CandaceM23 Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I know that this is going to start a huge debate ... but I'm quite curious about this. Why is it acceptable for people to say "You guys are so white?" If anyone was to say "You guys are so black" I'm sure that a fight or argument of some sort would break out. I ask this because when this comment was made in another thread, I do not think that the poster meant any harm at all in the statement. Honestly, I took a bit of offense to it, only because someone called me prejudiced and racist this week. This person has known me for less than a year, I barely speak to her because our personalities clash and I avoid her because I don't care for her. It's not because of the color of her skin, it's because of her personality and the interactions that we've had. Does anyone else think that it's wrong that people can say "You guys are so white" without any repercussions ... but if someone said "You guys are so black" there would be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I know that this is going to start a huge debate ... but I'm quite curious about this. Why is it acceptable for people to say "You guys are so white?" If anyone was to say "You guys are so black" I'm sure that a fight or argument of some sort would break out.I ask this because when this comment was made in another thread, I do not think that the poster meant any harm at all in the statement. Honestly, I took a bit of offense to it, only because someone called me prejudiced and racist this week. This person has known me for less than a year, I barely speak to her because our personalities clash and I avoid her because I don't care for her. It's not because of the color of her skin, it's because of her personality and the interactions that we've had. Does anyone else think that it's wrong that people can say "You guys are so white" without any repercussions ... but if someone said "You guys are so black" there would be? Inherent in racism is the concept of relative power. A minority (in the literal sense) criticizing the majority is not as dangerous as a majority (again in the literal sense) criticizing the minority. Economically, it is the same. A janitor making a negative comment about a CEO is not harmful because the janitor has very little ability to impact the CEO. A CEO criticizing a janitor can be disturbing because of the power behind the statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 History. That's about it. Whites are the majority and have held other races back. It may all be history but the effects still linger for the races "whites" screwed over. Whites have done enough in the past, shouldn't continue. Had whites not have done those things, perhaps we would have more leeway. It's just how it is. Pay for the sins of our fathers. Some can also argue that whites have always been white, while whites have directly caused culture shift in other races. Someone being labeled by a race that may have influenced the very culture can be considered racist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 "Actually, my Grandmother was Dutch." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Pressure Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 If someone I didn't know called me white I wouldn't have a problem with it, because it just opens them up to doing the same, and they can't say **** about it. I think it's a weird thing to do to people you don't know, but I have a few black friends that I know wouldn't give a **** if I told them they are so black because they were eating fried chicken. It's the kind of thing that can be a great friendly ribbing in the right context, and make you look like a member of a supremacy group in the wrong context. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceM23 Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 I don't know ... I would never tell anyone, even my friends, even in a joking manner "You're so white" or "You're so black." I've always been very mindful (or I try my hardest to be mindful) of the things that I say and whether or not they offend people. I wouldn't knowingly put myself in the position to be called a racist or prejudiced by saying "You're so _______." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praise_gibbs Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 History.That's about it. Whites are the majority and have held other races back. It may all be history but the effects still linger for the races "whites" screwed over. Whites have done enough in the past, shouldn't continue. Had whites not have done those things, perhaps we would have more leeway. It's just how it is. Pay for the sins of our fathers. So, uh.. it is HISTORY for a reason. It would be different if it were present. I don't care what happened years ago. Fact of the matter is, I don't treat anyone that is considered the minority any different. The great majority [people in general, not saying whites] don't treat anyone different because of their skin color. Some can also argue that whites have always been white, while whites have directly caused culture shift in other races. Someone being labeled by a race that may have influenced the very culture can be considered racist. Blacks were always black as well. Both 'colors' resulted in a shift in other races. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praise_gibbs Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I don't know ... I would never tell anyone, even my friends, even in a joking manner "You're so white" or "You're so black." I've always been very mindful (or I try my hardest to be mindful) of the things that I say and whether or not they offend people. I wouldn't knowingly put myself in the position to be called a racist or prejudiced by saying "You're so _______." That is a white thing to say, Candace. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Pressure Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I don't know ... I would never tell anyone, even my friends, even in a joking manner "You're so white" or "You're so black." I've always been very mindful (or I try my hardest to be mindful) of the things that I say and whether or not they offend people. I wouldn't knowingly put myself in the position to be called a racist or prejudiced by saying "You're so _______." Well I guess it depends on the kind of relationship. If it was more casual friends I wouldn't do it, I'm talking about people I'm very close to that usually think it's hilarious and fire back by calling me a greaseball Italian or something like that. I think it's a great thing, not letting stupid words like that mean anything but a friendly joke. Other than that I think it is kind of weird to do to people but not totally out of the question. I think if people in general took things a little less serious in certain situations like the comment that was made here, people could get along better. But that will never happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceM23 Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 I think if people in general took things a little less serious in certain situations like the comment that was made here, people could get along better. But that will never happen. Exactly ... which is why I will never say anything like that to ANY of my friends ... one of my best friends isn't white. I would never say anything like that to him - and honestly, I wouldn't even think of it - even in a joking manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 So, uh.. it is HISTORY for a reason. It would be different if it were present.I don't care what happened years ago. Fact of the matter is, I don't treat anyone that is considered the minority any different. The great majority [people in general, not saying whites] don't treat anyone different because of their skin color. Blacks were always black as well. Both 'colors' resulted in a shift in other races. While that is true, the difficulties American Blacks faced in the past still resonate with their American culture today. They developed a unique culture due to that. Ever heard of the "Blues"? When we speak in terms of "you are so white" or "you are so black", we generally speak in terms of the Whites as a whole, European included, while the Blacks terminology defines their American culture, not others such as African. