Whitesplaning Racism

[IM2]

The High Price of Stale Grievances - Quillette

If the grievance was stale your article would have merit. But an issue isn't sale because a portion of the white community says it is when we see continued instances of what the grievance is based on.

 

[ThunderKiss1965]

This section of USMB is he ultimate example of whitesplaining.

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

May 17, 2017 by Maisha Z. Johnson

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. To understand whitesplaining, now picture yourself in the following situation.

I’m venting about my day, and I tell you I’m angry that a white neighbor told me, “I don’t even see you as Black.”

Would you reassure me that my neighbor meant well? If you do, don’t be surprised if I’m just as annoyed as you would be if a man tried to explain your experience with street harassment to you.

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, just like mansplaining doesn’t apply to every instance when a man talks about gender oppression. But whitesplaining is a result of the power white people hold as part of the dominant culture in the US. So recognizingwhen 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.

You probably don’t think you’re motivated by racist ideas when you whitesplain – just like men don’t have to hate women in order to participate in everyday sexism like mansplaining.

For instance, you might think you have a perfectly good reason for telling me my neighbor didn’t mean to be racist. You’ve spent time with her, and you’ve never known her to be racist, or you can tell she meant to compliment me by saying she doesn’t see me as Black.

But while these well-meaning reasons for correcting me feel true, it’s also true that you can act on subconscious, implicit biases leading you to dismiss what I have to say because I’m Black.

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.

I guarantee that many whites here will stop reading this after they see the word whites. These are the same people who will read volumes of racist lies about blacks without fail. Yet as they don't they'll be more than glad to post their opinions too stupid to understand they are doing exactly what the writer says.

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

Need to stop their Constitutional right of free speech ?

 

[IM2]

Yet individuals do have negative experiences which can point to a certain group and their attitudes towards them. If a black man is called the "n" word by a white person, if he is then beaten by a white policeman, if he is then passed over for promotion in favor of a white man, if he is then denied housing in a certain neighborhood, won't that be seen as a broader problem, not just an individual one?

Yes, Individuals do have negative experiences. But Individual experiences don't entitle you or anyone else the arbitrary position or luxury to then view all other humans only as members of groups and never as Individuals just because an Individual has a negative experience, however.

To do so, makes you no better. Racists believe that all individuals who share superficial physical characteristics are alike. As collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups. That's what you're doing. You can deny it, but I'm right. When Americans are encouraged to adopt a group mentality, which is what youre doing whe nyou say everyting about whites on here the way you do,, you're actually perpetuating racism. The intense focus that you and the other one have on on race is inherently racist, because you're, yourselves, looking at Individuals like us only as members of racial groups rather than Individuals.

Your constant insistence on group thinking only inflames racial tensions. And that's really what you want. Right? Of course, I'm right. And you know it. This is the modern liberal, statist mindset. Throw up your arbitrary victim status card and attempt to garner some kind of institutionalized equality to see what you can get out of it. I have news for you. There's no such thing as equality. Some people are just naturally more gifted than other people. There is only institutionalized equality. That's the modern liberal, statist, way.

This individual bull is only bought up here to derail the conversation. When whites here speak to us about welfare there is no thought of individualism. When whites here talk about crime and violence there is no thought of individualism When whites here talk about the black culture that's group think. So I see no need to pay attention to this argument that's used in a one sided manner.

“Whites are individuals” is a common argument brought up by White Americans. It is part of a set of closely related arguments:

• Whites are individuals. There are all kinds – bikers, soccer moms, coal miners, business men, goths, etc – so you cannot make general statements about them.
• To make a general statement about Whites is itself racist. It is stereotyping them. It is hypocritical. It is seeing them according to skin colour and that is racist.
• The “not all Whites” argument: “All Whites are not like that”. They bring this up even when no one said all Whites were anything. But that is how they heard it. It amounts a straw man argument.

Just for the record, I do know that Whites are individuals. I live in America, a country that is mostly White: I work with them, they are on television and presented as individuals with their own storylines and not as racist stereotypes or even as too-good-to-be-true supporting characters.

On the other hand….

