I'm proud to be white!

[SwimmingRock]

What do you think of this? Am I right in saying that "white people" are somehow discriminated against, concerning this particular issue, or am I completely of my rocker?

Pretty much, yeah. I was once at a concert and an arabic guy started asking me what drugs I was selling. I don't sell or even do drugs and informed him of that fact. He harassed me a little longer about selling to him and when I told him to leave me alone, he seriously said:"So you won't sell to me, because I'm not white, right? Fucking racist!" I hadn't so much as mentioned race. It was an utterly baffling experience.

However, I am still of the opinion that it makes absolutely no sense to be proud of the circumstances of your birth. You can be happy or displeased about it (ie I'm happy I was born to middle class parents in a first world country), but pride is something that needs to be earned IMO. It's the other side of the metaphorical coin you mentioned whereby the history of slavery, colonization etc by white people is not your fault.

 

[FallenTraveler]

I am white, and proud to be white as well. I believe that whites should be provided the same benefits minorities have, such as days, now people claim it's always whites day, that's not right.

OT: Reverse racism/discrimination is a REAL thing, even though it should just be called racism... actually saying reverse racism is kind of reverse racism in itself...

anyways, YES people do discriminate against whites, I have experienced it many times on my college campus.

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

I've screamed "I'm Black and Proud!" in public places before, and I'm about as white as they come.

Anyway, in all seriousness, when somebody says something along the lines of "I'm [insert whatever] and proud", all I can think of is to say, "Nobody cares. Sit the fuck down".

And as far as the argument "white people have done horrible things in the past" goes, yeah, they have. I haven't, so I don't see why I need to be apologetic about it.

Really, I don't understand being proud of your skin color. You can be proud of your culture, but should skin color really matter?

 

[messy]

Right... I'll try to be brief. Being proud to be your race is stupid and inherently racist. Why? Because your race is a passive trait and pride in this trait can only be justified through racism, as you would be putting your race ahead of other people's races. The reason why other races get away with it is because they're not talking about their race, they're actually talking about their culture, they just use race as a metaphor for the shared culture.

So if someone stands up and says "I'm proud to be Indian" they're referring to their Indian culture as being a worthy one and not necessarily their brown skin. The reason people say that their proud of their race/culture is because white people have gone out of their way to make every non-white race seem worthless and less than white for a very long time, so if they don't stand up for their race no one else will. Saying "I'm proud" is a rejection of the negativity associated with not being white. This is not a problem faced by white people.

So in order to solve your problem, say that you're proud to be Danish, not proud to be white (as this is stupid). Be proud of what you've done with your life and the things you've achieved, the people you've brought joy to.

This man/women/robot imitation of a human hit the nail on the head. The idea of being proud of something you had no say in is ridiculous.

You're basically saying "I'm so glad my father had sexual intercourse* with my mother, and that both the sperm and the egg contained the white gene(s)"

*Apologises if someone reading this is the result of IVF or similar procedure, the same idea can be applied.

 

[Alucard788]

I love how apologetic us white people are for all of the atrocities that people have commited against black people, yet forget that America was founded on the genocide of the Native Americans.

Except for the fact that Native Americans are given their own little countries on American soil, with their own law enforcement agencies, and are the only group genuinely allowed to place a casino anywhere in America. Just saying.

Oh yeah. That totally makes up for it. The fuck was I thinking?

I'm not saying it makes up for it, I'm saying that that's a part of their compensation. There's plenty more, but I mean, fortunes have been made on such things.

The fortunes of a few doesn't even scratch the surface of the deaths of so many.

So what do you want? Should we all up and leave North America?

Have ourselves a white genocide?

What...what do you want to happen..what would make it right?

Technically, yes. We should leave North America, from a moral standpoint.

Well I'll give you this at least your honest about it...but hey...have you left yet?

However I'd hate to see my husband be forced out...and I'm Hispanic....so do I have to leave as well? Or is being married to him make it my fault to?

 

[bluewolf]

Wow can`t believe you came out and said that. It is true but I am ashamed to admit, if you came up to me saying I`m proud to be white I might think that you were a racist.

