tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post3489812693773733628..comments2024-03-06T08:29:13.333-08:00Comments on stuff white people do: wish they were "ethnic"macon dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-69060118300806476882013-08-01T17:36:00.948-07:002013-08-01T17:36:00.948-07:00Embedded in a POC's experience is a greater af...Embedded in a POC's experience is a greater affinity to identify and gather inspiration from the family unit, traditions, religion, stories/legends, ancient principles, values, beliefs, and honor. Seemingly, "white" culture or those American subscribers of the "I wish I were ethnic" mentality, have not been nurtured to value similar sources of strength. Instead they have derived their sense of identity and meaning from their independence and freedom to absorb their surroundings as if a tourist benefiting solely from the experience without commitment. What differentiates POC from these American culture subscribers, is their indifference to embrace and commit to their unlearned history with a deep sense of collective pride.<br /><br />Further reading: http://www.colorq.org/articles/article.aspx?d=2001&x=racelessAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04211694243686015210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-30873205621750918062012-07-17T22:53:38.459-07:002012-07-17T22:53:38.459-07:00I know this is an old post, but I'd like to co...I know this is an old post, but I'd like to comment (and I haven't read all 100 other posts, so I'm not sure if anyone else wrote something similar to what I am about to write.)<br /><br />I am a white American, and I admit that at times I have had the same "I wish I were ethnic" thought. You (author of this post) hit the nail on the head when you said that this boils down to whites wishing they had culture. I also understand where you're coming from when you say that this is loaded with privilege, but I partially disagree on that point.<br /><br />The fact of the matter is in this day and age, with the diversity movement and affirmative action, white is viewed as the "absence of other," and the "absence of difference." Time and again I encounter situations in which whites are assumed to have nothing interesting to bring to the table. Non-whites automatically bring some sort of unusual perspective to the table, while whites do not. Non-whites have interesting cultural backgrounds, whites do not. (My work has been at elite universities and an elite boarding school, so I am very aware of what is going on in the world of education in regard to this matter.)<br /><br />The celebration of "difference" in schools and universities and even the corporate world has gone so far that whites (particularly younger people) can genuinely feel as if they are literally "culture-less," (while of course being "culture-less" is not truly possible.)<br /><br />One might say that this doesn't matter - for centuries whites were considered to be the only ones with a valid perspective, so this change is overdue. But, it's gone too far, and any American under the age of 40 or so will have been educated in and grown up in an era in which they were considered "boring." <br /><br />It doesn't have to be this way. We can be inclusive by being, well, inclusive. Celebrate other backgrounds, while also celebrating the backgrounds of whites - because we DO have cultural/ethnic backgrounds, but it's not currently P.C. to celebrate them. And, it's not acceptable to express the idea that this is unfair in any way. After all, WE are the oppressors! Yet, a generation of people have grown up with little pride in or understanding of their own cultural backgrounds. <br /><br />As far as your coworker ignoring your whiteness... a similar sort of thing can happen to people who are of mixed race or ethnicity but look white. I'm actually partly Portuguese and my grandmother was a first generation American. (Unfortunately she and my other Portuguese relatives are now deceased so I do not have a strong tie to the Portuguese culture in the U.S..) In any case, I am also partially Irish, and I look very Irish. My Portuguese relatives including my father had darker skin, black hair, and brown eyes. I have light skin with freckles, blue eyes, and very light brownish red hair. Purely on looks alone, people assume I'm "just white" and that I therefore have no interesting perspective to bring to the table.<br /><br />One other comment... it may be that people feel we shouldn't celebrate our own white history because for so long whites have been aggressors and oppressors. Yet, it is interesting that ANYTHING ELSE - as long as it's not white - is considered worthy of celebration. This completely ignores atrocities which have occurred at the hands of people of other ethnicities throughout the world. We're no better and no worse than most other people on this earth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-33269068239509307642010-12-20T09:44:50.079-08:002010-12-20T09:44:50.079-08:00Don't feel shame for being white. Truly. Feel ...Don't feel shame for being white. Truly. Feel shame for what is being done everyday to black and brown peoples worldwide. I am only partially white and feel shame over the deeds of my ancestors, I feel shame that one of my Gr. Grandfathers raped my great grandmother, leaving a giant hole in the paternity of part of my family tree. <br /><br />But we are here, all we can do is stop the poor treatment of others, stop the cycle of abuse and oppression and theft. Stop the lying and divisions, look at how divisive and racialist some of our politicians are, look at how a man threw away an 18 year military career for what?