It does seem like most of them, like at least 60%, at least in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, all went to the same Secret Course on Whiteness. They do act in certain common ways, ways that support racism.

The most maddening part is that in America it is Whites who draw the line between themselves and everyone else. They are the ones who apply the colour line and all the injustice that goes with it. They are making themselves White – and yet they do not want to be seen as White!

– Abagond, 2009, 2015.

“Whites are individuals”

The “not all whites” argument is a common straw man argument. I will make some statement about whites and then be informed that “not all whites” are like that, that they are Individuals. Like there is some special rule of English that “whites” always means “all whites”. Even when I say “some whites” or “most whites” it can still be taken to mean “all whites” – since clearly I only put in those words as a cheap trick to fool people.

In America, according to the government numbers, whites are supposedly better at reading than blacks. I would never know that from this blog: Only rarely do black commenters seriously misunderstand me while it is quite common for whites. And this imagined “all” before “whites” – which is not in any grammar book I know of – is one of the main causes.

Example: When I say, “Whites owned slaves” it hardly means they all owned slaves. As far as I know no more than 2% of White Americans ever did. Yet that does not make the statement untrue or meaningless. Because quantity is not the issue – it was never stated. To make quantity the issue is a derailment. To assume it means “All whites owned slaves” is putting words in my mouth and creating a straw man argument.

Side note: On this blog, unless it is otherwise clear, “white” mostly means just White Americans, though most of what I say seems to apply to English-speaking whites in general.

Since the “all whites” thing is not in any grammar book I wonder where it comes from. The best reason I have heard so far is that many White Americans use dichotomous thinking, seeing things as either-or. That means it is easy for them to think of whites as either being all the same or all Unique Individuals Unaffected by Race or Culture, leaving little middle ground between the two extremes.

So if I say “whites are racist” it is taken to mean that all whites are racist and racist in the same way. As if I said, “All whites are skinhead racists.” But what is in my head is a range:

• from skinhead racists
• to Jim Crow racists
• to scientific racists
• to “The Bell Curve” sorts
• to black pathologists
• to white Republicans
• to ordinary colour-blind racists
• to white liberal racists
• to white anti-racist racists
• to those souls who are not racist at all
• to those who fought against the slave trade
• to the white Freedom Riders
• to John Brown

– and much more besides.

I know whites are individuals. I live in a country that is mostly white. I have to deal with whites at work. I watch American film and television where whites are given whole story lines complete with a love life, where they are almost never reduced to stereotypes as whites.

So I expect them to be individuals. Which makes it all the more surprising and interesting to me when they do seem to act from a hive mind.

The “not all whites” argument

 

[IM2]

This section of USMB is he ultimate example of whitesplaining.

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

May 17, 2017 by Maisha Z. Johnson

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. To understand whitesplaining, now picture yourself in the following situation.

I’m venting about my day, and I tell you I’m angry that a white neighbor told me, “I don’t even see you as Black.”

Would you reassure me that my neighbor meant well? If you do, don’t be surprised if I’m just as annoyed as you would be if a man tried to explain your experience with street harassment to you.

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, just like mansplaining doesn’t apply to every instance when a man talks about gender oppression. But whitesplaining is a result of the power white people hold as part of the dominant culture in the US. So recognizingwhen 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.

You probably don’t think you’re motivated by racist ideas when you whitesplain – just like men don’t have to hate women in order to participate in everyday sexism like mansplaining.

For instance, you might think you have a perfectly good reason for telling me my neighbor didn’t mean to be racist. You’ve spent time with her, and you’ve never known her to be racist, or you can tell she meant to compliment me by saying she doesn’t see me as Black.

But while these well-meaning reasons for correcting me feel true, it’s also true that you can act on subconscious, implicit biases leading you to dismiss what I have to say because I’m Black.

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.

I guarantee that many whites here will stop reading this after they see the word whites. These are the same people who will read volumes of racist lies about blacks without fail. Yet as they don't they'll be more than glad to post their opinions too stupid to understand they are doing exactly what the writer says.

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

Need to stop their Constitutional right of free speech ?

