Anti-Racist White Culture?

Recently I was emailed a question from Katie at 3rdfloor that really made me think and I'm sharing it in the hopes that it will do the same for others.  I'm not sure I have an answer yet, but I'm going to try to get something together in the next week.  What do you think? 

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments or email me (let me know if I can post it, and any racist/idiotic comments will be deleted).

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How do white people simultaneously steer clear of cultural appropriation and disavow the parts of white culture that are fucked up?

For example, I know that white privilege and white ways of seeing medical issues historically has led to a rampant overperscription of drugs (fronted by medical insurance often white people can afford and few others) and in general a gross mockery of the medical profession. However, seeing white people getting into tai-chi and feng shui and yoga and all that shit turns my stomach.

This happens across the board, with a lot of shit, politically, socially. For me, I have never found anyone who has a good answer. How do white people reclaim a white culture that is non-exploitative, non-capitalistic? White culture is so infused with racism and privilege at this point that it seems completely unhelpful. How do whites live racially- and socially-conscious lives, seeking to uncover and combat our own racism within ourselves, and at the same time living authentically as whites (meaning not trying to shroud our whiteness because of guilt)?

Comments

[nubian]

um, wombie...blacks in the united states have a COMPLETELY different culture than blacks in nigeria, or anywhere else on the continent of africa.

geez, it's no point in trying to talk about racism with some white folks...they still pull the "my best friend is (insert an ethnic group)" bullshit line

[Womble]

"um, wombie...blacks in the united states have a COMPLETELY different culture than blacks in nigeria, or anywhere else on the continent of africa."
Which was exactly my point. Cultures are not defined by race. You cannot generalize cultures as "white" and "black".

"geez, it's no point in trying to talk about racism with some white folks...they still pull the "my best friend is (insert an ethnic group)" bullshit line"

And how are YOU any better? In this very line, you say "white folks" as if only whites use this bullshit defense.

[Tulip]

It really makes me sad that we can't have a positive discussion on race. This is an important issue and I wish we could share perspectives without attacking each other.

First, I have a response to C.J. from up above. I have experienced many racist incidents in my lifetime and none of them have had anything to do with my class, sexuality, or gender. They have all had to do with my often disconcerting skin color that makes some people uncomfortable when they can't easily put me in an identity box. It's also because I come from a mixed marriage.

Second, white privlege is not an insult to people of color nor is it an attack on white people. Most people probably don't notice it at all because you have to learn to see it. An example from my daily life: the only people who stay at my work past closing (I do service sector work) are white. Nobody else so far has imposed themselves on me after I tell them it is closing time. I do 15 min. warnings and everthing. Sometimes for thirty minutes.

Another easy example of white privlege is the glass ceiling. The president is white. The vice president is white. Most CEOs are white. It is very hard for a person of color or a woman to make it past the glass ceiling.

To the Asian guy, I am very proud of my heritage too. It is true that certain ethnicities of Asians and Jews are very adaptable immigrant groups and very successful. But where is our Asian tv sitcom? I love Yao Ming, but there aren't many Asian sports heros. There also aren't many Asian Senators or Representatives. I would love that. Being successful doesn't mean that the playing field is level. You could be the most talented Asian actress and there would be no roles for you in the United States.

Finally, let's not talk about dredlocks in this space. There is already a discussion on another post. To the person who thought Scott was an "anglo"....let's think about this. His name is Scott. Campbell. He is obviously Scottish with a therefore Celtic heritage. Can we get more Scottish than that? It doesn't take that much knowledge of Celtic history to figure that one out. And I'm glad you're proud of your Celtic history. I agree that they totally rocked. I've been reading about their kick ass women recently.

[pleh!]

I agree with what Lynx had to say. I am a Celtic/Slavic working class American.
My experience is different from a middle class "white" persons.
Many of my middle class white radical friends tell me they refuse to partake in the privileges of white skin. They call themselves race traitors.
But they are afraid to come to my neighborhood because it is mostly poor and working class "brown" people from Mexico.
One friend was afraid to park her car in my parking lot because she thought one of the dirty Mexicans would steal it. Race traitor my ass!
My point is not all people society classifies as white are middle class and have easy lives, and not all people of color
live in the projects (like I do).
My ancestors were assimilated into the white culture. I am attempting to unassimilate myself by claiming my ethnic heritage.
Racism hurts us and we will all benefit from undoing capitalism, white supremecy and patriarchy.
That being said it is important for "white" people as a whole to look at how we have benefitted from the deal the white working class struck with the ruling class.
But don't tell me how bad you've had it because you're a person of color if you've lived your entire life in middle class privilege. You have live a life of unearned privilege that I never have.

