[Rachel]

Although I can see why the title of the book could be mildly offensive to some, as a white person, I am not offended. Would I be if the title were comparing African-Americans to monkeys? Absolutely. Here’s why: To refer to whites as wet dogs is devoid of the explicit racism in the phrase ‘blacks smell like wet monkeys….’ because while whites have NOT BEEN systematically oppressed throughout the world and collectively been compared to animals throughout time and history, blacks HAVE. Therefore, the sentences comparing whites to dogs and blacks to monkeys are NOT analogous and are, in fact, very different when taking into account the reality of the extreme racism and acute subjugation that Africans have experienced in this society. White people and black people have had polar-opposite experiences in this world: Blacks have been physically and psychologically tortured and oppressed; whereas white society, for the most part, has been the oppressor. Of course, this does not make all whites villains or blacks helpless victims, but it is a matter of historical fact, especially in the U.S. Having said this, however, I do find the title of the book problematic in some respects. For example, most white people are bound to find it annoying or mildly offensive, which can cause increased animosity toward this perceived ‘double-standard’ in race issues and maybe even cause some of them to be more racist themselves. However, as a white person, I really hope that we can get to the point where we see that because we have not had the same experiences as black people, we CANNOT parallel our experiences to theirs in situations dealing with race. In my opinion, to do so is presumptuous, insensitive and ignorant. As white people, let’s stop being on the defensive all of the time and relax a bit…. We have no reason to worry about being the victim–we’re most clearly not. Unlike African-Americans, we are considered the ‘norm’ in society and have the privilege of ‘blending in’ without having to feel the burden of systematic racial bias and prejudice in this society…. To say that comparing whites to dogs and blacks to monkeys is the same thing shows a complete disregard of the very different collective experiences of blacks and whites in this country. While the latter analogy carries centuries of brutal racism within it, the former is something someone came up with on a whim to sell a book.

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Name : Rachel, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 27, City : Mackenzie, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : high school teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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