brohammas said; "I think I have a pretty solid idea of where most of the white conservatives are coming from."I read where a lot of Black people state that a white person can never understand things from a Black perspective.
I also read where Blacks criticize whites who dare to share an opinion on Black Blogs.
But is this thinking correct?
Can a white man know how a Black man thinks?
Can a Black man know how a white man thinks?
You see, there is a difference.
Most whites fail to undertake any real study of the experiences of most Black people in this country.
Most whites view the world as "White by right" and seem to expect their opinions and experiences to carry more weight in any conversation.
This isn't racist thinking - it has more to do with the culture that we see every day of our lives.
Most Blacks, whites or "others" have just grown accustomed to being (or seeing) a white person in a position of power.
Since it's always seemed to be the working model of the past, it is just assumed that it will be the paradigm of the future.
But this thinking isn't limited to only whites.
Many Blacks (and other minorities) buy into this mentality of white superiority whenever they discount any success or higher standard as that of white people.
"Acting White" is viewed by some as the same as "Doing Well".
What does this say about their thinking of the value of Acting Black?
Is it the concept of Black=Bad while White=Good?
Maybe most whites can't understand the nuances of Black life - but can Blacks understand the nuances of being white?
Can Black people tell what white people are thinking?
I'd say; "Yes".
You see, the difference is that we Blacks have been taught the ways of white (or what is generally understood as white culture) since birth.
American culture has been claimed as belonging to and invented by whites alone.
Every magazine, television show, movie, newspaper or schoolbook has always had a white spin.
Every social norm or law has been dictated and imposed to ensure the success of whites first.
(Even the social panacea Affirmative-Action has benefited more white women that it has African Americans.)
So, can Blacks speak for whites with any sense of accuracy?
If the Black person has enough experience in mastering (academically, financially and socially) today's popular culture, yes.
Can Whites speak for Blacks with any sense of accuracy?
Umm... not usually.
6 comments:
And this is why we have to teach our own history at home. Not to be exclusionary but to teach it without all the spin.
I dissagree on a minute but still hugely signifigant point.
Black people "learn" about white people from media, the older generation, and life life experience... none of which offer accurate perspective on one key aspect of white culture, motivation.
Media is as innacurate in portrayal of whites as it is black. This is due to no one wanting to watch anything too normal, only extremes and added drama. This is why reality tv has producers whispering in people's ears helping them add to the "reality".
The older generation was born and lived in the height of racial conflict. The mindset and impressions created in this time affect their view of white people and that in turn paints the way they taught us, or the next younger group. In a static society this would be fine, but while things are not "all better", they are surely not the same as the 40's-60's. Society has in fact changed. Both black and white attitudes have changed. Viewing the world through the prism of 1945 is historical but not accurate in modern application.
Personal experience.
while all black people have experience interracting with white people (the inverse is not true), reality is that most of this interraction is shallow. To truly grasp nuance, including motivation, shallow interraction will not suffice. Most white people will act differently around a black person, and more different still around a group of black people. Why this is will only come out around other white people.
How any individual acts and feels among its own group can only really be understood by that group, by an insider, by one who believes the same as the other
Now before I move to the next idea let me say that if racial reconsiliation is to happen, the huge majority of responsability is on the shoulders of white people.
I am in no position to make demands of, or dictate to black people. That being said...
One huge obstacle that I observe time and time again is one group missinterpreting the motivations behind the actions of the "other".
While white people have thin skins and get defensive, they are used to being wrong in discussions of race. Black people are usualy not as open to being wrong about white people. In general, black people think they know white people and are generally not open to alternate explanations when interpreting white motivation.
This is a huge obstacle in racial reconsiliation We whites are not penitent and reformed, but are no where near the same as our grandparents. The foundation of a black person's understanding of whites, comes from the black people in that older generation, a generation rooted in conflict.
Realize this; if all black people have experience with whites, while only a small proportion of whites have any interraction with black at all, it would follow that black people are lacking in experience with the greater number of the white population. Just as blacks are not monolithic, neither are whites. Really, what can your average black person really know about the culture of people in Wyoming? Now sure Wyoming is a small population, but add to that, the Dakotas, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, Nebrsaka, New Mexico, etc, etc.
Quite often black people think they know enough and in this security refuse to listen.
Again history dictates whites bear the bulk of responsability to reconcile, if that is even possible, but if it is to ever happen, black people may have to realize they don't know white people as well as they think they do.
I'm sure I will quickly be dissmissed as you find yourself more willing to believe your black explanation of white people rather thanthe explanation proffered by the whites themselves.
@Brohammas - actually I can agree with you on your assessment. Alot of our interactions are based on the ugliness of civil rights and hasn't really been updated to reflect the giant step forward that another generation has made.
The real issue to me is denial. To me most whites know things are spread out equally and really don't care to solve it. Most Blacks see what goes on in the inner city and know money is not being allocated properly. Most whites run from the inner city because they know there isn't the same level of safety there. So the problem becomes whites are aware but yet will just avoid it instead of address it. So to me if you want to start somewhere that's the place to start.
Now on understanding each other I think we all need to humble ourselves and just admit we don't know anything. I truly believe whites believe their way is the right way and vice versa with Blacks. How about to each his own and reserve judgment.
See the kicker is whites control mass media so since you're in charge of it how can we as Blacks think other than what you put out and produce. Now the same white media portrays Blacks as thugs when if all of us were that way you wouldn't be able to walk through Philly!
@ brohammas - Maybe I was projecting a bit.
Maybe I should have stated that most Blacks who have acquired a certain level of wealth, resources and connections have learned (what is perceived as) white culture better than even many whites.
(Think; You v. SeeNew in the discussion concerning Preppies.)
@ubj, good point but it still alludes to th etrappings of culture, not the emotions and motivations. The inner versus the outer.
@FreeMan, funny thing about whites and the media is we white folk don't relate to each other on the basis of race unless it is in contrast to a non-white. So in a movie where everyone is white they see only good guys, bad guys, funny guys, hot girls, whatever, and do not see it as a personal representation unless it is very, VERY, specific. What is seen as white culture by others is not seen as anything but "the way it is" to the numericly dominant group.
We all identify by what sets us apart. My wife and I were once asked to pick one word that best describes ourself.
She said black, I said Mormon.
@Brohammas - I agree that it's seen as the way it is by the dominant group. That's why I believe there is a disconnect because there is only one society being represented and the dominant society is either blind or stupid to notice that it's only them!
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