When you're aware of concepts of privilege, you'll know there's no such thing as racism against white people, just like there's no such thing as sexism against males.
I had been hoping this was said to be sarcastic, but after reading the rest of the thread, I guess you really are sincere in thinking that no racism exists against white people and that it's impossible to be sexist against males.
Yes, racism exists in which non-whites insult, belittle, denigrate, seek to harm, and even legislate to the extent they can, against whites.
The examples I'm thinking of are right here in Canada. There's an affordable housing block in Calgary, Alberta in which a white family was housed among several families of Sudanese refugees. In theory, because Canada is officially a multicultural country, everything should have been fine. But the Sudanese families were very unhappy that the non-Sudanese, aka white, family was there, and made their lives a living hell. As these were all people on some sort of government assistance, it's not like anyone could just decide to pick up and move. Things got to the point of threats of violence, harassment, and finally the white family was allowed to leave for other housing.
I honestly couldn't say if the Sudanese hated them for being white or just for not being Sudanese. But the hostility existed, and it escalated to the point where the white family had a legitimate fear for their safety.
Another example is the "Marry out, get out" policy of one of the FN reserves. It's not legal under Canadian law, but it's a policy adopted by the council that runs the reserve. Any indigenous member who married or wanted to live common law with a non-indigenous person could not have their spouse or kids living with them on the reserve. Things got very ugly, there was harassment, and it turned violent.
So do not sit there and say that no racism happens against white people. I know that some think it's only racist if the perpetrator has power over the target, but that's baloney.
As for sexism against males... I say this as someone who was raised by my grandparents, and my grandfather had the patriarchal attitude that girls and women obey the fathers and other male relatives, and told me flat-out that I was not entitled to my own opinions until I was an adult, and at that time he expected I would marry. After marriage, my opinions would be whatever my husband's opinions were.
This caused a lot of bitter arguments, and there were other things that I had to deprogram from over the years since my grandfather died.
Now all that said, there are times when sexism does occur against males. Yes, there are more instances of fathers getting custody in divorces (mine did, as long ago as 1971), but there's still an
assumption that mothers are the default best people to care for kids. And ask any male nurse if he's ever experienced snickers and derogatory comments for going into the nursing profession, flat-out assuming that male nurses must be gay or have something else "wrong" with them if they opted to do "women's work."
I'm sure there are numerous other examples, but since I'm not male, I'm not the one to talk about what I haven't had any first-hand knowledge either as an observer or as one who experienced the prejudice.
Oh white guilt (and male guilt) is so absolutely necessary right now, because of historical oppression of minorities and women, and it's still going on today, so your dominant class totally needs to realize what it's done and figure out how to even things out, and you know there's still such a very long way to go, right? Oh it's totally not at all about self hate, it's about recognizing how white (males) are still dominating in so very many ways.
Nobody is saying that white males haven't, or don't still, have a long way to go. What some people here are saying is that they're not the
only guilty parties.
I don't feel at all comparing sins of other cultures is in any way relevant?
It's relevant to acknowledge that they've happened in the past, are happening in the present, and will continue to happen in the future.
Guilt is not just about past crimes, but also you and I enjoy privilege right now that others don't, and we need to feel guilt for that, because we have to work to change injustice.
If they haven't perpetrated any oppression, why should they feel guilty? Should I feel guilty now because there's a chance that some ancestor of mine was a Viking who murdered people in England and Ireland? I don't know if it happened in my family, and if it did, it's nothing to do with
me, and I'm certainly not living on any wealth gained by looting a monastery over a thousand years ago.
There are nuances to this whole issue of guilt - it's okay to not feel guilt if you personally didn't do anything and couldn't have prevented the wrongs from happening. What isn't okay is to not acknowledge that the wrongs happened and to strive to not commit them in the future.
As a white male especially you have advantages over minorities and women, and not feeling guilt about that is contributing to institutionalized racism, sexism, and other forms of discriminatory oppression. Like a bit part of the whole progressive movement is to help people see this, right?
Are you accusing specific male posters here of being sexist? Sure, some are. But most, from my observations, aren't. If you mean a general "you" it would be helpful to make that clear.
I do think that
@Mr. Laser Beam is correct: There is a difference between guilt and responsibility.
There's also a difference between guilt, responsibility, and acknowledgment.
Am I guilty of perpetrating any of the crimes against the native population of Canada? I don't think so. I was never a part of the decision to establish and perpetuate the residential school system, and I was a child during the Sixties Scoop. So I do not, and should not, feel guilt about that. I acknowledge that it happened, and my view is that it's something that the government of Canada, along with the Anglican and Catholic churches, should be deeply ashamed of, along with anyone else who ever supported these institutions and programs.
The responsibility I feel
is to acknowledge that they happened and to teach others (where appropriate) that they happened. As far as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is concerned, I'm in agreement with parts of it. What I'm not in agreement with are some of the attitudes regarding cultural appropriation and if any indigenous person ever calls me a "colonizer" (one of the new terms for "white person of European ancestry"), I will be very angry. I was born here. I was not born in Europe. My grandparents and great-grandparents acted lawfully in acquiring their land they homesteaded.
It's a situation that can't be viewed as a black and white thing (no pun intended). There are many shades of grey, both legally and culturally.
I am hoping for robots someday running things. They won't have any of our emotional baggage. It will be all based on pure logic.
Jason
That's very much dependent on what the robots are programmed to see as "logical." They could easily be programmed to see all people with green eyes as inferior, and it won't be an emotional thing other than on the part of the programmer.
I would not want to give the robots emotions. Basically we need Data to run the planet.
Jason
Interesting example, since Data always tried to understand emotion and tried to develop it in himself, prior to acquiring his emotion chip.
I mean look that this shit.
