Poll: Question for the visible minorities, have you ever wished you were white?
- Thread starter Lufia Erim
- Start date
Recommended Videos
... Well, obviously, I'm not the target of your question, since I'm one of the whitest people you could find. (as in actual skin colour; I make other white people look like they have dark skin)
My last name sometimes has caused minor issues (it's polish. Polish immigrants get a bit of flack in the UK, I've noticed. Not tgat I am one. Never even set foot in Poland, ever)
That aside, I am part of several minorities of other kinds (bisexual for instance), but those aren't always immediately obvious, so it doesn't serve as much of an analogy.
Being female isn't a minority group, but somehowit gets treated like one, which is depressing on several levels.
Obviously, the implication of your question is have you ever wished to be a different race to the one you are.
Can't say that I ever have aeriously. Have at times wondered if my life would've made a little more sense if I were Japanase. (peobably not, given what I know about the real country, rather than rhe weird ideas you might get from watching anime)
Anyway, since the real core of your question wasn't directed at me, I'll leave now. XD
No sense derailing things further.
My last name sometimes has caused minor issues (it's polish. Polish immigrants get a bit of flack in the UK, I've noticed. Not tgat I am one. Never even set foot in Poland, ever)
That aside, I am part of several minorities of other kinds (bisexual for instance), but those aren't always immediately obvious, so it doesn't serve as much of an analogy.
Being female isn't a minority group, but somehowit gets treated like one, which is depressing on several levels.
Obviously, the implication of your question is have you ever wished to be a different race to the one you are.
Can't say that I ever have aeriously. Have at times wondered if my life would've made a little more sense if I were Japanase. (peobably not, given what I know about the real country, rather than rhe weird ideas you might get from watching anime)
Anyway, since the real core of your question wasn't directed at me, I'll leave now. XD
No sense derailing things further.
Is that so? Because I wonder which of us is whiter? My skin with a tan is paler than most people are without one.,, >_< (sigh. This feels immensely stupid. But I hear you on the minority thing. When I walked around england I noted how rare it was to see anyone as pale as me. There's white, and then there's whatever I am. Which apparently, not many people are. Doesn't stand out on a superficial level, but when you really start looking around... Very unusual)Vicarious Reality said:
Not really. I'm 1/2 Asian and 1/2 Polish.
I'm a very Asian looking man with a very Polish sounding name. Lived in several place throughout the US and I rarely felt I was being made fun of for my ethnicity. I also never felt I was hated because of ethnicity, though my experience with World of Tanks gives me the impression that I might catch some flak for being Polish in some parts of Europe.
I'm a very Asian looking man with a very Polish sounding name. Lived in several place throughout the US and I rarely felt I was being made fun of for my ethnicity. I also never felt I was hated because of ethnicity, though my experience with World of Tanks gives me the impression that I might catch some flak for being Polish in some parts of Europe.
Not really, because since I'm half-Asian (nothing about me looks Scottish, actually) I get to play the race card. When trying to get into higher education or employment, they'll more likely bring me along for the sake of being diverse. XD
Nope, since being Lithuanian has helped me in some cases and annoyed me in others.
For eg:
My tuition fees for the uni I want to go to are charged at the EEA/EU rate, which means I won't be drowning in debt upon finishing my course, but:
-I couldn't vote in the UK General elections, despite the fact that I will be staying in this country for the next elected term
-I have to keep proving my address to Student Finance, and I had to send off my ID to them by post, something that UK citizens would never have to do
And yes, Lithuania is classed as a minority: only 3 million people in my home nation. We have our own traditions and our own language, and we were forced into the USSR at the end of WWII, in addition to many years of oppression by the Russian Empire beforehand.
In general though, I'm glad to be Lithuanian and to have an EU citizenship. Don't really want to change it or my ethnicity.
For eg:
My tuition fees for the uni I want to go to are charged at the EEA/EU rate, which means I won't be drowning in debt upon finishing my course, but:
-I couldn't vote in the UK General elections, despite the fact that I will be staying in this country for the next elected term
-I have to keep proving my address to Student Finance, and I had to send off my ID to them by post, something that UK citizens would never have to do
And yes, Lithuania is classed as a minority: only 3 million people in my home nation. We have our own traditions and our own language, and we were forced into the USSR at the end of WWII, in addition to many years of oppression by the Russian Empire beforehand.
