Why do white people find it frustrating and vague when black people talk about racism??

Question

The “white” view-point has always been: “you know what… it happened, now its over, so let’s just all forget about it and move on.” Black people find it very hard to “move on” because the damage has already been done, and it still affects many black folks today. You know…the aftermath of Hitler and his treatment of the Jews during the Holocaust had not resulted in Jewish people saying: “OK, Hitler was a terrible man, let’s just move on and forget about all things in the past…and pretend the whole ordeal never happened…. Germany paid $715 million dollars to the state of Israel and its post holocaust survivors in “reparation funds” and “rehabilitation efforts.”

Now if you don’t call that B**S**t, I don’t know what you call it. Oh I get it now…the sneaky white-led government of the US would not want to be looked down at for paying a similar sum of dollars for the beatings, rapes, hangings, torture, and killings of black men and women of all ages for many years in this country, which white people have barbarically stripped from the Native Indians. I think Black folks have every reason to believe and agree that over 90% of white people all over this damn world remain bloody racists at heart despite these bogus “civil rights” bills and laws in congress. So what reasons do we have to close the door on our history? When very little has been done to turn our beliefs around? So what would I like all white folks on here to do, shut up when we express ourselves, or go somewhere and put a pillow over your head and ears if you don’t like the ways in which we do it!

Answer 1

Sorry if this reply is a little long, but I think it's long overdue:
Everyone says to get over it, right? How the hell am I supposed to do that when the last black man was hung in Alabama in 1998, when James Byrd, Jr. was drug to his death, when I come on this site and see how much racism there is?
Why can't black people get over it? Because we carry the history in our DNA. There may not be Jim Crowe laws anymore, but the people are just the same. For instance, damn lie if I'll ever go to Texas, Alabama, or Mississippi by myself. Why? Because in order to survive in the south as a "darker" person, you must be able to look a white person in their eyes and tell if they hate you because of the color of your skin. If not, stuff like what happened to Byrd, Jr. will easily happen again.
You tell us to get over it. Didn't someone just say they can trace their ancestors back to Ireland, or that is where their ancestos came from? Guess what, we can't do that. I guess you think it's alright if we know that our ancestors are from Africa, huh? That should be good enough? Well, it's not. I can't tell you what tribe my grand people came from, I can't tell you what the name of that tribe is.
You robbed us from our land and then robbed our land from us. We don't speak our native tongue at all, we don't have our dress anymore, we don't have any of what we would have if it weren't for slavery. Oh, that's in the past, right? Think again. We can't even wear our hair braided without some principal at some school banning them because it shows a sign of being in a gang. And not only that, but white people have resorted to trying to wear their hair braided and locked as well. Let's not mention how many whited trying to do rap. It just says, OK black people can do this, but we can do it better.
You think that's not a problem? It is a problem that is alive and continues. Reparations? I'm all for them. Give me the money I need to do research and trace my flipping ancestry. Give me the money to go and at least visit Africa. Give me the money my flipping grand people worked so flipping hard for. This is the problem.
Solution? Let me have what I have today. Don't try to wear your hair in braids or locks. Stop trying to rap and break dance. Stop trying to cook like me and mine. Stop trying to speak slang and don't say I am unintelligent because I do. Stop telling me to get over something that is not over. If they were over white people wouldn't have a problem with my braids, my locks, my rapping, my dancing, my slang, and they damn sure wouldn't try to have those things as well.


I think I'm finished now. Thank you for allowing me to say something I've needed to say for a long time now.






.

Answer 2

Well, not all white people think that way. I, personally, have never said "get over it and move on." I know that there is a lot of history that was overlooked, as in all history. History is usually documented by the elite, since they are the ones with the education and the ability to do so. How much of history is written by the common person? Most common people are struggling to survive, unable to chronicle anything.

