1876: American Spirit

[invader]

I think sparrow most closely clarifies my original point. In a much less snarky manner. The system of thought that breeds racism also breeds white guilt. The results are, seemingly different. But the thought process is the same... And is kind of insulting. It's also why so few blacks bother to watch movies like The Help. Movies like that are made for people to just wallow in their guilt.

Anyway my initial comment wasn't meant to shame Keith, or make him feel silly for the way he feels in specific situations. Just to think about WHY he feels that way especially towards one group over another.

[rodimusprime]

They should change the phrase from "white guilt" to "historically aware" or something. I don't think being historically aware is a bad thing.

[ThePinkSuperhero]

There are black male nail technicians? I've gotten about 10,000 pedicures in NYC, and I have never, ever seen one.

[Keith]

Nail technicians, huh?

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by backgen

i'm not saying that history doesn't matter - it's insanely important we learn from mistakes made in the past lest we repeat them in the future.

What i'm saying is there's no sense in feeling guilty about something you didn't do yourself, or were a part of in a meaningful way.

whew! cool i knew you had to not be a dummyfuck.

aye, therein lies the rub. i do take part of it in a meaningful way every time i benefit from being white; every time someone doesn't glance sideways at me on the street or in a store.

we here in America are still keenly experiencing racial fall out. our slave story goes all way back to Jamestown. it's not surprising we're still dealing with an issue involving 400 years of back story. it didn't go away. we are still a part of it. we're all still "doing" in its legacy. we ought not talk about it like it isn't still happening; that this isn't a piece of the same cloth.

if i choose as an American, and especially as a Southerner, to claim this place, i also take on some responsibility for its wrongdoings. one way to do that is by acknowledging it.

Slavery in America Timeline

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Black Bart

If your ancestors immigrated to the USA during or post . . . say 1920's, why should there be any guilt internalized by ones self?

Are you fucking with us?

[WittyReference]

A week with both Dan and Ari makes me very happy.

[backgen]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

whew! cool i knew you had to not be a dummyfuck.

aye, therein lies the rub. i do take part of it in a meaningful way every time i benefit from being white; every time someone doesn't glance sideways at me on the street or in a store.

we here in America are still keenly experiencing racial fall out. our slave story goes all way back to Jamestown. it's not surprising we're still dealing with an issue involving 400 years of back story. it didn't go away. we are still a part of it. we're all still "doing" in its legacy. we ought not talk about it like it isn't still happening; that this isn't a piece of the same cloth.

if i choose as an American, and especially as a Southerner, to claim this place, i also take on some responsibility for its wrongdoings. one way to do that is by acknowledging it.

Slavery in America Timeline

I see where you're coming from. I'll admit i've never lived in America for more than a few days so this may be something you have to experience in order to understand fully.

But - i still think though that you don't need to be a part of it. What you're describing is a state of mind (i know that sounds really hippy-dippy but bear with me here), let it go and believe that all the racial crap that happened is firmly in the past and the present can and must be different. To deal with the existing fallout from racial injustice, we have to look at it not as helping and improving the lives of a particular "group" of people, that happen to have distinct characteristics such a predominant skin color - but just people that are in a tough spot.

Not sure if that makes sense...but hope it does

[Sparrow]

where do you hail from, stranger?

[backgen]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

where do you hail from, stranger?

Canada originally, but i've bounced around the world a bit and i'm currently in Singapore.