In general though, I'm glad to be Lithuanian and to have an EU citizenship. Don't really want to change it or my ethnicity.
I'm apparently on the endangered species list.
Black man in New York.
I'm 6'2 and a personal trainer by trade. People tend to see me as the manifestation of evil just by outward appearances. I literally see people jump when they first notice me. That could be because of my face, but whatever.
Yes. I wish sometimes I was white.
Because to be white is to be free in this society. A lot of Cis white males do bemoan they don't have total power any more. That they are being persecuted due to the liberal, feminist agenda. I rather that persecution any day than to be shot dead by cops for no reason, and having people scour over my past for one misdeed and say "See that? He was a thug. It was a matter of time anyway."
I've also noticed a lot of those Cis white males who hate that they feel accused of everything... turn around and say that Shot Unarmed Black Man Of the Week (I'm calling him SUBMOW for short) deserved it because of the hard job that police officers have to go through and that black people should just remain still and submissive. The 'belabored' Cis White Males want no kowtowing or persecution for themselves... but fully expect a factually oppressed group to be even more submissive as a way to deal with their already brutalized treatment, due to the idea of a 'hard job' and prison numbers that government has gone on record in admitting it was probably inflated due to racism or prejudice.
I'm often considered dumb until I speak. Then when I speak and Heavens above, I am intelligent... they look at my skin and asked if I was mixed. Like the idea of an intelligent minority could only happen if I had the benefit of a white parent. Both of my parents are black but light skinned, by the way.
Being the 'Black Guy White People can Talk to' gets to be a little distressing. Because on the one hand, yes, it could be considered nice that white people are trying to get what is happening in the black community. But the idea is so wrong. The plight of the American Black Community is not something that is opaque. We know exactly what happened. We know of Slavery, we know of lynching, we know of governmental racism, we know of the civil rights movement, we know of the real estate agents who would only sell black people apartments in poor neighborhoods creating ghettos, we know of poorer education standards in black communities, we know of lack of jobs due to unspoken quotas in higher employment... there's never been a veil to these things. People have been open to it. And those who haven't been have been caught on tape for everyone to see.
So the distressing part is that those white people who want me to be an ambassador to why blacks do what they do... they can fully learn about all that stuff in school or university or just by living life, yet still put up a mental barrier between them and blacks or were unable to take it down after the fact. It's mind blowingly scary.
Also, I don't get to pull them aside and ask them "Hey, A lot of you white people are walking around with assault weapons and blowing people away at random. What's up with that?". They would look at me confused. How are THEY supposed to be in the mindsets of those people? The only similarity is that they are white. And that's not enough of a link to be able to understand the mindset of those wackjobs. But that admittedly tenuous link between them and mass shooters is strong enough to have me be able to answer for all of the black community.
In short, white people get to be individuals and have their lives dictated by their own actions. Blacks live by committee and must suffer all hatred and mistrust due to individuals' actions.
Black man in New York.
I'm 6'2 and a personal trainer by trade. People tend to see me as the manifestation of evil just by outward appearances. I literally see people jump when they first notice me. That could be because of my face, but whatever.
Yes. I wish sometimes I was white.
Because to be white is to be free in this society. A lot of Cis white males do bemoan they don't have total power any more. That they are being persecuted due to the liberal, feminist agenda. I rather that persecution any day than to be shot dead by cops for no reason, and having people scour over my past for one misdeed and say "See that? He was a thug. It was a matter of time anyway."
I've also noticed a lot of those Cis white males who hate that they feel accused of everything... turn around and say that Shot Unarmed Black Man Of the Week (I'm calling him SUBMOW for short) deserved it because of the hard job that police officers have to go through and that black people should just remain still and submissive. The 'belabored' Cis White Males want no kowtowing or persecution for themselves... but fully expect a factually oppressed group to be even more submissive as a way to deal with their already brutalized treatment, due to the idea of a 'hard job' and prison numbers that government has gone on record in admitting it was probably inflated due to racism or prejudice.
I'm often considered dumb until I speak. Then when I speak and Heavens above, I am intelligent... they look at my skin and asked if I was mixed. Like the idea of an intelligent minority could only happen if I had the benefit of a white parent. Both of my parents are black but light skinned, by the way.