That seems to be what whitesplaining does to blacks.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Yet individuals do have negative experiences which can point to a certain group and their attitudes towards them. If a black man is called the "n" word by a white person, if he is then beaten by a white policeman, if he is then passed over for promotion in favor of a white man, if he is then denied housing in a certain neighborhood, won't that be seen as a broader problem, not just an individual one?

Yes, Individuals do have negative experiences. But Individual experiences don't entitle you or anyone else the arbitrary position or luxury to then view all other humans only as members of groups and never as Individuals just because an Individual has a negative experience, however.

To do so, makes you no better. Racists believe that all individuals who share superficial physical characteristics are alike. As collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups. That's what you're doing. You can deny it, but I'm right. When Americans are encouraged to adopt a group mentality, which is what youre doing whe nyou say everyting about whites on here the way you do,, you're actually perpetuating racism. The intense focus that you and the other one have on on race is inherently racist, because you're, yourselves, looking at Individuals like us only as members of racial groups rather than Individuals.

Your constant insistence on group thinking only inflames racial tensions. And that's really what you want. Right? Of course, I'm right. And you know it. This is the modern liberal, statist mindset. Throw up your arbitrary victim status card and attempt to garner some kind of institutionalized equality to see what you can get out of it. I have news for you. There's no such thing as equality. Some people are just naturally more gifted than other people. There is only institutionalized equality. That's the modern liberal, statist, way.

This individual bull is only bought up here to derail the conversation. When whites here speak to us about welfare there is no thought of individualism. When whites here talk about crime and violence there is no thought of individualism When whites here talk about the black culture that's group think. So I see no need to pay attention to this argument that's used in a one sided manner.

“Whites are individuals” is a common argument brought up by White Americans. It is part of a set of closely related arguments:

• Whites are individuals. There are all kinds – bikers, soccer moms, coal miners, business men, goths, etc – so you cannot make general statements about them.
• To make a general statement about Whites is itself racist. It is stereotyping them. It is hypocritical. It is seeing them according to skin colour and that is racist.
• The “not all Whites” argument: “All Whites are not like that”. They bring this up even when no one said all Whites were anything. But that is how they heard it. It amounts a straw man argument.

Just for the record, I do know that Whites are individuals. I live in America, a country that is mostly White: I work with them, they are on television and presented as individuals with their own storylines and not as racist stereotypes or even as too-good-to-be-true supporting characters.

On the other hand….

It does seem like most of them, like at least 60%, at least in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, all went to the same Secret Course on Whiteness. They do act in certain common ways, ways that support racism.

The most maddening part is that in America it is Whites who draw the line between themselves and everyone else. They are the ones who apply the colour line and all the injustice that goes with it. They are making themselves White – and yet they do not want to be seen as White!

– Abagond, 2009, 2015.

“Whites are individuals”

The “not all whites” argument is a common straw man argument. I will make some statement about whites and then be informed that “not all whites” are like that, that they are Individuals. Like there is some special rule of English that “whites” always means “all whites”. Even when I say “some whites” or “most whites” it can still be taken to mean “all whites” – since clearly I only put in those words as a cheap trick to fool people.

In America, according to the government numbers, whites are supposedly better at reading than blacks. I would never know that from this blog: Only rarely do black commenters seriously misunderstand me while it is quite common for whites. And this imagined “all” before “whites” – which is not in any grammar book I know of – is one of the main causes.

Example: When I say, “Whites owned slaves” it hardly means they all owned slaves. As far as I know no more than 2% of White Americans ever did. Yet that does not make the statement untrue or meaningless. Because quantity is not the issue – it was never stated. To make quantity the issue is a derailment. To assume it means “All whites owned slaves” is putting words in my mouth and creating a straw man argument.

Side note: On this blog, unless it is otherwise clear, “white” mostly means just White Americans, though most of what I say seems to apply to English-speaking whites in general.

Since the “all whites” thing is not in any grammar book I wonder where it comes from. The best reason I have heard so far is that many White Americans use dichotomous thinking, seeing things as either-or. That means it is easy for them to think of whites as either being all the same or all Unique Individuals Unaffected by Race or Culture, leaving little middle ground between the two extremes.

