A question of racism...?

Question

This is a question of racism.
It has come to my attention (actually I was reminded) that there exists doubt that there could be racism towards 'whites'. How can there be a question of it. It exists. Think of derogatory terms used to identify whites; crackers, red necks, etc. There does exist a hatred of whites, to the point that whites are not allowed to show any pride at being who they are. Example:
I have a friend who in high school attempted to start a Caucasian club to learn about European history. This was consequently shutdown when the Black Student Alliance saw it as racist and demand it stopped. (see a the irony here?)
What do you folks out there think? (boy have I been asking a lot of questions today or what!!??)

Answer 1

exacly how i feel.. it's retarded and notice how there's a black history month, but if we had a white history month, we'd be called racist?

Answer 2

I have to agree with tapface88.

The white man has been the dominant cultural power all over the globe for the last half millennium. Now, there are lots of reasons for this which I won't go into, some valid and some invalid. Exemplified by imperialism and colonialism, whites (particularly Western culture) have spread their influence on every continent, conquering all nations to some extent.

This is not to say that whites are the only race to do this; far from it. But there is this thing about forced assimilation and cultural annihilation that has been historically "white" in origin. Yes, Asian civilizations fought amongst each other for thousands of years, as did those in Africa, and the Americas, and the Middle East. But never to the degree of domination as by the white civilizations.

Of course there exists a hatred of whites; they have quite enough to be "proud" of these days without needing a club or racial alliance to fight for the rights and privileges that they already enjoy at the expense of most other races.

Answer 3

Yes, racism is racism no matter who does it or to whom it is directed. And it isn't just name-calling or hatred - it is ANY judgment, positive or negative, based solely on race.

Your friend should have attempted a "European Club" or "History Club" instead, which would have more accurately reflected the club's goals. While racism is wrong no matter the source, the dominant group, simply because they ARE the dominant group in numbers or influence, does not have the same need for recognition or assistance that the minority group does. So the Black Student Alliance did have a valid point - five black students among a hundred white students have a more pressing need for community and support.

So, you have point, but you need to look at the big picture.

Answer 4

Until people become comfortable with that, your intentions will always be seen in a negative light. If people become offended by it then I think the best thing you should try to do is explain why you are doing it. When you don't explain it is when you get in trouble. If it wasn't for the wrongs caused upon people of color you would have no need to feel threatened by what they saw as rascim. I'm sorry to say that it turned out this way for everybody but you are beginning to see how other people feel. That alone should help you understand why people thought that way about the group you wanted to start. Just think for a moment. What if you saw Indians, or Black people, or chinese people or spanish people started a similar group and said it was just for them. No whites allowed, what would your first thought be? Do you see what I mean? with us "people Of Color" we already know who we are and we don't have to puff our chest out and exclaim "we are so and so." when people do that, we ask ourselves, Uh yeah, so, what do you want me to do? Jump up and down and holler hurray? Do you see what I mean. It's just not that important to show off. It;'s a turn off for some people. Just look around and watch people for a change. You'll see that every ethnic group will just frown upon another people of color. white is color right? Some one might be saying, what is he/she trying to prove. we already know what you are? We've seen this for thousands of years. So, you see, everyone will see what you do as wrong because of the past wrongs your people inflicted upon them. Like I said Think about what you do and do the right thing. If people are curious, don't hide things. Explain it. This way you might be able to do the things you want with out feeling the bad vibe around you.

Answer 5

Racism is something that goes beyond one incident and invokes a negative power from a history of oppression.

You may choose to define it by "a negative comment with a racial component", but that is a simplistic and naive definition that doesn't really capture why it's so bad, why we hate racism so much in this country and why crimes motivated by racism are punished more harshly than other similar crimes.

The true definition of racism, I think is when a comment or action echos an historical oppression of one group by another, therefore giving the action or comment more power to terrorize or subjugate."

That is why if a black person burns a shoebox on a white person's lawn it means nothing, but if a white person burns a cross on a black family's lawn it means an entirely different thing.

Answer 6

First of all, there is racism towards all races of the earth. But European history is taught to all students in America no matter what race they are so it's presence does not go unforseen. This this Caucasion club that you speak of, this means for white people only, right? Are you getting my point?

Answer 7

This brings to mind an incident that happened to me over the weekend. After a long night of drinking, some friends and i were having a bite to eat at a diner. One of our friends was very inebriated and was being kind of loud and obnoxious. He was saying to all the girls in the restaurant."hey, your hot" Then a group of back men came in ,and they were dressed up and were wearing suits,ties, and hats. My belligerent drunk friend calls out ' You guys look pimpin" " One of The black men took offense at this and we got kicked out of the restaurant. My question is ; would he have reacted the same way if a black youth said that? and would he have assumed a black youth was being disrespectful? obviously not. he based his opinion onus based on our race. so while our friend was being stupid , he was not being racist, and the black man was actually judging us on race.

Answer 8

I am increasingly uncomfortable with all the stuff aimed at particular ethnic groups. I think a good rule of thumb would be: If it sounds wrong to use 'white' in the same context - white culture, white history, white music etc. - then it's probably wrong to use any other ethnic group in the same context.

Answer 9

I hear you. I'd love to start the NAACP(National Association fot the Advancement of Caucasian People) but Jeese Jackson and all his hate spreading friends would freak.

Answer 10

schools have black student union, asian student union, indian student union, and so on, so they can come together united and rise up. a caucasian student union is seen as racist because whites have always been in power. the "white man" has always been holding down peoples from other ethnicities, take imperialism-white people have gone into india, africa, america, to expand their empire. doing this they have tried to stip these peoples culture and make them "white", put them in shackles and made into slaves, and kill and make the natives leave their native land. it is ****** UP.theres no doubt whites are the most hated race because of all the terrible things they have done in history. of course other races have been terrible as well, but it is constantly seen in whites over and over again throughout history, in many places.

Answer 11

Racism is a bitter fruit for any taste!