Being the 'Black Guy White People can Talk to' gets to be a little distressing. Because on the one hand, yes, it could be considered nice that white people are trying to get what is happening in the black community. But the idea is so wrong. The plight of the American Black Community is not something that is opaque. We know exactly what happened. We know of Slavery, we know of lynching, we know of governmental racism, we know of the civil rights movement, we know of the real estate agents who would only sell black people apartments in poor neighborhoods creating ghettos, we know of poorer education standards in black communities, we know of lack of jobs due to unspoken quotas in higher employment... there's never been a veil to these things. People have been open to it. And those who haven't been have been caught on tape for everyone to see.
So the distressing part is that those white people who want me to be an ambassador to why blacks do what they do... they can fully learn about all that stuff in school or university or just by living life, yet still put up a mental barrier between them and blacks or were unable to take it down after the fact. It's mind blowingly scary.
Also, I don't get to pull them aside and ask them "Hey, A lot of you white people are walking around with assault weapons and blowing people away at random. What's up with that?". They would look at me confused. How are THEY supposed to be in the mindsets of those people? The only similarity is that they are white. And that's not enough of a link to be able to understand the mindset of those wackjobs. But that admittedly tenuous link between them and mass shooters is strong enough to have me be able to answer for all of the black community.
In short, white people get to be individuals and have their lives dictated by their own actions. Blacks live by committee and must suffer all hatred and mistrust due to individuals' actions.
If we are talking about mass shootings, whites commit them at the same rate as blacks (or in other words, they commit it as the same rate as their population). Asians commit mass shootings far higher than their population, and Latinos commit mass shootings lower than their population rate. So really, only Latinos can lob that criticism at anyone.ObsidianJones said:
I would also like to point out that nobody gave the black community crap for the DC sniper
http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/27/us/mass-shootings/
According to data compiled by Mother Jones magazine, which looked at mass shootings in the United States since 1982, white people -- almost exclusively white men -- committed some 64% of the shootings.
The examples are infamous. Roof and the Charleston church massacre. Lanza and the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Holmes and the slaughter inside an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater.
Black people committed close to 16% of the mass shooting Mother Jones looked at, while Asians were responsible for around 9%. People identified as either Latino, Native American and unknown rounded out the study.
The examples are infamous. Roof and the Charleston church massacre. Lanza and the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Holmes and the slaughter inside an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater.
Black people committed close to 16% of the mass shooting Mother Jones looked at, while Asians were responsible for around 9%. People identified as either Latino, Native American and unknown rounded out the study.
Although in your example i suppose you could pull over any man and say "why do you keep blowing people away." You could also pull over a white person and ask "why do you keep committing suicide," that is a fair criticism (probably due to European culture's....unhealthy view towards dealing with stress for centuries).
You do touch upon a point where whites in the US have no connection to one another other than the color of their skin. They have no common culture or traditions (there are strong ethnic ties though), which is why whites generally dont care what happens to other whites more so than any other person. There have been plenty of examples of whites not being outraged when police shoot a white victim.
As an aside this seems like a thread where people are going to squabble in between the sociological and common (read logical) definitions of racism.
Well, I can pass for white pretty damn easy ever since I hit puberty and I often use my mother's maiden name because it's easier to spell so it hasn't been an issue for me.
Heck I don't even understand the reasoning behind it either, it isn't like being white is going to change much of your life, then again I don't live in America, to see the crazy shit that goes down there, so take that with a grain of salt.
It seems a bit odd to me, one willing to cut off the entirety of their heritage for what appears to be very minor advantages, or the possibility if you like critical white theory or end up living outside of the first world countries.
Also even though I have reason to believe that's this is poe's law as far as I understand the majority of white dudes complaining about the larger sects of feminism are contained to the internet, else it would have met far more resistance. Through the simple fact of the matter that they have institutional power by you own semi sociological theories.
Well, I can pass for white pretty damn easy ever since I hit puberty and I often use my mother's maiden name because it's easier to spell so it hasn't been an issue for me.
Heck I don't even understand the reasoning behind it either, it isn't like being white is going to change much of your life, then again I don't live in America, to see the crazy shit that goes down there, so take that with a grain of salt.
It seems a bit odd to me, one willing to cut off the entirety of their heritage for what appears to be very minor advantages, or the possibility if you like critical white theory or end up living outside of the first world countries.
