Over time in middle-school I shifted from being vaguely Christian to a militant atheist. In conservative, religious, Grand Rapids, Michigan this was not a popular belief. It was difficult knowing that some family members, friends, and strangers thought I deserved eternal damnation and would treat me differently. Now, I’ve mellowed in my beliefs, but I my religious convictions are contrary to those of many believers. However I would never equate the discrimination I have felt because of my atheism with the oppression of other marginalized groups. The discrimination I faced was usually short, mild, and well-intentioned. In almost every situation,I had to consciously expose my self to discrimination.
Many whites, especially middle to upper class whites, exercise control over the degree of privilege they experience. Whites can choose when to reveal or not beliefs or characteristics that conflict with Whiteness. We choose when to laugh at a racist joke and when to be offended. On one occasion we may protest against injustice and on another, because it is more convenient, we are silent.
However what interests me the most is when whites seek out discrimination Sometimes I would enjoy it when someone acted prejudicially towards me. It gave me a sense of uniqueness and lessened the guilt I felt for the privilege I did have. I came to enjoy the feeling of righteous indignation. Occasionally in conversation when I could tell things were going into an uncomfortable area, instead of steering things to safer territory, I would let it come out that I was an atheist. Then when the person I was talking to said or did something that offended me I would revel in my noble fury.
I have seen in my life and in the media many white Americans emphasize their anti-conformist/anti-whiteness identities to be different. However, be they goth, punk, leftist, what have you, it is often something that can be hidden if need be. While I don’t want to suggest that people shouldn’t be allowed to have whatever identities they choose, it is intriguing that some people consciously surrender privilege. Is the control of white privilege a form of white privilege? Furthermore when white people knowing give up their privilege or emphasize their anti-whiteness how does that relate to the effects of “white shame” and the “wages for whiteness” that Thandeka describes?
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I grew up in a very conservative, white, small town. As you could imagine with those words I chose to desrcribe my area, it shouldn't come as a surprise to find out that most everyone in my town was Catholic. My parents also decided it was best to send my to a private, Catholic school for six years. I do not have the most devote Cathlic family, but they wanted me to have a strong relgious foundation.
ReplyDeleteGoing to Catholic school and growing up in the town that I did definitely gives me a strong stereotypical, white conformist label. However, the decision to go to that school and to go to church was that of my parents. I think for children religious values are passed down from the parents. Like in Learning to be White: White privilege is passed down from parent to child and that is the cycle that needs to be stopped. Relgion is just a small piece or form of white privilege.
Up until a few months ago, I used to always feel as if I was discriminated against then, i had to reevaluate my actions because I may have been doing something wrong. It was until i realized that i should use the sense of fear from another as a power. That I am unique and becasue I am an African Ameican female, I can use my race to "move" people. I see myself as a higher power
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea of the flexibility of whiteness. A lot of the identity's white people take on can be worn as a mask and taken off at any given time. It is here where white people can choose their own identity and fill in for any cultural void they may feel. Although whiteness is seen as an absence of culture, whites have the privilege to choose their own.
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of a parent passing down their whiteness/religion/ other values down to their children and being able to reproduce power. It is yet another way hegemony works to keep the structural racism in society.
I've definitely seen what you call "seeking out discrimination," especially among wealthy people. At this school and elsewhere, people with considerable amounts of money are the first to talk about how broke they are.
ReplyDeleteMaybe white people are individually seeking to claim something different of their own to make up for the alleged lack of white culture? What about the obsession of being the first one to do something, or liking it before it is popular? Is this a "white thing" or a human thing, to want to stand out as an individual?
I really like your phrase that middle to upper class whites can exercise control over the degree of privilege they experience, but would argue that a lot of the time it's not a conscious choice, so maybe it's not an exercise of control?
I view the desire some Whites have to be discriminated against as a form of white shame, a sort of punishment for abandoning those values one held before the white culture attacked the self. I believe that it was Russian revolutionary who claimed that all great revolutionaries are those who feel guilty about their privileged class.
ReplyDeleteI think Rob made an accurate statement about 'seeking out discrimination'. I know a few very wealthy people, who can best be described as 'Lexus hippies' who love to point out how tough they have it despite being immersed in privilege. Certainly no one has a perfect life and everyone has their problems, but when it gets to the point were some rich white kid is complaining to me about the police profiling him, and pulling him over and finding weed, I have little sympathy when that person tries to identify with racial profiling.
ReplyDeleteThe difference, as previously mentioned by many people, lies in the fact that once that person gets out of their teenage years, profiling is a non-issue, where as an African- American has to deal with that for a lifetime.
However, when wealthy whites speak of these instances of so-called 'discrimination' or being 'outcasts' based on age or whatever they may say, it is more of a badge of honor. They are bragging about it, trying to include themselves with an oppressed minority. However, by doing this they are showing their true disconnection with the rest of the world.
I believe this gets to a strange case of appropriating what many wealthy whites believe to be a main part of African-American culture, which is being oppressed and the strength that they think comes from that experience. However, by doing this they completely ignore their own privilege and feed into the 'colorblindness' in the neo-liberal sense.
I agree with what most of what Nick is saying; however, I think that you are discounting that there is a strength that comes from the experience.