<br /><br />Be better than those behind you, better than those around and grace will come.Lihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07035985503863087816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-23696101896642694422010-12-15T18:15:41.774-08:002010-12-15T18:15:41.774-08:00No, you don't understand. We understand the pr...No, you don't understand. We understand the privilege of being white in a white society, but we feel GUILTY about that fact.<br /><br />We know that being white is easy and comfortable, and questioning it may seem like we are ignorant, and don't value how good we have it. But we question it because we know that it is wrong as well.<br /><br /> Whites have the easiest existence because the white man has stayed on the top of the pile by committing evil, genocidal acts and exploiting his brothers. He did not help them grow, they did not work together to better the entire human family. He just massacred them and beaten them and now he's on top. <br /><br />White people, who are well-read enough in the field of history, will feel guilt for being part of a race that has blood on its hands. It is only a matter of time before the white family gets its comeuppance, and is persecuted for its evil. The poor deported to other nationalities, and the rich hung for war crimes... <br /><br />Some people, like me, feel shame for being white, knowing that if his Last name continues to be a white-only bloodline, it will end, many generations later, in its violent dissimilation. It is evil. escape it.<br /><br />I am fine with being white, I do not necessarily wish to be another race, but i will restore grace to my family name by sharing my gene pool only with other ethnicities. separate the evil and outbreed it from the Family Name's original, pure ancestry. Go back to morality and may it have a blessed new future.テリバル ヴァイブレシオンhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10791388092748447183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-75583385370736819062010-11-19T05:38:24.759-08:002010-11-19T05:38:24.759-08:00I think this is a massive case of ignorance, it...I think this is a massive case of ignorance, it's also sad since there's no real reason to treat other cultures as playtoys (something that is very racist in my opinion) seeing as Europe has a wealth of culture to draw upon. "Exotic" garb such as turbans and so on have been worn by both Muslim and non-Muslim Europeans (including Christian Cossacks and Stratioti who fought the Ottoman empire). While it's silly for one's cultural identity to consist of only playing dress up there is no shame in wanting to wear an exotic outfit, you can do it without being a racist, look at neo-Victorians for example. So any "white" person putting on sari or a Native American outfit is displaying a massive ignorance of history and laziness (it isn't difficult to research your ethnic roots) in addition to racism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-9445193665352727582010-09-08T19:31:41.578-07:002010-09-08T19:31:41.578-07:00ktb you should get a dna test I recommend 23andme....ktb you should get a dna test I recommend 23andme.com or dnatribes.com ,you look more 'mixed' than me and i'm mixed race.But it could just be your phenotype.<br /><br />White people do not want to be 'ethnic' believe you me ,its just a courtsey they say in condescension usually.There is nothing they prize higher than their whiteness,quite unconsciously I might add and ingrained.<br /><br />My father and I look fairly white,can pass as white and when people realise we have black ancestry they are aghast or deny it,the same denial if you show them someone like the quadroon maya fahey et al because if we can look white and have black ancestry their own whiteness is suspect and less special.<br /><br />P.s Your average european autosomally [genomically] is abt 8-11% indian[india],2-5% middle eastern and your 'colonials' are a little different,scandinavians/east euros usually have higher east asian admixture for obvious reasons [mongol invasions,ancient siberian/uralic strains],the portuguese and southern europeans showing less asian admixture but more middle eastern/east african admixture.Katiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11904846034023608389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-73028543654148590572010-02-18T16:14:45.866-08:002010-02-18T16:14:45.866-08:00Very interesting comments on here...I would love t...Very interesting comments on here...I would love to get together with a bunch of you to discuss this stuff even (I'm in NYC if that means anything)<br />I'm white, with immigrant grandparents so I relate to what many of you are saying. I get that question "what are you?" all the time, I think it is what people do in diverse cities...and I agree with people on here that said it is really annoying, and I think they were talking in the context of being a "minority" and getting that question from a white person. Frankly I don't care what someone's ancestry is, I don't ask that question, and don't understand why people are so obsessed with it. And you are right (to the person who said this already) it almost sounds like being asked "what species are you?"