I cannot honestly tell if this is Poe's law, good show.ObsidianJones said:
Also even though I have reason to believe that's this is poe's law as far as I understand the majority of white dudes complaining about the larger sects of feminism are contained to the internet, else it would have met far more resistance. Through the simple fact of the matter that they have institutional power by you own semi sociological theories.
I hate to argue semantics or split hairs as I do like your post and felt it was fairly well reasoned but just in of in itself slavery is not racist. Now it did become racist after the south stopped using indentured servants (and frankly from what I have heard they treated the slaves better than the indentured servants, it's a property v liability sort of thing, you actually want your slaves to live). And the only other racial ideology applied to slavery I know about in the western world was the Abbasid/Sejuk Caliphate (see slavs). otherwise I agree with:Lightknight said:
My grandfather was pretty big on that, he chaired and helped found a number of institutions that helped support promising Jamaican (yout') leave that shit hole country (It is one, stay out of kingston, do not swim in the oceans and don't leave the hotel). The best option I see is help supplement the education they have access to. Otherwise I don't think you can fix that sort of thing, it's the old you can't lead a horse to water problem. Perhaps an urban revival might be necessary, focusing on he infrastructure of America might be the ticker. Then again you really do not actually have power over that conventionally or really much at all. This is the sort of problem you'd have to dedicate your entire life and amass a fortune to even have a chance of fixing. Kind of humbling when you think about it.
Before I respond, may I ask your background? Race, areas you grew up in, all of that?cleric of the order said:
Well, I just personally wanted to see if you had the same exact background, lived in the same exact area, and talked to the same exact area before you baselessly refuted my life's experiences with an internet ideal.
I mean, if we lived the same life, did the same things, I'd understand if you could have caught me out and pointed a finger at what I've experienced and what not.
I've heard the complaints levied to me in real life, and in the air as I waited for the subway when they thought no one was listening. Or hell, didn't care. Anti Feminists are a lot like closed racists. They know the hell they will catch if they express their ideals in public. So they smile and pretend they are ok with everything. But they still have their true feelings.
I mean, if we lived the same life, did the same things, I'd understand if you could have caught me out and pointed a finger at what I've experienced and what not.
I've heard the complaints levied to me in real life, and in the air as I waited for the subway when they thought no one was listening. Or hell, didn't care. Anti Feminists are a lot like closed racists. They know the hell they will catch if they express their ideals in public. So they smile and pretend they are ok with everything. But they still have their true feelings.
Well, I'll get this out of the way and say I'm half white, but it doesn't show as far as the way people treat me, past or present.
Not even enough to warrant sometimes, so No. Maybe in passing as a child, but I largely didn't care. I was myself. Between the prism of racism I received, and damn near everyone being pure assholes in other ways, it didn't seem to matter.
Not even enough to warrant sometimes, so No. Maybe in passing as a child, but I largely didn't care. I was myself. Between the prism of racism I received, and damn near everyone being pure assholes in other ways, it didn't seem to matter.
Add "white people are the experts on racism" to your earlier post? Likewise men wot sexism, being getting a bit off-topic.ObsidianJones said:
I am an Indian Male and Yes, I have sometimes wished I was white.
The reason I do is that culturally I'm pretty much a white person, I don't speak Hindi, I don't watch Hindi movies or listen to Hindi music, I don't gel with Indian cultural values (especially traditional ones, plus the ones about the importance of group), and I don't follow Hinduism at all. The only Indian thing I do is basically eat Indian food.
Basically my cultural background offers me nothing, and I have no desire or regret about cutting myself away from it, so I would prefer to be white, that way I don't need to deal with the extra challenge of being a minority in Western society and I have no moments of self doubt about my cultural values.
That being said, I don't lose sleep over it, I accept that I'm an Indian and nothing short of pointless and expensive surgery is going to change that.
The reason I do is that culturally I'm pretty much a white person, I don't speak Hindi, I don't watch Hindi movies or listen to Hindi music, I don't gel with Indian cultural values (especially traditional ones, plus the ones about the importance of group), and I don't follow Hinduism at all. The only Indian thing I do is basically eat Indian food.
Basically my cultural background offers me nothing, and I have no desire or regret about cutting myself away from it, so I would prefer to be white, that way I don't need to deal with the extra challenge of being a minority in Western society and I have no moments of self doubt about my cultural values.
