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And here's another thought. Why should we be proud of a color? And I mean this goes out to everyone. Why is it so important to us. I would much rather have people judge me by my good works than the color of my skin. Which happens to be dark brown in the summer and white in the winter. Let's forget being proud of color, and just be proud of who we are on the inside.
I have no problem with White people being proud of their heritage. There is no joy in watching White people being hyper-apologetic about their existence. No problem with White people having a preference for their children to marry within their own race.
With that being said, White people do not have to fight against negative stereotypes about their own group...there is NO struggle of having an identity of Whiteness.
The problem comes when the "pride" of being White turns into anti-everyone who is not...or White supremacy. That line is typically crossed by those who pretend to profess White pride but are really attempting to harm others who are not White.
So do you think that me, being white, would get any kind of negative reaction if I were to walk through the streets with a "White Pride" t-shirt on? Or do you think that every time I got an undesireable response from a black person that I could get by with saying, "What..... Is it because I'm white?" Some of the negative stereotypes you are speaking of are, by no fault of the majority, but I mean, really......... How many times have you heard someone say, "Man don't go down that street, that's a rough white neighborhood." You really don't. I am in no way, shape, or form a racist nor do I beleive that we should "marry within our race" and all that nonsense. You love who you love. And if my daughter came to me with a respectable person of any race I would approve. There is this generation of people who think that it's cool to be a gangsta' and all that and that is where that negative stereotype comes from. If parents were to teach their kids right we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.
So do you think that me, being white, would get any kind of negative reaction if I were to walk through the streets with a "White Pride" t-shirt on? .
You could walk down the street in a "Kiss Me I'm irish" t-shirt and no one would bat an eye. Well, aside from thinking you were tacky!
But more seriously, the only reason White pride is less common is because it's less necessary. Whites, for the most part, know their ancestry. So do Hispanics, and Africans. African Americans however, don't. So there's the all encompassing "Black pride" whereas others have Irish, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, Chinese, etc. A white person who is proud to be white will say they are proud of their specific nationality. A white person looking specifically to disparage others will simply say white pride.
So we get a pass for it becuase none of us know where the hell we came from anyway. Maybe they should have given everyone name tags with country outlines on them if they wanted to avoid this down the road.
There are plenty of extemist groups on all sides of the color spectrum. And I am sure there have been plenty of proud white people who weren't involved in any sort of race hate group. The major difference is the publicity given to these groups. Any group centered around white people will be constantly monitored for any sign of prejudice or off color activity. On the other hand, minority groups are given a fairly wide berth, only getting the best publicity unless something happens that is just too big for the media to ignore. And in those situations, the hateful act will be downplayed as response to the oppression and hate they have been a victim of. And while there was a time when those excuses were valid, these days not so much. There is still hatred for minorities, but the hatred of whites by minorities balances things out quite nicely.
And here's another thought. Why should we be proud of a color? And I mean this goes out to everyone. Why is it so important to us. I would much rather have people judge me by my good works than the color of my skin. Which happens to be dark brown in the summer and white in the winter. Let's forget being proud of color, and just be proud of who we are on the inside.
I guess it is not necessary because whites are the ones credited with much of the innovation, and modern technology. White people include the world's most physically attractive as well. Even other races improve their looks when mixed with whites. Being proud is so silly though. We all live and die- white or not we end up in the ground so who cares.
Just because Colin Powell's parents, who were descended from Africans stolen for slavery, immigrated to America freely, we should discount the fact they are products slavery? So where does that leave Americans with African descent? Are they forever saddled with slavery because they live in America? The original post, which I was responding to, was pointing out that Americans of African descent immigrating from Africa freely were able to have stature in American society. Since Colin Powell's family is from Jamaica, they made a stop before America, which is why I was pointing out their slave roots. They didn't immigrate directly from Africa to America.
Okay, so Kenya was under British domination, and so was America, remember the Revolutionary War? What does that have to do with anything?
Following the history of the Irish in America is moot, because they have white skin, therefore can be viewed as white. The Africans of American descent that have white skin (products of slave master and slave), and chose to do so, "passed for white" decades ago, so there is no way to trace them. Those that didn't choose to "pass" are assigned the same fate as the group they chose to identify with. If someone with white skin chooses to correct those that assume they are white, they will be treated the same as those with dark skin. Why do you think Mariah Carey worked so hard to make her dad something other than a Venezuelan of African descent? She even went so far as to tell people she was Italian when she was growing up.
