’m their mama, and I’m white. I felt like they were ignoring one side of their heritage everytime, all for the “one drop” rule and to get government funds for the free lunch program and other programs, that even poor little white kids get too. Yet there were people who said, “I don’t see colour”. You don’t? Then why did you just think my sons are Latino? That’s a lie. Everyone can see skin colour, but in some cases, with some people, it maybe not be the first thing that comes to a person’s mind when they talk about a family member or a close personal friend, but it is there, on some level. I know because I live it, every day. When I was married to their father, I could not ignore that he is black, because society wouldn’t let us. We’d go out and people would stare as we ate dinner and this was late 80s and early 90s, but that wasn’t what led to divorce. I cannot be blind to colour just because I gave birth to two sons who are 1/2 black and maybe more because of slavery and looking at my ex-husband’s mother, who is light complected too. Society won’t let us be blind to it, even though we are family with varying degrees of complexion. I’m obviously white, my older son is light complected, and my younger son is almost as dark as his father. My grandson is light complected too- competes with his uncle, my older son. Society won’t let us ignore color though, because there are even subtle reminders. However, I love my sons, so I never hid, couldn’t hide their ancestry from them, so I educated them as to why some people are overtly and obviously racist, even took college courses to learn about Black history so I could teach them. The professors, who were also black, thought it was very admirable that that was why I took Black history classes, even said so when they went around the room asking students why they took the class. I was not shy about why I was taking the classes and I even encouraged my sons to some of their own research. Sadly, this racism is even in religion, but that’s another subject in racism.

The thing is, this article isn’t wrong and it has nothing to do with me liking or hating white people, which would be silly, because it would mean I hate a part of myself that I can’t ignore. Yes, I am part Native American, which is also another topic in racism too, but I am obviously white too, which isn’t a race anymore than black is. Those are skin colours and there is only one race, the human race. Black is beautiful. Brown eyes are beautiful (and some white people have brown eyes too). Redheads are beautiful (my mother is a blue eyed redhead, which makes me a little bias there too). I think that’s the word that those who are feeling ill at ease about this topic of racism are looking for. This is a different sort of bias than racism though. We all have tribal bias, which is also another topic, but these aren’t necessarily good or bad. I favour my family, just as everyone else does and that is why Black Lives Matter. I don’t want a cop killing either of my sons because they are black and had a cell phone in their hand. I’d be with that mother, who is black, and just lost her child to police brutality and crying and angry due to the murder of her child. If one can’t grasp that much about BLM, then they are really blind to what happens in society.

There is one question I would like to ask since people are asking questions and even in a couple cases playing the shell game. What if my sons were gay and I was fighting for them to have the same rights and privileges I have as a straight person? Would that make me anti-straight/bigoted against straight people? That’s all I want, is for my sons to have the same rights and privileges as any white person and yes, there is white privilege. To this day when a gay couple tries to rent a place to live, they too may still have worries and if they are a biracial gay couple, that doubles the chances of discrimination against them. I want my sons, even though they aren’t gay, to not have to worry about being killed when stopped by a cop. Yes, they may still be scared, because I am scared when a cop stops me, especially if I’m alone, but it’s a different sort of fear, like “is he’s taking me in when I didn’t do it?” and yes, at times there is that “what’s he going to do to me?” question, but I don’t fear for my life in that thought. It could be a ticket or a warning or just asking me a question, and if that is the worst of anyone’s fears, then that’s a good thing. Beatings are uncalled for, whether one is gay, black, straight, or white, yet if one isn’t straight, white, male, and over 21 (ok maybe not necessarily age, depending on the violation), they really do have a rational fear of being beaten or even killed by police. I take pride in my sons, just as the mother takes pride with her gay son(s) (no not PRIDE, necessarily, but just parental pride). If that makes me racist against white people, then so be it, then that just makes a mother fighting for her gay child(ren)'s rights anti-straight, which is really dumb and not a thing.

