Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences - This topic has 7 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 20 years, 10 months ago by
.
- Posts
Why can’t white people have Pride days or marches, when every other racial, ethnic, religious or sexually-oriented group can?
Original Code R610. Click here to see responses from the original archives. Click “to respond” below to reply.User Detail :
Name : Gail21762, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 37, City : Arden, State : NY, Country : United States,‘They.’ ‘White People are, do, think…’ The statements and the thoughts behind them deny the existence of individual perceptions, individual experiences and individual oppressions. Any time a generalized statement is made about a group of people based on their race, it is inherently racist. In this case, many of the statements above demonstrate racism against Caucasians. To assume that ‘white people’ know nothing about oppression individually or historically is to ignore historic realities and is ultimately no more helpful or no more accurate than those who would deny that the Holocaust occurred. The reality is that we do not have ‘White Day’ celebrations because most ‘white people’ do not identify with being white. They may identify with being Irish and go to the St. Patrick’s Day celebration, etc. For the same reason, I would guess, we don’t have ‘Asian Day’ celebrations. We have more specific commemorations of individual achievements or events, like the Cherry Blossom festival (Japanese) or the Chinese New Year’s parade. African Americans mostly are avoiding labeling events ‘black events,’ and rightly so, for Juneteenth or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday celebrations are more specific and thus more accurate than a simple race identifiation. As for ‘Black History month’ and ‘Women’s History Month’ etc., I think they are regretful, for while they appear to celebrate, they in fact recognize the perception that certain groups are excluded from ‘mainstream’ history.
User Detail :
Name : Michele M., Gender : F, Religion : Catholic, Age : 31, City : San Francisco, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : EEO Programs Manager, Education level : Over 4 Years of College,The pride days that you are referring to are celebrations of freedom and accomplishment. The different groups that put these on have made huge progress in the way of gaining rights and freedom through tireless efforts of social movement. Enjoying and celebrating your white race is not a bad thing; however, to be frank, the white race was and is still perceived to be the powerful race that has had to overcome the least amount of discrimination and oppression when compared to other groups. Furthermore, it seems that groups that attempt to celebrate ‘white pride’ have negative and often racist motives.
User Detail :
Name : A.N., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : London, State : NA, Country : United Kingdom, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class,I think it is crazy to say white people have everything at their feet. I, as a white woman, think minorities have everything at THEIR feet. There is affirmative action, which places minorities in positions they may or may not be qualified for. Colleges have to accept a certain number of minorities for their quotas. I see absolutely nothing wrong with a white pride parade. I don’t think that we should have to call it a European Heritage event either. People have Black Pride parades, which encompass African, Jamacian, Hatian Americans and no one questions that.
User Detail :
Name : Mary, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 28, City : Philadelphia, State : PA, Country : United States, Occupation : social worker, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,I agree with most of the responses to this question, but I have to argue with a few points. ‘European Heritage Day’ sounds quite racist; plenty of people would object to that (including myself). The point about how those mentioned achievements were not done by whites alone was ridiculous: no one group alone has made any large-scale contribution of consequence in this country (correct me if I’m wrong). Also, to the minority studiers – white people are not worse than everyone else; they’ve just had more power.
User Detail :
Name : hk21622, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 17, City : Mt. Pleasant, State : SC, Country : United States,Maybe white people don’t have pride parades because they don’t feel a strong sense of pride. Isn’t pride what motivates all the others to celebrate, why should whites be any different.
User Detail :
Name : Chel, Gender : F, Age : 21, City : L.A, State : CA, Country : United States, Social class : Lower class,This post is a reply to notice 13`s blatant disregard for history and the truth. If you will take the time to really LEARN about something before you make statements you would know most black slaves were sold to white slave-masters by Shaka Zulu. Therefore it`s your own people that sold your ancestors into slavery. Try reading a book or bone up on something before spouting verbal diarrea from your keyboard. Thank You and have a nice life.
User Detail :
Name : Ant, Gender : M, Age : 30, City : greenville, State : SC, Country : United States,I think the question stings because at its core- it’s insensitive and blind to some central facts. Let’s begin with these questions… What would a white pride parade include? What are the national white pride symbols, colors, or rituals? What flag or banner would you display that would band white people together in celebration of their shared belief in…what??? Keep reading. I’m not angry. Just asking some questions that I think many people who bring up the ‘white pride parade’ idea fail to think through. The problem with the question is that there is no single idea or belief celebrated by whites en mass, right? Other than the ones that are…well, supremacist. Only fourth of july and labor day come close and we have those already. The point of culture celebrations is to remind a minority people of the values and beliefs of our ancestors. My husband is white and often fels that he is without a ‘home’ culture- which I found Fascinating. Never would have guessed that since growing up a black girl in the inner city. I thought his culture was THE culture. And isn’t that true of many avergae Caucasians? What whites have managed to do (that some blacks need to learn) is NOT subdivide. White is white in America. Black is ‘light skinned’, ‘high yellow’, etc. What I like about the black culture days, parades, etc is that on this day we are all just black. 🙂 Please be sensitive. I don’t think any minority group will say that we have these celebrations to make any one else feel excluded or ordinary. It’s simply a day, a few hours, for us to honor our collective past and our ancestors.
User Detail :
Name : Mesha, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 31, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class,
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.