When White People Stop Identifying Themselves As White, I'll Drop African American. (health care, European)
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Please don't presume to speak to what white people think. You have no idea what we as white people go through on a day to day basis, or what we think.
The irony here is the number of posters on C-D that are White Americans that seem to have unique insights into how Black Americans think, feel, and experience on a daily basis.
The irony here is the number of posters on C-D that are White Americans that seem to have unique insights into how Black Americans think, feel, and experience on a daily basis.
The REAL irony, is the number of people in America, who think it's the job of working people to pay taxes to the Government, so the government can hand it out to them so they can eat and have a place to live.
Just because you are alive, doesn't mean I should support you. I have a job to support MY family, not you and yours.
This is very true also. However, a white person would have to be able to prove via approved records (such as census records or certified birth certificates) in nearly all these sorts of scholarships that they are directly descended from the particular ethnic group within one or two generations. I've checked into a lot of these.
Just sayin'. But you're right - they ARE out there.
An African American would have to prove that also - especially if he or she were a biracial person who did not expressly identify as such. But you're right, the burden of proof is much tougher for different ethnic groups. Nevertheless, there are scholarships available for whites as well as blacks.
OK, I agree. We'll abolish the WET (White Entertainment Television), the Congressional White Caucus, the NAWP (National Association of White People), the United White People College Fund, and the White Panthers.
Harahrhaarhhahrahar, this reminds me of the flummox that some guys feel when they don't know whether to open a door for a woman or not, or offer to help her carry something heavy.
Damned if they do and damned if they don't!
That problem is easily solved by opening doors for everyone and if a woman assumes he is opening it for her just because she's a woman, he can kindly explain that he opens doors for everyone.
The Black vs. African-American topic I think is most easily solved by asking individuals their preference and matching their preference. For me it's not that complicated. People ask me if I prefer to be referred to as Blind or Visually Impaired, and I tell them Blind. Likewise, it's not too much effort to just ask someone in particular if they prefer being referred to as Black or African-American.
But are you ASSUMING people are white? If so, that's an issue in your mind, not theirs.
No, I'm not. I truly don't assume someone is white, and often I can tell what race they identify with anyway.
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As for people making an announcement to you that they are black - wow, I think that is really, really weird. I mean, really weird. Do you really think they do it because of society's default? I don't think so but I could be wrong. But I think it may have more to do with how they see themselves - it's so clearly part of their identity that they have to be sure you know it since you can't see them in person. I mean, I guess that's fine but WHY do they feel the need to point it out?
Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying. Because society's (not mine, but society's) default is "white", they assume mine is too, and therefore announce their Blackness. More often than not, I know before they tell me.
I think they assume I will interact with them differently once I know they aren't white.
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I cannot imagine feeling like I need to announce to a blind person that I am white BUT also Native American and Jewish and that my kids are biracial.
Me neither, and like I said, not everyone does it. Some Black people have, and I have never had a white person announce their race to me.
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Speaking of biracial kids, sometimes I find myself in a surreal situation. Let me explain. Often I will make a new friend or business acquaintance and since my kids are grown and out of the house, it may be weeks till they know they are biracial. Then they come to my house, and of course, I have lots of family photos around, which also include several Korean people (brother, grandson, and daughter in law), and some Hispanic people (son in law, grandchildren) - so...
My cousins are half first-generation Ethiopian half American. A lot of people assume they're Latino. My sister-in-law is Indonesian. My other sister-in-law is ethnic Russian and Muslim. My dad is in a serious relationship with a Black American woman, who has three kids from a Black man. I married into a Black family, but later ran away from her (long story). But when I was living with her and her family, part Black, Part Puerto Rican, and part Native American, I was the only white person around. People have never known what to "make of" my situation and many people are often trying to "figure it out" instead of just letting it be. Oh well, I've learned my lesson--most people can't see past color. Not even other blind people...I've literally met a few totally blind racist people, two of them deaf and blind.
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People will often walk down my hallway (where I have most of the photos) and suddenly they look confused. I actually feel SORRY for them at this point. I mean, how do you prepare someone for this beforehand. Do you say, "Oh, by the way, before we get to my house, let me explain something to you so you don't embarrass yourself." Or do you just act as if they are the crazy ones when they start acting confused on their walk down the hall? (And everyone acts confused, no matter what color they are by the way.)
IMO there is nothing to be prepared for, but I'm sure you have experienced people trying to "figure you out" too cause they can't fathom why people with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds would want to form relationships. Apparently that's too hard for some people to comprehend.
