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comment by o_o
o_o  ·  4483 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Fear of a Black President

Oh and one more thing: What does it mean to "look white?" Wearing a cowboy hat? Listening to Johnny Cash? Going hunting? I kid, (obviously being white does not mean you do any of these things) but I think that this whole idea of looking white or acting white (which you equated with dressing well), is another really destructive idea that goes hand in hand with the articles discussion of blacks (and it should be noted all other minorities, and even one majority-women) having to be 'twice as good' to prove themselves. I would maintain that the way one dresses, talks or acts has far less to do with their race or gender, and far more to do with the economic and educational opportunities and advantages that they have received. Speaking well and dressing sharply are not exclusive to being white; (one does not do these things because they are white) therefore you can't equate such things to 'acting white', which in and of itself is also a destructive term, in my opinion, for whites as well, because it seeks to relegate certain characteristics as attributes of their skin color. A POC/woman does not speak well because they are trying to "act white" they speak well because they are well educated. Are white people maybe more likely to possess such attributes? Sure--> but it is not something inherent to their whiteness by any means.





thenewgreen  ·  4431 days ago  ·  link  ·  

"If you're not white, you're missing out. Being white is thoroughly good"

weeeee!

Louis CK is great. "If you're not white and you don't admit that it's great, you're an asshole".

b_b  ·  4483 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I agree wholeheartedly that dressing well and speaking properly are not the domain of the white man. On reread, I should have put "look white" in quotes. I was trying to be careful, because I have heard from several black and women activists that what we, as white men, expect from others is to conform to our world. For example, in order for a woman to be taken seriously at a job, we expect that she have male-associated traits, such as being unemotional, hyper rational and dominant. This is not my idea, and I don't agree with it. I was trying to anticipate someone hitting me with the "white man's world" argument, and I didn't succeed. See what poor language can do?!

o_o  ·  4482 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It got the best of both of us!