Why do most white people feel uncomfortable discussing racism?

Question

No one wants to be white when you talk about racism.Kind of like how no one wants to be a Catholic priest when you talk about molesting little boys.Do you agree with my observation or not?

Answer 1

I do. I think it is because we who are white have been told over and over and over again that race is a taboo topic for us to bring up. We are conditioned to not address race.

This seems to be something that has hurt more people of every race than has helped. If we had not been told it was a taboo topic, I believe we would have a bit less racism in the world.

Answer 2

There have been times I wished I weren't white, but most of my mentors were black. I do not think 'most white people' feel uncomfortable discussing racism. I don't agree with you on this. Check out Washington D.C. if you are white and find out for yourself what racism is really all about. I refuse to accept the guilt expected of me just because I'm white. As for molestation of little boys by priests I don't think it's a denominational situation and should be reported and I don't think that is racism either.

Answer 3

No. The Catholic priesthood given the chance would love to discuss this on an open honest forum so people would see how very few priests actually had this problem. They would see that it was less than 2% of the priesthood which is consistant with every walk of life's statistic. I wouldn't mind talking racism. I know it exists.

Answer 4

i think some people are taking the issue too deep. it would be a very ignorant person to call a white person or a black person racist for simply discussing race. i happen to be a white male, and i am a sophmore in a highschool where i am considered the "minority". of 250 students, 5 are white. in the two years ive been there race, as well as racism, has come up numerous times, sometimes daily. i have the utmost respect for my classmates, as i feel they have for me. i have continued to be myself reguardless of how anyone else acts. (for example, i dont speak in ebonics). the same goes for when the topic is race, i give my opinion exactly how i feel it, and im not nervous, scared, or uncomfortable.

Answer 5

I think you answered your question sort of! No one wants to be identified as a part of a group with an unpleasant image. I am pretty sure it is hard for most Arabs to them at the moment due to a sect of their stock of people are not doing such great things even though in their minds, they are just fighting for justice...Justice on which side of the coin?
Racism is still very much alive, power has never reached everyone and has been kept still by whites. These words i utter are not fighting words but merely observations of what I think and feel. A white person with the same qualification as someone with another race will always have the higher probability of getting hired. Relinquishing this power will drastically change the way this nation runs and I don't think anyone is ready for it.
On the side note, most race tend to behave as "victims" still. It is hard to behave any other way when you have not seen or lived any other way. Though we have come far from having slaves, we need to look hard in our own community (non-white) and see how we still behave, think and act like victims.
eeekkk. i think i poured my heart out on this one. please understand that non of my statements were meant to offend nor I claim that I know. This is my personal opinion. Thank you and One Love to all. xoxo!

Answer 6

Nah. You must run with a cheap crowd. The liberal affluent whites I know are very outspoken on the subject of racism. In fact, they are the sorts of people who, had they been old enough, would have marched in DC during the '60s for civil rights.

Maybe it's where you live, the people you know, or the TV you've been looking at. Rush Limbaugh isn't the whole white world, ya know.

Answer 7

Most?
Source, please. I doubt most people - white OR black are particularly uncomfortable discussing the subject.
Maybe it just seems that way because the subject has been beaten to death for so long and little is noticeably changed about it.
It is like Mark Twain's observation about the weather: Everybody talks about it but nobody does anything about it.

Answer 8

Define most. I'm white and I dont feel uncomfortable talking about racism. I think it exists in every part of society regardless of color. The majority of people I know, who are of a wide variety of races, talk about it openly. Maybe you just need to broaden your field of observation.

Answer 9

I'm white, male, and 52 years old. I don't mind discussing anything as long as we don't argue. Also, I don't want to be blamed for what happened before I was born. If you are open minded, can talk fact and not trash, I can exchange information with you. If you have a chip on your shoulder because of whatever happened, then don't talk to me.

FYI: My ancestors and the church I attend have been victims of hate and violence.

Answer 10

The reason no one wants to be white when the subject of racism comes up is that it is usually someone of another race slamming white people for being racist. The truth is that White people are generally more aware of themselves, and try harder not to be racist, than any other race of people. They have been forced into self-examination on a daily basis. The reason is that it seems to be allowable and acceptable for people of all other races to take pride in their histories and hold to their ancestral cultures, yet is looked upon badly for someone to be born white, something, I might add, that they had no more control over than a person who was born to oriental, hispanic or black families. It is unthinkable for a white person to take pride in themselves or their family's culture. It is looked upon badly if a white person does not act in accordance with the culture of other races, instead of their own. It is thought that they HAVE to be racist, if they do.

I think people should follow their own culture as they wish, and respect other's rights to follow their own cultures as they wish. Racism runs in all races, and it is a conscious act of will to not be so.

Hope this helps...