ReplyDeleteTo Cooper's point I want to say that when you talk about the degree to which you experience privilege, this is a decision for all people including marginalized groups. The idea that I have to experience my lack of 'privilege' is very personal on the local level. I do not have to internalize what people say or fall into the stereotype that are put upon me. We put this privilege out there like it is some sort of general term that everyone has the same experience with. Privilege is something that has been structural on the national level but the way you experience it is local. I as an African American female can choose if I want to follow the role that is set for me; however, I can choose not to.
I would definitely say that the ability to choose when you are “discriminated” against is a form of privilege. It isn’t as though a black person can suddenly decided that they want to be white and just go down that path, unless of course they are Michael Jackson. Where as some white kid in the suburbs that is so persecuted because they wear black clothes and eyeliner all the time and they are “goth,” or whatever they want to call it, can just go down to Gap and get a polo shirt and we can all call it a nice day. The ability to control when you are persecuted just goes to show how little that person understands what true persecution really feels like.
ReplyDeletein response to coopers statement: "Is the control of white privilege a form of white privilege?"
ReplyDeletebecause a person is actively and consciously making choices to reveal themselves to be moving against the mainstream Whiteness to other whites; in return these persons receive harassment and condemnation for their beliefs. Therefore i would expand that question to include the fact that it can only be a white person condemning another white person, in regards to their whiteness, for the scenario to truly be that persons active choice to give up their "white privilege"
I agree with Meghan, that there is a certain amount of power that i feel i have in choosing not to internalize (although i don't know if i would use that word) someone's negative comments because of my race, gender, religious views, anything. Although i do feel powerless in a situation when i may not get a job or may be assumed to be incapable because of some of these perceived differences, but i have faith in our increasingly globalized world and the need for different minds, appreciation of differences and disdain for ignorance. If some racist person doesn't think I'm qualified, cool, I'll go somewhere where my skills and experiences are appreciated and needed. I know there are still a lot of places founded on ignorance which is still upheld but i believe that the country and the world is moving towards need or desire for "tolerance"(but i don't like that word either) and those not on board will fall behind and become insignificant.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the word tolerance either - it has a patronizing tone to it. Why should some groups of people be "tolerated?" Tolerance implies effort to not act on our prejudices. I don't have to tolerate things that I like. I have to tolerate what I don't like. Tolerance is not the answer. It fits in with the neoconservative rhetoric of color-blindness. Rather than addressing the root cause of the problem, tolerance just addresses a symptom of prejudice.
ReplyDeleteI can truly relate. I grew up in an upper middle class small town in the suburbs of Detroit. I never really knew alot of people who weren't white, but never had a problem when I did meet anyone who wasn't white because I just thought it was cool that they were different. I think it's safe to say my parents aren't racist, so i never really grew up with the negative stereotypes that are placed upon other races. And also, even if people around me did carry these prejudices, people of other races just weren't there to be talked about.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really learn about racism, honestly, until we started learning about the Civil War in about the 4th grade. I truly believe that the way I was taught the Civil War in grade school contributes to how I think about "whiteness" today. I was always taught that the Civil War was about ending slavery because it was evil. I went to a Catholic school, so it makes sense that they should teach that slavery was evil. But that really stuck with me. The fact that white people were the ones who instituted this "peculiar institution" made me really sad. I mean, why would I want to be associate with a group of people who ruined other peoples lives to benefit themselves economically. I honestly couldn't see how white people could even justify their actions. I think this sort of led to my getting interested in the Civil Rights movement in the 5th grade.
The point of all of this is, I never knew about white privilege in todays standards until I was probably in high school. I always associated racism with the post-Civil War time period and the 1960s. It never occurred to me that it still existed today. I mean, I was never around other races enough to realize I had any type of "power" or "privilege" over them. I literally grew up blind to it. Like Hussain was saying, I don't care for the word "tolerance" either. I mean, why can't we just all live together and be happy and whatever, ya know? That's the thing I have always struggled with, personally, because I truly thought we as Americans had broken away from the prejudices of our forefathers.
Meghan-
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, you, as a black woman, cannot chose your experience as a victim of racism. Your Blackness is always the subordinate of Whiteness. There is a collective historical experience in all Blackness that cannot be denied simply by choosing to not internalize racism. Saying you have a choice in experiencing blackness is saying you have black privilege - of which there is none. The essence of white privilege is being able to deny the existence of whiteness, as such and as a constant. Just because you "choose" not to internalize your blackness, does not make you socially exempt. Because racism is a social construct, individual people cannot be racist. Society on a whole is racist. Likewise, individual people cannot be anti-racist. Society must on a whole become anti-racist. The readings suggest a path to consciousness, where whites must become conscious of their whiteness. If non-whites are not internalizing and conscious of their oppression as non-whites, who will hold whites accountable for white-consciousness?
I agree and don't agree. What Meghan and Andrea said was empowering and really great to read.
ReplyDeleteSaying that something is always subordinate doesn't get us anywhere. Hussain, the way you are framing this makes it seem really hopeless. And how can society become anti-racist without individuals putting in the effort first?
The only thing I want to point out about M & A's point is that both of you grew up with family support and some degree of privilege. I don't think it'd be nearly as easy to handle racism (directly or theoretically) as gracefully without a strong, supportive background. I don't think everyone has an equal opportunity to choose to not internalize racism. So it's important we don't just make it an individual issue, combat it from other angles as well, and empower children to be able to handle it.