Why White People Don’t Like to Talk About Race

[miketx]

I know white crime is a problem but how many of your buddies here have chosen to talk about white on white crime?

You mean our pedigreed racist bunch??? LOL. They talk about white on white crime in this forum about as often as you talk about "black on black crime"...

Wrong is wrong.. It's too easy to approach systemic problems in society by declaring it to be a race issue every fucking time... It's a cop-out and VERY unproductive. Because a lot of the systemic issues could be fixed TOMORROW if we were all more unified politically and committed to focusing on the IMPORTANT stuff instead of making politics into a fucking combat sport....

AND -- there's be a lot more kumbaya and reconciliation when we did that.. But it would put you and your life's work of agitating (or if you like "community organizing") --- out of business...

When the issue was created by racism, that's what you say caused it. Being white the issue of race won't generally apply for you if we are in the same situation? Whites like you refuse to understand this. Why should I talk about black on black crime when you whites bring it up all the time. White on white crime is a major problem and whites aren't doing anything about it. I really get tired of your opinion. Because it's based on a racist set of assumptions. Why would what I do be agitating? Don't you think that the shit you believe is the true agitation? And what's more important than erasing racism? You can't understand that because you don't have to live with it. And your racist arrogance allows you to believe that everything must be done to the satisfaction of whites.

So let me be blunt. Your way doesn't work. We've tried it and whites like you refuse to work in unity. You need to drop your racist assumption that blacks like me only want to keep racism alive to earn an income. That belief is divisive and as long as whites exist with this attitude, there can be no unity. Last whites have been the aggravators in this country. To believe that blacks are agitating because we want complete capitalist equality is also divisive. You need to learn that white opinion is not the one and only authoritative opinion on how to resolve this issue. Because all whites like you have done every time we have tried to resolve this matter is find a different way of continuing the same thing.

 

[TheParser]

In my opinion, most Caucasians prefer not to discuss the topic of "race" because there is no value to doing so.

Since the 1960s, the current majority ethnicity has apologized for past discrimination toward people of color by instituting affirmative action in all areas. In 2008 there occurred the historic presidential election result.

I believe that the current majority ethnicity deserves a shoutout for doing everything possible to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

According to most demographic studies, Caucasians will soon become a minority.

Hopefully, the eventual new majority will continue to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

 

[miketx]

In my opinion, most Caucasians prefer not to discuss the topic of "race" because there is no value to doing so.

Since the 1960s, the current majority ethnicity has apologized for past discrimination toward people of color by instituting affirmative action in all areas. In 2008 there occurred the historic presidential election result.

I believe that the current majority ethnicity deserves a shoutout for doing everything possible to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

According to most demographic studies, Caucasians will soon become a minority.

Hopefully, the eventual new majority will continue to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

When a minority becomes a majority, oh how they hate a minority.

 

[IM2]

In my opinion, most Caucasians prefer not to discuss the topic of "race" because there is no value to doing so.

Since the 1960s, the current majority ethnicity has apologized for past discrimination toward people of color by instituting affirmative action in all areas. In 2008 there occurred the historic presidential election result.

I believe that the current majority ethnicity deserves a shoutout for doing everything possible to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

According to most demographic studies, Caucasians will soon become a minority.

Hopefully, the eventual new majority will continue to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

And that's the problem, your opinion. Affirmative action has benefitted white families because of the increased earning power of white women and the majority of whites did not vote for Obama in 2008. Seems that whites don't seriously want to talk about race. People like you want a pat on the back for passing laws to give us what we were supposed to have on 7-4-1776, in the 1960's, 190 years after all men were created equal and endowed with inalienable rights.

 

[miketx]

In my opinion, most Caucasians prefer not to discuss the topic of "race" because there is no value to doing so.

Since the 1960s, the current majority ethnicity has apologized for past discrimination toward people of color by instituting affirmative action in all areas. In 2008 there occurred the historic presidential election result.

I believe that the current majority ethnicity deserves a shoutout for doing everything possible to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

According to most demographic studies, Caucasians will soon become a minority.