...Or the best is "What nationality are you"? I hear this often, I don't even understand it? My passport says Nationality: U.S.A. Nationality means what country you are a citizen of, it has nothing to do with race/ethnicity. Anyway, I am just impressed with this blog. You all have very interesting stories and points of few. Speaking as a white person, I feel that many white Americans are degrading themselves with this whole "white culture is bland or whatever argument"...I'm not sure where all that comes from, I think much of does come from others, the media, etc. so you tend to internalize what you keep hearing, but still, and I am very interested in it. I think nowadays for whatever reason, it is very popular to be anti-American, so that is probably part of it. Many immigrants (of all races) don't seem to want to take on an American identity. People want to disassociate with being American. Another problem that white Americans have is that anytime you talk about being proud to be white or whatever, you end up being associated with Nazis and skinheads. So its hard to say you have a culture, and then to be proud of it in that circumstance. Also, this whole multicultural ideology that has become popular in recent decades - has come after most white people's immigrant families had arrived here, and assimilated to being just Americans. So now white people see other immigrants that are not assimilating the way their family did and feel like they are missing out on something? Much of this stuff is just a result of historical circumstances.dannynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-39936245096387537202010-01-26T16:16:57.541-08:002010-01-26T16:16:57.541-08:00I'm born and raised in Alaska and my father is...I'm born and raised in Alaska and my father is 100% Kalmyk Mongolian and my mother is 100% American. Every time I'm Mongolian, two things happen.<br />1) My mom gets mad at me and says "You're also 1/2 American!"<br /><br />2) Everyone else goes "Like the beef? Mongolian beef?"<br /><br />I get so sick of that response that I almost don't answer people when they ask. The truth is, Kalmyk Mongolians have been physically separated from the rest of Mongolia since the 17th Century.<br /><br />Also, in Alaska, there is much stereotypes and discrimination towards Native Alaskans--be it their accent, their culture, or the village they're from. Many people think that I am native, so I get it both ways.<br /><br />My dad, although he is Kalmyk Mongolian, could pass for Mexican, Australian, Russian, German...basically anything. Which leads me to believe that all cultures feed from one another, so why do we make such a big deal of our skin color or race? Don't get me wrong, I am very proud to be Kalmyk Mongolian and will stop for anyone willing to hear my family's story, but their response can be so futile that I lack the inspiration, the next time the opportunity comes along, to enlighten them of my history.cxlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-3136329985722729832010-01-15T06:04:33.631-08:002010-01-15T06:04:33.631-08:00Holly Jane,
Have you seen this wonderful resource...Holly Jane,<br /><br />Have you seen <a href="http://www.derailingfordummies.com/" rel="nofollow">this wonderful resource</a>? I think the section entitled "You're being hostile" is especially good 101 reading for you. And yeah, as A. Smith said, this entire comment section as well.macon dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-81698087328660476802010-01-15T05:28:09.649-08:002010-01-15T05:28:09.649-08:00@ A.Smith
Forgive me, I didn't realise that i...@ A.Smith<br /><br />Forgive me, I didn't realise that it was one rule for you and another for me. I will mind my tone in future, will you?Holly Jane Elizabethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-31867108465281904482010-01-14T19:13:21.324-08:002010-01-14T19:13:21.324-08:00Holly Jane, it looks like you didn't read this...Holly Jane, it looks like you didn't read this comment section. You should.<br /><br />It also appears, based on this lackluster response, you've never commented here before or read previous comments. You DEFINITELY should.<br /><br />I'll give you this one freebie: It is NOT a compliment and as a black woman, there's no rule that says I should take it as one. I will not be proud and you should watch your tone.A.Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10542810587986768786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-80061452869141271372010-01-14T14:06:40.536-08:002010-01-14T14:06:40.536-08:00"White People".
