Proud to be White:

[svengali]

This turned up in my inbox today and I liked it enough to pass it on to everyone here. It was an address to a U.S. Court by Michael Richards, (better known as "Kramer" from Seinfeld) who was defending himself against accusations that he used racist language in his comedy act.

Proud to be White:

"Someone finally said it. How many are actually paying attention to this? There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans.

You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You call me 'White boy,' 'Cracker,' 'Honkey,' 'Whitey,' 'Caveman'... and that's OK. But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink20.. You call me a racist.

You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you... so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?

You have the United Negro College Fund.

You have Martin Luther King Day.

You have Black History Month. You have Cesar Chavez Day.

You have Yom Hashoah. You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.

You have the NAACP. You have BET... If we had WET (White Entertainment Television), we'd be racists. If we had a White Pride Day, you would call us racists.

If we had White History Month, we'd be racists.

If we had any organization for only whites to 'advance' OUR lives, we'd be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, a Black Chamber of Commerce, and then we just have the plain Chamber of Commerce. Wonder who pays for that??

A white woman could not be in the Miss Black American pageant, but any color can be in the Miss America pageant.

If we had a college fund that only gave white students scholarships... You know we'd be racists.

There are over 60 openly proclaimed Black Colleges in the US. Yet if there were 'White colleges', that would be a racist college.

In the Million Man March, you believed that you were marching for your race and rights. If we marched for our race and rights, you would call us racists.

You are proud to be black, brown, yellow and orange, and you're not afraid to announce it. But when we announce our white pride, you call us racists.

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us. But, when a white police officer shoots a black gang member or beats up a black drug dealer running from the law and posing a threat to society, you call him a racist.

I am proud... But you call me a racist.

Why is it that only whites can be racists??

BE PROUD TO BE WHITE!

It's not a crime YET... but getting very close!"

Food for thought, if the politically correct have their way how long before this becomes a problem in this country?

 

[kelth73]

Food for thought. Yes for sure!!

 

[corneus]

Interesting post Sven, but Michael Richards never said it.

See snopes.com: Michael Richards - Proud to be White

edit: I almost didn't finish this because Kelth73's avatar kept distracting me! :

 

[another_guy00]

not proud to be white happy white people have done alot of bad things in this world but i'm happy to be here living my life in australia with out this life would suck

 

[omnedon2]

Good post Sven, although I have seen it before, with the same disclaimer regarding who said it, but regardless of who said it, and where, it is still a valid statement.
I deal with people from many walks of life, and have found racism and the "chip on the shoulder" exists in people of all creeds and colours, so its not just 'us whiteys'.............
Good onya for having the balls to post it, but you will no doubt, have a few bucketfulls tipped on your head for your trouble.

 

[swingingstories]

Hi Sven and others,

I enjoyed reading this post, whilst I hadn't seen it before, I had personally had some of these thoughts myself. It is a complex issue, because previously minority groups have had a genuine case for asserting their basic human rights. Ethnic groups, sexual persuasion, religious beliefs and myriad other differences have often been used to oppress people and shaking those shackles is often a struggle.

The problems arise when things change and more acceptance occurs and then the previously oppressed people actually appear not to just want equality but then want to assert supremacy. Even previously tolerant and accepting people can then build resentment and it seems resort to unacceptable bigotry.

What is the solution? Well that's a too big question for me, and may be one that is never fully achieved. I do not consider myself to be a racist person, however I know that I hold certain stereotypes that stem from racial or genetic profiling. Certain characteristics are more prevalent in specific nationalities and this is often not based on colour, however being very visual animals, human beings notice prominent physical differences first. When you see a black person, you do not have to speak to them to see the difference, but a conversation is required to learn personality traits.

I personally feel that changes must take place on an individual level. "Birds of a feather, flock together" so you find that racial groups living outside their land of origin will probably gravitate towards each other. No doubt there will be the occasional white person who is completely accepted in the "ghetto" because they "fit in" despite being of different ethnic origin. So is the commonality the skin colour, or the behaviours and preferences of these people.

In this country much is often made of the disparity between percentage of the population that is aboriginal and percentage of the prison population that is aboriginal. I say, if you don't want to go to prison, don't break the law. It doesn't matter what your skin colour is, just don't do it. Personal responsibility - what an idea.