Hopefully, the eventual new majority will continue to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

And that's the problem, your opinion. Affirmative action has benefitted white families because of the increased earning power of white women and the majority of whites did not vote for Obama in 2008. Seems that whites don't seriously want to talk about race. People like you want a pat on the back for passing laws to give us what we were supposed to have on 7-4-1776, in the 1960's, 190 years after all men were created equal and endowed with inalienable rights.

So if you've got what you are supposed to have, by your own admission, why don't you shut the fuck up?

 

[MizMolly]

In my opinion, most Caucasians prefer not to discuss the topic of "race" because there is no value to doing so.

Since the 1960s, the current majority ethnicity has apologized for past discrimination toward people of color by instituting affirmative action in all areas. In 2008 there occurred the historic presidential election result.

I believe that the current majority ethnicity deserves a shoutout for doing everything possible to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

According to most demographic studies, Caucasians will soon become a minority.

Hopefully, the eventual new majority will continue to ensure "justice and liberty for all."

And that's the problem, your opinion. Affirmative action has benefitted white families because of the increased earning power of white women and the majority of whites did not vote for Obama in 2008. Seems that whites don't seriously want to talk about race. People like you want a pat on the back for passing laws to give us what we were supposed to have on 7-4-1776, in the 1960's, 190 years after all men were created equal and endowed with inalienable rights.

Who wants a pat on the back? Also, you constantly bring up things that were happening way back before any of us were born, which is NOT happening today. You don't want to be happy with having equal rights with whites, you want more.

 

[IM2]

6 Ways Well-Intentioned People Whitesplain Racism (And Why They Need to Stop)

And unfortunately, just as frequently, I’ve had white people try to explain racism to me, a woman of color. There’s a word for this phenomenon, too –whitesplaining. It’s incredibly frustrating to share my experiences with racism, only to have a white person try to speak over me about it – and often by belittling how racism hurts me.

If you’re white, you may have whitesplained without realizing it.

Usually, signs of whitesplaining include a condescending tone and a paternalistic assumption that a person of color doesn’t know enough to accurately articulate their own experience.

The term doesn’t apply to every instance when a white person talks about racism. But whitesplaining is a result of the power white people hold as part of the dominant culture in the US. So recognizing when it’s happening is one of the everyday ways you can help dismantle the oppressive system of white supremacy.

Like with other forms of privileged explaining, including mansplaining, people who whitesplain have been conditioned to believe that they’re somehow more qualified to speak about a marginalized group than a person who belongs to that group.

That’s why there’s no equivalent like “blacksplaining.” When a Black person talks about race with a white person, they don’t have the same institutional power as a white person who belongs to the dominant culture.

And that’s the problem with whitesplaining. It’s not just harmlessly discussing racism, but implicitly acting on racist ideas that say that people of color are ignorant and wrong, even about their own experiences.

If you don’t believe whitesplaining is wrong, then you’re missing how the motivation behind whitesplaining is influenced by white supremacy. So let’s unpack the most common reasons why whitesplaining happens, to examine why it’s so misguided.

1. You Think I’ve Got a Fact Wrong (‘Actually…’)

For many people, it’s tempting to speak up when you encounter a fact you believe is wrong. Correcting someone seems pretty straight forward – so does it really relate to racism?

In certain cases, it does. And if you’re a white person talking with a person of color about racism, it’s best to keep this possibility in mind.

Because of white supremacy, many white people – especially white men, who are also influenced by patriarchy – have been conditioned to speak over other people and dominate spaces.

And then you might do one of the most irritating forms of whitesplaining – assuming a person of color just doesn’t understand what’s going on.

I’ve experienced this too many times when white folks believe they know more about what I’ve been through than I do – through secondhand information or just their own wild guesses.

3. You’re Concerned About My Approach (‘I Think What You Mean Is…’)

Whitesplainers are supposedly full of concern when they say I’d be better off, or a better advocate for racial justice, if I just said or did things differently.

For instance, have you ever felt the need to point out that a person of color was “generalizing” white people when they talked about racism?