So if I say “whites are racist” it is taken to mean that all whites are racist and racist in the same way. As if I said, “All whites are skinhead racists.” But what is in my head is a range:

• from skinhead racists
• to Jim Crow racists
• to scientific racists
• to “The Bell Curve” sorts
• to black pathologists
• to white Republicans
• to ordinary colour-blind racists
• to white liberal racists
• to white anti-racist racists
• to those souls who are not racist at all
• to those who fought against the slave trade
• to the white Freedom Riders
• to John Brown

– and much more besides.

I know whites are individuals. I live in a country that is mostly white. I have to deal with whites at work. I watch American film and television where whites are given whole story lines complete with a love life, where they are almost never reduced to stereotypes as whites.

So I expect them to be individuals. Which makes it all the more surprising and interesting to me when they do seem to act from a hive mind.

The “not all whites” argument

I'm not reading all of that. Get back in your hole, ya collectivist, statist, hack.

 

[MizMolly]

Do you plan violence against whites, due to your seething hatred and racism?

None of that exists within me. Opposing your racism isn't hate. And it's certainly not racism.

You are a hate filled racist.

Anyone reading you white hating OP can see that, even if deltazmebro is running interference for you. Beyond that, you have a reputation, both under this ID and under the Asclepais ID you used to post under as a rabbid and raging bigot and racist.

deltazmebro thinks your racism is cute and he wants to coddle you, but the rest of us see you as the racist scumbag that you are.

I don't know if IM2 and Asclepais are the same person or not, but Its kind of like clark kent and superman. They aren't usually at the same place together.

I don't think so, IM2 is hateful

I disagree. I do not equate anger with hatred. I do not equate passion with hatred. I do not equate frustration with hatred.

Well then he is angry at any white people who disagree with him. He should be frustrated at himself for calling virtually all white posters racist when they arent.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Matter of fact, does anyone at all click on im2 links aside from his fellow arbitrary victims? I know I don't. lol.

 

[IM2]

Yet individuals do have negative experiences which can point to a certain group and their attitudes towards them. If a black man is called the "n" word by a white person, if he is then beaten by a white policeman, if he is then passed over for promotion in favor of a white man, if he is then denied housing in a certain neighborhood, won't that be seen as a broader problem, not just an individual one?

Yes, Individuals do have negative experiences. But Individual experiences don't entitle you or anyone else the arbitrary position or luxury to then view all other humans only as members of groups and never as Individuals just because an Individual has a negative experience, however.

To do so, makes you no better. Racists believe that all individuals who share superficial physical characteristics are alike. As collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups. That's what you're doing. You can deny it, but I'm right. When Americans are encouraged to adopt a group mentality, which is what youre doing whe nyou say everyting about whites on here the way you do,, you're actually perpetuating racism. The intense focus that you and the other one have on on race is inherently racist, because you're, yourselves, looking at Individuals like us only as members of racial groups rather than Individuals.

Your constant insistence on group thinking only inflames racial tensions. And that's really what you want. Right? Of course, I'm right. And you know it. This is the modern liberal, statist mindset. Throw up your arbitrary victim status card and attempt to garner some kind of institutionalized equality to see what you can get out of it. I have news for you. There's no such thing as equality. Some people are just naturally more gifted than other people. There is only institutionalized equality. That's the modern liberal, statist, way.

This individual bull is only bought up here to derail the conversation. When whites here speak to us about welfare there is no thought of individualism. When whites here talk about crime and violence there is no thought of individualism When whites here talk about the black culture that's group think. So I see no need to pay attention to this argument that's used in a one sided manner.

“Whites are individuals” is a common argument brought up by White Americans. It is part of a set of closely related arguments:

• Whites are individuals. There are all kinds – bikers, soccer moms, coal miners, business men, goths, etc – so you cannot make general statements about them.
• To make a general statement about Whites is itself racist. It is stereotyping them. It is hypocritical. It is seeing them according to skin colour and that is racist.
• The “not all Whites” argument: “All Whites are not like that”. They bring this up even when no one said all Whites were anything. But that is how they heard it. It amounts a straw man argument.