So each of us must decide our path in life and go out there and get it. If we maintain a victim mentality, applying the oppression or pain of our forebears to our life then we will always be at the affect of others. Rather than trying to forget the past, we should embrace all that has created the fabric of who we are - pleasant or unpleasant - and then say, "Who do I want to be now", "What do I want out of my life", and then we should set in place plans to achieve those ends.

Small steps one after the other and we can do anything we want.

Love, swingingstories

 

[omnedon2]

Very well put Swingingstories.

 

[stewporn]

I've seen this posted before, and also saw a pretty good take down of it too. Can't flippin remember where though...

Things like the NAACP, United Negro College Fund, BET, Black history month etc ... its easy to forget why they came into existence. IF you were oppressed on the basis of your race, denied the vote, forced to drink from different water fountains, and generally looked down on as shit then you'd probably start up some of these organisations too. You'd need something like the NAACP to fight for your civil rights, you'd need something like the United Negro College Fund to get your kids a good education, you'd need BET and Black history month to remind yourself and your loved ones that despite what broader society sometimes tells you, your skin color does not make you worthless. Us white people don't have these kinds of organisations because we have no real need of them. We don't need a white pride movement because we don't live in a society telling us we have little to be proud of.

Moreover the 'white pride' movements that do exist are usually actually white supremacist movements. Which is something quite different. Saying white people are cool is basically ok. Saying everyone else sucks and please step this way into the gas chamber is not. If you want someone to blame for why it aint cool to be proud of your whiteness blame the fascists, nazis, skinheads, and various other knuckle-draggers who gave the phrase white pride its bad name.

In countries like the US and Australia attitudes regarding race have improved dramatically in recent decades. Overt forms of racism are largely frowned upon. The more subtle stuff though is still common. And still has a big impact on those its aimed at. As human beings we seem to be hardwired in some way not to trust the 'other' too readily. Whether it be the other race, other religion, even the other sex. Yet we're capable of getting over a lot of that crap with some effort. And we are gradually. I still think though that if aliens ever arrive on earth half the planets heads will implode from the xenophobic rage that will suddenly flood them. If we have issues with other human beings with relatively minor differences from ourselves, then two headed little green blobs of hyper intelligent goo will just send many of us off the rails entirely

Shoot this post is long...

 

[stewporn]

You rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us.

This is the single most disturbing line in the whole thing. It highlights the Us and Them mentality in which black people or hispanic people are viewed as a monolithic entity. When one of them robs or shoots you, its like they all did it. It makes no sense from a rational point of view... if a white guy kills someone are all white people at fault? Of course not. Why a different standard for black people or other minorities?

Hope you don't think I'm picking on you too much Svengali. I realise you copy and pasted something that you agree with in a broad sense, but not necessarily on every individual point.

 

[stewporn]

"Why is it that only whites can be racists??"

Obviously anyone can be racist, black, white or whatever. The issue is who suffers more from it? There's plenty of racism directed from black to white. But it doesn't have the same impact on the whole because on average black people don't have their hands on as many levers of power as white people do. Black people are less likely to be interviewing white people for a job, than the other way round for instance.

Black people suffer more from racism, basically.

 

[frendoto]

May I say that knee-jerk accusations of racism and any false accusations of racism disgust me as much as racism itself. May I also say that the political hysteria attached to issues of race, a hysteria we import from America, also disgusts me.

May I also say that the tall, very dark African women walking around my local shopping centre melt my heart in ways they will never know.

 

[svengali]

May I say that knee-jerk accusations of racism and any false accusations of racism disgust me as much as racism itself. May I also say that the political hysteria attached to issues of race, a hysteria we import from America, also disgusts me.

May I also say that the tall, very dark African women walking around my local shopping centre melt my heart in ways they will never know.

My sentiments exactly.

Although white I have suffered a kind of racism during my school years when my "pommy accent" singled me out as different. In my turn I was probably pretty mean to the "dings, "yugos" and other assorted "wogs" who shared school with me and had a limited command of English.

I like to believe that I and society generally have grown out of this to a large extent. I am proud to count several Vietnamese, Italians and Germans among my friends and it is great to walk past a nearby school and see kids of all races and colours playing together. Sure there are still some redneck ockers out there but they are a minority.

This is a great country to live in partly because we just don't seem able to muster the kind of deep seated hatred necessary to cause race riots and major civil uprisings. I hope things stay that way.

 

[karlitostuerca]

very well put svengali, there is space for all of us in this fantastic land.
oh! yes, you need a hair cut