Except there’s actually a problem with rushing to say that “not all white people” are part of the problem of white supremacy.

If I focused on reassuring every white person that they’re not personally responsible, then nobody would get the chance to examine how they might contribute – whether it’s by interrupting people of color, paying more attention to white folks who speak, or internalizing and benefiting from society’s messages that white people have more important things to say.

4. You Think You or Someone Else Is Being Falsely Accused (‘But I’m Not a Racist!’)

Speaking of derailments – when I’m talking about a racist act, I don’t have much interest in whether or not the person responsible is “a racist.”

If that sounds counterintuitive, then you could really use this clarification about addressing white supremacy: It’s not about identifying people as racists.

It’s also not about “bashing” white people – but you may interpret it that way if you’re feeling uncomfortable. And then you might whitesplain that people of color are “attacking” you for no reason.

When it comes to things like holding implicit biases and benefiting from white privilege, the question of whether or not someone is intentionally bigoted is completely irrelevant.

If you’re called out for racism and you take it as a personal attack on your character, you’re making the situation all about you – not the bigger picture of how all of us can take responsibility for our own role in white supremacy.

Your belief that someone “doesn’t have a racist bone in their body” can lead you to overlook the impact of what they’ve done and focus instead on their intentions.

Unfortunately, good people contribute to white supremacy every day – and if you can’t face the ways white supremacy influences your life, you’ll never be able to change it. That means you’ve got to stop focusing on your good nature and intentions, which has you prioritizing your feelings over people of color’s pain.

So rather than whitesplaining the why of insensitive actions, try stepping back and listening to what only a person of color could tell you – how the actual impact of racist actions affect them.

5. You Heard Another Person of Color Say Something Different (‘That’s Not What I Heard…’)

Listening to people of color is a great way to learn about racism. But please don’t just carry our quotes around like weapons to use against other marginalized folks.

Too many white people use this tactic to tell us that we’re wrong about racism – citing the Native friend who doesn’t mind cultural appropriation, or the Black celebrity who disagrees with Black Lives Matter protesters.

For instance, during Baltimore protests of the death of Freddie Gray, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer told activist DeRay McKesson, “I just want to hear you say there should be peaceful protests, not violent protests, in the tradition of Martin Luther King.”

Blitzer’s not the only one to take King’s words out of context to criticize police brutality protesters. This common trend shows exactly what’s wrong with using people of color’s words this way.

For one thing, Black people are not a monolith. We’re allowed to disagree. And your whiteness doesn’t grant you the authority to determine which one of us is right.

Because he advocated non-violent action, many people point to church-going, suit-wearing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a symbol of how Black folks “should” behave – conveniently forgetting that King was assassinated for his beliefs and leadership.

He actually says: “As long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.”

And if you actually listen to people of color instead of exploiting our words to confirm your own biases, you can learn a lot more about our diverse experiences.

6. You Want Me to Stop Talking About Racism (‘You’re Being So Divisive’)

Let’s face it – there are several excuses for whitesplaining, from hurt feelings to so-called “concern,” but many people who whitesplain do it simply because they don’t want me to talk about race.

“You’re being divisive.” “We should be uniting.” “There’s no such thing as race – we’re all human!”

Whitesplaining is particularly dangerous when it’s used to shut down conversation and action against racism.

Here’s the Key to Avoiding Whitesplaining

There’s one strategy that will help you figure it all out: Approach racial justice conversations with humility.

Because regardless of your intentions, whitesplaining has a damaging impact – silencing people of color, shutting down vital racial justice conversations, and often spreading misinformation.

So rather than upholding an oppressive lie that says people of color need white saviors in order to have reasonable conversations, have some humility. Recognize that you don’t have all the answers, and people of color deserve space to be heard without white people talking over us.

6 Ways Well-Intentioned People Whitesplain Racism (And Why They Need to Stop)

 

[Paul Essien]

I overheard a black kid talking to our school Councillor, Mrs Hall back in 1973 (COLE Jr high.)
how much He, the school bully, HATES whites...because ALL we whites, to quote the black bully, are racist. Right out side my school, back in day, we had "free huey" slogans all over the place. I was a big follower of Naom Chomsky. Not so much now...

