Big White Lies

This post is written with some tough love for my fellow People of Pale, it is based on things I have seen or heard people say countless times, in all kinds of social settings, both offline & online. I’m sick of seeing people repeating the same stupid stuff, electing people who use race to divide and conquer the poor, working and middle classes. And hurting and alienating their neighbors, co-workers, relatives, etc.

Note: these are listed intentionally so the most offensive/extreme statements being debunked are at the bottom to make it slightly less triggery.

Real Americans Speak English!

Interesting opinion- you should try sharing that with some American Indians, oh yeah and the folks of Mexican descent whose land was taken as part of the U.S. after the Spanish-American War. I’m sure that *all* your ancestors instantly spoke perfectly unaccented English the second they got off the boat. They never did anything so shocking as to teach schools in the own native language, have newspapers in it, or worship services in Swedish, Polish, German et al. Actually…they did. And native-born Americans complained about it and said all the same nasty things you’re saying now. Immigrants have every incentive to learn English when they come here, but it is a difficult language to learn and it takes time. Have you studied another language, especially one that was very foreign to an English-speaker, like Chinese? Doing so might help you develop empathy for these folks.

Reverse Racism- in general

Racism doesn’t just mean hating or discrimination based on skin color, it also means a *system of oppression* against people based on skin color. Now and then people may proclaim the general suckiness of white people, insult you (honkie! redneck! oh the pain!) However you are not surrounded by messages from the media & society all your life telling you that by virtue of your skin color, you are assumed to be a criminal, no matter how hard you try to be “respectable”- you can wear the so-called right clothes, have an education, be a doctor or lawyer etc. and still be assumed to be “up to no good” by your mere existence.

See this video for an awesome explanation of “reverse racism” from comedian Aamer Rahman

Reverse Racism- Affirmative Action, specifically

You *just know* you would’ve gotten that job, that contract or that spot at Stanford if it weren’t for Those People getting affirmative action. You deserve it! You worked hard! I think you can have non-racist arguments against affirmative action, but claiming “reverse racism” and discrimination against white people are not those arguments. Affirmative action has been outlawed or severely curtailed in many states, so do your homework before you complain. Also if you’re so concerned about fairness, take a look at those legacy scholarships, merit scholarships (which more often children of the upper-middle class benefit from) It may be less obvious, but there is likely some type of “Affirmative Action for Whitey” that you’ve benefited from.

But Obama is President Therefore Racism is Over!!!

Not sure if people are still making this argument, considering all the racist stuff that has been tossed our President’s way. Like how his Dad was from Kenya, therefore Barack was born in the exotic African nation of….Hawaii. Yep. How dare a Black man use an executive order, ever!! Bush and Reagan never did…oh wait.

They Can’t Be “Proud” of Being White

Doesn’t that suck that those Racist People Over There, that *you’re totally not like at all* ruined the white pride thing for ya? Remember those immigrant ancestors of yours I discussed earlier? A lot of them weren’t considered “white” when they first came here. Irish, Italians, Jewish folks, Poles, Slavs etc. they were all considered members of races inferior to upper-class English Protestants. Whiteness is a social construct- it just means you can’t be enslaved and the police are less likely to assume you’re a criminal just by looking at you. Why be proud of that? It’s fine to be proud of your ethnic background, so long as you don’t claim it’s better than anyone else’s.

Genocide/Ethnic Cleansing– Say what? If you’re worried about this, I doubt you’ll be reading this blog anyway, but just for the sake of inclusion.

Are you worried about natural blondes & redheads dying out? That could happen eventually, but seriously doesn’t the world have bigger problems? There is a history and (it still happens) in the United States, Australia & Canada of forced sterilization of people with disabilities, Black, Latina & Native women, immigrants and poor people. This was advocated by both conservatives & progressives before the Nazis made eugenics look bad. You’re worried about being a minority? Just a memo- so-called “white” people have been a global minority for most of human history- you just didn’t notice because of your Eurocentric worldview!

(OK, so I may re-write this later so it’s less sarcastic, but writing it was very therapeutic, and perhaps reading it will be for some people. You have to laugh to keep from crying, sometimes!)

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