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So it was. Mexican history was scary. Irish history was scary. So on and so on. Tho IMHO some things in history are best left unsaid till a person is a bit older like college age so it doesn't flip them out.
But right wingers insist on hiding the truth of American history, and whitewash this country in a god-like image, the saver of mankind, the goodness of God, the heavenly, brilliant founders, the Lord's land. They insist we all believe collective myths rather than truth. As far as leaving some things out - WHY. Why whitewash and lie about our history? Not everyone goes to college, so why lie about our history at the high school level?
Depends on where in the USA you are. In the SW USA, you're going to find a lot more mixed Latinos, than, say, South Florida where we are flooded with upper class Cubans (pre-Mariel), and landed class Venezuelans and Colombians.
But, even the "average" Mexican is 50% "European" so if they really wanted to choose to identify as white, they are in their right to do so. Often, more right to do so than to identify as Indian.
George Lopez, for example, is 55% Euro, 35% Indian, 9% east Asian, 4% black .... he identifies as "Mestizo" but truth is he would be equally valid to identify as white as Barack Obama is to identify as black.
Depends on where in the USA you are. In the SW USA, you're going to find a lot more mixed Latinos, than, say, South Florida where we are flooded with upper class Cubans (pre-Mariel), and landed class Venezuelans and Colombians.
But, even the "average" Mexican is 50% "European" so if they really wanted to choose to identify as white, they are in their right to do so. Often, more right to do so than to identify as Indian.
George Lopez, for example, is 55% Euro, 35% Indian, 9% east Asian, 4% black .... he identifies as "Mestizo" but truth is he would be equally valid to identify as white as Barack Obama is to identify as black.
Times are changing.
Not only that, but a huge number of the pasty-white folks (of which I am one LOL), have plenty of black DNA. I strongly suspect that of the Americans who have the longest genealogical trees in the U.S., most have black DNA. I'd LOVE for DNA studies to be done of all racists. Wouldn't that be a hoot? I'd be laughing my _ss off at the results. Can you imagine such a study done of right wingers?
Here's the story of a pasty-white racist scientist who made some rather unattractive comments about black people, only to find out upon DNA testing that he was quite black:
Not only that, but a huge number of the pasty-white folks (of which I am one LOL), have plenty of black DNA. I strongly suspect that of the Americans who have the longest genealogical trees in the U.S., most have black DNA. I'd LOVE for DNA studies to be done of all racists. Wouldn't that be a hoot? I'd be laughing my _ss off at the results. Can you imagine such a study done of right wingers?
Here's the story of a pasty-white racist scientist who made some rather unattractive comments about black people, only to find out upon DNA testing that he was quite black:
Well, that is quite ironic. Someone trying to perpetuate racism against others, and then finding out they have some Black ancestry. I wonder what his reaction was after that.
I think about the persons who came up with scientific racism. Same reason for societal racism. It is about having power and control over others, and to justify doing things to other people.
Well, that is quite ironic. Someone trying to perpetuate racism against others, and then finding out they have some Black ancestry. I wonder what his reaction was after that.
I think about the persons who came up with scientific racism. Same reason for societal racism. It is about having power and control over others, and to justify doing things to other people.
It's an important distinction you've made. Finding out you're part "something else" that you have racist feelings towards I think would only stop racism that is based on inherent notions of biological differences between the races.
Racism based on cultural constructions, however, may not be stopped by finding out you are part "something else."
Well, that is quite ironic. Someone trying to perpetuate racism against others, and then finding out they have some Black ancestry. I wonder what his reaction was after that.
I think about the persons who came up with scientific racism. Same reason for societal racism. It is about having power and control over others, and to justify doing things to other people.
As I recall, when it was uncovered that he was quite black (though he looks pasty-white), he tried to laugh it off. I think everyone else was laughing harder.
You're right about power and control. It's also about a desperate need to feel superior.
It's an important distinction you've made. Finding out you're part "something else" that you have racist feelings towards I think would only stop racism that is based on inherent notions of biological differences between the races.