Lets face it. A black person in 1973 would have had plenty of reasons to hate white ppl

 

[Dale Smith]

USMB is a fine example of this.

Why White People Don’t Like to Talk About Race
March 26, 2015 by Barnabas Piper

Most white people want no part of the conversation about race. We don’t want it with our baristas, our neighbors, our spouses, or anyone really. We don’t quite know what do each February during Black History Month. For most white people that’s Martin Luther King Jr. awareness month with a nod to Harriet Tubman and not much sense of any other aspect of black history or culture. The ongoing tensions surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and so many other incidents are more than most of us know what to do with (if we want anything to do with them at all).

Most of us grew up unaffected by the racial divide, or at least unaware of how it affected us. Now, though, the divide has been brought to us and we’re at a loss. We don’t want that conversation. We’re uncomfortable with it. Our responses tend to fall into two main groups.

Group 1: Don’t want to talk about race

This first group contains the bigots and racists. They don’t want to talk about race (or maybe they do for all the wrong reasons) because they want to be the only race. This bunch deserves a whole lot of ink, most of it not very pleasant, and none of it here. They are despicable products of unfortunate upbringings.

The majority of this group, though, is not outright bigoted. Instead they are outright ignorant and therefore subtly prejudiced. They are unexposed to minority cultures (not just black, but all non-white cultures) and unaware of the complexities, difficulties, and hurts there. Really most of white America is part of, or has been part of, this group. They are the comfortable majority, and thus they determine the status quo. Life is good, so why rock the boat? It’s not that they don’t “care” about the needs of others — you won’t find a more cause-oriented bunch of advocates than young, privileged white people — but those needs never really intersect with their lives at a personal and relational level. And they’re happy to keep it that way because any other way is uncomfortable and intimidating. It’s a passive aggressive approach to racial separation, and one most don’t even realize they’re participating in. Their ignorance is blindness they mistake for bliss.

Group 2: Don’t know how to talk about race

Why White People Don't Like to Talk About Race

Most here are not the blissfully ignorant. You are racists. Blacks here have been called all kinds of racist names and all kinds of overtly racist opinion has been spoken. Blissful ignorance is not why a thread about black names has been created at least 2 times sine I've actively started participating here. The same goes for other things.

Now watch the racism you will see from people who are going to complain. They never complain when a thread by a white person denigrating blacks is posted. Only when a thread about whites is made do they suddenly become colorblind.

You have a chip on your shoulder, nothing more or less. You admit freely that you believe that the tint of your skin is holding you back and you use it like a crutch and an excuse. What do you bring to the table besides bitching and moaning?

 

[IM2]

USMB is a fine example of this.

Why White People Don’t Like to Talk About Race
March 26, 2015 by Barnabas Piper

Most white people want no part of the conversation about race. We don’t want it with our baristas, our neighbors, our spouses, or anyone really. We don’t quite know what do each February during Black History Month. For most white people that’s Martin Luther King Jr. awareness month with a nod to Harriet Tubman and not much sense of any other aspect of black history or culture. The ongoing tensions surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and so many other incidents are more than most of us know what to do with (if we want anything to do with them at all).

Most of us grew up unaffected by the racial divide, or at least unaware of how it affected us. Now, though, the divide has been brought to us and we’re at a loss. We don’t want that conversation. We’re uncomfortable with it. Our responses tend to fall into two main groups.

Group 1: Don’t want to talk about race

This first group contains the bigots and racists. They don’t want to talk about race (or maybe they do for all the wrong reasons) because they want to be the only race. This bunch deserves a whole lot of ink, most of it not very pleasant, and none of it here. They are despicable products of unfortunate upbringings.