 

[Sevre]

There's no reason to say "I'm proud to be white" beyond making threads like this, so that other people can then play the poor white man card. The whole reason people say "I'm proud to be black" or "I'm proud to be gay" is to encourage others that the racism and homophobia they encounter doesn't mean there's anything wrong with who they are.

Very few white people need that, especially Americans and Brits.

Someone give this guy a medal.

I've nothing much to add to that, people really misunderstand the messages behind the whole 'pride' movement. If I was going to tell you something to be proud of though it would be who you are as an individual not your skin/gender/race/orientation/hairstyle.

 

[Squarez]

Being a white male in America must be such a drag.

 

[Alucard788]

I love how apologetic us white people are for all of the atrocities that people have commited against black people, yet forget that America was founded on the genocide of the Native Americans.

OT: Totally agree. Why should I give you sympathy because my dead ancestors did something to your dead ancestors? It can't be changed by anything, and it's pointless to care about the past to the point where it impacts the present.

I guess according to some people my lovely, kind, and generous husband is a bad man...

...because he's white.

For no other reason than that.

He shouldn't have to pay for the sins of his ancestors.

 

[Thespian]

I don't know, I guess I find pride in things I control, not in stuff I can't. I mean, I have hazel eyes, should I be proud of that? I don't think so, but then again, I shouldn't be ashamed.

Genetics and luck, that's all it is, so I don't see any reason to warrant pride or shame.

This, exactly. I'm not proud of being, say, White, or being Irish, more than I am of being from Earth or for existing.
Likewise, I'm not proud of being Gay, but I'm proud of being out and comfortable with it. But simply being something isn't an accomplishment.

If someone stands up in a room, as the OP put it, and says "I'm black and proud" then I'm going to hear that whilst assuming that they underwent some sort of discrimination in their life which they overcame. That's why I'd clap. I would if someone said they were proud they were white too.
If I knew that they were just proud they were white because like, why not then I wouldn't even turn my head.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I'm not entirely sure why anyone is proud to be [insert race here].

'Yippy for me, I was born with [insert skintone here]. That doesn't necessarily make me any different from anyone who isn't [insert skintone here], but I'm still proud of this innocuous little fact that I had no choice about... because. '

I don't even consider what ethnicity I am on a day to day basis. It's not something that has really ever concerned me. And it bugs me when people draw attention to it and wave it around like some retarded badge of honour.

I mean, why aren't we past this?

If I see a black/white/yellow/red person, my first thought isn't 'he's B/W/Y/R'. It's more likely 'I like/dislike those clothes' or 'cool hair do.' Something along those lines.

I'm not proud to be white any more than I'm proud to have 10 toes. And I tend to have a low opinion of anyone who feels the need to draw attention to their race/creed whatever as some sort of ident. Or feel they have to justify it in some way.

But.... what you're saying has a ring of truth to it. Generally you don't hear of anyone apart from white people being accused of racism. Even if someone is being overtly and often volatility racist.

It's just one of the stupid little idiosyncrasies of our society. Give it a few hundred years. Maybe we'll have forgotten about it.

I call you friend. I kinda wanna ask those people if they want a pat on the back for their ethnicity or whatever they are proudly telling everyone about. It's annoying and I hope to God it ends much sooner than a few hundred years because I'm getting really tired of hearing all this proud bullshit.

 

[Caliostro]

I think the great Morgan Freeman put it best:


White pride, black pride, gay pride, woman pride. All it serves is to further alienate. Things like "black" and "white" should simply be used as descriptors, like saying someone is tall, or bald. Ironically, that's the one time we're afraid to use it isn't it? Why would you be proud of being black or white? Are you proud of being tall? Or having whatever colored eyes you do? It's a ridiculous notion isn't it?

It's ironic that we're more concerned with saying "that tall black man" when describing a person than we are of coming up with something like "black pride".