I dont think everyone is racist, but it seems like the whole "civil rights" thing isn't working because what we are not acknowledging is that this is an issue about class, not race. At this country's beginning, there were slaves, indentured servants, people indigenous to this continent(Indians) and women, all whom were treated like garbage by the wealthy. There were a few times when it looked as though the lower classes were going to unite against the wealthy. The white elite worked hard to suppress that by turning the freed indentured servants against the slaves, telling them that they were better than the slaves or anyone with dark skin. Paying them more than the slaves so that they would get the message not to unite with them, giving them more privileges. Any time it looked like the wealthy were in danger of losing their place in society, they worked hard to crush any efforts at unity. The last time was at the beginning of the last century, when this country almost went socialist because the lower classes all were working together to improve wages and safety on the job...black, white, male, female, indian, children, immigrant. And what happened? They were crushed like ants by major industries. And who recorded what happend? The white upper class. They are the ones who said "socialism is bad" and that it went against the constitution. Say things often enough, and everyone will believe them.

But the whole race thing isn't going to be solved the way it's going now. Things need to be more equal: education, salaries, rights. I dont think anyone should have anything handed to them, they should earn it...but they should have the advantages that the priviledge have, to make the playing field more equal.

Yep, I'm a socialist, a bleeding-heart, tree hugging liberal...but I dont' live with hate in my heart and I sleep well at night.

Answer 3

The black people of today are 5 and 6th generation, they have regular homes, go to school, have jobs and vote like everyone else does. There is only a small part of the population that is racist, I would say about 5% if that., mostly in the south.

Most white people had immigrant ancestors that came here way after the 1860s, mine came in the 1890s, and had nothing to do with the situation prior, they were poor and were just trying to find a better life. So you are blaming whites for something that wasn't even part of our ancestors past either.

The Holocaust involved Germany and the Jewish survivors are still alive. Many were children when they were taken to those horrible camps in the 1940s, they still have the tatoos on their arms. That is why they got reparation funds.

Answer 4

good ques. i think thats hard to answer, becausde the whites who didnt have anything to do with slavery will get pissed for us blaming them. at the same time, racism still exists today, triggering a sense of oppression and jim crow. the devistation of imperialism and slavery has dug so deep, one cannot forget it. and how come noone evwer tells the KKK groups to forget about it and move on? Just like one girl said, a black man was hung not too long ago, and here in the South, blacks are pulled over for nothing at all. My b/f and I were harassed by a cop for eating at a sandwhich shoppe. we did it for about an hour. Why? Well, i dont know, but maybe i should forget about that. And maybe i should forget about all the times i've been followed around and haggled because I wasnt white. come one folks, telling blacks to "forget" their history isnt fair, but I do understand that being blamed for something you didn't directly have contact with is also unfair. It's a very complex issue, but don't lash out when blacks express themselves unless they hold YOu responsible. There are tones that are offensive and ways that its said that makes us mad. "GET A JOB!" but we have jobs already. Would it be fair to tell a Jew to forget the Halocaust, while other Germans deny it ever happened? Nope.

Answer 5

Would you have the U.S. government do the same? Native Americans have the same argument, that they were oppressed and that this means that they need government money to make up for their ancestors. Well my argument is that at what point do we stop? People have been persecuted and oppressed for ages. Also what about future generations going forward? Do they get a check? At what point then do we say you are eligible, and you are not? It would seem eventually that someone again is going to feel neglected, or rejected....

I think that focusing on healing would be a better thing. How can we get our communities to embrace each other, and at what point do we say enough is enough.

Answer 6

I'm African-American and sometimes i talk about slavery with my mom sometimes since my great-great aunt was a slave in the south and etc. In school, my class talk about slavery all the time, and there's only one white girl in my class, but she never gets mad at the discussions. She's only into it, but i do hate that a lot of my students make fun of her or say racist jokes to her. Or some ppl are jealous that the reason why she automatically got into Academy Prep(that's the most advance class in my school, that I'm in), is because she's white. I hate that a lot. But! I do feel that what happen was in the past and i love that the fact that many black leaders fought for freedom, BUT many African-American men and women are caught up in the bad influence in some rap songs, like 50 cent "Get rich or die trying". To me, i feel its a disgrace so i don't particualry listen to rap often.(sometimes). But, of course, we weren't helped up by the government, which we should have been. But we can also improve ourselves by actually get an education and leave those so called "projects" I've heard about. We need to be strong. But I believe that we should all move on bcuz now everyone is equal and should stay like that!

