VW Superbowl Ad

[bae]

So until I read this thread the thought of "Black" absolutely never entered my mind.

Spartana, as a member of the dominant culture that only exists in its position of power because of structural racism, of course *you* didn't see any racism. The very fact that you didn't see it shows you are racist!

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.

[Spartana]

Spartana, as a member of the dominant culture that only exists in its position of power because of structural racism, of course *you* didn't see any racism. The very fact that you didn't see it shows you are racist!

I guess I must be! Or maybe I just know some white dudes who work in offices that sound and dress like Jamacians. After all, I AM in Calif, where, like, ya know,like all of us are the same - Bubble head bleached blonde valleyt girls :-)!

[redfox]

Shelby Steele has written extensively about this and suggests that white guilt has become the moral framework for American racial relations and reinforced through our educational systems, our government and our media. He argues that liberal whites initially embraced guilt for two reasons: to avoid being seen as racists and to embrace a vantage point where they could dole out benefits to disadvantaged minorities through programs such as affirmative action.

I don't believe that feeling guilty is volitional; it is something one can recognize, choose to anayze, and step out of. I do think feelings of grief and sadness exist in all of us about racism and the state of race relations. Certainly no one I know thinks we're moving through healing the terrible damage done to people based upon their skin color. The data is clear that multigenerational effects of the trauma of slavery is still being felt in the African American community.

In my experience, many whites have been frozen by guilt and grief, and stuck in how to best to understand the roles each of us plays in keeping racist structures in place, & how to undo institutional racism. As I have explored my own internal assumtions based in race, largely learned before I had a cognitive filter in place to analyze what I was learning -- in other words, before I was around age 7 -- I have gone through several stages of understanding. The most important to me are these: I have a great deal to offer in undoing racism in our country, and the power to do so. By virtue of my unearned race & class privilege (I was born into both), I'm a gatekeeper, and can use that status as a way to open doors to others who don't have such easy access. I have an ongoing responsibility to this work to be aware of when I take refuge in my privilege, and think about who it impacts, and how.

Seeing race and cultural differences is very important as a condition of understanding others' realities. My Latino/a & Egyptian family members all love their mixed race heritages. Their multi-cultural background is a very important of who they each are, including their faiths, their dietary & religious observances, as well as how they are treated as brown-skinned people in a white dominated society, which is often as second-class citizens. Specifically, racial, ethnic or religious slurs being said to their faces, as well as other things I'd prefer to not mention. We do have a long way to go in our contry.

I understand Mr. Steele's perspectives that government programs have engendered dependency. Self-agency is an important quality to develop, and he believes that assistance deters this, a perspective I certainly share as a parent! I don't believe the data supports his beliefs that government supports have created dependency in the African American community, however. There is some pretty compelling data that food, housing, medical care, and education assistance gives the majorityof folks who receive it access to the middle class. As a biracial man, who, live Obama, grew up as a Black man, he has a very important life persepctive. I'm glad he's part of the national convo, even as I disagree with him!

An an anti-racist white, I recommend Tim Wise. http://www.timwise.org/

Also, if you're in the Seattle area, here is a conferenece that might interest you. I hope to go! http://www.whiteprivilegeconference.com/

[Alan]

Seeing race and cultural differences is very important as a condition of understanding others' realities.

Modern racism is practiced by those unable to look beyond race.

I also have a multi-racial extended family and look forward to the day when well-meaning, yet ultimately hurtful, people can learn to see them as people rather than a color.

[redfox]

Modern racism is practiced by those unable to look beyond race.

I also have a multi-racial extended family and look forward to the day when well-meaning, yet ultimately hurtful, people can learn to see them as people rather than a color.

I'm not sure I understand you... Race & color are different to me. Race, and more so ethnicity, encompasses the entire life experiences of the individual, and "seeing" this is also seeing and accepting the entire person. Color is simply skin color. I wonder if we're using the language differently from each other?

[Alan]

....Race & color are different to me........ I wonder if we're using the language differently from each other?

Perhaps not, but only if you didn't mean to say "as well as how they are treated as brown-skinned people in a white dominated society" and really meant "African or Middle Eastern people in a Eurocentric society".

[creaker]

The funny thing is that when I first saw that ad the thought that it was parodying a black man never entered into my mind at all.

Me neither - I thought it was parodying a Jamaican. It's such a small subset of "black" that it did not even occur to me.

It would be like saying a parody of someone Swedish is a parody of whites. It's not.

And I was thinking someone Jamaican might be offended - or someone who just disapproves of caricatures in general.

[redfox]

Perhaps not, but only if you didn't mean to say "as well as how they are treated as brown-skinned people in a white dominated society" and really meant "African or Middle Eastern people in a Eurocentric society".

Still confused, my dear!

[Alan]

Still confused, my dear!

Let me try to help you.

You declare something as racist, then make several references to "brown skinned people", "white dominated society", "white anti-racists", "white privilege", etc.

I lament the fact that people see color rather than people and you tell me that "race and color are different to me".

I think I'm the one who is confused.

[redfox]

Let me try to help you.

You continually make reference to "brown skinned people", "white dominated society", "white anti-racists", "white privilege", etc.

I lament the fact that people see color rather than people and you tell me that "race and color are different to me".

I think I'm the one who is confused.

Thanks, yes, I see how you're confused. And, I believe you & I have the same lamentation, and different approaches to it! Language is important. I so wish we could have this convo in person.

For me, color is how the complex experience of race is shorthanded in our racist society. Skin color is a fact. Brown-skinned describes a presenting feature of my relatives, and THE presenting feature they report feeling judged on by all but their most intimate friends, and even then, there are examples of friends holding assumptions based upon skin color & the racial signifier that it is in present day US. (Gender is next, then age.) Race is a social construct, and both the words 'race' and 'ethnicity' are used to signify the deeper life experiences of people in a society that is racist.

In my experience, "seeing" color & race can also be very positive. When someone "sees" my Egyptian/American niece's brownness & Egyptian features & asks her about her life as a biracial young woman in the US, she feels "seen" in all her complexity. When someone "sees" her brownness & Egyptian features and hurls a slur at her (usually 'go back home' and 'terrorist'), she feels threatened, profiled, often scared, and always furious. Color, race, & ethnicity are facts of a diverse world, and the varying viewpoints & life experiences behind these presenting attributes are valuable for us all. Including the many viewpoints of white folks.