[truth]

white people are evil and will always be evil

[M & M]

Hmm...some of you made some very valid statements. America is possibly the most racially obsessed country in the world. As late as the year 2006, people are still very PC about the notions of "race" b/c they're fearful of being viewed with contempt by others. Lynx and Womble summed it up perfectly when saying that there are physical and cultural differences, but that these differences are to be accepted and respected. It is often erroneously believed that ALL "white" people benefit from social, socioeconomic, and other privileges. In the 80's there was a term commonly used to describe upper-class "whites": they were called WASPs (White Anglo-Saxon Protestants). WASPs are stereotypically thought of as tall, wealthy, blueblood types. Stereotypical WASPs benefit from white privilege. They often live in the South but hail from some part of New England, i.e., Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut. They vacation in Paris, the Hamptons, Cape Cod, and Martha's Vineyard. They drive BMWs and Mercedes and their children will often have one of these cars as a 16th birthday present. They wear J. Crew, Abercrombie & Fitch, and "preppy" clothing.

They play tennis at elite country clubs, wear sweaters tied loosely around their shoulders, ride horses, and lunch with lawyers/doctors/stockbrokers. Their children attend private schools named Sacred Heart, even if they aren't Catholic, which most true WASPs aren't. Their children will effortlessly be admitted into Ivy League schools like Harvard and Stanford. The stereotypical WASP male is a company president or top attorney. He is blond, blue-eyed, and privately racist. He is civil to people of color and to Catholics and Jews, but would never have one of "them" in his home. He defends himself by claiming to have black friends. The stereotypical WASP female is a little white woman...WASP males will defend her womanhood and purity from "coloreds" who want to defile her. She is in her 20's or 30's, very pretty, blonde hair, blue eyes, white as the driven snow. She should ideally be a natural blonde to ensure racial "purity". She is the WASP's trophy wife: a tall, thin, blue-eyed blonde. She is often named Christine or Rebecca or Marybeth or Cathryn...a "proper" Christian-sounding name. She is sweet, but very unaware of how other people live. She's a bit unsure of how to act around people of other races/cultures so she often makes silly, unintentionally offensive comments when in their company (and this is rare). Black folks are often too loud, their skin and hair too "different" in her eyes. She doesn't consider herself racist but says she's "tolerant". She is fearful of black men but is privately curious about their sexuality. She often doesn't have to work because she comes from a wealthy family or married another wealthy WASP.

She wears a diamond tennis bracelet, shops only in expensive boutiques, lounges by the pool in her leopard-print swimsuit and shades, and lunches with the girls while admiring the rippling muscles of Black or Hispanic men (mostly either poolboys or servers or roofers). She drives around in a spanking-new Mercedes convertible with the wind whipping her shiny blond hair. She privately sees herself as being more beautiful and worthy than brunettes and non-white women. Her children don't hang out with minorities except for the token black or Asian or Hispanic kid. Now I mention this because it is a stereotype that is broadly affixed to ALL white people in America. It is how white people are portrayed in the media, like the way other cultures/races are unfairly stereotyped. People who actually live like this and look like this are a minority (Paris Hilton, anyone? Although I personally don't see her as beautiful).

It is unfair b/c if people would open their eyes, the truth would be plain as day. Most real white people, even racist whites, don't live like this. I'm a white woman with a black husband. I have brown hair, brown eyes, and I'm certainly not wealthy. Most of the white people where I live are middle to lower class. I'm from a blue-collar background. Few white people where I live can call themselves wealthy or upper-class. Most of the white people here live in trailer parks or rundown homes. They are on the same level as many poor or low-income black people, sometimes worse. I know many poor whites who live in squalor and filth with no health insurance. They don't receive more benefits than their black counterparts. White privilege is something that only wealthy whites benefit from, no matter what anyone says. Wealthy white people often look down on white people who don't have as much. Money talks in this country and it definitely helps when you have both whiteness AND money. Being of European phenotype/extraction alone won't help you. Brunettes are often viewed as inferior compared to blondes, who are supposedly symbolic of "Aryan beauty" and "purity". When I was in high school some 20 years ago I was viewed as "white trash" by my middle-class peers b/c my family lived in a mobile home and my clothes came from the Salvation Army. I know I'm white but I don't expect preferential treatment b/c of it, or special benefits. I'm only a person. I might be white but I'm still working-class.