That being said, I don't lose sleep over it, I accept that I'm an Indian and nothing short of pointless and expensive surgery is going to change that.
As someone who lived in New Jersey for the majority of my life, I really really have a hard time seeing the kind of racism you describe. For the most part the New Jersey I grew up in, even in the most homogeneous of places, you could find examples of racism but you make it sound like they're lying in wait, hoping for the moment where they can spring from the bushes and exterminate minority populations from the planet. Don't get me wrong, I've heard some pretty racist stories, particularly about police etc, but nothing like the kind you describe. Ignorance is not good, but pure hate-filled racist rage is a bit much. New Jersey is one of the most densely populated divers states in the country, so do people but heads? absolutely. Are their stupid and misguided racist people? Sure. If you want to see the world that way, you'll see it that way.MarsAtlas said:
Nah, though I'm a special case perhaps?
I'm a "light skinned" black female for the record.
I would say I'm mixed ancestry but that's just not true, all of my family that I've ever met considers themselves black (some with lighter skin than me) thus so have I. I've gotten weird reactions to my light skinned appearance, some one once thought I was Asian while others commonly think I'm at least "bi-racial", however it is pretty obvious I'm black from my facial features and hair alone. I suppose it doesn't help that I don't "act black" by doing culturally stereotypical things like listening to rap/R&B music. I'm also extremely out of touch with my cultural heritage, never really took an African Americans studies class in college or in high school so that also doesn't help. I've also grown up in schools with a fair amount of diversity to them and had friends of all kinds of races, many of whom were African American and white, so I'm blessed I guess in that regaurd.
And honestly? Much like being a women, I think being black has given me some advantages so far in my life including getting into (and funding) college and securing jobs because, you know, "affirmative action" and all that since I'm considered a "double minority".
Ironically enough, the only times I've been directly discriminated against have from other African Americans for not being "black enough" or having light skin.
So I guess I'd say I wouldn't change anything about me. Well expect maybe my hair? I'd like straight, always moist hair, because I'm a bit on the lazy side when it comes to personal grooming and black hair takes a lot of time and effort. But I'd sooner wish for Native American or Indian hair, before a white person's.
I'm a "light skinned" black female for the record.
I would say I'm mixed ancestry but that's just not true, all of my family that I've ever met considers themselves black (some with lighter skin than me) thus so have I. I've gotten weird reactions to my light skinned appearance, some one once thought I was Asian while others commonly think I'm at least "bi-racial", however it is pretty obvious I'm black from my facial features and hair alone. I suppose it doesn't help that I don't "act black" by doing culturally stereotypical things like listening to rap/R&B music. I'm also extremely out of touch with my cultural heritage, never really took an African Americans studies class in college or in high school so that also doesn't help. I've also grown up in schools with a fair amount of diversity to them and had friends of all kinds of races, many of whom were African American and white, so I'm blessed I guess in that regaurd.
And honestly? Much like being a women, I think being black has given me some advantages so far in my life including getting into (and funding) college and securing jobs because, you know, "affirmative action" and all that since I'm considered a "double minority".
Ironically enough, the only times I've been directly discriminated against have from other African Americans for not being "black enough" or having light skin.
So I guess I'd say I wouldn't change anything about me. Well expect maybe my hair? I'd like straight, always moist hair, because I'm a bit on the lazy side when it comes to personal grooming and black hair takes a lot of time and effort. But I'd sooner wish for Native American or Indian hair, before a white person's.
So, I voted no. But yet, i'm half black and half white, so, I don't know if I should have said 'i'm already white'.
But in honestly, I haven't. I mean, I have, but only in jest or like, 'gheez I have better fashion sense for a white dude then what I look like'.
But in honestly, I haven't. I mean, I have, but only in jest or like, 'gheez I have better fashion sense for a white dude then what I look like'.
I'm always kind of amazed at how oblivious people are on that subject, given how abusive to the police I've seen white people get.ObsidianJones said:
Then again, I live in Vermont. Like, 80% of the people I know are white pot smokers with guns, and they try and use marijuana or fiurearm ownership as a justification for why a black person had it coming. I should probably stop being amazed by the lack of self-awareness involved, but jesus. We had two riots up here in the last year without a single fatality. I find it hard to believe the same would be true if the rioters were not white.
I wish I knew how to force self-reflection.