Just for the record, I do know that Whites are individuals. I live in America, a country that is mostly White: I work with them, they are on television and presented as individuals with their own storylines and not as racist stereotypes or even as too-good-to-be-true supporting characters.

On the other hand….

It does seem like most of them, like at least 60%, at least in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, all went to the same Secret Course on Whiteness. They do act in certain common ways, ways that support racism.

The most maddening part is that in America it is Whites who draw the line between themselves and everyone else. They are the ones who apply the colour line and all the injustice that goes with it. They are making themselves White – and yet they do not want to be seen as White!

– Abagond, 2009, 2015.

“Whites are individuals”

The “not all whites” argument is a common straw man argument. I will make some statement about whites and then be informed that “not all whites” are like that, that they are Individuals. Like there is some special rule of English that “whites” always means “all whites”. Even when I say “some whites” or “most whites” it can still be taken to mean “all whites” – since clearly I only put in those words as a cheap trick to fool people.

In America, according to the government numbers, whites are supposedly better at reading than blacks. I would never know that from this blog: Only rarely do black commenters seriously misunderstand me while it is quite common for whites. And this imagined “all” before “whites” – which is not in any grammar book I know of – is one of the main causes.

Example: When I say, “Whites owned slaves” it hardly means they all owned slaves. As far as I know no more than 2% of White Americans ever did. Yet that does not make the statement untrue or meaningless. Because quantity is not the issue – it was never stated. To make quantity the issue is a derailment. To assume it means “All whites owned slaves” is putting words in my mouth and creating a straw man argument.

Side note: On this blog, unless it is otherwise clear, “white” mostly means just White Americans, though most of what I say seems to apply to English-speaking whites in general.

Since the “all whites” thing is not in any grammar book I wonder where it comes from. The best reason I have heard so far is that many White Americans use dichotomous thinking, seeing things as either-or. That means it is easy for them to think of whites as either being all the same or all Unique Individuals Unaffected by Race or Culture, leaving little middle ground between the two extremes.

So if I say “whites are racist” it is taken to mean that all whites are racist and racist in the same way. As if I said, “All whites are skinhead racists.” But what is in my head is a range:

• from skinhead racists
• to Jim Crow racists
• to scientific racists
• to “The Bell Curve” sorts
• to black pathologists
• to white Republicans
• to ordinary colour-blind racists
• to white liberal racists
• to white anti-racist racists
• to those souls who are not racist at all
• to those who fought against the slave trade
• to the white Freedom Riders
• to John Brown

– and much more besides.

I know whites are individuals. I live in a country that is mostly white. I have to deal with whites at work. I watch American film and television where whites are given whole story lines complete with a love life, where they are almost never reduced to stereotypes as whites.

So I expect them to be individuals. Which makes it all the more surprising and interesting to me when they do seem to act from a hive mind.

The “not all whites” argument

I'm not reading all of that. Get back in your hole.

Of course you aren't because it destroys the lie you just argued. Go back to the septic tank.

 

[IM2]

Matter of fact, does anyone at all click on im2 links aside from his fellow arbitrary victims? I know I don't. lol.

But you are the one playing victim.

 

[MizMolly]

Yet individuals do have negative experiences which can point to a certain group and their attitudes towards them. If a black man is called the "n" word by a white person, if he is then beaten by a white policeman, if he is then passed over for promotion in favor of a white man, if he is then denied housing in a certain neighborhood, won't that be seen as a broader problem, not just an individual one?

Yes, Individuals do have negative experiences. But Individual experiences don't entitle you or anyone else the arbitrary position or luxury to then view all other humans only as members of groups and never as Individuals just because an Individual has a negative experience, however.

To do so, makes you no better. Racists believe that all individuals who share superficial physical characteristics are alike. As collectivists, racists think only in terms of groups. That's what you're doing. You can deny it, but I'm right. When Americans are encouraged to adopt a group mentality, which is what youre doing whe nyou say everyting about whites on here the way you do,, you're actually perpetuating racism. The intense focus that you and the other one have on on race is inherently racist, because you're, yourselves, looking at Individuals like us only as members of racial groups rather than Individuals.