Therein your problems li..."White People".<br />Therein your problems lie. You're looking for the culture of a mass colour.<br />Would you ever try pinning down "Black" culture? Or maybe "Brown" culture?<br />Who are you categorising as "White?" Is it just europeans who are counted? Just americans? Or is it everyone of that colour? Do you expect people of South Africa to have the same cultural heritage as those from France simply because they share the same pigmentation?<br />I am a White British Woman - half English, half Scottish. I have Haggis. I have Bonfire Night. I have Rabbie Burns and lochs and I have Old Kent Road pie and mash and the British pub. Would you expect any of that to be a tradition or cultural aspect for a white Swedish person?<br /><br />I won't go into your ridiculous assumption that people of other ethnicities are the only people who have ever endured oppression or suffering. Jews in the Holocaust were white. Christians in the coloseum were white. Farmers who's livelihood has been raized to the ground by Mugabe in Zimbabwe are white.<br /><br />It is ignorance and these ridiculous feelings of martyrdom that perpetuate the supposed isolation of one nationality from another.<br /><br />Be proud that someone respects your culture enough to make such a remark.Holly Jane Elizabethnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-40934629523839379432010-01-09T20:56:45.850-08:002010-01-09T20:56:45.850-08:00this thread is very intresting..I dont think your ...this thread is very intresting..I dont think your digging to far. But what is surprising to me is whites have a huge history and culture we are taught it everyday in school..As a culture(a practiced ritual passed down in generations) they have, stolen land and profitable things, created wars with almost every other culture in the world they have slavery, and the genocide of jews and native americans to be proud of..what do u mean no culture..?smuckeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-83761334436305013102010-01-04T09:06:19.544-08:002010-01-04T09:06:19.544-08:00@ macon
Yeah, I agree. It's funny, because I ...@ macon <br />Yeah, I agree. It's funny, because I know this guy whose background is Italian, and who refuses to acknowledge that he benefits from white privilege (not to mention class and gender privilege too), and I've made the same point that you and Willow have made in arguments with him.Marissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01452790690995074805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-3185997287211185282010-01-04T08:47:25.083-08:002010-01-04T08:47:25.083-08:00@ Willow:
The link you provided didn't work. ...@ Willow:<br /><br />The link you provided didn't work. Also,<br /><br /><i>You and I may identify as "white ethnic," but we have white privilege. To suggest otherwise is an attempt to deny our complicitness with and responsibility for racism.</i><br /><br />I agree, and I'm not arguing with that. Upon reflection, and in light of this, I guess the point I was making (trying to make?) is pretty inconsequential. I'm thinking it over, and trying to salvage something from my previous post... and, yeah, not getting anything. A lot of people have difficulty reconciling the notion that they are privileged in some way with their identity.Marissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01452790690995074805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-43904549972235821422010-01-04T08:37:09.037-08:002010-01-04T08:37:09.037-08:00Thanks for the link, Willow, but it works better h...Thanks for the link, Willow, but it works better <a href="http://stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/2009/10/shuttle-ambivalently-between-whiteness.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>.<br /><br />Marissa wrote,<br /><br /><i>it's not simply about avoiding responsibility and assuaging guilt. If you identify as an specific ethnicity, you have a cultural history that you identify with. Overcoming hardship is likely part of that history. Often that hardship was created by other groups of whites. So if you told an Irish-American whose family immigrated because of the famine that they are part of a culture that has historically oppressed others and need to own their responsibility and accountability for that... it probably wouldn't go over that well.</i><br /><br />True, but just because it wouldn't go over very well doesn't mean it's wrong, nor that you shouldn't still say it.