White Ignorance

I think being a European-American, or "white" as we call it in the U.S., is something one can be proud of. There is a long history of great art, music, language, and culture that comes with that area of the world. There many great innovations that are due to Europeans and their American diaspora. Having said that, I wonder how most White Americans aren't sort of embarrassed to be in that category after what I hear some of most ardently spoken White Americans say.

There is nothing wrong with being a white person. Let me state that again, as often times my reflections in this philosophical arena tend to cause others to think the inverse of this: there is nothing wrong with being a white person. Nothing wrong with it anymore than there is being a black person in America or being of Asian descent in America. However, there is something wrong with being ignorant and indifferent to a society that is clearly Eurocentric and based on Euro-superiority. This is what I am talking about when I mention the embarrassment factor, as white people are the ones that are benefitting from the society itself.

The privilege to be oblivious.

I don't know how some white people don't get laughed out of entire rooms sometimes. Who else but a white person can make such absurd statements as "How come it's wrong for me to call someone the 'n' word, but they can call me a honky or a cracker?", as if the two words are even worth comparing historically and socially? The word "honky" does not carry with it a history of oppression, dehumanizing behavior, and even downright terrorism towards a group of people. it doesn't ressurect a painful past. Terms like "cracker" don't have any real effect on white people other than a momentary nuisance.

And besides, I usually ask the person asking me the question (who is almost invariably a white person), "Why do you care so much about using that word to begin with?" Is it something people want to be connected with, a word that to many educated people represents ignorance in the most raw form and an attitude of disrespect towards a group of people?

I'm also tired of hearing "Why don't we get to have 'White Pride Parades' or 'White History Month'?" This might frustrate me just a little more, as it is rooted in an ignorance of the privileged system that European-Americans are living in daily. In case the "White" population hasn't noticed, every month of the year is White-History month. History curriculums in all schools are Eurocentric to boot. We learn European history and American history as the concentration. We learn about European composers and European inventors (save for a token mention of George Washington Carver to assuage ourselves). We even revolve the fundamental statements of this continent and country around absurd, Eurocentric notions. One off the top of my head would be the most famous: Columbus discovered America (well, except for all of those indigenous people that were already here, right?). The state of Eurocentrism and Euro-superiority is evident in our national fixation on whether Obama was a Muslim or not, as though being of a Middle Eastern ethnic persuasion is something to be "investigated" or ashamed of.

Media and society are plastered with European ideas of beauty and prestige. Even acceptable behavior is based on Eurocentric attributes. Don't believe that? Notice the reaction someone has when you tell them that they're "acting like a black person". Many white people will become offended in at least a minor way, as that is "undesirable", as though there were something wrong with being of that racial designation. It is also an attempt to tie undesirable behavior with a person of dark skin color.

So why do white people ask these ridiculous questions? Are white people really so blind as to see that Whiteness has become so embedded in American society that it is now "the norm"? Our society does not need a "White Pride Day", as our society is white pride. Our society sends that message socially and institutionally every day.

Transcending Whiteness and Acknowledging White Privilege

Even when we give people of other racial groups recognition, it is accompanied with an asterisk. Race is nearly always noted up front in the achievements of non-White Americans. Asian-Americans, for example, have been called "Model Minorities" in recognizing their success in many respects. However, though it may be a noble attempt to credit them, it devalues individual effort in calling it "a good Asian's achievement", whereas nobody would credit a white, European kids achievement as "a credit to his race". In fact, race is barely mention in regards to "white people". Whiteness is mebedded as a norm, and race seems to always belong to "others".

Take a recent example to accentuate this point: President-elect Barack Obama. During primaries, in many articles and pundit broadcasts Obama was praised for "transcending race". Do journalists and Americans as a whole think that being black is something one must rise away from? When was the last time a white candidate was asked to transcend race? You will not hear that anytime soon, as ethnicity and race are things that "other" groups have that somehow does not apply to European-Americans. That, my friends, is institutional and social white privilege at it's most salient.

It is privilege that allows White Americans to not ever have to think about themselves as a race, or if not that then to be able to hold others accountable in a race-based manner of thought. It is privilege that allows White Americans to think of racism in extremities such as the KKK and racial slurs and to deny or be oblivious to the institutions or social constructions it is supported by. It is this on display when studies show that when most white people are asked about the image they get of a drug dealer or a violent criminal, they often respond with the image of some other ethnic minority. This is ridiculous when most violent crimes are perpetrated from whites to other whites and an equal amount of white people do drugs as black people. It is privilege that allows this mindset to continue unchallenged and unfettered in The United States.

I'll restate this once more, so as to keep misconceptions of my message at bay: I'm not "anti-White". In fact, I'm typing this because I don't want to see White America become drowned in this problem to the point that it destroys them. I want this problem to be solved by beginning an honest discussion on the matter. This marginalization of other groups through a white-centric system is damaging to everybody involved, even the people who benefit from it directly. The first step towards correcting it is getting our society conscious about it.

So sparing me the "colorblind society" mantra, let me know what you really think. I welcome all critiques, praise, or questions.