@mitch70

@sree so long as it’s against caucasians it’s not racist. Take any of these anti-caucasian statements I’ve read and reverse it to another race (even dare yourself to change it to black people).
That's how they rumble. It's gangland stuff.
”What good has white people done for the world?” (A few things but racist people who hate white people don’t care about this)
A few things? Come on, man. Since the industrial revolution, we have modernized the world in the creation of western civilization. We defined a lifestyle aped by the rest of the world and drove the growth of the planet's next two largest economies of Japan and China.
“White people have owned slaves for decades” (um yeas but black people have owned slaves LONG before the white man and not just for decades for centuries. The horror of it all is that African countries to this day has a serious problem with slavery)
True. Slave ownership is a human practice long before Moses parted the Red Sea and led the Jews out of Egypt. We inherited this practice from the Portuguese, Spaniards, Brits and French when they bought blacks from African warlords who captured their own kind and sold them for shipment across the Atlantic to work on plantations in the Americas back in the days of Christopher Columbus. And now, in 2020 you and I are being set up as the fall guys?
I’ve seen the horrors of what black people have done lately in the “protests” of social justice (Can you really say “Social Justice” and not hear the words “MOB RULE)?
I forgive the black people for they know not what they do. But those dear white people in the mix are the problem.
All I see is liberals hating white people. Can any liberal at least give me a reason why?
I ask the same question also and that's why I am here to inquire through engagement with folks to build helpful thoughts and encourage healthy behaviors.

@mriana

@sree The problem was spelled out in the article if you had bothered to read it, as well as why you are part of it.
I read it. You threw that article, written by Patrick Benjamin, out for discussion. First of all, that article is an accusation that I am the problem and it rammed a whole slew of his beliefs down my throat. I reject that. I am not part of the problem and it is not something I need to discuss.

Your discussion is meant for people like you who believe Mr. Benjamin. Then, you are the problem, and you can talked it over with those like-minded, dear white people the way Christians do in discussing truths in the Bible.

@sree, you just showed that you may have read the article, but you didn’t get a word that it said, not even that you are “part of the problem” and how. It didn’t say you were “all of the problem”, but that’s OK. We can work with that. Yes, it’s meant for discussion, but you allowed the whole article to be piled on you and you alone, saying it accused you and you alone for all the issues. I didn’t post it for anyone to take it personally. I posted it for discussion. I’m white and I didn’t let the article pile all guilt on me, but you chose to take it all personally, instead of actually reading it. Maybe the fact you feel offended is what we probably should explore. Could it be you feel guilty of some of the things the author said? What is your part in those things you feel guilty about?

First of all, that article is an accusation that I am the problem and it rammed a whole slew of his beliefs down my throat
How does reading shove something down your throat? Either the points have merit or not. If not, articulate a response. Instead you go for personality and assume intent. You have contributed little to this thread Sree

 

How does reading shove something down your throat?
It does, if my brain is fried and the crap is allowed to slide down my esophagus. Seems like @mriana swallowed it hook, line, and sinker.
Either the points have merit or not.
All ten points are too ridiculous for comment. I have a horrible feeling Mr Benjamin is queer, intellectually speaking.
If not, articulate a response.
I did, LOUD AND CLEAR. Are you hard of hearing or what?
Instead you go for personality and assume intent.
Are you insinuating something dark? Why don't you lay it out and frame your charges for my rebuttal?
You have contributed little to this thread Sree
I know. I don't foment discord. It's against my religion.
Why would fight be your choice of words? The stereotype of black people is that they use aggression and violence to get what they want.
As in someone fighting for their lives and their children's lives? If that conjures up violence and aggression for you, then consider that for some, fighting to get one more breath is the extent of their violence.

So, I reiterate, Dear Black people, keep up the GOOD fight!

Also, I will answer another of your questions, mitch.

All I see is liberals hating white people. Can any liberal at least give me a reason why?
Somethin' wrong with your eyes, I guess. I am a progressive liberal. I don't hate white people (well maybe I hate some of the really aggressively stupid ones, a little bit.) I actually prefer white people. (I know that I have racial biases, yet I strive to be anti-racist). This is about justice. Slavery is not just, whether it happened thousands of years ago or today. People suffering due to their skin color, is not just.

I want to live in a just society. I hope that my fellow white people can live in a just society. If I were writing a Dear White people letter, one thing I would say is “Don’t feel guilty white people, just do the right thing.”

 

Meh, the usual suspects have been bringing up these dorky points for years. It all seems to be mainly aimed at the usual suspects as well. Lucky for me, I don’t have to play that game.

I want to live in a just society.
Do you think the human body is a just society? Not everyone gets to be the thinker or the kisser. Someone has to be the shitter.

Yup, sree feels guilt after reading it, doesn’t want to admit it, so he takes an attitude that’s he’s offended. At the same time, he doesn’t want to try and figure out why that is and why he’s in strong denial.

@sree

Someone has to be the shitter.

And that would be you?

Everyone looks down on the anus. But the anus is quite crucial. We should take exceptionally good care of it. So we should remember that people that we regard as a-holes have their function also.

But that analogy between social justice and parts of the body, is pretty weak.

Once we start to ask for equality for all, which is the actual meaning of equality, then all of us will feel some of the pain.
Asking for equality is asking for something that will not happen. No two people are equal. No two groups of people are equal. The only reason we can distinguish one individual from another or one group from another is because there are differences. Difference means not equal. We may declare that in the eyes of God or under the law all are equal, but that doesn't make it true in any other sense.