<br /><br /><i>Certain groups of whites have legitimate reasons for not identifying with the history of the oppressors . . . . white people don't necessarily assert their ethnic identity because they can't deal with the responsibility for historical racial oppression - viewing the world through the lens of their ethnic identity, they are among the historically oppressed people, and it is offensive to them to countenance identifying with the oppressor.</i><br /><br />I agree that some white people assert their family background/ethnic history for reasons other than shirking acknowledgment and responsibility for their current white privilege, but they almost never foreground and actively deal with both their erased ethnicity and their current white privilege at the same time, do they? <br /><br />Yes, their ancestors may have been oppressed in terms of "race" (Irish immigrants were sometimes referred to as "blacks," and so on) and ethnicity, <i>but they got over it dropping markers of their ethnicity and by embracing whiteness</i>. And they did that at the expense of, and in direct, conscious opposition to, the people who couldn't, especially the people who stayed "black" because they had no other choice.<br /><br />When today's white Americans with tangible backgrounds in oppressed ethnicity "view the world through the lens of their ethnic identity," and then see themselves as being "among the historically oppressed people," it may well be, as you wrote, "offensive to them to countenance identifying with the oppressor." But, if they don't identify with the oppressor, then they're denying that they have become the oppressor.macon dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07795547197817128339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-74646784277414157022010-01-04T06:06:38.229-08:002010-01-04T06:06:38.229-08:00Marissa, please read this post.
Also, I cannot re...Marissa, please read <a href="http://www.stuffwhitepeopledo.blogspot.com/2009/10/shuttle-ambivalently-between-whiteness" rel="nofollow">this post</a>.<br /><br />Also, I cannot recommend enough the book <i>How the Jews Became White and What That Says about Race in America</i>.<br /><br />Or, short form: Commie Bastard is right. You and I may identify as "white ethnic," but <i>we have white privilege</i>. To suggest otherwise is an attempt to deny our complicitness with and responsibility for racism.Willownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-27619123997051752872010-01-03T23:54:57.225-08:002010-01-03T23:54:57.225-08:00So, is nobody willing to touch Commie Bastard'...<i>So, is nobody willing to touch Commie Bastard's quote?<br /><br /><b>When white [people] see how [they] have historically oppressed others... they often want to dissociate themselves from their whiteness. They do this by opting to “become [ethnic].” In this way, they can escape responsibility and accountability for white racism.</b></i><br /><br />As a white person who identifies as "ethnic" - ie. not WASP - I have some issues with this. I agree that white people raise their ethnicity to dissociate themselves from the historical acts of other groups of whites (ignoring the fact that they are currently benefiting from the effects of that history) or to derail any discussion of the oppression of POC, by turning it into the oppression Olympics.<br /><br />But it's not simply about avoiding responsibility and assuaging guilt. If you identify as an specific ethnicity, you have a cultural history that you identify with. Overcoming hardship is likely part of that history. Often that hardship was created by other groups of whites. So if you told an Irish-American whose family immigrated because of the famine that they are part of a culture that has historically oppressed others and need to own their responsibility and accountability for that... it probably wouldn't go over that well. Certain groups of whites have legitimate reasons for not identifying with the history of the oppressors, because it hides the fact that those groups of whites were also oppressed. And that's not just the oppression olympics, that's the heart of someone's ethnic identity (which may be very central to who they are as a person) because it assimilates one's culture into the very culture of its historical oppressor. <br /><br />I'm afraid that what I'm saying basically boils down to a tone argument, because the ultimate point is that there's a difference between asking someone to take ownership of history and asking someone to recognize that they are now, currently, benefiting from historical wrongs. The intended result may