White people?

Question

There was a question asked earlier inquiring about the most overlooked group subject to racism. There was an overwhelming response saying that white people are the most overlooked victims of racism. Do white people seriously feel that they are being oppressed in this country?

Minorities, specifically blacks, have been the victims of severe oppression for hundreds of years, and this oppression was due to the atrocities that white Americans violently imposed upon them. Minorities do not even come close to representing a cross section of the wealth in this country. The wealth is overwhelmingly possessed by whites. Is this because minorities lack intelligence? No. It is due to the oppression of the majority, in this case, white Americans. It is no secret that white people can be ridiculed in public freely, yet it is taboo to say anything derogatory about minorities. The reason for this is simple. Caucasians have been freely ridiculing minorities for hundreds of years with no ramifications, but historically if a minority said anything derogatory about whites, they stood to be lynched or dragged behind a truck. Right now, minorities are making up for lost time. Is it right? Who knows. Whites are just gonna have to deal with it temporarily.

Answer 1

As a Caucasian, I am appalled that some would think we are the subject of "racism". Please read the book: White Privilege, it is very enlightening and addresses the "elephant in the room" that we choose to ignore: being born "white" affords untold opportunities in this country.

Answer 2

I wouldn't say oppressed, but something more like pushed aside or disregarded because we're white and being white is supposed to mean your regular, nothing special about you.
We can't do the same things people of other races do, like show pride in being white, because it's automatically considered being a racist. For ex: in a school there can be a black club or a latino club. A 15 year old girl tried to start a caucasian club, but the school stopped her because racist, yet a black club or a latino club isn't.
Colleges have United ***** college fund and there is also a Latino College Fund for which students of said race can apply for a scholarship. But is there a White College fund? Hell no, because it would be racist, right? And because everyone assumes that all white people have the money to pay for college, so if they don't they're screwed.
And don't get me started on Black Entertainment Television (BET), if it was White Entertainment Television it would be called the most racist network on TV.

Answer 3

I think that many white people feel overlooked today because of the many programs, like Affirmative Action, that provide benefits and advantages based primarily on race. This is not good because racism in any aspect is wrong no matter who (even the majority) the racism is directed toward. It is because, I believe, that many feel guilty about the racism of the past, despite the fact that most were not even alive when it occurred, and that this guilt has clouded judgement.

I agree that there are disadvantaged people today and that programs like Affirmative Action can help. However, I believe that the real enemy today is 'poverty'.

Answer 4

White is not exactly monolithic either you know. Have Germans, Italiains, Irish, Greeks, etc ever been on the wrong end of racism? You better believe it. Or maybe you have forgotten about the Polish steriotype?

There is no question that ceratian groups needed special protections for a time to overcome barriors that have been in their way for generations. But when that group has managed the main stream, those protections need to go away, or it is indeed preferential treatment, or oppression towards anybody who is not of that group. Getting those protections in place is hard. Dismamtling them when they are no longer needed is harder.

-Dio

Answer 5

Oppressed?, I'm not sure about oppressed, but it seems like if ANYTHING is said it is racist. This in reference to other races. BUT I have never heard of anything said that you insulted whites. I'll give you just one example. And PLEASE THIS IS NOT my feelings and I will say I am NOT trying to insult ANY RACE. OK that said there is a united ***** college fund. What do you think would be said or done if someone created a united white college fund? Again I will say I am sorry if anyone is offended by this, but this is ONLY an EXAMPLE ONLY. There all many more but I use this one as an example only.

Answer 6

oppressed and racism are two different things oppressed is being held back due to race religion or belief racism is being disquilified by race and race only .i do belive there is a massive amount of racism on cacausion race we after all are slavers,oppressors,murders even if it happened 100 years ago by people who were idiots the people alive today are still blamed for everything that was done 100 200 300 years ago what would you call it?

Answer 7

I think that there is more racism towards Caucasians than credit is given for . . . after all, isn't the generalization (which I have seen several times this morning already) that "white hate {insert minority here}" a racist statement? While Caucasians certainly aren't as discriminated against as other ethnic groups, they are often written off as not being discriminated against at all.

Answer 8

At times I feel I am. I live in the Deep South. I'm not saying I have it worse than others, but there is definitely racism towards whites in my area.

Answer 9

Unfortunately, I think a lot of them do.

If you've never been the subject of real racism, I guess it must be difficult to truly understand what it is and how systemic it is in our society.

It is such a hot-button issue right now, that it sort of seems like everyone wants a piece of the victim pie. So we get all caught up in the symptoms (real and imagined) rather than ever dealing with the actual problem.

Answer 10

Yes, does affirmative action mean anything to you? Because it makes me so mad. We have to be careful about what we say, so we don't offend people of other races, if we have any negative feelings towards other races, or ethnicity, we are being called racist. We have to have a certain number of minorities working, going to school, in our magazines. It's just not fair. Here's white discrimination at it's finest. Local hair salon, catering to "ethnics" (there's words not mine) charges a $35 surcharge if you are white. There are so many groups for the fair treatment of other races, but when it comes to whites, people think we are the discriminators, and we have the right to be when we are actually the "minority" now. We don't have the NAACP to run to if someone calls us a racial slur, we can't cry racism if we don't get the job. It's ridiculous. And this issue really really makes me mad.

Answer 11

As a African American/Black female I see racism toward me all the time because of my color. I am sensitive to it. But I do see racism toward other groups coming up also. White people are subject to it in different ways. Anytime you 'expect' someone to act a certain way because of the color of their skin is prejudice. The meaning of the word prejudice comes from "to prejudge". If a white person is expected to dance a certain way or talk a certain way because they are white that is prejudice/racism. It is not only a color thing, it can encompass, religion, sex, are you fat, skinny, an accountant, a teacher a nurse. All groups have certain stereotypes and to judge an individual because of it shows racism.