The majority of this group, though, is not outright bigoted. Instead they are outright ignorant and therefore subtly prejudiced. They are unexposed to minority cultures (not just black, but all non-white cultures) and unaware of the complexities, difficulties, and hurts there. Really most of white America is part of, or has been part of, this group. They are the comfortable majority, and thus they determine the status quo. Life is good, so why rock the boat? It’s not that they don’t “care” about the needs of others — you won’t find a more cause-oriented bunch of advocates than young, privileged white people — but those needs never really intersect with their lives at a personal and relational level. And they’re happy to keep it that way because any other way is uncomfortable and intimidating. It’s a passive aggressive approach to racial separation, and one most don’t even realize they’re participating in. Their ignorance is blindness they mistake for bliss.

Group 2: Don’t know how to talk about race

Why White People Don't Like to Talk About Race

Most here are not the blissfully ignorant. You are racists. Blacks here have been called all kinds of racist names and all kinds of overtly racist opinion has been spoken. Blissful ignorance is not why a thread about black names has been created at least 2 times sine I've actively started participating here. The same goes for other things.

Now watch the racism you will see from people who are going to complain. They never complain when a thread by a white person denigrating blacks is posted. Only when a thread about whites is made do they suddenly become colorblind.

You have a chip on your shoulder, nothing more or less. You admit freely that you believe that the tint of your skin is holding you back and you use it like a crutch and an excuse. What do you bring to the table besides bitching and moaning?

The only chip is yours son. I don't admit shit. I bring 243 years worth of evidence that supports my opinion. You only bring gaslighting and whitesplaning.

 

[Dale Smith]

USMB is a fine example of this.

Why White People Don’t Like to Talk About Race
March 26, 2015 by Barnabas Piper

Most white people want no part of the conversation about race. We don’t want it with our baristas, our neighbors, our spouses, or anyone really. We don’t quite know what do each February during Black History Month. For most white people that’s Martin Luther King Jr. awareness month with a nod to Harriet Tubman and not much sense of any other aspect of black history or culture. The ongoing tensions surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and so many other incidents are more than most of us know what to do with (if we want anything to do with them at all).

Most of us grew up unaffected by the racial divide, or at least unaware of how it affected us. Now, though, the divide has been brought to us and we’re at a loss. We don’t want that conversation. We’re uncomfortable with it. Our responses tend to fall into two main groups.

Group 1: Don’t want to talk about race

This first group contains the bigots and racists. They don’t want to talk about race (or maybe they do for all the wrong reasons) because they want to be the only race. This bunch deserves a whole lot of ink, most of it not very pleasant, and none of it here. They are despicable products of unfortunate upbringings.

The majority of this group, though, is not outright bigoted. Instead they are outright ignorant and therefore subtly prejudiced. They are unexposed to minority cultures (not just black, but all non-white cultures) and unaware of the complexities, difficulties, and hurts there. Really most of white America is part of, or has been part of, this group. They are the comfortable majority, and thus they determine the status quo. Life is good, so why rock the boat? It’s not that they don’t “care” about the needs of others — you won’t find a more cause-oriented bunch of advocates than young, privileged white people — but those needs never really intersect with their lives at a personal and relational level. And they’re happy to keep it that way because any other way is uncomfortable and intimidating. It’s a passive aggressive approach to racial separation, and one most don’t even realize they’re participating in. Their ignorance is blindness they mistake for bliss.

Group 2: Don’t know how to talk about race

Why White People Don't Like to Talk About Race

Most here are not the blissfully ignorant. You are racists. Blacks here have been called all kinds of racist names and all kinds of overtly racist opinion has been spoken. Blissful ignorance is not why a thread about black names has been created at least 2 times sine I've actively started participating here. The same goes for other things.

Now watch the racism you will see from people who are going to complain. They never complain when a thread by a white person denigrating blacks is posted. Only when a thread about whites is made do they suddenly become colorblind.

You have a chip on your shoulder, nothing more or less. You admit freely that you believe that the tint of your skin is holding you back and you use it like a crutch and an excuse. What do you bring to the table besides bitching and moaning?

The only chip is yours son. I don't admit shit. I bring 243 years worth of evidence that supports my opinion. You only bring gaslighting and whitesplaning.