 

[gibboss28]

Not at all. You'll find the same hypocrisy applies to just about every minority that exists on the planet.
Also this guy makes a good point on the issue:
Skip to about 1:00. the author doesn't seem to understand the concept of moderation when it comes to intros. And also, don't comment about how he's ripping off Yahtzee, I'm well aware of that.

He's got a few good points but nothing that really can't be countered with "you're using some vague generalisations"

also on the 'the yahtzee ripping off' comment, i'd say his voice trumps the ripping off thing...because boy that was a bit on the annoying side

 

[gokenshadow]

Addressing your title (because the title of a post is inseparable from the post itself), as George Carlin once said, "To me, pride should be reserved for something you achieve or attain on your own, not something that happens by accident of birth."

Why would you want to be proud of something you have absolutely know control over? Isn't that a miss-use of the word proud?

 

[Alucard788]

You know what? I'm black and I HATE IT when things like this happen. No really, I've seen this happen too many fucking times. A white guy says something even a bit aggressive to someone of another race he's automatically racist, but when a another race is blatant about it, he can just get away with it. I've mainly seen this happen against white and black, and it disgusts me. The way I see it, there are two kinds of racism: Judging another man because of the color of his skin and NOT judging another man because of the color of his skin.

It's blame without end...and for anyone to this that this doesn't affect white people is being a fool. You can't keep hammering it over and over how evil 'white people' are even when there are so many kinda and good white people int he world.

Some will respond with tears and I'm sure those who point the finger will drink them up...that doesn't make it right...and some will respond with anger and frustration which just fuels the fire.

Blame without end will not make it right....ever!

 

[Flatfrog]

The statement is:'I'm black and I'm proud', not 'I'm proud to be black'. That's a big difference. Being proud to be a particular colour is stupid. But 'I'm black and I'm proud' is an affirmation - actually, it's a rejection of the alternative. It's recognising that historically, blackness was a symbol of being inferior, unimportant, subservient. That serious, intelligent people actually believed black people were closer in intelligence to apes than to whites. It's a reminder that there are still people today who think that way.

'I'm white and I'm proud' doesn't have that resonance because no one has historically claimed that whiteness was anything to be ashamed of. No one today thinks that either. And 'I'm proud to be white'? That's just lame.

 

[Tucker154]

I actualy thought of this before,and I agree with everything you said.

 

[Lagslayer]

I think the major problem with phrases meant to display pride in being white (White power for example) got pinched by groups like the klan. phrases that were meant to display pride in your own race became more about giving the fingers to people with a different skin tone.

The meaning of white pride has been perverted to the point that even white people think it's wrong. It's like the swastika, sure it might have been a religious symbol for centuries but 1st thing anyone thinks when they see one is 'Nazi'.

Basically this. Though, for some reason, nobody remembers the black panthers.

 

[TheBelgianGuy]

Guess what, double standards have been here for a long time.

If a white man gets stolen from, beaten, or murdered, that's a crime.
If a black man gets stolen from, beaten, or murdered, that's a hate-crime no matter if it was in a dark alley where the criminal couldn't even see his face or whatever.

If a white man dissagrees with a black man, he's a racist.
If somebody dissagrees with a Jew, or politics of the state of Israel, then gosh, he must be a Nazi.


Here in Belgium, we get that alot. If a politician says something negative about Israel or whatever in some way, then you can be sure that the next day in a dozen or more newspapers, he's going to get branded a Nazi.
Mind you, the people calling him that aren't even Jews themselves.

You can make jokes about everything... but oh no, NOT about the jews! A very good and sucesfull comedian here once did that. He got branded a nazi. Again, not by actual Jews.
ONe year later in his next show, he talked about that nazi experience a bit, and he said, Why the f*ck can I make jokes about everything, but not Jews? Seeing Woody Allen when I was young is the sole reason I am standing here on this stage right now. Fuck. Off. Learn this word: HUMOUR.

 

[Alucard788]

'I'm white and I'm proud' doesn't have that resonance because no one has historically claimed that whiteness was anything to be ashamed of.

It might have not been int he past but I have the feeling that now a days 'white guilt' is very much alive and kicking.

Just look at how popular the Avatar movie was.