I believe that most of the anger black people feel towards whites is really about the fact that we have different histories. What is the point of being angry about a fact, about a history? There is nothing anyone can do to change a fact or a history. Truth is truth and trying to change it is trying to make it a lie. Unless I had some part in doing something wrong towards you, don’t try to lay the blame for it on me. I, and I alone, am responsible for my actions and only my actions. And the same goes for you, you dear other-than-white people.

I think it likely that the pain you reference is the pain of coveting, the pain of wanting to be something one is not, but others are, the pain of wanting something one does not have, but others do have. There is only one way to eliminate such pain, and that way is to change your mind, your mind, not my mind. Dear other-than-white people, only you can make yourself who and what you want to be. Everything has boundaries; a pig will be happier being the best pig he can be rather than being a pig who wants to be a butterfly.

I alone, am responsible for my actions and only my actions.
Seriously?

Do you really feel you are an island all to yourself?

There is only one way to eliminate such pain, and that way is to change your mind, your mind, not my mind.
Says the slave master to the slave in total sincerity. Now leave me with my stolen fortune and go meditate.

@mriana

There is one question I would like to ask since people are asking questions and even in a couple cases playing the shell game. What if my sons were gay and I was fighting for them to have the same rights and privileges I have as a straight person?
Why would you have to fight for them? Being gay is a sexual orientation similar to a preference for watermelons instead of oranges. Unlike one’s choice of fruits which can be seen by others at the supermarket, who one sleeps with is hidden behind closed doors between consenting adults.
Would that make me anti-straight/bigoted against straight people? That’s all I want, is for my sons to have the same rights and privileges as any white person and yes, there is white privilege. To this day when a gay couple tries to rent a place to live, they too may still have worries and if they are a biracial gay couple, that doubles the chances of discrimination against them.
Discrimination is a loaded word. Being discerning is a right of the property owner in selecting a renter who is most unlikely to degrade the value of the property.
I want my sons, even though they aren’t gay, to not have to worry about being killed when stopped by a cop. Yes, they may still be scared, because I am scared when a cop stops me, especially if I’m alone, but it’s a different sort of fear, like “is he’s taking me in when I didn’t do it?” and yes, at times there is that “what’s he going to do to me?” question, but I don’t fear for my life in that thought. It could be a ticket or a warning or just asking me a question, and if that is the worst of anyone’s fears, then that’s a good thing.
Cops don’t stop people for no reason. They stop us when we break the law. When pulled over by a cop, there is always a dread even if it is embarrassment due to being gawked at by the public for not abiding by the law.
Beatings are uncalled for, whether one is gay, black, straight, or white, yet if one isn’t straight, white, male, and over 21 (ok maybe not necessarily age, depending on the violation), they really do have a rational fear of being beaten or even killed by police.
Perhaps, you are overly anxious. Beating and killing people are crimes committed by lawless folks. You are confusing them with the police who protect you from the outlaws. When stopped by the police don't get angry and don't argue even if you believe you have done nothing wrong. You can tell it to the judge later if are given a ticket. And if the police arrest you, don't resist, don't reach for his gun, and please don't run. This is the law, and if you and your sons obey the law, you will never be beaten or killed.
I take pride in my sons, just as the mother takes pride with her gay son(s) (no not PRIDE, necessarily, but just parental pride). If that makes me racist against white people, then so be it, then that just makes a mother fighting for her gay child(ren)’s rights anti-straight, which is really dumb and not a thing.
You seem to have an issue with white people. Did any white person offend you or pick on you for marrying a black man who look like Lt. General Darryl Williams? Were you ever insulted in public for having kids who look like Barrack Obama?

@sree None of what you said made any sense and shows you have no understanding of what is happening and why.

What makes you think my first husband looked like Lt. General Darryl Williams? He probably doesn’t, but then again, I have no idea who the military officer you speak of is. And my sons have never looked like Barack Obama. They look like themselves. Needless to say, sree, not all black people look alike any more than white people do. But if you must compare a my ex, who you don’t know, I’d go with Billy Dee Williams. Now there’s a handsome man. However, if I had an issue with white people, why would my second husband look like Commander William T. Riker, who btw believes the dotard is part of the Klan?

Sree, your last post had an exceedingly large amount of drivel. Even for you.

Sree, your last post had an exceedingly large amount of drivel. Even for you.
It's not drivel if you are an assimilated American and get what I am talking about.

In Rome, do what the Romans do. In America, when stopped by cops, do what white people do and you will be fine.