Your constant insistence on group thinking only inflames racial tensions. And that's really what you want. Right? Of course, I'm right. And you know it. This is the modern liberal, statist mindset. Throw up your arbitrary victim status card and attempt to garner some kind of institutionalized equality to see what you can get out of it. I have news for you. There's no such thing as equality. Some people are just naturally more gifted than other people. There is only institutionalized equality. That's the modern liberal, statist, way.

This individual bull is only bought up here to derail the conversation. When whites here speak to us about welfare there is no thought of individualism. When whites here talk about crime and violence there is no thought of individualism When whites here talk about the black culture that's group think. So I see no need to pay attention to this argument that's used in a one sided manner.

“Whites are individuals” is a common argument brought up by White Americans. It is part of a set of closely related arguments:

• Whites are individuals. There are all kinds – bikers, soccer moms, coal miners, business men, goths, etc – so you cannot make general statements about them.
• To make a general statement about Whites is itself racist. It is stereotyping them. It is hypocritical. It is seeing them according to skin colour and that is racist.
• The “not all Whites” argument: “All Whites are not like that”. They bring this up even when no one said all Whites were anything. But that is how they heard it. It amounts a straw man argument.

Just for the record, I do know that Whites are individuals. I live in America, a country that is mostly White: I work with them, they are on television and presented as individuals with their own storylines and not as racist stereotypes or even as too-good-to-be-true supporting characters.

On the other hand….

It does seem like most of them, like at least 60%, at least in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, all went to the same Secret Course on Whiteness. They do act in certain common ways, ways that support racism.

The most maddening part is that in America it is Whites who draw the line between themselves and everyone else. They are the ones who apply the colour line and all the injustice that goes with it. They are making themselves White – and yet they do not want to be seen as White!

– Abagond, 2009, 2015.

“Whites are individuals”

The “not all whites” argument is a common straw man argument. I will make some statement about whites and then be informed that “not all whites” are like that, that they are Individuals. Like there is some special rule of English that “whites” always means “all whites”. Even when I say “some whites” or “most whites” it can still be taken to mean “all whites” – since clearly I only put in those words as a cheap trick to fool people.

In America, according to the government numbers, whites are supposedly better at reading than blacks. I would never know that from this blog: Only rarely do black commenters seriously misunderstand me while it is quite common for whites. And this imagined “all” before “whites” – which is not in any grammar book I know of – is one of the main causes.

Example: When I say, “Whites owned slaves” it hardly means they all owned slaves. As far as I know no more than 2% of White Americans ever did. Yet that does not make the statement untrue or meaningless. Because quantity is not the issue – it was never stated. To make quantity the issue is a derailment. To assume it means “All whites owned slaves” is putting words in my mouth and creating a straw man argument.

Side note: On this blog, unless it is otherwise clear, “white” mostly means just White Americans, though most of what I say seems to apply to English-speaking whites in general.

Since the “all whites” thing is not in any grammar book I wonder where it comes from. The best reason I have heard so far is that many White Americans use dichotomous thinking, seeing things as either-or. That means it is easy for them to think of whites as either being all the same or all Unique Individuals Unaffected by Race or Culture, leaving little middle ground between the two extremes.

So if I say “whites are racist” it is taken to mean that all whites are racist and racist in the same way. As if I said, “All whites are skinhead racists.” But what is in my head is a range:

• from skinhead racists
• to Jim Crow racists
• to scientific racists
• to “The Bell Curve” sorts
• to black pathologists
• to white Republicans
• to ordinary colour-blind racists
• to white liberal racists
• to white anti-racist racists
• to those souls who are not racist at all
• to those who fought against the slave trade
• to the white Freedom Riders
• to John Brown

– and much more besides.

I know whites are individuals. I live in a country that is mostly white. I have to deal with whites at work. I watch American film and television where whites are given whole story lines complete with a love life, where they are almost never reduced to stereotypes as whites.

So I expect them to be individuals. Which makes it all the more surprising and interesting to me when they do seem to act from a hive mind.

