"Are Whites Racially Opressed?" a.k.a. "How Hard Can CNN Troll?"

[Doc Holliday]

White people separate themselves less than Hispanic people, despite the fact that in our backgrounds we actually speak different languages.

Whites have been around in this country a lot longer, and separated quite strongly early on.

My guess is they're competing for the Trolympics

[kedawa]

You have to have whites before you can have off-whites.
That's just how it works.

[Anthony]

Spanish isn't our original language.

How far back do you go before consider something "their language". 500 years isn't that much, but it was probably only like 1000 or so years ago that most of Europe began speaking the languages they do today, at the very least those of the Roman empire.

I think Diff's idea is probably largely right though.

[Fe 26]

Bite me. I don't understand racism in business at all (I know this is larger than business, but let's focus there). It's nothing short of stupid to hire/promote a less qualified candidate, whether that is due to racism or affirmative action. I suppose there could be some gray area around the image Frog mentioned in terms of its effect on qualifications. For example, attractive people may really make better sales reps. But there are many, many jobs where it doesn't mean shit, as long as they carry themselves in a professional manner and have the skills necessary.

you're being logical yoshi. That is your problem.

Have you met many millionaires? Many CEO's with 400 mill golden parachutes?

I've met a handful. And most of them were stupid dildos that prided themselves on making quick circular judgments about people based on how they looked, their body language and shit as stupid as how they shook a hand. We call that kind of shit racism, those types call it "culling the heard"

[Fe 26]

I'm of the opinion that white men are oppressed. And so are all men.

The word you people are looking for is "privilege" when you claim that white people have a certain something that gives them an edge. When you say that people have a pro white male bias, you are talking about their privilege.

The problem with the word "privilege" is that it doesn't address the burden it puts on those that have it. The reality is that all of the benefits that come with being white or male come at a cost. You are expected to live up to certain standards. You are expected to give up certain things, do certain things, and behave a certain way. You are expected to conform.

The minority rarely see or thinks of that. They are much like a child looking at an adult, or an adult looking at a child, wishing they could live that other life. The adult dreams of being young again and so care free, forgetting about how little freedom children have, while the child dreams of being an adult and having tons of freedom, but not thinking at all about all the responsibility and duty the adult has.

You see this kind of thinking when you hear old white republicans complain on and on about minorities and how easy they have it. About all the hand outs. All the jobs given to them. And minorities do the same. If only they were white. If only they went to the good schools. If only they knew other rich white people. They envy each other, not thinking for one second about the reality of each others lives.

But how are men oppressed, and how are white men oppressed? To quote Frederick Douglass, "I didn't know I was a slave until I found out I couldn't do the things I wanted.” Men can not do everything they want, because they are men. White men can not do everything they want, because they are white. They are expected to behave in a certain manner or face ridicule or ostracization. As long as there are places in America where men are treated badly for being gay, men are oppressed. As long as men give men shit for not being manly enough, for not being good enough, for being weak, men are oppressed. As long as any man gets a weird look for giving up his job to raise his children while it wife gets a better, job, men are oppressed. As long as men are expected to be religious, be successful, get married, have 2.5 kids, and a nice house, men are oppressed. As long as men are not allowed to break down, to cry, to yell, to freak out, men are oppressed. As long as it is ok for women to be crazy silly stupid bitches, while men are held to a hirer standard, men are oppressed. As long as there is an ideal male figure that men are expected to live up to or else face ridicule, shame, and punishment for failing to live up to these standards, men are oppressed.

I forget the exact quote, but a smart man once said something along the lines of "when a man chains one man, the other end of that chain is around his own neck."

So many people think only about what they don't have and how another group naturally has it, and perhaps at their expense. While the the group they envy may actually envy them for not having to be confined to the walls of the life they live. Neither person really thinking about what it must be like to be the other. Which is a real shame, because for true progress, people must learn a certain level of empathy and perspective.

[YellerDog]

Blacks = children, you were saying?

[Fe 26]

or adults?