I am only responsible for my conduct....just like you are for yours.You are ignorant by design and paint with a broad brush. Your are more to be pitied than scolded. You simply don't know any better.....

 

[IM2]

I find it funny how whites who whine about a government made to benefit them talk about somebody having a fucking chip on their shoulder. If I have a chip, it's justified. Being mad because you believe some dumb ass debunked conspiracy is not.

 

[IM2]

USMB is a fine example of this.

Why White People Don’t Like to Talk About Race
March 26, 2015 by Barnabas Piper

Most white people want no part of the conversation about race. We don’t want it with our baristas, our neighbors, our spouses, or anyone really. We don’t quite know what do each February during Black History Month. For most white people that’s Martin Luther King Jr. awareness month with a nod to Harriet Tubman and not much sense of any other aspect of black history or culture. The ongoing tensions surrounding the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and so many other incidents are more than most of us know what to do with (if we want anything to do with them at all).

Most of us grew up unaffected by the racial divide, or at least unaware of how it affected us. Now, though, the divide has been brought to us and we’re at a loss. We don’t want that conversation. We’re uncomfortable with it. Our responses tend to fall into two main groups.

Group 1: Don’t want to talk about race

This first group contains the bigots and racists. They don’t want to talk about race (or maybe they do for all the wrong reasons) because they want to be the only race. This bunch deserves a whole lot of ink, most of it not very pleasant, and none of it here. They are despicable products of unfortunate upbringings.

The majority of this group, though, is not outright bigoted. Instead they are outright ignorant and therefore subtly prejudiced. They are unexposed to minority cultures (not just black, but all non-white cultures) and unaware of the complexities, difficulties, and hurts there. Really most of white America is part of, or has been part of, this group. They are the comfortable majority, and thus they determine the status quo. Life is good, so why rock the boat? It’s not that they don’t “care” about the needs of others — you won’t find a more cause-oriented bunch of advocates than young, privileged white people — but those needs never really intersect with their lives at a personal and relational level. And they’re happy to keep it that way because any other way is uncomfortable and intimidating. It’s a passive aggressive approach to racial separation, and one most don’t even realize they’re participating in. Their ignorance is blindness they mistake for bliss.

Group 2: Don’t know how to talk about race

Why White People Don't Like to Talk About Race

Most here are not the blissfully ignorant. You are racists. Blacks here have been called all kinds of racist names and all kinds of overtly racist opinion has been spoken. Blissful ignorance is not why a thread about black names has been created at least 2 times sine I've actively started participating here. The same goes for other things.

Now watch the racism you will see from people who are going to complain. They never complain when a thread by a white person denigrating blacks is posted. Only when a thread about whites is made do they suddenly become colorblind.

You have a chip on your shoulder, nothing more or less. You admit freely that you believe that the tint of your skin is holding you back and you use it like a crutch and an excuse. What do you bring to the table besides bitching and moaning?

The only chip is yours son. I don't admit shit. I bring 243 years worth of evidence that supports my opinion. You only bring gaslighting and whitesplaning.

I am only responsible for my conduct....just like you are for yours.You are ignorant by design and paint with a broad brush. Your are more to be pitied than scolded. You simply don't know any better.....

Fuck that broad brush bullshit. Racism refers to conduct and that conduct includes creating and initiating law and policy. I pity you because you're suffering from psychosis and should seek help. You're too dumb to realize just how ignorant you sound.

 

[Gracie]

There are way too many IM2's running around crying great scalding tears and not enough Candace Owens/Ben Carsons/Sheriff Clarks/Henry Gates Jrs/etc who made something of themselves and don't live in the past blaming white people for their failures..probably because they are far from failures but to the IM2's, they are uncle toms. This in itself shows just how sad it must be to be such a loser like IM2.

 

[IM2]

Dale Smith the debt slave has just done whitesplaning number 3.

3. You’re Concerned About My Approach (‘I Think What You Mean Is…’)

Whitesplainers are supposedly full of concern when they say I’d be better off, or a better advocate for racial justice, if I just said or did things differently.

