Whites

Post Reply New Topic

What is even white?



And yes, "white people" can be the victims of racism, but one should also keep in mind privileges of cultural dominance.

Many whites in the US aren’t members of the “dominant culture,” and do not share its “privileges.”

The only way that is true, is if they are a part of a different group that is discriminated against. By dominate culture, I am not referring to being rich and affluent, you can argue that anyone of any race could reach that economic level if given the right opportunity. It is more along the lines that you could call people belonging to other races as a minority, and as long as that "white" person does not have something that makes them a minority, then they are part of the “dominant culture”.

I won't force you to watch the video I linked, but it discusses the topic of being white as something incredibly arbitrary, and hard to get a definition of. Such that in the past they would have argued against the Irish being included, and even now days you see the likes of Jewish people being separated. The video posits that being white, in the USA, is not about being anything in particular, but what you are not, not being a group that is discriminated by the "white culture".

Now, what this actually gives a "white person" can be up to much debate. Some people feel insulted by the pushing of white privilege, because they have never felt it and be suffering from financial inequalities. But again, white privilege is not about what you gain a benefit of, but that you do not receive the same disadvantages that minority groups experience, such as people of colour more likely to be arrested or charged for the exact same crime, all the systematic racism that "white people" simply do not experience. Repeat, white privilege is not about being rich and having a bunch of cool things, it is about not being as likely to be shot by police for doing absolutely nothing, or assumed to be less intelligent because of the colour of your skin.

I can show popular rightwing talkers who claim things like black people are less intelligent based on the shape of their skull, that junk. And earlier there was a comment about Asian people starting to fight against diversity initiatives in universities, which I also want to make a point that Asian people are no more intelligent either. The reasons they gained a reputation of high learners is because a lot of them have come from wealthy people who could afford their children to go for high jobs, or cultural aspects of parents being strict in studies. Regardless, they too also suffer from stereotyping prejudices as being part of minority.

I’m discriminated against because I’m autistic, weird, whatever.

I’m not going to beat the drum of “NT Privilege.”

Obviously, people of color are discriminated against in the US, and have been since the advent of European settlement. And some white Europeans have reaped the benefits of this, and are thus “privileged.”

I feel like beating the drum of “white privilege,” paradoxically, keeps alive “white privilege,” and offers an excuse for one not so apparently “privileged” to blame their failures and their conduct solely on this.

No doubt there's greed involved in withholding the cure for cancer, especially when children are stricken.

But, can you imagine how overpopulated the world would be if they cured all the adults? This can't be. Many of us would probably love to hit our 100 birthday, but there just isn't room or resources. So, if I draw the short straw (which I have, Hodgkin's lymphoma) and have a particularly intractable version of it, I get to take one for team humanity. Cancer culls, it thins out the herds. That's the truth of it.

I feel about as white as I do female, I don't feel very female. I just feel like a person. That should factor in, but it won't. If you're white, you're getting it.

Are you in chemo now, Persephone?

No, thank God. I was diagnosed in 2007. I had been having symptoms for years prior to diagnosis, but they were vague. I felt like something was wrong, but all tests came back negative. So, I was told to stop being a hypochondriac and go live my life. So, I did. Fast forward a few years, I'm 5'4" and 105lbs with my clothes on, covered in sores from the itching associated with large tumors and the proteins they make, my labs are horrible, etc... They told me nothing was wrong, so I ignored it. By the time I made it back to the doctor I felt half dead. I had a 13x7cm tumor sandwiched in between my heart and lungs, fluid in my heart sack. My PFTs were in the 50s, 80s are considered normal. And I had another fist size tumor in the space between my right lower lung lobe and diaphragm.

The doctor said I wouldn't have died from the cancer before my heart was squished enough to cause a deadly arrhythmia.

The good thing is it's a cancer that typically responds well to chemo. Which was great for me because I couldn't tolerate two of the agents. I'm 13 years out and in remission. Grateful, everyday.

My mother had Stage 1 breast cancer. Has been in remission 33 years. She only needed to have her shoulder lymph nodes removed.

You had quite a bit of “stuff” going on.

I did. Now the stuff I have going on is mostly ND stuff and Family (granddaughter). I'm taking things one at a time and handling pretty well.

Things happened so quickly once the diagnosis was made, the time of Chemo was a blur. I remember a lot leading up to the diagnosis, but not much during. It was probably traumatic, as well as painful. I'm not scared of procedures anymore, that's for sure. But, I gained like 70lbs in 6 mos from the steroids. I was like a shark! I ate everything!

The reason why white people are called “Caucasian” is because many of the common ancestors of today’s European (and some Asian) people originated from the Caucasus region.

You’re still plugging away, Persephone. That’s the most important thing.

Thanks, Kortie.

Watch about 20:13 of the video I linked above.

I can't watch the video now.

I do believe "white privilege" exists.

Just like "male privilege" existed back in Victorian days.

And many other "privileges" in the past: like "yeoman privilege" vis-à-vis the serfs.

But to harp on it, and let it affect how you view things and people......I find that to be counterproductive.

Well apparently it Caucasian is not chosen for common ancestors, but one guy finding a skull from the region that he thought was most beautiful, and thinking the "white race" is the most beautiful, figured that the region must be the origin.