White People! May I have your Attention Please?!
(Ed note: Today's blog head comes to us from Christy. Christy's article delicately begins a discussion about race and racism. It's a sensitive topic to approach, but is also quite necessary.)
Hello? Hello! Thanks for coming! In the interest of full disclosure, I am also white. Or, I am at least white enough that white people automatically assume I am white, so really, that is all that matters.Our country was recently invited to open up a dialogue on racial issues. I would like to happily accept that invitation. So, you might ask... Why am I addressing other whites instead of blacks then? Good question. Simple answer, I am not black. Would you like me to explain that? Ok.
The discussion of race has long been viewed as something that must happen across racial lines, and that is the only thing that counts. The truth is, what people say to each other across racial lines in public, is never what they say in private at dinner. The most important discussions on race, will not happen across the racial divide, it is the conversation between members of the same race that shape the overall attitude the racial divide will be approached with by either group.As a white person, I simply do not feel threatened by the outburst of occasional racism by blacks, nor do I feel it is my place to dictate racial issues to those of another race. However, on the flip side, outbursts of racist behavior by other whites appalls me. It offends me, and taints the reputation of our race. A stigma that will be thrust upon the future of my white children the same way black racism taints the future of black children. If I am not responsible for it as a fellow white person, then who is responsible for stopping it?As a race, we have no right to tell blacks they have nothing to fear, because history shows repeatedly they should be afraid of these issues. That very real and justified fear has been devastating in their social evolution. Most of the time when blacks do try to reach across the racial divide with honest questions/observations about race, they are accused by whites of 'playing the race card', or being 'militant' or 'angry'. Black leaders that do press these matters have a bad habit of attracting bullets. As a white myself it is amazing to me they still try even after facing disappointment and danger at every turn and in every era.I can not speak to the private fears or concerns of blacks, but I do completely believe in their ability to have this same kind of discussion amongst their own. But it must be a discussion they can have openly with each other, without whites trying to set the goals or standards for them. It must be a discussion they can have without fear of white misunderstanding or impatience.There are many things we as whites can settle amongst ourselves to purge ourselves of tendencies that are destructive to the racial climate. Regardless and separate from blacks, we must modify our own behaviors to reflect progress.For example: If you have to insist you are not a racist, it is most likely because you said or exhibited behavior that was racist. Racism does not begin at birth, or with an act, it begins with words. Black people understand perfectly well someone who is not racist can say things that seem racist. When a black person points out your words may be racist, it is almost always met with a knee-jerk and defensive reaction. The proper reaction to being accused of racist words is to ask why they were perceived as racist, and then LISTEN to the response.When I have such discussions with my black friends and family, I am always surprised at how studied their perspective is, no knee jerk reactions on their part, they have learned not to take the discussion personally, I believe whites should learn to do the same. I am often left full of hope when when we have these talks, in spite of all our problems in this world, our common bonds and needs are stronger than ever. They are conversations that heal the mind and soul.Another example of how whites can facilitate a better approach to racial issues is to understand and accept that there are two radically different histories between our people, and both are equally true.For whites, we are the land of the free, the land of milk, and honey. Opportunity sprung from this land and all men were created equal. We built something fine and good here. For blacks, it is a history of oppression, slavery, and sub-human conditions. To this day, their men are 'boys' and no one is punished when they are gunned down 50 bullets at a time. Unemployment, prison and political manipulation is their reality. Both realities are true, and they are intimately linked.Unless both realities are treated equally, accepted equally, we can not broker an honest peace between our people. Until we accept this is the perspective they see our nation from, we are denying a history we all know occurred. We must do nothing less than marry the two histories into a single narrative that is honest about our entire history together.These issues as a whole are not just black and white. Hispanics, Asians, and yes, definitely Native Americans also all need to be approached in this way by whites, or else the same pitfalls will keep occurring in all racial discussions, and nothing can ever be settled.No matter what race you are, our willingness to moderate the behavior of our own self and people is what has been most clearly lacking on all sides, and it is the thing most needed to make a deep reconciliation a reality.And finally, and perhaps most importantly, white people, quit using the 'N' word. Do not use it, and do not allow other whites to use it in front of you. Not even family members at the dinner table. I do not care if black people use the word, that is for them to settle among themselves. But when other whites use it in front of you, it is not about blacks, it is to the detriment of white people that they do so. It sets an awful standard for our own race to use such rhetoric. No white using that language speaks for me, nor do they speak for a majority of whites who do want to settle our common future together alongside our brothers and sisters of all races.The days of racial division and hostility between blacks and white in this country are numbered. Just the fact I am writing these words is proof of the progress we have made as a nation and that we are all within reach of a new day where these things no longer worry and distract us from fulfilling a great destiny of reshaping our world into something better for all of us.