The “not all whites” argument

You are the one grouping all whites. When you bring up anything negative, it is You Whites and you want all American whites to pay for the misery of history. That pretty much puts us all as one

 

[IM2]

Your entire Schtick is your anti-white racism.

It is the only thing you bring to this forum.

Aren't you a saint. Cast aspersions , negate critics and rave like a delusional fool. I take your comments with a ton of salt.

So I guess I am just supposed to agree with the racist bullshit you post. Would that make you feel better mawy?

I think, given careful introspection, you are either an idiot, a troll or a delusional black racist that needs a diaper change. Wah WAH..careful, you are on the edge of oblivion (ignore). Tread softly here, kiddo. Respect is a 2 way street.

The problem is that you aren't thinking. For I can bust your ass so fast with facts that your head will spin. Therefore I'm not the delusional one. Nor can you post a quote by me that is racist. Yeah respect is a two way street but you only seem to think that your way is both ways.

So, did they ever produce the quotes, or are they just going with the usual stupid plan of just calling everything they dont agree with, racist?

No quotes ever. I'm a racist only because they say sp.

 

[IM2]

A white woman created the term white privilege. There is no black privilege. Micro aggressions was a term made up by a Harvard professor almost 50 years ago. Whitesplaining is a fact. And we can make a forum by showing everything whites have done that gives us reason to blame them.

Please. Blacks are milking this to bloody death. Please, black privilege is basically blame someone else for your failures . And it's as old as the human race. Whitesplaining is an abstraction created by (?) intellectuals, it's no more real that the will O' the wisp.

Turn black or any other color but white and see how much milking is really going on. History shows us there is no black privilege because blacks have not failed. But we have faced obstacles created by whites that has reduced our success. This a fact that is non debatable.

Well, ok, I give the devil his due. I have seen my share of white racist , true. I have lived with blacks a large majority of my life. And well, some were damn more intelligent , some were dumb as a sack of hammers. I respect blacks. But what is holding anyone back is plain pure and simply just giving up and accepting things as they are. Humans sometimes act more like a herd animal, and that is the problem in American poor black communities. It's like they just gave up. And that is sad.

Great point.

I don't respect blacks.

I respect James XXXXX because he is a brilliant network technician. That James is black is irrelevant, he is a brilliant man.

I have no respect for the greasy fool on the stingray bike who tries to intimidate passers by as he pan handles. That the fool is white is irrelevant, he is a scumbag.

I don't respect anyone because of skin color, and unlike IM2, I don't hate anyone because of skin color. I take people as they come. Some are good, some are bad.

Oh no! You just broke one of IM2's rules. By saying you don't judge people based on color you are "whitesplaning" and being racist (by being the opposite of racist).

It's funny how you think you can make up rules that don't exist.

 

[IM2]

I'd rather ask you, bigot boi.

Well since I didn't make the comment you're asking the wrong man, *****.

Do you plan violence against whites, due to your seething hatred and racism?

None of that exists within me. Opposing your racism isn't hate. And it's certainly not racism.

You are a hate filled racist.

Anyone reading you white hating OP can see that, even if deltazmebro is running interference for you. Beyond that, you have a reputation, both under this ID and under the Asclepais ID you used to post under as a rabbid and raging bigot and racist.

deltazmebro thinks your racism is cute and he wants to coddle you, but the rest of us see you as the racist scumbag that you are.

I don't know if IM2 and Asclepais are the same person or not, but Its kind of like clark kent and superman. They aren't usually at the same place together.

Well if you could the ip addresses you would understand that we aren't.

 

[Natural Citizen]

But you are the one playing victim.

Nope. I merely pointed out the hypocrisy of you and your friend's racist, collectivist, tendency.

Natty C wins the thread.

Anyway. Your hole. Pst. That way -------------------

 

[IM2]

Matter of fact, does anyone at all click on im2 links aside from his fellow arbitrary victims? I know I don't. lol.

But you are the one playing victim.

No. I'm not. If you pulled that crap on the street, you'd get dropped like a 5 second habit.

Matter of fact, does anyone at all click on im2 links aside from his fellow arbitrary victims? I know I don't. lol.