Answer 7

If reparation hasn't been given, then you have a very valid point.

The existing pain is certainly valid, however, there are so many white people who had nothing to do with causing it, and neither did their ancestors. Those are the people who find it frustrating because they are assuming that you are grouping them in with your ancestor's abusers just because they are white. Wouldn't that be racist?

Edit. I read your added note. You've got serious problems if you think that 90% of white people are racist. 90% of white people might not have the patience to listen to you whine, but that named percentage are definitely NOT as racist as you are. Get some counseling.

Answer 8

I'm a white man who is not racist, but your argument is completely, "out there". The german goverment should have never paid that, I'm sorry, and the american government should not be paying Indians or Black people for that matter. I mean, where does it stop, oh I believe NEVER! I may be white, but if you follow my line back, I'm sure I could find one of my relatives who was done wrong by someone else, should I hate the person's family and get money from them, for something that happened to one of my great great great somebodies, and tie up their family and cause them to go into dept because of one of their great great great somebodies, HELL NO!I do agree that there is racism in this country, but the majority of the hear are among black people themselves, fighting with each other, everyone claiming they've been done wrong, you're too black , well you're to white, east versus west coast, it's all too much. It just seems that the major unsettling feelings in this country AT this time is due to the unsettling of blacks themselves. My two best friends growing were a black boy and a hispanic kid, so don't label me as a racism hiding behind civil rights bills and the such. Personally I think the biggest discrimination problem right now is towards homosexuals and they are currently being beating or killed as we speak!

Answer 9

Wow. Do you feel better now? Sometimes it helps to rant.

Seriously, no one is shutting the door on history. It's just not a history anyone in this country is proud of so we dont like to talk about it. It was a very sad time for all of our ancestors. The white elited treated the blacks like trash and no time in history is that EVER acceptable for any race.

On the other hand - why are black people suppose to be called 'African-American'? That isnt right. Now, a lot of black people are not just black they have white ancestors. Most Americans are mixed. We are mutts. They dont call it the melting pot of the world for nothing.

Most black people in this country were not born in Africa. If you are so proud of it then move back. We are ALL Americans. Period.

Jews were another tragic subject and cant be compared. They were not in the USA and were subject to far worse.

On another subject, why do gay people claim the rainbow. I like rainbows. Why do I have to give it up because I'm not gay. What color do straight people use?

Move on.

Answer 10

White people don't ever want to talk about slavery, because it is both a shameful nasty history and they don't want to pay reparation funds, because they simply don't want to see Black Americans or West Indians with large amounts of dollars/cash, good grief!! it would nearly kill them lol. Besides they would not be able to retort to Black people about "getting a job". Which they frequently seem to revel in. It is funny that if you look back in history, SLAVE OWNERS were compensated for losses from the slave industry, but slaves were not. It seems to me that any other culture that has suffered has been compensated, but with Blacks the issue is still taboo. Probably they don't want to pay, because it would bring the economy down, since you have to remember that slavery went on for centuries 400 years, was a HUGE form of economy and generated a huge amount of income in which, most of the western countries infrastructure was built on and for these countries to pay back would result in not millions, but billions of money in payouts. That is what they want to avoid, so brushing the issue under the carpet is ideal. If whites are so sick of hearing about this issue, then why not pay up? but for reasons I described above, the reasons are obvious. But then again if compensation came in the form of banana's, Blacks would have been compensated already, but money, no, because money means power and freedom in this society. The very things Whites do not want blacks to have. ENOUGH SAID.

Answer 11

Dude, It's history

Look, its awkward getting partialy blamed of eacism through ancestry, look there was a lot of white people that weren't racists its over and bringing it up is like calling a German a Nazi nowadays you know they did something wrong they know it too and they dont wanna here about it plus the y dont share those beliefs and neither am I an average white person a racist
People get sick off hering it You dont here the indians whining they got freedom and casinos and black people got freedom so stop whinin
I dont mind remembrence but discussing the issue as a whole is a social awkward