LinkHere
Hello? Hello! Thanks for coming! In the interest of full disclosure, I am also white. Or, I am at least white enough that white people automatically assume I am white, so really, that is all that matters.Our country was recently invited to open up a dialogue on racial issues. I would like to happily accept that invitation. So, you might ask... Why am I addressing other whites instead of blacks then? Good question. Simple answer, I am not black. Would you like me to explain that? Ok.
The discussion of race has long been viewed as something that must happen across racial lines, and that is the only thing that counts. The truth is, what people say to each other across racial lines in public, is never what they say in private at dinner. The most important discussions on race, will not happen across the racial divide, it is the conversation between members of the same race that shape the overall attitude the racial divide will be approached with by either group.As a white person, I simply do not feel threatened by the outburst of occasional racism by blacks, nor do I feel it is my place to dictate racial issues to those of another race. However, on the flip side, outbursts of racist behavior by other whites appalls me. It offends me, and taints the reputation of our race. A stigma that will be thrust upon the future of my white children the same way black racism taints the future of black children. If I am not responsible for it as a fellow white person, then who is responsible for stopping it?As a race, we have no right to tell blacks they have nothing to fear, because history shows repeatedly they should be afraid of these issues. That very real and justified fear has been devastating in their social evolution. Most of the time when blacks do try to reach across the racial divide with honest questions/observations about race, they are accused by whites of 'playing the race card', or being 'militant' or 'angry'. Black leaders that do press these matters have a bad habit of attracting bullets. As a white myself it is amazing to me they still try even after facing disappointment and danger at every turn and in every era.I can not speak to the private fears or concerns of blacks, but I do completely believe in their ability to have this same kind of discussion amongst their own. But it must be a discussion they can have openly with each other, without whites trying to set the goals or standards for them. It must be a discussion they can have without fear of white misunderstanding or impatience.There are many things we as whites can settle amongst ourselves to purge ourselves of tendencies that are destructive to the racial climate. Regardless and separate from blacks, we must modify our own behaviors to reflect progress.For example: If you have to insist you are not a racist, it is most likely because you said or exhibited behavior that was racist. Racism does not begin at birth, or with an act, it begins with words. Black people understand perfectly well someone who is not racist can say things that seem racist. When a black person points out your words may be racist, it is almost always met with a knee-jerk and defensive reaction. The proper reaction to being accused of racist words is to ask why they were perceived as racist, and then LISTEN to the response.When I have such discussions with my black friends and family, I am always surprised at how studied their perspective is, no knee jerk reactions on their part, they have learned not to take the discussion personally, I believe whites should learn to do the same. I am often left full of hope when when we have these talks, in spite of all our problems in this world, our common bonds and needs are stronger than ever. They are conversations that heal the mind and soul.Another example of how whites can facilitate a better approach to racial issues is to understand and accept that there are two radically different histories between our people, and both are equally true.For whites, we are the land of the free, the land of milk, and honey. Opportunity sprung from this land and all men were created equal. We built something fine and good here. For blacks, it is a history of oppression, slavery, and sub-human conditions. To this day, their men are 'boys' and no one is punished when they are gunned down 50 bullets at a time. Unemployment, prison and political manipulation is their reality. Both realities are true, and they are intimately linked.Unless both realities are treated equally, accepted equally, we can not broker an honest peace between our people. Until we accept this is the perspective they see our nation from, we are denying a history we all know occurred. We must do nothing less than marry the two histories into a single narrative that is honest about our entire history together.These issues as a whole are not just black and white. Hispanics, Asians, and yes, definitely Native Americans also all need to be approached in this way by whites, or else the same pitfalls will keep occurring in all racial discussions, and nothing can ever be settled.No matter what race you are, our willingness to moderate the behavior of our own self and people is what has been most clearly lacking on all sides, and it is the thing most needed to make a deep reconciliation a reality.And finally, and perhaps most importantly, white people, quit using the 'N' word. Do not use it, and do not allow other whites to use it in front of you. Not even family members at the dinner table. I do not care if black people use the word, that is for them to settle among themselves. But when other whites use it in front of you, it is not about blacks, it is to the detriment of white people that they do so. It sets an awful standard for our own race to use such rhetoric. No white using that language speaks for me, nor do they speak for a majority of whites who do want to settle our common future together alongside our brothers and sisters of all races.The days of racial division and hostility between blacks and white in this country are numbered. Just the fact I am writing these words is proof of the progress we have made as a nation and that we are all within reach of a new day where these things no longer worry and distract us from fulfilling a great destiny of reshaping our world into something better for all of us.
LinkHere
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 2:08 PM
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