But you are the one playing victim.

Nope. I merely pointed out the hypocrisy of you and your friend's racist, collectivist, tendency.

Natty C wins the thread.

Anyway. Your hole. Pst. That way -------------------

If I said that on the street you'd listen to it.. OK? Let's not talk tough on the internet. You are playing the victim and the only hypocrisy is yours. Get back in the septic tank.

 

[katsteve2012]

Your entire Schtick is your anti-white racism.

It is the only thing you bring to this forum.

Aren't you a saint. Cast aspersions , negate critics and rave like a delusional fool. I take your comments with a ton of salt.

So I guess I am just supposed to agree with the racist bullshit you post. Would that make you feel better mawy?

I think, given careful introspection, you are either an idiot, a troll or a delusional black racist that needs a diaper change. Wah WAH..careful, you are on the edge of oblivion (ignore). Tread softly here, kiddo. Respect is a 2 way street.

The problem is that you aren't thinking. For I can bust your ass so fast with facts that your head will spin. Therefore I'm not the delusional one. Nor can you post a quote by me that is racist. Yeah respect is a two way street but you only seem to think that your way is both ways.

So, did they ever produce the quotes, or are they just going with the usual stupid plan of just calling everything they dont agree with, racist?

It's the latter, ATL. And will always be.

 

[Manonthestreet]

The High Price of Stale Grievances - Quillette

If the grievance was stale your article would have merit. But an issue isn't sale because a portion of the white community says it is when we see continued instances of what the grievance is based on.

Written by a black dude....oooooooops

 

[IM2]

The High Price of Stale Grievances - Quillette

If the grievance was stale your article would have merit. But an issue isn't sale because a portion of the white community says it is when we see continued instances of what the grievance is based on.

Written by a black dude....oooooooops

And that's supposed to matter? Since you posted the article try 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.

 

[Unkotare]

Yuuuuuuuu Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiites!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[IM2]

“The White Anti-Racist is an Oxymoron” (2003) by Kil Ja Kim argues that you cannot be white and against racism at the same time.

By “white” she does not mean having white skin. She means thinking of yourself as white and enjoying the benefits that come with it in America:

white people need to be willing to have their very social position, their very relationship of domination, their very authority, their very being…let go, perhaps even destroyed. I know this might sound scary, but that is really not my concern. I am not interested in making white people, even those so-called good-hearted anti-racist whites, comfortable about their position in struggles that shape my life in ways that it will never shape theirs.

Being white creates a conflict of interest that leads to white paternalism: whites who think they know what is best for people of colour.

Kim has seen it. So has bell hooks. So has Malcolm X:

So if we need white allies in this country, we don’t need those kind who compromise. We don’t need those kind who encourage us to be polite, responsible, you know. We don’t need those kind who give us that kind of advice. We don’t need those kind who tell us how to be patient. No, if we want some white allies, we need the kind that John Brown was, or we don’t need you.

John Brown led a slave uprising on the eve of the civil war: he died fighting for the freedom of black people.

Becoming anti-racist means giving up a white identity and standing with people of colour, not with white people. Come what may. It means not to lead people of colour but to follow. It means leaving the white club for good.

Kim breaks it down like this:

1. Don’t call us, we’ll call you. If we need your resources, we will contact you. But don’t show up, flaunt your power in our faces and then get angry when we resent the fact that you have so many resources we don’t and that we are not grateful for this arrangement. And don’t get mad because you can’t make decisions in the process. Why do you need to?
2. Stop speaking for us. We can talk for ourselves.
3. Stop trying to point out internal contradictions in our communities, we know what they are, we are struggling around them, and I really don’t know how white people can be helpful to non-whites to clear these up.
4. Don’t ever say some shit to me about how you feel silenced, marginalized, discriminated against, or put in your place as a white person. Period.
5. Stop calling me sister. I will tell you when you are family.
6. Start thinking of what it would mean, in terms of actual structured social arrangements, for whiteness and white identity – even the white anti-racist kind (because there really is no redeemable or reformed white identity) – to be destroyed.

White Anti Racists Open Letter By Tamara Nopper