The racisim double standard


LaShawn Barber nails the double standards and the reasons for them
One of the reasons I read LaShawn Barber is that she's proud and black and hates the politics of victimhood. I may not always agree with her, but often she says what needs to be said. Like this time.

Black and hispanic pride is all the rage. In fact, a black person runs a good chance of being called a self-hater if he doesn’t express pride in his race. But not a white man. Imagine the rioting and protests that would ensue if white pride went mainstream: Congressional White Caucus, National Association for the Advancement of White People, White Entertainment Television…

Blacks who don’t agree with this post will say, “But whites have always dominated America, so they never needed groups with ‘White’ as part of the name. It was understood that whites looked out for their own interests at the expense of blacks. So-called black pride is not the same as white pride. Blacks wanted their fair share, which was denied them all these years. Blacks needed to be proud of who they were after being told they were inferior for centuries.”

Am I close?

Such a response is legitimate, but the time has passed. Reconstruction is over. We should all be held to the same standards, and if not, get rid of the standards. If white racialism is evil, so is black, hispanic, Asian — whatever — racialism.

I really don't like separating people into "races," but the fact is that in the popular perception those of us who look "white" aren't allowed to criticize any action of any "person of color."

That reminds me of a story from my Corporate Clone days. One of my hats was in HR, but another one was to run a department at the operations level. That meant I did quite a few interviews. One of the people who didn't make it through the interview process was a young lady who happened to be black. A week later I was served. It seemed that the young lady filed a complaint against me and the company with the EEOC.

Well, it took a while to get through all the paperwork and go through all the little steps, but we finally got the investigator from the EEOC to the office. I showed him through the department, and the next day the complaint and lawsuit were dropped.

My staff was 80% Navajo, you see.

The point is that when it comes to "race," a "white" person is assumed to be guilty, even without proof.

As far as I am concerned, you are human. Where you go from there depends on your actions, not on your membership in some group.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Fri - June 30, 2006 at 04:32 AM  Tag


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