not be different, but the meaning is very different. And also that white people don't necessarily assert their ethnic identity because they can't deal with the responsibility for historical racial oppression - viewing the world through the lens of their ethnic identity, they are among the historically oppressed people, and it is offensive to them to countenance identifying with the oppressor.Marissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01452790690995074805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-62274261957049487672010-01-01T16:48:02.419-08:002010-01-01T16:48:02.419-08:00So, is nobody willing to touch Commie Bastard'...So, is nobody willing to touch Commie Bastard's quote?<br /><br /><i><b>When white [people] see how [they] have historically oppressed others... they often want to dissociate themselves from their whiteness. They do this by opting to “become [ethnic].” In this way, they can escape responsibility and accountability for white racism.</b></i><br /><br />I've been thinking about (American) white culture a <b><i>lot</i></b> lately— specifically, the insistence that it doesn't exist— and I keep coming back to the same place: the defining aspect of white culture is white privilege. There's just no way around this. (Well, there is one way, and it's the next most defining aspect of white culture— the inability to directly see white privilege.) This wishing they were "ethnic" is about refusing to own that culture, which is one of creating, maintaining, striving for, and benefitting from white privilege.<br /><br />What's amazing is how universally entrenched this "no such thing as WC" idea is, to the point where someone will casually mention white culture, get "called" on it, and end up agreeing that there's no such thing, <i>even though they were just talking/thinking about it 10 seconds ago!!</i> [WP use an incredible technique here that I call the "well, describe it then!" attack, which works in a way that is so subtle, I don't even think the WP deploying it are aware of what they're doing. And it is <i>super-effective.</i> I've become fascinated by it ever since I noticed it for what it is. It's seriously worth its own SWPD post.] Witness as they get even POC to join in actively espousing their white-guilt-assuaging party line! It's madness; it's psychotic. <br /><br />I've resolved to quit agreeing to this. We all know what white culture is (including Glenn Beck)— until it's addressed directly. The truth of what white culture is, is like a gaping hole in the floor that WP (and thus, a good chunk of everyone else) pretend isn't there and never look at or talk about, <i>but somehow manage not to fall into.</i> I couldn't see it clearly myself until very very recently. I was right there, agreeing that I was "unable" to come up with any examples. Bullshit! It is an "SEP," à la Douglas Adams. A cultivated mass delusion. And as soon as you acknowledge it, all of the arguments— describe it then; it surrounds us so it's invisible; it's not white culture it's <i>American</i> culture— they just fall apart. It is a seriously red pill. <br /><br />And you know what? I get it.<br />It's not like I'm going "gosh, why won't WP embrace their sickeningly racist culture??" It's ugly. I honestly do not know how they're supposed to deal with it. But then I realized <b>that's not my problem.</b>karinovanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-46389424953928210962009-12-30T21:36:06.239-08:002009-12-30T21:36:06.239-08:00@NancyP
Ummm... okay.@NancyP<br /><br />Ummm... okay.poi dougnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-4816725161692431212009-12-30T21:24:10.117-08:002009-12-30T21:24:10.117-08:00We all need some roots, either in our immediate fa...We all need some roots, either in our immediate family ancestors or in our natal or adopted communities. I personally feel very slightly rootless because I am adopted, but I have learned about family stories, about late 19th - early 20th century Sweden (one side of the family), about distant relatives involved in radical politics in the 1920s (one was a co-founder of New York Civil Liberties Union). That's enough ethnicity for me. Current normative white culture is bland, but individual white people and their families have interesting histories - ALL people have interesting histories.<br /><br />I have been known to wish that I had musical talent....NancyPnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-46454577185467183882009-12-28T08:05:54.905-08:002009-12-28T08:05:54.905-08:00Izumi, Great post.