I said minorities are like children or adults (in that they envy each other, and don't think about how the other "really" had it). Why did you assume blacks are the children, yeller?

Yeller, double secret racist?

[Nash]

I'm of the opinion that white men are oppressed. And so are all men.

The word you people are looking for is "privilege" when you claim that white people have a certain something that gives them an edge. When you say that people have a pro white male bias, you are talking about their privilege.

The problem with the word "privilege" is that it doesn't address the burden it puts on those that have it. The reality is that all of the benefits that come with being white or male come at a cost. You are expected to live up to certain standards. You are expected to give up certain things, do certain things, and behave a certain way. You are expected to conform.

The minority rarely see or thinks of that. They are much like a child looking at an adult, or an adult looking at a child, wishing they could live that other life. The adult dreams of being young again and so care free, forgetting about how little freedom children have, while the child dreams of being an adult and having tons of freedom, but not thinking at all about all the responsibility and duty the adult has.

You see this kind of thinking when you hear old white republicans complain on and on about minorities and how easy they have it. About all the hand outs. All the jobs given to them. And minorities do the same. If only they were white. If only they went to the good schools. If only they knew other rich white people. They envy each other, not thinking for one second about the reality of each others lives.

But how are men oppressed, and how are white men oppressed? To quote Frederick Douglass, "I didn't know I was a slave until I found out I couldn't do the things I wanted.” Men can not do everything they want, because they are men. White men can not do everything they want, because they are white. They are expected to behave in a certain manner or face ridicule or ostracization. As long as there are places in America where men are treated badly for being gay, men are oppressed. As long as men give men shit for not being manly enough, for not being good enough, for being weak, men are oppressed. As long as any man gets a weird look for giving up his job to raise his children while it wife gets a better, job, men are oppressed. As long as men are expected to be religious, be successful, get married, have 2.5 kids, and a nice house, men are oppressed. As long as men are not allowed to break down, to cry, to yell, to freak out, men are oppressed. As long as it is ok for women to be crazy silly stupid bitches, while men are held to a hirer standard, men are oppressed. As long as there is an ideal male figure that men are expected to live up to or else face ridicule, shame, and punishment for failing to live up to these standards, men are oppressed.

I forget the exact quote, but a smart man once said something along the lines of "when a man chains one man, the other end of that chain is around his own neck."

So many people think only about what they don't have and how another group naturally has it, and perhaps at their expense. While the the group they envy may actually envy them for not having to be confined to the walls of the life they live. Neither person really thinking about what it must be like to be the other. Which is a real shame, because for true progress, people must learn a certain level of empathy and perspective.

Look what you motherfuckers did.

[icarusfall]

It's like watching a child develop.

[Gohron]

I haven't caught up on the entire thread but I read most of it.

I don't feel oppressed at all but I see how some could twist it that way (on both sides). I once viewed an application to the University of Michigan which dictated required SAT scores for applicants. For a white person, it was 1100, for a black person, it was 700. I had a very hard time seeing as how that was not unconstitutional and VERY racist. There are a lot of little things like that in our society and it is the complete opposite (yet, just as racist) to the laws this country once tried to get away from.

While Ramon has made some slightly valid points about the relationship of race and advancement, I largely see Affirmative Action to be just as bad as Jim Crow laws. It's like saying "black, yellow and brown people aren't as smart or as good as white people so they should have an easier time to advance."

My wife is black, so in a way, half of my family is black. While I will never truly understand what it means to not be white, I can say some of the "I'm a minority and it's not fair" is bullshit. My brother-in-law is huge into this stuff and I always have to feel insensitive for battling with him. When my father-in-law died, we ran into a huge situation with the burial and he basically berated me about how because the cemetery was owned by whites (which I'm fairly certain it wasn't) that his family was treated like garbage. A lot of people seek justification for their failures or being mistreated (we all do) and it's easier to do if you feel the color of your skin dictates your life. Like Ramon said, it's a life long journey that gets you to that thinking, but at the same time, it's a life long journey of delusional thinking in a good amount of cases.