Racism based on cultural constructions, however, may not be stopped by finding out you are part "something else."
Exactly. How many full-fledged racists are actually of black DNA, but when they look in the mirror they think they're white? I'll bet lots!!
If I were Queen of the U.S., I'd have mandatory DNA testing to see who's got what DNA. I'd solve that little racist problem asap!
Don't know if this was mentioned before, but in 50 years, Asian and probably most Hispanics will essentially be white. Back at the beginning of the 20th century, Italians and Jews were minorities, now they're fully mainstreamed, and indistinguishable from other whites. Hispanics and Asians are just the latest wave of immigrants that will assimilate.
The only true minorities, that will likely never fully assimilate, are Blacks, and maybe American Indians.
It's an important distinction you've made. Finding out you're part "something else" that you have racist feelings towards I think would only stop racism that is based on inherent notions of biological differences between the races.
Racism based on cultural constructions, however, may not be stopped by finding out you are part "something else."
They are distinctions to look at. The "biological" version would stop because that kind of racism is based on the "it's good to be genetically superior" mentality. It stops because if one were to use the scientific explanation and they were to find out they were on the "bad side", said person would either have to have to either
A) Accept the scientific racism and think of themselves as "inferior"
B) Refute such claims as such claims would only hurt the person.
As for racism based on social constructs, I would say this is often harder because a person can hide things very well. Take for instance, former dictator of the Dominican Republic Rafael Trujillo. He influenced anti-Haitian racism, and he inflicted the Parsley Massacre on Haitian migrants and Dominicans of Haitian descent, claiming that they were destroying the "purity" of Dominicans. The irony is that he had Haitian ancestry. He could hide it because he looked light enough to pass for a White Dominican. He even put powder on his face to exaggerate how light he was.
With race as a social construct, people do things based on how a person looks. As a social construct, certain exceptions can be made. A person might have some African ancestry, but said person doesn't have to mention if if said person doesn't look it. One example is Anatole Broyard. He was a Louisiana Creole with some African ancestry. He managed to pass for White because he looked it. By law, he would have been categorized as Black because of the one-drop rule. However, no one knew that. That is how he managed to get a job with the New York Times. A person can be racist by claiming "I don't identify with that", if he or she doesn't look it. Now, Anatole Broyard didn't perpetuate racism. I just use him as an example to show how racism as a social construct can be misconstrued. He had Black in him, so by US law, he was Black. However, he didn't look Black to many people, and was able to pass, so he categorized himself as White. If it had been found that he had African ancestry, in the USA, he would have been subjected to all kinds of perils.
In Brazil, however, it's a different story. So much racial mixing has taken place, that a the rule is "if you don't look completely Black, you aren't fully Black". The one drop rule doesn't apply in Brazil. On the one hand, it appears that Brazil is a racial paradise. On the other hand, racism is still perpetuated because social standing often depends on your skin color. The lighter you are, the better you life is.
When people came up with scientific racism, it would be hard to fight because people believed science first. It is especially true if you haven't had contact with said individuals. With scientific racism, what makes it hard to fight is that no exceptions are made.
In both scientific racism and social racism, they were both formulated for the same reason: Power and control over others. I wouldn't say scientific racism is easier to fight because it doesn't rely on morals or social appeal. It relies on convincing people of racism is "scientifically correct". With social racism, one can at least appeal to ones moral compass to try and at least mitigate racism. when Dr. King started the movement, he fought segregation in Birmingham through nonviolence. The images of policemen beating people with nightsticks, sicking the dogs on people, and spraying nonviolent people with fire hoses, it showed the kind of virulent racism going on in Birmingham. It appealed to the moral compass of some people
Ultimately, however, money has been a big influence. When Rosa Parks was mistreated on the buses, the response was to simply stop riding the buses. The buses needed money to run. Businesses were also boycotted in many places. It took money. So much racism perpetrated has often been about money and power. With inferior schools, Blacks were not getting as good an education as Whites. That was the point. It was about those in power keeping themselves in power. When one controls where the money goes, one can control perceived power.
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