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enter Apotheosis Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Exactly ... which is why I will never say anything like that to ANY of my friends ... one of my best friends isn't white. I would never say anything like that to him - and honestly, I wouldn't even think of it - even in a joking manner. I'm sure Joe is honored that he's your only non-white best friend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cdowwe Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Its ok to call people white and black because calling people peach colored and brown wouldnt sound right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnhay Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 If I wanted to sound jokingly ignorant I might say something like that, but only if I knew the person. It would have to be something so blatant that I couldn't be anything but joking about the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceM23 Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 I'm sure Joe is honored that he's your only non-white best friend He's not my only non white friend ... just one of my best friends ... which ranks him at a higher level than some of my white friends. So whatever. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_Pressure Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Exactly ... which is why I will never say anything like that to ANY of my friends ... one of my best friends isn't white. I would never say anything like that to him - and honestly, I wouldn't even think of it - even in a joking manner. I take it you don't usually rib friends and give them a hard time and vice versa for fun...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praise_gibbs Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 While that is true, the difficulties American Blacks faced in the past still resonate with their American culture today. I do not agree one bit with this. Do they face any kind of difficulty today? Sure. Anything compared to that of the past? FAR from it. They developed a unique culture due to that. Ever heard of the "Blues"? When we speak in terms of "you are so white" or "you are so black", we generally speak in terms of the Whites as a whole, European included, while the Blacks terminology defines their American culture, not others such as African. Uhh.. how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 I do not agree one bit with this.Do they face any kind of difficulty today? Sure. Anything compared to that of the past? FAR from it. Uhh.. how? Take a look at inner city ghetto's and tell me who's living there. You and I would have no idea how hard it's been to get out of the hole they were in just 40 years ago. It's going to take some more time. So to get back to the thread topic, saying a Black is acting like a Black is derogatory because their culture was formed from the mistreatment our fathers did to them. Add to that relative power and you should discover it isn't right. Once we are all truly equal, it will be, absent of relative power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praise_gibbs Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Take a look at inner city ghetto's and tell me who's living there. You and I would have no idea how hard it's been to get out of the hole they were in just 40 years ago. It's going to take some more time. So to get back to the thread topic, saying a Black is acting like a Black is derogatory because their culture was formed from the mistreatment our fathers did to them. Add to that relative power and you should discover it isn't right. Once we are all truly equal, it will be, absent of relative power. And claiming someone is acting white would be derogatory in the fact that they are calling that person a 'slave-master? By your logic, that would seem to be so. To add: When someone is claiming someone is acting 'white' it is not referring to the slave days. Same goes for the saying acting 'black'. 9 times out of 10. When someone is claiming that someone is acting 'black' it is because said person is portraying traits of the Hip Hop culture. For example: by using the hip hop dialect, Eminem was said to be trying to 'act black'. We all know that he isn't black. In fact, I think each 'color' tries to seperate each other by the terms that they use. Blacks tend to call their poor neighborhoods, ghettos. Whites tend to call their poor neighborhoods, trailerparks. It would seem that whites tend to live in trailerparks due to low income and blacks tend to live in low income housing. That is not saying that either color does not do the reverse but, just by going with the majoirty.. it seems that way. If you want everyone to be 'truly equal'....you will die waiting. It will never be so because each 'color' doesn't want it to be so. Or so it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Thanks for expounding on my point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Take a look at inner city ghetto's and tell me who's living there. You and I would have no idea how hard it's been to get out of the hole they were in just 40 years ago. It's going to take some more time. Unfortunately, many inner city youths aren't helping themselves as much as I would hope. Did anyone read the story in the Post recently about Cardozo High School? Apparently, many black youths who get good grades, study, and attempt to succeed are taunted by their peers and told they're "acting white." I grew up in the suburbs in a pretty diverse area (thank you diplomats, etc.) and had friends from many cultures, but there was no peer pressure not to succeed. I was shocked to read about inner city kids being pressured to fail so they could fit in better. There can be well meaning teachers, social workers, etc. But the attitude and the will has to change from inside the individual first, to rise above the pressure and make your family and your race proud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibbsFactor Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Unfortunately, many inner city youths aren't helping themselves as much as I would hope. Did anyone read the story in the Post recently about Cardozo High School? Apparently, many black youths who get good grades, study, and attempt to succeed are taunted by their peers and told they're "acting white." I grew up in the suburbs in a pretty diverse area (thank you diplomats, etc.) and had friends from many cultures, but there was no peer pressure not to succeed. I was shocked to read about inner city kids being pressured to fail so they could fit in better.There can be well meaning teachers, social workers, etc. But the attitude and the will has to change from inside the individual first, to rise above the pressure and make your family and your race proud. Unfortunately, in this context, proud is a relevant term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedskinsScore Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 its a double standard and prob will never change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugs' Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 The way I see it is that before you go around saying, "You're acting white" or "You're acting black" to someone you need to have already established a comfort level with that person. If you don't have that then the chance of offending someone is prominent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceM23 Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 I do rib my friends and pick at them. That's what I do ... if you're on my good side, I pick on you and give you a bit of hell from time to time. But I don't ever make it a racial thing. EVER. I wouldn't go there. I would never call anyone a n-bomb, cracker, chink, wop, etc. I'll gladly pick at you over something (normally a situation one put themself in) - but I'll never throw a racial slur of any sort in there. It just seems insensitive to me. When I was called racist this week, I was called that based on a comment that I made about church. I said that a particular church was a "throw your hands in the air and praise the lord church." The thing about it is that ALL religions, creeds and colors have those churches. Personally, I've never been to one. I'm Catholic and we're boring - stand up, sit down, kneel. But to each his own. My comment had nothing to do with anyone of any color, it was about that style of church. Yet im racist and prejudiced because I said a church is a "throw your hands in the air and praise the lord church...." I will never hate anyone based on the color of their skin. If I hate/dislike you, its simply because I think you're an ahole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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