I'm really glad Colleen left her post. To be completely honest, I left class that day feeling a bit ill and unsettled. I, too, am sorry if anyone felt attacked. I believe challenging the core of the way one sees the world is one of the best ways to learn.The discussion of race, ethnicity, and culture can be a challenging one. To be "blamed" for something you personally have not done in the past is an uncomfortable and inappropriate position to be placed in.
However, I strongly sympathize with the formation of a cultural group that celebrates a heritage, values, and a community.
To me, it is weird to form a white club or celebrate being white or having white interests. However, specifying (for example) having an Eastern European club, or a Canadian club, or and Irish club is not really that offensive. That celebrates your background, and a culture, not a skin color. African Americans have a history and cultural traditions from their times of being brought over as slaves. Its not really about being "black," its about what that meant on a deeper level and how those labels and a way of life was forced upon them. How these things affect people and their successes should be celebrated. Does that make sense? It's deeper than skin color.
I suppose I might be a strong advocate for celebrating people's differences because although I am Caucasian, I have experienced discrimination comparable to many other minorities. I am Jewish. It is shocking to me that many people I know do not recognize that antisemitism is still very prevalent (it has been a memorable aspect of my life). I experienced horrible comments and treatment in mainly Junior High and the beginning of High School. Sure, its not something like skin color that I can't hide, but that's the problem. You shouldn't have to hide.
Being labeled someone who is different and "lower" is something that many people unfairly deal with and not just in the days of highlighted history like Japanese internment camps or the Civil War. Issues of discrimination and hatred are apart of most minorities' present. In my case, I don't hate Germans or have a secret resentment. Germany is known to be one of the more accepting and embracing countries today. That doesn't mean it doesn't make me sick and scared when the a discussion arises of a Nazi Party demonstration in the U.S. is protected by freedom of speech and assembly. Our rights are our rights, however the existence and the act, to me threaten my safety and shake me to a frightening place.
Being Jewish is a part of my identity and a community of people that share my culture, ideals (usually), and struggles of my past and my present.
I suppose my point is that a celebration of "white-ness" is frightening because it is exclusive in a skin color way. It lumps every European into one big mass all of which have very different traditions, identities, values, and histories and does feel like a pride for color with little depth.
I grew up in a house with a Catholic father and Jewish mother. I was raised, however, in the Jewish faith. In my house I was always taught that people who are different from yourself are interesting. Everyone is different.
Those differences should be embraced, not erased.
I understand that acceptance or the validity of a struggle was not what Colleen or others were arguing against, I'm in no way attacking that. Rather I would challenge the idea of a simply white identity, and would like to bring an awareness of the adversity people face who have a meaning of their skin or history forced onto them.
If there were no more races in the world 100 years from now, we'd find something else. Like people with bigger ears are worth less than those with the "norm." I don't think the solution should ever be erasing our races, our skin color, or what makes us cool. I think our focus should be on learning the hardships and celebrations, what has shaped us to be who we are. It's not about tolerance or forgiveness it's about understanding. And mainly gaining an understanding of the world around you.
8 comments:
This is a very thought provoking post. It's great that you tackle such topics in a straightforward and honest fashion. I completely agree with your position on differences. Indeed, if race were to be erased, people would find other differences to either embrace or conflict about. Your conclusion of mutual understanding is a great ideal, but I don't think that forgiveness and tolerance should be dismissed so easily. Nevertheless, I've really enjoyed reading your post.
Thanks for the post. I'm glad that you brought up your Jewish heritage as as cause of discrimination. That's kind of what I was trying to get at with my post and with my comments in class. Just because you appear "white," you haven't been spared discrimination. To me, it seems people think, "O, you're white, you can't possibly understand discrimination." As your post illustrates, that simply is not true. It ends up as what I have heard of as being called "reverse racism." Though this term seems to almost exacerbate the problem, by not simply calling it what it is, plain and simple racism.
I do agree with your idea of cultural clubs as opposed to a "white club," though African clubs seem not to differentiate between vastly different cultures found on the African continent. Though as you say, they can use a common history of slavery to unite.
I also agree with the somewhat hazy line between freedom of speech and the allowance of hateful groups to proclaim their message to the masses. It's definitely a difficult issue and one full of emotional opinions.
Again, thanks for your post!
I agree with both Truman and Colleen about the thoughtfulness and honesty of this post. It is a very helpful example of using prose as a way to think through an *extremely* difficult subject. In many ways, your post drives at the very reason why "difference" is a 'keyword': it is never a simple thing to understand, whether we are talking about the word philosophically or in terms of differentiating people based on their beliefs, their physical traits, or anything else that might serve as a differentiating feature. I guess my only addition here would be to suggest that whenever we differentiate, there are auxiliary motivating factors, whether they be social, personal, or political in nature: we differentiate for reasons. Do you see what I mean? And so whenever we take notice of 'difference', we should pause before this noticing, and wonder to ourselves, "Why and for what reasons am I noticing difference here? Are these differences encouraging me to understand something new, or am I using 'difference' as an excuse *not* to learn about something I don't understand?" Does that make sense? (I think your post makes this point far more eloquently than I have, here!!)
Two more notes:
In this sentence, "Being Jewish is apart of my identity..." what you actually mean to say is "a part," which means integral to, rather than distanced or detached from, which is what "apart" means.
Finally, this is a great sentence: "Rather I would challenge the idea of a simply white identity..."—this follows the critical impulse that we want to develop in this class: to challenge seemingly intact or obvious concepts.
Why, "If there were no more races in the world 100 years from now" would we "find something else"? Are you suggesting that human beings are inherently prejudiced? Can't humans, possibly, *learn* to see different traits not as a matter of prejudice but rather as an inescapable part of being a species? All species have variance—why do we think that humans must see variance in terms of valuation? Isn't there at least hope that we can learn and...dare I say it, *develop* into less combative beings? Maybe this sounds too wishful—but I mean this merely in terms of how we talk about our species. Must we conclude that humans will always have prejudices?
I understand what you're saying. I was trying to argue the point that was brought up in class when someone said that the world will be great when there are no more races. I'm saying the extinction of races will solve nothing and that it IS our attitudes that need to be worked on (otherwise we will continue to prejudice regardless of the existance of race). Maybe that didn't come across as clear.
Sorry, I already sold the tickets to Truman...but I hope you find another way to get the tickets! The Dark Knight should be a really good movie...
As for your post, I think it hits a soft spot for a lot of people but I also agree that "challenging the core of the way one sees the world is one of the best ways to learn." I haven't read Colleen's post; however, from what we discussed in class last week, it is true that there are no "white" sororities, clubs, etc. and if there were, non-whites might take them offensively. I think the problem is that most people are still indirectly influenced from events that occurred in the past and learn about them as they grow up. Yet, if you think about it, having a white club is the same thing as having, let's say, an Asian club: there are different cultures within the Asian community as there are within the European community.
I think, in future generations, skin color will start to become obsolete: our generation is more accepting of others than previous generations in the past. It is our job to teach our kids and those younger than us that - "cliche-edly" - it's the inside that counts. Although discrimination and prejudice still exists, they are less prevalent (at least in certain parts of the world) than they were 50 or 100 years ago. Hopefully, they will slowly filter out as we grow older.
I think I see what you are saying, Paris. Are you saying that unless we shift how we see people (away from essentialist ideas of identity), then we will continually reenact 'racist' impulses toward other features or behaviors? So, what we need to change is not how people 'appear', but how we *look at* people? (Shifting the focus from people's identities, in other words, to how we *identify* people?) If so, then I get your point entirely, and it is an important one to make.
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