I got an email today. It was all about "white pride". I got it from someone I know. It was so... Jeez. I don't even have a word for what it was. It was so wrong on so many levels, that I decided (as challenged at the end of the email) to pass it on. Only I added some commentary and factual clarification.
The email itself is in blockquotes below the fold.
Let me know what else I should add.
As I said in the intro to the diary, the email is chopped up (in order) and in the blockquotes. My responses come after each point made by the emailer.
Someone finally said it. How many are actually paying attention to this? There are African Americans, Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, Native Americans, etc. And then there are just Americans.
I'm paying attention.
You pass me on the street and sneer in my direction. You Call me "White boy," "Cracker," "Honkey," "Whitey," "Caveman" ... and that's OK.
I don't really know how to respond to this. I don't have this experience. I literally can't remember being addressed in a way that singled out my race. I have been addressed in a way that singled out my gender, but that's another story.
But when I call you, Nigger, Kike, Towel head, Sand-nigger, camel Jockey, Beaner, Gook, or Chink ... you call me a racist.
That would be, simply, because if you address another person in this fashion, you ARE a racist. The same goes for the epithets directed to a white person above. To characterize another person in terms that are largely considered profane, hurtful and reprehensible is to invoke racist language. Sorry.
You say that whites commit a lot of violence against you, so why are the ghettos the most dangerous places to live?
This is literally one of the most ridiculous and uneducated arguments I've ever heard. I don't know about whites committing "a lot of violence" against you (presumably minorities, as in all non-whites), but I DO know that whether or not whites commit "a lot of violence" against minorities is totally separate from the fact that ghettos can be dangerous places to live.
I would further point out that ghettos are not delineated by color. There are white ghettos (go to Appalachia, for starters), hispanic ghettos, black ghettos, etc. and so forth. The common thread in a ghetto is poverty. I'm frankly distressed that when you think of a ghetto, you think of ethnicity and not of poverty. Perhaps its the long-standing tendency of the powerful to refer to the poor as being poor because of their color that has you confused - has it occurred to you that it's strange for you to think of the color of a ghetto first before you think of the tragedy of poverty? Is it remotely possible that those who don't want to deal with the issue of poverty have made it an issue of race in an effort to divide and distract us?
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.
Wow. Where do I start.
Regarding the United Negro College Fund, you might visit this page on its website for a better understanding of its history. Suffice it to say that the UNCF was founded in the 1940s to address DIRE inequities in access to higher education by people of color. The reason there is not a United White College Fund, historically speaking, is because white children were not denied access in the way that black children were. Plain and simple. Further, you might enlighten yourself somewhat and understand what the UNCF does today, to include keeping black Universities solvent. Oh - and the reason there ARE black Universities, at a very simple level, is because blacks were denied access to white Universities.
Regarding Martin Luther King Jr. Day, your argument is ridiculous. We also have President's Day to commemorate the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, two white Presidents (as if there's been any other kind). The designation of the Day is to commemorate a great American. It's sad - you've totally missed one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s key points from his "I have a dream" speech - that people be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. The designation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day was that principle in action - his character made him a great American and granted him a Day like other great Americans.
Regarding Black History Month - are you really that shallow? Do you even know how or why it was established? Black History Month was the progression of Negro History Week, which began in 1926. Negro History Week was a response by prominent African American Carter G. Woodson to the misrepresentation of negroes in history. It was an attempt to RE-EDUCATE with the correct facts. It was also an effort, over time, to breed tolerance and unity. It came out of everything good as far as intentions are concerned and, thankfully, continues to this day. The fact that Black History month offends you is precisely the reason we need to have it.
You might also be interested to know what other celebratory months are out there:
- January: Bath Safety Month; Blood Donor Month; Careers in Cosmetology Month; Cervical Health Awareness Month; Eye Care Month; Oatmeal Month; to name a few (source)
- February: American Hearth Month; American History Month; Candy Month; Canned Foods Month; Friendship Month; Library Lovers Month; Potato Lovers Month; to name a few (source)
- March: Foot Health Month; Frozen Food Month; Irish-American Heritage Month; Social Worker's Month; Women's History Month; to name a few source)
I won't drag you through every month (if you want to see the list, click here and scroll down a bit to find the links). Hopefully you see how ridiculous it is to be annoyed about the designation of a month or a day or a week or a year of observance. In the next part of your email you talk about others related to religion and/or ethnicity, highlighting them as a bad thing. I hope one of two things happens after you read this: first (and best) you don't EVER complain again about such ridiculous things; OR you apply your outrage equally and send an email about how Noodle Month is unfair to whites or how Potato Lovers month is unfair to Potato Haters, etc. and so forth. Do you have nothing better to do?
