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Racism... yeah.
Sep. 18th, 2007 09:01 pmI posted this in reply to an entry in another person's livejournal. I'm not sure whether to keep her as an LJ friend or not, because honestly, any person who could agree with what she posted, I'm not terribly comfortable having an association with. I mean, on a purely superficial, emotional level, I can see that the text might appeal, sort of, but Jesus, think about it for 30 seconds and it's clear how misguided the sentiment is. I won't link to her because I don't want to embarrass her, but if she choses to unfriend me I will do likewise. I will wait to see if she replies to me before unfriending her.
( The 'Proud to be White' B.S. post, cut because it's pretty disgusting )
There's a great series of rebuttals here: http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=5780
but I had to write my own in her journal. I was rather appalled to see that I was the lone voice of dissent in the replies. Here's what I said:
( Cut for length and diatribe )
I'm not proud to be white. And if I were black, I don't think I'd be proud to be black, either. Same if I were Chinese, Ethiopian, or any other ethnicity or regionality. I'm not proud to have brown hair, or hazel eyes, or that I wear glasses. My skin color, like all those other characteristics, is just something that *is*. It's not something I had any control over. I'm proud to be a mother of two lovely kids, proud that I built my own business, proud of my sewing, proud that I play the violin. These are things that I chose for myself and that I work hard at. These are things to be proud of. I'd be proud to be a black doctor, or a Mexican lawyer, or a female astronaught -- those are things that are harder for minorities in the US because of the appalling history of racism and oppression that "proud white men" engendered. Skin color alone, though -- not a point of pride. Just something that *is* and should be *ignored* EXCEPT when considering history and its effect on the person's ability to get somewhere in the world. Other than that, a moot point.
( The 'Proud to be White' B.S. post, cut because it's pretty disgusting )
There's a great series of rebuttals here: http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=5780
but I had to write my own in her journal. I was rather appalled to see that I was the lone voice of dissent in the replies. Here's what I said:
( Cut for length and diatribe )
I'm not proud to be white. And if I were black, I don't think I'd be proud to be black, either. Same if I were Chinese, Ethiopian, or any other ethnicity or regionality. I'm not proud to have brown hair, or hazel eyes, or that I wear glasses. My skin color, like all those other characteristics, is just something that *is*. It's not something I had any control over. I'm proud to be a mother of two lovely kids, proud that I built my own business, proud of my sewing, proud that I play the violin. These are things that I chose for myself and that I work hard at. These are things to be proud of. I'd be proud to be a black doctor, or a Mexican lawyer, or a female astronaught -- those are things that are harder for minorities in the US because of the appalling history of racism and oppression that "proud white men" engendered. Skin color alone, though -- not a point of pride. Just something that *is* and should be *ignored* EXCEPT when considering history and its effect on the person's ability to get somewhere in the world. Other than that, a moot point.
