I heard someone at work say something to a hispanic worker that I felt was notable for an entry.
"I don't see you as Hispanic, really. You're pretty white".
This was said due to the person in question being educated, well-spoken (English, that is), and bright. The white person saying this did not see anything wrong with their statement, and to the contrary felt it was some kind of compliment. The compliment being, "You're smart, therefore you're white". Does this mean that the norm is of white people smart and eloquent? What if a white person isn't? Are they less white somehow and a part of some other racial group? Oh yeah, that's right, we already have done that! When whites act like black people, we call them 'wiggers' to insult them.
So just to get the connotations right: white=good, non-white=bad.
Jeez. Everytime I hear something like that, these are some of that sentiments that I gather from it:
"You're better than those OTHER [read: bad] people that are [racial group here], in fact, you're kinda like ME [read: good]."
"Seeing as race isn't important to my life [HA!] and you're in it, I'm going to have to ignore that you're [racial group] so that I don't have to think about such unimportant things as race and racism, and correcting my preconceived notions about other racial groups. mkay?"
"Wow, you are an actual human being...therefore, it's simply not possible for you to be [racial group]!"
Please, utilize some tact the next time you run into a person of color whose personality has "gone above and beyond" some preconceived notion you have of their 'racial group'.
BTW, two entries down I've put "Stranger in the Village" by James Baldwin, as well as the link for the text, as a suggested reading. I think it would do any visitors of my site good to give it a read. :)
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I think a lot of why people do this kind of thing is because A.) they don't know better, and B.) The media has portrayed ethnic groups in a negative light for since forever. I understand your pain. I get mistaken for a white person all the time and then I get some dumb ass who makes a racist comment about Hispanics in front of me. I'd like to think that I don't look white, not that there is anything wrong with being white I am just very proud of my heritage and don't want to be white. However I'm not clean of sin either. Sometimes I'll be working and I'll get some really nasty stuck up rude ass white woman being all demanding and child like when she can't get her way and I think to myself, "stupid rich stuck up white bitch." I think every race has an idea of how their culture and their people are and we all have a different idea of how the other cultures are, and maybe there will always be a separation between the people of this world based on race. And that might still be okay as long as we are all sensitive and tolerant of each others diversity. White people can never understand it seems for the most part, the close family ties that Hispanics and African Americans have. And maybe it seems that we will never understand how white people can be okay with just seeing their families just once a year during family reunions. But you cannot just shovel everyone of one race group to fit under one umbrella. Perhaps the best thing to do is simple correct someone in their tracks when they say something to someone else that is racists. Maybe they don't realize the error of their ways. Someone should set them straight.
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