I would like honest, unashamed people to answer this question...?

Question

I am taking graduate courses, I have a classmate which I've shared several classes with. We recently took an exam, which the whole class felt was rather hard and confusing. When we got our tests back she rcvd hers first and saw that she had a B on the exam, she seemed pretty happy with that until I got my exam showing an A, then I could see a difference in her demeanor like it wasn't acceptable to her, that I did better than her and at that moment her B wasn't such a good grade anymore. I took it as this black girl did better than me somethings got to be wrong, and it reiterated to me that whites do still feel that black people are inferior to them(well in everything but sports). We are in our 20's which i do believe our generation are more diverse so my question is are white people just born with superior complex?

I'm not trying to call this girl racist, I like her and I'm not suggesting that she was doing anything consciously.

An answer: I assume that my answer to your question is the same as your answer to this one: Are all black people born with a chip on their shoulder for white people?

This was part of an answer I got and as a result of reading some of the answers I am able to answer Yes to her question. My interpretation of her actions were a result of what I've been taught, through history, my parents and personal experiences.

Answer 1

As a Diversity Awareness trainer, I can tell you the simple answer is 'Yes.' It's called 'sense of privilege' (the unearned benefit of being in a majority group). In the U.S., we are bombarded every day with that kind of thinking from the media in all forms, and from society. Think about how many "white" actors are on t.v. compared to the actual demographics of the country. Most African American t.v. shows are comedies, are they not? Doesn't this send the message that black actors shouldn't be taken seriously? I could go on and on with this.
The good news is that things ARE better for your generation than mine (I'm in my 40's), and that by the year 2050, there will no longer be a white majority in this country.
As for your "friend', try not to be too hard on her. It may not be a conscious thing, and it honestly may not be racial.. perhaps she really is an overachiever, and is simply THAT competitive, regardless of the color of skin.
Just so you know, race is a pigment of our imagination. The Human Genome project has proven that we all originated in Africa :)
Hug yourself for me and be proud of your A, regardless of what anyone else has said or done to upset you.
It'll take time, but eventually this whole "race" thing will be a thing human beings will look at as a shameful part of history.

Answer 2

Have you ever read "Faces at the Bottom of the Well?" It will put you in the worst mood. You'll think that racism will never end. But it also makes a good point. If racists were openly racist, you could acknowledge them as such and move on. You could then base all your assumptions on those people as being rascist.

On the other hand, this may not be a racial issue. She could not like you because of alot of reasons. (Not that they are true, or course...you're the sweetest nicest smartest person in the whole world :)) If she doesn't like your personality, and is confronted with the being unconsciously racist, she will probably just not like you more. Most white people, especially those in higher education, don't want to admit that they may have racial biases.

What I think you should think? You're smarter than her. Period. Don't let it go to your head or make you think that a race (which doesn't exist; its a superficial physical classification) is better than another.

Answer 3

I don't think it is a race thing. I mean some people are like that. Heck I did horrible in school & would have loved a B! lol If she is upset that is her problem not yours. I wouldn't worry about it. I have had a social panic disorder for years and struggle to over come it. I have learned to turn my thinking around so I try not to worry about people thinking bad things about me. If you can change your seat and don't sit near. If she seems to have a problem with it and confronts you just say something like, "Boy that was a hard test. I was shocked when I got an A!" Don't bring yourself down for her! If she does confront you and acts all mean and rude to you just tell, "I am sorry you feel that way." Then change the subject. If she still seems to have a problem with either see if you can talk to her in an open honest way or tell her you are looking to get into a fight about this because it isn't worth it and walk away. Even suggest she talks to the teacher if it bugs her that much.

Good luck

Answer 4

No.

The problem is that you interpreted the situation, as her having a problem with a black person. But you didn't actually ask her, did you? Sounds like you just moved forward in life, under the belief that your assumption was correct. The real truth is probably that she's just disappointed that she didn't get the best grade.

Honestly (and I really mean this), I don't know a single (not one!) white person who feels they're better than any black person, simply based on the color of their skin. I certainly do know people of both colors, who consider themselves better than other people of both colors, based on how these individuals have interacted with each other.

I assume that my answer to your question is the same as your answer to this one: Are all black people born with a chip on their shoulder for white people? You seem so ready to believe the worst in the rest of us, that it would be an easy assumption to make. But I try to avoid making assumptions of people.