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Finally, I just started making a joke out of it. As we start walking down the hall, I say, "Ok, get ready - my family is more like a UN delegation. We are multiracial so bear with me while I help you figure out who is who!" See, my EX husband is AA, and my current husband is white, so people REALLY do not expect my kids to be biracial!
I usually make a joke out of it too. When I was living with my ex's family, many people assumed that either I didn't know I was white, or that I didn't know they were Black. My ex and I would play along with it and I'd act like I was shocked I didn't know this whole time. It was rather amusing, lol. People like that deserve to be messed with, IMO.
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Anyway, people are always really interested, and making a joke out of it on the front end really lightens the mood.
Totally agree. I love making Stevie Wonder and Helen Keller jokes about my blindness too...helps lighten the mood.
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Interestingly enough, I have had several AA friends or business acquaintances actually burst into laughter and start HUGGING me when they realize how diverse my family is. Usually they are also the ones who just stand there and repeat over and over again, "Girl. You pulled one over on me." Or "Oh my gosh. I had no idea. I can't believe it!" No white person has ever said anything so blatant about my interracial family.
I've had people be confused when I said something that in their eyes, sounded culturally Black. For example (and I am only reporting what was said here, not intending to reinforce stereotypes), once I said "I love sweet potato pie!" My Black friend was completely confused and it took me informing her I have a lot of Black people in my family before she was able to make sense of the fact that a white person could say a phrase like that in her mind.
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But no one has acted weird about it afterwards either.
Anyway, people do automatically assume that we marry and beget people who look like us. Ah well.
I agree. Humor often helps diffuse people's awkwardness/tension. And sometimes it just takes a quick reminder that interracial families are possible and that not all people that are related look alike. I'm adopted from Russia, and I could have just as easily been adopted from Nigeria...the fact I look similar to some of my family is a mere coincidence.
and on and on...."bam you're gone" is how they see it too.
Umm... did any of those have to do with race? Some people are just crazy as we clearly see in these articles and in the videos posted a few pages back.
Really? That toothless man in the ozarks carrying on about a half breed president is liberal? Funny, he insists he's conservative. Unless of course conservatives stand up and tell him he isn't. And they never do.
...yea because a toothless man in the backwoods of the Arkansas Ozarks speaks for conservatives everywhere.... LOL.
On the one hand you have the entire intelligencia of the left dividing people by race, sexual preference, sex, religious belief. They set up entire degree paths for women’s studies, minority studies and any other non-white studies. They create think tanks for the purpose of finding “economic justice” for disadvantaged “groups” (Their label not mine). In fact if it was not for the left there wouldn’t even be a term called “Disadvantaged Groups”. They create massive organizations that FOCUS on race like NAACP and LULAC etc.
And on the other hand you have a toothless hillbilly who says bad things about Barak Obama and you say THIS guy is the spokes person for conservatism. This guy exemplifies how conservatives break people down into race groups.
I hate to break this to you but your post just made liberals look less intelligent than toothless hillbillies.
Then those companies shouldn't be hiring anyone, and should close their doors, or fire all their HR workers, because if they are acting like this, then they are losing money, which just shows, they do not know what they are doing.
and yes you are right they feel they can not fight and win, when they have no just cause to terminate. I mean seriously minorities get fired every day without there being any problems. why because there is just cause.
So you are blatantly denying that minorities in some cases use the race card.
I worked in a bus plaza for two years as a security guard. Some people love to hang out there. Mostly Caucasian, I would say that 40% were minorities and 80% of the minorities were black. All of the people that would hand out were in "gangs". We had gang colors everywhere. On a daily basis we had to arrest on average of 5-10 people for various things, most often for fighting. When we arrested a minority, not that often, they would always start saying we were racist, and everyone would start cheering this idiot on. If we had to fight someone, pepper spray, or even use lethal force, people would claim we just did it because we were racist. The problem with this, is that we never fought unless we had to. We hated fighting with anyone there as it is a crowded place and you don't know who is going to jump in.
If I wanted to I could go to places and hear someone playing the race card several times a day.
Last edited by raison_d'etre; 07-12-2012 at 01:17 PM..
The irony here is the number of posters on C-D that are White Americans that seem to have unique insights into how Black Americans think, feel, and experience on a daily basis.
Do you ever think that some people have unique experiences that allow them to have such insights? It isn't tough to have an insight into the mind of someone who hates "white" people just as it isn't hard to have insight into the mind of some racist ignorant hick.
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