(no subject)

[serene]

Mine is a white ethnic blog.

That is to say, I recognize that when I am talking about anything here, I am talking about it from a white person's perspective. I have a lot of examined-and-discarded bias in my history, but don't doubt I have a lot of unexamined bias, too. I was raised in a racist environment in a racist country by racist people, and I can't possibly have escaped some of their thinking. I just want to acknowledge that here, and let you all know that if you ever wanna call me on that shit, I'm listening.

Comments

[supergee.livejournal.com]

My blog reflects a lifetime of passing for white despite being 1/4 Hun.

[kake]

I see where this (as in, the thing you linked to) is coming from, but it seems in a way that it's a bit of a cop-out, rather like men going "oh, yes, I'm sexist, I admit that", yet not changing their actual behaviour.

I'm too tired to go into this any more now, and have about fifteen tabs open of things to reply to, so may not be able to come back to this - I'm sorry if this seems rude, but I didn't want to let this pass without saying something.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I don't think you're being rude. I think you may be drawing a false dichotomy, though. There's acknowledging. There's changing bad actions. Either can exist without the other, and both can exist in concert. That's what I think at the moment, anyway.

IMO

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

rather like men going "oh, yes, I'm sexist, I admit that", yet not changing their actual behaviour.

Acknowledging something is always the first step in a process of change. It is required for change, but not necessarily sufficient for change.

Re: IMO

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I think some people do change by osmosis, without acknowledgment or even awareness, but I do agree that most change starts with acknowledgment.

[karenbynight.livejournal.com]

It's interesting, I feel much the opposite. I was surprised to see serenejournal use the word racist in her post, because while not necessarily inappropriate, I don't think that's what the post she linked to was going for. I believe that it's possible to be single-cultural without being racist, that in fact it's difficult and time-consuming and, frankly, often detracting from the charm and interest of any particular blog for them to have to intentionally attempt a broader perspective all of the time. I think there's a lot to be gained from having blogs with specific perspectives, be they Asian or African-American or British or Californian or white.

What's racist, and I certainly acknowledge that I'm guilty of it at times, is allowing the fact that your particular ethnicity is the dominant one where you are to cause you to believe that your perspective is automatically multicultural and applicable to everyone. That being the case, the racism can be addressed simply by acknowledging that that's not the case and that your perspective is not a universal one and may not be applicable or even interesting to everyone.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I used the word "racist" because I was raised by racists. I've met them, and it's a good word.

I believe that it's possible to be single-cultural without being racist, that in fact it's difficult and time-consuming and, frankly, often detracting from the charm and interest of any particular blog for them to have to intentionally attempt a broader perspective all of the time. I think there's a lot to be gained from having blogs with specific perspectives, be they Asian or African-American or British or Californian or white.

I don't think I understand where the disagreement is here.

[abostick59.livejournal.com]

"White" isn't an ethnicity; it is something different that is more pernicious.

In saying that, of course, I have to acknowledge that I am white -- that is to say, anyone immersed in the discourse of American culture would instantly identify me as white.

Ethnically, I'm largely Anglo-American, 1/4 Irish, with a soupcon of Apache (by way of a great-great-grandmother).

"White" is a social construction, and who is considered white has changed over time. Jews in America became white sometime in the past century, for example.

I often make the mistake of treating "white" as synonymous with "Caucasian" -- which once led to a big misunderstanding in an anti-racism group I was in, when I confronted an Iranian woman in the group for identifying herself as a person on color. Yes, she's as Caucasian as I am, if not more, but try explaining that to the grocery store clerks who treat her like a potential shoplifter.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I think it's possible that all ethnicity is a social construction in this context, but I'm not sure. I'll have to think this one over.

[lysana.livejournal.com]

I think you're closer to right than you may think. I saw a bit of writing recently where it was noted that in Brazil, they don't define "black" the same way we do. Many people of African ancestry are not considered to be "black" there, and some people who are not visibly of African descent are. They use different markers (don't ask me what they are; the article didn't say). And as a woman of Irish descent, my ancestors only fully achieved "white" on Election Day in 1960.

[trixtah.livejournal.com]

I have similar doubts about such a label.

Colour is not the same as ethnicity. Ethnicity is not the same as culture. I think a lot of what people refer to when they discuss "race" are cultural differences. While sometimes the shorthand is ok, I think it's important to label cultural influences (and the level of privilege that may be associated) if that is what one is talking about.

So, I'm a Paheka (European-descended) New Zealander. Sure, because I'm "white", I have a certain degree of privilege in NZ society. But a pakeha cultural identity is not the same as a "white" American cultural identity. The privilege set is not quite the same. We had no slavery. Maori had a lot more economic and political privilege compared to black Americans. We differ from Australians in that we had no convict settlers. As my family are mainly of Irish descent, we had a different (and reduced) privilege set compared to those who were of middle-class English descent. New Zealand as a whole has a different political impact on the world compared to the US.

In sum (to Serene), what I'm saying is your "white" is quite different from my "white". Even leaving aside your family origins and what part of the US you have ties to (since I assume a descendant of plantation owners in the South would have another interesting set of cultural influences compared to a New York Jew). While I totally think being aware of your privileges and shortcomings is valuable, perhaps being a little more specific about the context would be helpful too (although you've provided some of it).

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

In this country, being white is a cultural (and if not ethnic, than some word that means roughly the same thing) heritage. The only people I've heard say it isn't are white people.