Continuing.
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 HAD "white pride" days. They looked like this:
In fact, the White Pride movement that dominated American history was so strong that Southern whites, full of pride and believing that southern blacks didn't deserve to vote (despite the fact that the law guaranteed them this right), murdered in the name of white pride anyone who stood in their way:
This history is not all ancient, either. If you Google the issue you'll see that "white pride" marches and demonstrations continue to this very day.
We're all just trying to survive your "white pride".
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?
Well, in the case of the Chamber of Commerce, individual members pay for it. This link to my local Chamber of Commerce swhows the dues. This link (PDF) shows that the Black Chamber of Commerce is also paid for by member dues. And this link for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce shows that it is paid for by membership dues.
Does that answer your question?
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.
Perhaps you should refer to the discussion of the United Negro College Fund on the issue of the whites v. blacks and college access, admission and monies. A little research may help you better understand that a huge chunk of American hisotry is all about the United White College Fund (and the United Male College Fund, for that matter). I'm at a loss to understand why a private foundation to help achieve parity in college admissions is a bad thing.
I'm not sure where you are getting your information on the Million Man March, so I went to their website and saw this, excerpted from their Preamble:
"This historic event brought nearly two million men to the Nation's Capitol. It demonstrated the willingness of Black men to atone to God for our shortcomings as men, husbands and fathers; it demonstrated our willingness to reconcile differences at home, school, church, organizations and in the society in general; it demonstrated our willingness to accept responsibility to change our behavior and to strive to make our communities a more decent place to live."
My emphasis added. I don't know where to begin to point out how roundly this contradicts other things you have said in your email. Perhaps you should make even a small effort to understand what you write before you write it.
It also seems to me that being proud of one's heritage is a good thing. I'm proud of my French-English-Irish-Cherokee-Mexican heritage. I'm also proud to be an American. If you are really so very affronted by the idea that you can't have a "white pride" demonstration, you need to blame those who came before you (see KKK picture and Mississippi Burning reference above) - not minorities.
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.
This is wrong on so many levels I don't know where to begin or if I should even bother. You say in this one statement that all minorities are criminals and violent thugs. Do you know any black people? How about Hispanic people? Have you ever seen a white person charged with a crime? The blanket you throw over this community is racist. That's why it's called such.
I am proud. But, you call me a racist. Why is it that only whites can be racists?
Where do you live? Again, I'll ask you: do you know anyone who is a minority and, if so, have you ever taken the time to talk to them about the subject? I had a very dear friend in college who was very light-skinned. She was bright, hard-working, and had made her way on merit. She would frequnetly tell me about racism within the African American community related to the relative lightness or darkness of a person's skin. As a white person, this had really never occurred to me and I was curious, so I asked her for examples. She told of being invited to be a bridesmaid in a wedding for a very distant acquaintance. The reason she was asked was because she was light skinned. The bride's family wanted only light-skinned people in the wedding party.
I can't personally relate, being white and all. But a simple conversation with someone who is non-white would help you understand that racism exists in all directions. What a stupid thing to say.
There is nothing improper about this e-mail. Let's see which of you are proud enough to send it on.
There are many things improper about the email. For one, the logic used to make your "argument" is faulty at best and ridiculous at worst.
What makes it almost funny, though, is that it's an email basically asserting that you are not a racist, that your "white pride" should not be construed as racism, yet is is laden with racist, separatist overtones. Your outrage that there is a fund for (gasp) blacks to assist with college is one of those overtones. Your digusting and blanket accusation that minorities "...rob us, carjack us, and shoot at us" is offensive in the extreme.
Your email is the very reason we need the NAACP, UNCF, Black History Month, the Black Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, etc.
Funny how that worked out.
Not only am I proud enough to send this on - I'm sane enough to correct you and to call you what you are.
A racist.