For instance, have you ever felt the need to point out that a person of color was “generalizing” white people when they talked about racism?

If I say, “White people talk over me,” you might jump in with: “Not all white people. More people would listen to you if you didn’t generalize.”

And sure, I could amend my statement to: “Some white people talk over me. But not all of them. I know white people who don’t talk over me at all. And I’m sure the ones who do it don’t realize what they’re doing, and they don’t mean to be racist.”

Except there’s actually a problem with rushing to say that “not all white people” are part of the problem of white supremacy.

If I focused on reassuring every white person that they’re not personally responsible, then nobody would get the chance to examine how they might contribute – whether it’s by interrupting people of color, paying more attention to white folks who speak, or internalizing and benefiting from society’s messages that white people have more important things to say.

It’s true that not every white person speaks over people of color – but blaming all white people for this phenomenon isn’t even the purpose of what I’m saying. If you don’t derail me to focus on protecting white people’s feelings, we could get to the real point of the problem – and what to do about it.

 

[IM2]

There are way too many IM2's running around crying great scalding tears and not enough Candace Owens/Ben Carsons/Sheriff Clarks/Henry Gates Jrs/etc who made something of themselves and don't live in the past blaming white people for their failures..probably because they are far from failures but to the IM2's, they are uncle toms. This in itself shows just how sad it must be to be such a loser like IM2.

And here we have a member of the group who has benefited the most from affirmative action performing whitesplaning number 5.

5. You Heard Another Person of Color Say Something Different (‘That’s Not What I Heard…’)

Listening to people of color is a great way to learn about racism. But please don’t just carry our quotes around like weapons to use against other marginalized folks.

Too many white people use this tactic to tell us that we’re wrong about racism – citing the Native friend who doesn’t mind cultural appropriation, or the Black celebrity who disagrees with Black Lives Matter protesters.

For instance, during Baltimore protests of the death of Freddie Gray, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer told activist DeRay McKesson, “I just want to hear you say there should be peaceful protests, not violent protests, in the tradition of Martin Luther King.”

Blitzer’s not the only one to take King’s words out of context to criticize police brutality protesters. This common trend shows exactly what’s wrong with using people of color’s words this way.

For one thing, Black people are not a monolith. We’re allowed to disagree. And your whiteness doesn’t grant you the authority to determine which one of us is right.

Because he advocated non-violent action, many people point to church-going, suit-wearing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a symbol of how Black folks “should” behave – conveniently forgetting that King was assassinated for his beliefs and leadership.

He actually says: “As long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.”

And if you actually listen to people of color instead of exploiting our words to confirm your own biases, you can learn a lot more about our diverse experiences.

6 Ways Well-Intentioned People Whitesplain Racism (And Why They Need to Stop)

This isn't about living in the past white woman.

On February 28, 2018, Richard Rothstein of the Economic Policy Institute, wrote an op ed published in the New York Daily News entitled, “50 years after the Kerner Commission, minimal racial progress”. The Kerner Commission met in 1968 and made recommendation on how to move toward racial progress. It had been 50 years since the commission made those recommendations yet Rothstein makes this statement: “So little has changed since 1968 that the report remains worth reading as a near-contemporary description of racial inequality”.

I've been more materially sucessful than you. I did not marry into upward mobility like you have done. I've successfully helped build 3 organizations, by any means I have made something out of myself by human standards. But there is a spiritual standard I must reach for true success. And bearing false witness about how racism by whites doesn't exist is not going to help me achieve the only real measure of success, that would be admission into heaven. So when you can do this:

Prove when racism ended and its effects were allayed. Show, with data and peer-reviewed studies supporting your argument, when the effects of the hundreds of years of anti-Black racism from chattel slavery through Old Jim Crow leveled off. Show when the wealth expropriated during that oppression was repaid to those it was expropriated from and through. And remember, after you’ve addressed the end of anti-Black racism you’ll still have to explain when anti-Latinx, anti-Asian, anti-Arab, and anti-Native racism came to an end as well.

