Black People : 55 year old white man

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why is it that when ever a white man comes along and says what white men say, we all feel compelled to respond?
is there an element of control there? Pavlovian? why not just ignore?
"Compelled"? "Control"? That's victimspeak.

No one is compelled to respond. Anyone who doesn't want to respond is free to ignore. Anyone who wishes to respond is free to do so. This is a forum where we exchange opinions. We engage in the free exchange of ideas with anonymous strangers, often with those whose opinions we disagree.
 
I like your priorities.

I am guessing that if you saw me look at you funny at the grocery store, you would assume it was because of your skin color.
What do you think the white people think when I look at them funny?

I can't imagine you being inconsiderate at the grocery store, but if you are, I am going to look at you funny. It is not because of the color of your skin, but because you are being inconsiderate.

If I do, say or think anything negative towards you because of the color of your skin, why, in God's name, would you give the slightest bit of credence to my opinion? In other words, if I am a racist, they you obviously don't respect me. My opinion should me nothing to you. It should be as significant as cows mooing.
Actually I would not assume a white person was looking at me funny because of my skin color. I'm not even sure I would interpret the look as "funny." I've read stories by black people complaining about white people giving them "funny" looks on the subway, at the movies, at the airport, etc. About 20 years ago I used to make assumptions about--or interpret how--people were "looking funny" at me and fumed about it to my wife. She (who is just the sweetest thing on two feet) told me she didn't notice anything. I stopped all that nonsense then and now greet people on the street with a smile and a good morning, good afternoon, goood evening. Guess what? That ended a problem I had created.

Sometimes it's not easy to ignore the racist who has power; an interviewer for a job, a work supervisor, a police officer, a physician, etc. Sometimes the racism has to be dealt with. People who discriminate virtually never admit to it. However, they can be forced to ceased a discriminatory practice usually by some official channels (arrest, civil damages from a lawsuit, etc.). Often, that leads to resentment because "I'm not a racist. That isn't how my parents raised me. I have black friends." yada, yada, yada...

That written, there's no doubt in my mind that white racist attitudes towards blacks has reduced signigficantly over the past three generations.
 
Actually I would not assume a white person was looking at me funny because of my skin color. I'm not even sure I would interpret the look as "funny." I read stories by black people complaining about a white people giving them "funny" looks on the subway, at the movies, at the airport, etc. About 20 years ago I used to make assumptions about--or interpret how--people were "looking funny" at me and fumed about it to my wife. She (who is just the sweetest thing on two feet) told me she didn't notice anything. I stopped all that nonsense then and now greet people on the street with a smile and a good morning, good afternoon, goood evening. Guess what? That ended a problem I had created.

Sometimes it's not easy to ignore the racist who has power; an interviewer for a job, a work supervisor, a police officer, a physician, etc. Sometimes the racism has to be dealt with. People who discriminate virtually never admit to it. However, they can be forced to ceased a discriminatory practice usually by some official channels (arrest, civil damages from a lawsuit, etc.). Often, that leads to resentment because "I'm not a racist. That isn't how my parents raised me. I have black friends." yada, yada, yada...

That written, there's no doubt in my mind that white racist attitudes towards blacks has reduced signigficantly over the past three generations.


I like the cut of your jib.

My only comment is that life is filled with obstacles for everyone; some more than others. A good argument could be made for the fact that overcoming obstacles builds character and giving into them diminishes character.

Your wife sounds wise and you obviously love her. Good on both of you.
 
I like the cut of your jib.

My only comment is that life is filled with obstacles for everyone; some more than others. A good argument could be made for the fact that overcoming obstacles builds character and giving into them diminishes character.

Your wife sounds wise and you obviously love her. Good on both of you.
Life is indeed filled with obstacles for everyone, some more than others, but it is understandable when people who have faced unfairness in their lives to grow to resent the source of that unfairness. There are historical realities that rightfully tell black people to proceed with caution when dealing with whites in power. That reality can't simply be dismissed as something that happened in the past.

One problem is that even discussing the issue of race is difficult in today's environment. Many whites want to deny racism exists, claiming it's a thing of the past. Many blacks insist it's everywhere, choking every black person to death. It's difficult for sides that far apart to find common ground.

But we DO share common ground...literally. In my opinion that's where we start. We're all Americans. We're all citizens of a country with one of the highest standards of living in the world. Thanks to the civil rights battles fought together by blacks and whites and all the colors in between, we have made progress in the area of race relations. Once we stop all the "us vs. them" nonsense we will make even more progress.
 
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