Oh, and by the way...Don't listen to the Diversity Awareness Trainer...She only works with people who need this type of training. Most of us don't see skin color.

Answer 5

Wow. You can infer all of that by a look?
It seems to me that you are the one with the issues.
Most people in grad school are there because they want to be there and are very competitive for grades. It was probably not that a black girl got a better grade, it was more likely that she was upset that ANYONE got a better grade.
You can assume that all white people think they are superior if you want but if you do that makes YOU the racist. It goes both ways.
Being upset that someone got a better grade than you does not a racist make.

Answer 6

Your question is very important. It would be great if everyone on our planet in our universe thought about your question for awhile.

In the last three years this is what I have found to be true, and I believe if we could explain it to people on our planet today, it might stop a lot of hate crimes among the races. There is one word, I shall tell you, but remember we have come along way and a ways to go but, I do remember reading somewhere, but I shall make the statement to say as I please and it goes for everyone in every area of life: > We are not what we should be, and we are not what we are going to be, but > Thank God we are not what we were. Now for the word, I think people should be aware of, because most folk like you wonder why; and the why is through no ones fault, it is all part of growing, although some people do not want to grow mentally, which is sad. The word is > INBREED: Ingrained in one's nature as deeply as if by heredity. One believes the biggest issue is between black and white. Now what I found out in 2004 after many years of heart ache and break, is that > white folk do not know this superior thing against blacks is in them, they just do what comes naturally to them, even as small children, if you blacks have been listening the first word out of their white mouth is I am not predudice or even a bigot, they are not lying they really believe that, sometimes people act one way then believe another; and when alone they say to themselves, why did I act like that? The same is true with blacks they do not know inside of them is this thing that they are inferior to whites, no one told them that it is just something they feel, as a matter of fact the blacks today fight it, because they feel it inside but their minds just refuse it so they try to scare or put fear into whites, because they feel this thing inside of them they do not know where it comes from, so they start to think that "the white man is doing it, they make me feel I am an animal" and the white man thinks " those blacks are just animals. You see the thing is, it is not something like one gets up in the morning and decides to eat breadfast or not to, most blacks and whites do not even know, they are just acting out what happend in the past because they think that is the way it is suppose to be and the blacks do not know how to stop it nor the whites, killing is not the answer folk. The other thing I want to say is that a lot of white people and a lot of black people think that the black people are going to take over and rule, this is an untruth, my granny said when the war was over white men were jumpin out of windows killing themselves, thinking what was coming; then granny said you know black people have already been in charge of this planet before. I told a christian white woman, she went all over the company saying how she believed in God; one day we were all in the office talking and I said what my granny had told me, that the black man had already been in charge of this planet; that white christian woman that loves the Lord so much preaching Jesus all over the company, she said huh I don't believe that, seems as if one should have said could be true how do you know is there any fact for your statement, she probably did not even think her response was bigoted, from what granny said that leaves one people that is the mongloid. So folk there should be no racial fighting what will be will be; we just need to help each other, and tell each other about Jesus Christ and what He did for everyone. Believe me what God has set in motion can not be stopped. This black white issue has to stop; it is not of God, it is from the pit of hell, and again things are getting better, everything takes time, and there is were we live, God does not live in time, so it seems forever for us but it really is not, and God does things when He knows the time is right. So let us love one another.

Answer 7

Not all people think that way. She may not have been thinking it in a matter of race,tmaybe she thought she did really well until she saw that someone did better. She might be more of a competitive person that a superior being.

Answer 8

This has happened to me (other person got a better grade than I.)
I felt it wasn't acceptable, either. But I wish I had an excuse, because the other person is the same race as I am.

MAYBE everything isn't about what color you are.

Answer 9

I think you're reading too much into this. It isn't about race, she's just jealous that you got a better grade. I'm sure there were times when you felt that you got the short end of the stick and you felt hurt.

She just got the winds knocked out of her sails. It happens.

Answer 10

white people have allways thought they were the Superior race and they still do. From all of what they learn from tv school or from others they find that they can diss others and go around talking crap. [white trash] just ignore it. If they want to steriotype and act that way than thats ok. only till they get to their 30's will they really knowtice it. She is just jellous why not rub it in sometime? Keep up ur good grades dont fail cus some white girl dogged u :)