I'll stop talking about white racism.

 

[IM2]

Racist whites always tout blacks with internalized racism as examples for us to emulate. That's why they love people like Candice Owens, Ben Carson or Convict Sheriff Clarke. Such is why they tell blacks like about living in the past, then quote Booker T. Washington.

“The Boondocks” is an animated TV show about a black grandfather who was charged to take care of his 2 grandchildren. One of the characters in the show was a blue-collar black man named Uncle Ruckus. Uncle Ruckus held white supremacist views and despised everything about being black. In fact, he disliked being black so much, that he claimed to be Caucasian. Uncle Ruckus is an example of a person with internalized racism. Internalized racism is defined as the "internalization of racial oppression by the racially subordinated." In a study named “The Psychology of Racism”, Robin Nicole Johnson points out that internalized racism entails both "conscious and unconscious acceptance of a racial hierarchy in which whites are consistently ranked above people of color." Blacks who suffer from internalized racism believe and promote negative stereotypes of their own race. They will adopt white standards and thinking. Doing these things mentally lets them deny that racism exists.

Internalized racism reinforces racism. Internalized racism keeps racism alive. It creates a justification for racism. This acceptance of white supremacy as the norm leads to conclusions that racism is not a problem, or that it does not exist. As this happens, people in racially oppressed groups internalize the validity of their own oppression. Because they have done so they find no reason to question or fight the system.

These types will argue how racism would be no problem if blacks had fewer fatherless children, or that drug use and how a violent criminal culture exist in these communities but can never explain why unless they recite a white centered explanation that comes from a place with no practical understanding of what it is to be black in America. They refuse to argue the implications of racist policies and the damage these policies have created because to do so will not be acceptable in the social circles they desire approval from. This explains a number of blacks who have been allowed into the national discourse on race who are primarily conservatives. These are people who have achieved great success and can make real changes relative to erasing the stain of white racism from this system. But they do not.

These individuals are only accepted by certain groups in the dominant culture because their views can be used to validate white racism. These people are doing far more harm than good to both the black community and to general society. This is the reason why allowing such individuals prominence is so distasteful. They are conferred that status by the dominant culture for it’s own purposes. Internalized racism is a divide and conquer tactic used to create conflicts within and between racially subordinate groups to suppress all attempts at a united effort to combat racism.

 

[Unkotare]

These threads always turn into endlessly repetitive, pointless self-indulgence. You racists (all of you, from all sides) are tremendous bores.

 

[IM2]

There are no racists on both sides. This stupidity of calling people racists for opposing racism is what's boring.

 

[Correll]

Dale Smith the debt slave has just done whitesplaning number 3.

3. You’re Concerned About My Approach (‘I Think What You Mean Is…’)

Whitesplainers are supposedly full of concern when they say I’d be better off, or a better advocate for racial justice, if I just said or did things differently.

For instance, have you ever felt the need to point out that a person of color was “generalizing” white people when they talked about racism?

If I say, “White people talk over me,” you might jump in with: “Not all white people. More people would listen to you if you didn’t generalize.”

And sure, I could amend my statement to: “Some white people talk over me. But not all of them. I know white people who don’t talk over me at all. And I’m sure the ones who do it don’t realize what they’re doing, and they don’t mean to be racist.”

Except there’s actually a problem with rushing to say that “not all white people” are part of the problem of white supremacy.

If I focused on reassuring every white person that they’re not personally responsible, then nobody would get the chance to examine how they might contribute – whether it’s by interrupting people of color, paying more attention to white folks who speak, or internalizing and benefiting from society’s messages that white people have more important things to say.

It’s true that not every white person speaks over people of color – but blaming all white people for this phenomenon isn’t even the purpose of what I’m saying. If you don’t derail me to focus on protecting white people’s feelings, we could get to the real point of the problem – and what to do about it.

When "we" point out a flaw in your argument or logic, the point is that your argument or logic is thus wrong.


Your pretense that it is about our "Feelings" is your way of avoiding thinking about that.