hops- Uh, YES. When I got to ...Izumi, Great post. <br /><br />hops- Uh, YES. When I got to America, I had just moved from Japan, and I got a lot of "Do they have cars in Japan?" and "Wow, you learned English fast!" In addition to but you don't look Japanese..." (I am ethnically 100% Ghanaian...or is Ghanaian not an ethnicity?)<br /><br />But yeah, I see this idea of "I wish I had __________ [some characteristic that whites don't have that while has been a gigantic source of contention for us POC as a result of the ignorance of white people]" as being incredibly patronizing as other people have mentioned. I think it's something similar to what happened when I was in America and people found out I was born in Ghana. After explaning (way too many times) that it was in Africa, something along the lines of "You were born in Africa? Thats soooooooooooooooo cool!" would be said, and it was painfully obvious to me that it was only cool because Africa is this savage, exotic place where people don't really live and white Americans were normal, regular people.Doreennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-21623710327781445822009-12-26T19:00:36.987-08:002009-12-26T19:00:36.987-08:00This is all very intresting.. I am of African desc...This is all very intresting.. I am of African descent. Moved here just 10 yrs ago.... My first year, while in high school, i was asked how we travelled to the States. Where we got our clothes from and then when were we leaving. This was more prevalent in college... THe other worse part of it was, my goodness but your english is really good!!! AARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH...... Got tired of it so i just started saying that we swam all the way from Africa. When got tired, we hitched a ride on a boat and also rode on the backs of dolphins... And we bought our clothes at the airport... Has anyone from another "culture/ethnicity" experienced this... It just seems when you say your from Africa, you are immediately thought to be dumb and stupid. :(<br /><br />Anyway, i applaud all who are in the quest of understanding identity/culture/ethnicity tradition etc..hopsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-56625728002280700612009-12-26T11:16:18.935-08:002009-12-26T11:16:18.935-08:00That topic is the white oblivion/cluelesness/privi...<i> That topic is the white oblivion/cluelesness/privilege exhibited by white expressions to non-white people of a desire for something like non-white "ethnicity" or "culture."</i><br /><br />Nowhere was it implied that the woman referred to wanted to be "non-white." She said "ethnic," and I she is fantasizing about having old world family traditions and an identity. She probably <i>doesn't</i> see this "wish" as including non-whiteness. A lot of you are taking this thread in a direction in which you complain about what you think she said rather than about what she did say. <br /><br />There are lots of ethnic groups in the USA that are white. We are just harder to pick out in a crowd.Tyronoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-528074983146803930.post-27421480272580622772009-12-26T07:20:05.935-08:002009-12-26T07:20:05.935-08:00Izumi, thank you for sharing this. This is one of...Izumi, thank you for sharing this. This is one of the best posts I've read here in awhile. As a white person who felt this way when I was younger (but no longer do), I'm glad to see this issue brought to light on this blog.<br /><br />There's not much to say that hasn't been said here already, but although I've reconciled my own "culture" (as my family's culture, my unique ancestry, and the culture of my significant other all meshed together), I do see why it's frustrating, especially for the more enlightened of white people. For me, personally, the reason to renounce white culture is because "white culture" has been co-opted and used as a defense by some horribly racist people in the United States and Europe. You can be proud of whiteness the way you can of just about any other so-called race. I also, personally, don't identify with a lot of American values (e.g. consumerism, ownership, patriotism) because I was raised pretty far outside the status quo by parents who had made a conscious decision to reject a lot of what they were taught.<br /><br />So for many of us, what that means is finding culture within your own personal family history.<br /><br />And Rosa - Your comment about whiteness being like a sickness really offended me, until I realized that I sort of feel similarly. I just wish you hadn't generalized to the extent that you did.Jillianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792137126898623243noreply@blogger.com