That statement alone makes your arguments moot.
If us (mostly White) Americans were able to rise from colonial status to superpower status in ca. 150 years----------what is holding back many other cultures/societies?
So do you think that me, being white, would get any kind of negative reaction if I were to walk through the streets with a "White Pride" t-shirt on? Or do you think that every time I got an undesireable response from a black person that I could get by with saying, "What..... Is it because I'm white?" Some of the negative stereotypes you are speaking of are, by no fault of the majority, but I mean, really......... How many times have you heard someone say, "Man don't go down that street, that's a rough white neighborhood." You really don't. I am in no way, shape, or form a racist nor do I beleive that we should "marry within our race" and all that nonsense. You love who you love. And if my daughter came to me with a respectable person of any race I would approve. There is this generation of people who think that it's cool to be a gangsta' and all that and that is where that negative stereotype comes from. If parents were to teach their kids right we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.
1) There wouldn't be a problem with expressing a pride in being English, Welsh, Irish, German, French, etc, etc. - the problem would come because the phrase "White Pride" was allowed to be used by the White Supremacy movement, Neo-Nazis and the KKK. In that context, White Pride has taken on a meaning well beyond pride in one's heritage to actually mean hatred (and the elimination) of other racial groups. Maybe Americans should have fought harder to squash these movements
2) There are many predominately White communities throughout this country in which it is dangerous for Blacks. Have you never head of the phrase "Sundown Towns"? These are communities (especially during the Jim Crow era but it still exists today) in which Blacks are tolerated during daylight hours (to shop, or work, etc) in certain communities but when the sun goes down, Blacks are "not welcome" and are harrassed by law enforcement. There are several communities in California where this is still a fact today...Torrance, and anywhere in Orange County.
You could walk down the street in a "Kiss Me I'm irish" t-shirt and no one would bat an eye. Well, aside from thinking you were tacky!
But more seriously, the only reason White pride is less common is because it's less necessary. Whites, for the most part, know their ancestry. So do Hispanics, and Africans. African Americans however, don't. So there's the all encompassing "Black pride" whereas others have Irish, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, Chinese, etc. A white person who is proud to be white will say they are proud of their specific nationality. A white person looking specifically to disparage others will simply say white pride.
So we get a pass for it becuase none of us know where the hell we came from anyway. Maybe they should have given everyone name tags with country outlines on them if they wanted to avoid this down the road.
I maintain that it's all silly, anyway.
DNA testing is uncovering a lot of 'skeletons' as of late---------both good and sketchy.
1) There wouldn't be a problem with expressing a pride in being English, Welsh, Irish, German, French, etc, etc. - the problem would come because the phrase "White Pride" was allowed to be used by the White Supremacy movement, Neo-Nazis and the KKK. In that context, White Pride has taken on a meaning well beyond pride in one's heritage to actually mean hatred (and the elimination) of other racial groups. Maybe Americans should have fought harder to squash these movements
2) There are many predominately White communities throughout this country in which it is dangerous for Blacks. Have you never head of the phrase "Sundown Towns"? These are communities (especially during the Jim Crow era but it still exists today) in which Blacks are tolerated during daylight hours (to shop, or work, etc) in certain communities but when the sun goes down, Blacks are "not welcome" and are harrassed by law enforcement. There are several communities in California where this is still a fact today...Torrance, and anywhere in Orange County.
Flip side: most Black ghettos are also de facto 'sundown towns'-----------for us White folks. Parts of Wash DC come to mind.
Hell; the 'uptown' Black folk have been fleeing the above ghettos in droves since the Jim Crow laws went away---------not that I blame them either.
If us (mostly White) Americans were able to rise from colonial status to superpower status in ca. 150 years----------what is holding back many other cultures/societies?
The foundation of America's strength and power was built on the backs of African slave labor(up and down the East Coast).
America would NOT be the world superpower that it is today had African slaves not been imported. The labor cost would have been prohibitive. Slavery was abolished after America had built a solid base on which to grew into a world power.
Why is this fact so easily forgotten by so many.
Our founding fathers grappled with the issue of slavery because they 1) knew that it was an abomination but.... 2) they needed the cheap labor to make America a wealthy nation. It could not have been done any other way.
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