@ truth: I'm sorry you feel this way. I don't know what experiences you've had with white people but I want you to know that not all of us are evil. There's good and bad in everyone. Unfortunately, there are white people who believe they are entitled to look down on others and abuse them...not all white people share this mentality.

[4real]

To pleh!
A person of color, in the United States is not judged on their class whether middle-class, low-class, or high-class(wealthy); they will be seen and treated in regards to their skin color regarless of class. A white person, regardless of ethnic classification will be seen as a white person. So, a person of color has every right to discuss how bad they've had it in American society because that racist experience is definetly one thing that they will all have in common despite class differences. I have black, hispanic, mid-eastern friends of varing classes that have similiar stories of racial injustices not experienced, understood, or acknowledged by many white people.

[foster]

How do whites [seek]to uncover and combat our own racism within ourselves, and at the same time [live] authentically as whites (meaning not trying to shroud our whiteness because of guilt)?

Have you ever questioned the "authenticity" of racial "whiteness," itself? The entire purpose of adopting the identity is for what? What is this thing you aim to preserve and protect as "our whiteness"? Isn't racism, itself, the reason for the adopting the social and societal concept of "whiteness." When persons answer "damsn yes!" to that, meaning that the abhore and denounce or condemn the construct, as it is, these persons simply do not subscribe to the construct. They find solutions in humanity---as they have existed for millenia way before the construct of "whiteness" was adopted for vile, perverse and pernicious social construction and societal engineering. Alternatives against subscriptions "whiteness" include the adoption of ehtnicities. This will more naturally and less inappropriately tie you to culture and allow you to acknowledge, without guilt, the black source and resource behind your living. People who claim ethnicities can and do relate to one another and all in more terms of equity or fair give-and-take inspite of all the remaining shortcomings in relations among different groups of people.

[klandestine]

I like to call science "White People Catching Up." The problem here is in the Eurocentrism, not in the mingling or disavowing of the wisdom of other cultures. Let me explain: both problems come from the culture of White Supremacy. White Supremacy allows Whites to assume that 'their' 'scientific method' is based in absolute knowledge, while every other culture's beliefs, especially where healing is concerned is 'barbaric' superstition. The truth is, and it will be hard to get this through even the thinnest Eurocentric skulls, is that EUROPEANS DID NOT INVENT OBSERVATION & EXPERIMENTATION ("SCIENCE") or medicine. As with Columbus and the Islands, a White man "discovered" what was already there and told other White people about it then White people believed it. What I'm saying is, whether Whites dispute or appropriate other cultures' practices, the problem is in that legitimacy is only conferred on what Whites agree with. If Whites could get over their belittling paternalisitc mindset with a mammy malaise, it wouldn't be a question of whether to adopt or eschew, but "What is the science?" i.e. assume, without bias, that there is "science" in other traditions.

[Freya]

I second what Wombie said.

I'm not entirely sure why people take offense and attach outlandish racist implication to my (and I assure you it is) innocuous behavior of day to day life. I did not choose to be white. I did not choose to live in the suburbs with the soulless, perpetually smiling, politically correct lies that fester here.

I would not hurt anybody and I'm tired of being filed away into erroneous stereotypes based on my skin color. I don't care if people are black, hispanic, white, Asian, . To clarify, I'm not one of those rose-colored glasses-wearing, tokenistic whites that claim to be colorblind and love everybody. I'm not, I simply don't care. I don't care that some white people are brilliant innovators or that others are bigoted rednecks. I don't care that some blacks are intelligent and worldly, or that others openly embrace the thug role. Each person that I meet starts from a point of neutrality for my respect, and either gains it or loses it based on what that individual believes/says/does.

The point is, I don't have any pride in being white, and you should not have pride in being whatever color you are. You are not the person who achieved all of the great things that your race in general has, and a lot of people need to admit a little humility and realize that their merit is solely derived from /action/, not from birth.

I'm not privileged. My family came from Eastern Europe and were very poor. The only reason my parents were able to secure a comfortable life in Canada was because the communist regime in my home country (at the time) all but forced everyone to get an education. My parents should be proud of their hard work. I am proud OF them, but I am selfish enough to steal their merit and attribute it to myself, just as I don't take the merit of any other white people who achieved.

If someone would have me commit suicide (here's looking at you, Asian Guy) because I am white and that person believes it's just for me to die solely for that reason, that person is genocidal maniac. That kind of attitude is what's wrong with the world--forcing the innocent to atone.