White Guilt Awareness Day

And what is it with people feeling the need to vent about their race or gender on forums?
Shouldn't the internet be the last place where anyone feel obliged to?

My relatives came to the US from Bohemia in apx. 1900. So I do not feel guilty about black slavery. I nor my relatives had anything to do with it. And my immigrant relatives were practically slaves themselves - they had the life described by author Upton Sinclair in his book "The Jungle".

Ironically, I was watching a PBS show earlier about the Civil Rights Movement and of course they discussed Emmett Till.

I am white, my one Grandmother's last name was Till. My relatives thought that Emmett Till was related to us - a distant cousin or related by marriage. My relatives were not at all racist and they all had many children who could've been married, had kids with - anyone. And we all live in Chicago. It is possible that we are related to Emmett Till.

Whenever I see the story of Emmett Till - I feel not only sad and upset - I think - 'What IF?'

What if he was related to us, and we'd have interacted more? My branch of the family moved to the Chicago Suburbs in the 1920s - so What If? What if we'd have known them better, and Emmett had come to see us instead of taking his trip to Mississippi?

Whenever I see stories about him - I cannot describe - it gives me the eeriest of feelings. He was quite possibly related to me - and I don't see black or white - I see a young man who suffered a horrible death for no reason.

What if?

What if this entire thread was orchestrated by those fascist ultra-right groups to see what we ATSers think about being "privileged" ? this is called reversed publicity, nothing else. poor nazis.

However , I will never apologize for anything my Spanish ancestors did to Native American civilizations. This is called "superiority" because they had guns and boats and doctors while the natives were running aroung half-naked with little or no technology, with all due respect. If they were those settling in Europe and they found us half-naked with antique weapons, wouldn't they have been tempted by our gold and land ?

This is seriously disgusting. I know racism is bad, but sometimes I just want to say " That's not because my ancestor oppressed yours that I'm gonna be superior with you , I just want to be friends. "
After all, black and white, we're all the same inside. Greedy, stupid masses looking for our own little pleasures and satisfactions

My great-...-grandfather was a wealthy Confederate Doctor in South Carolina. He owned slaves. I have a picture of him somewhere. After the Civil War, the North came and seized all of his property and assets and left him with nothing. So his sons and grandsons were born into poverty. My grandfather was born into sharecropping, which was pretty much "white slavery". He joined the Navy in the "50's and fought in Korea. After Korea, he went to college and got a degree in Chemistry, and went on to work for the government on experimental rocket fuel. They weren't really wealthy or anything, just "middle-class". So my direct ancestor owned slaves. I don't feel guilty for it. I had nothing to do with.

You know who really has it good in this country? Legal immigrants who come here and become rich doctors, lawyers, and businessmen. They take advantage of our prosperity where we natural born citizens don't.

Just remember that in order for guilt to be used against you, you have to accept [whatever your would-be extortionist says you should be guilty of] as guilt.

Just say "no."


TA

I'm sorry, but please refer me to this magical land where me being white affords me any sort of special "privileges" over any other race.

I'd like to see this place, and maybe consider going there, and leaving my "guilt" at the door. Maybe then, I could jump out of this pit of encroaching poverty and struggling that I share with everyone else, all races and all creeds.

If whites have privilege in America (or other white homeland) it is because OUR ANCESTORS LEFT US AN INHERITANCE IN THE FORM OF A HERITAGE.

Sorry, not-white masses of the world. You'll have to make your own heritage - not take mine because that's called stealing - not to mention that it's lazy and really insulting to those that would rather beg crumbs from the white man than earn their own way through life.

After all - I can't help it if your ancestors were pathetic losers while mine were productive and prudent.

Life sucks that way. Get over it. Go back to your Third World homelands and leave me alone.

Originally posted by joeofthemountain
If whites have privilege in America (or other white homeland) it is because OUR ANCESTORS LEFT US AN INHERITANCE IN THE FORM OF A HERITAGE.

Sorry, not-white masses of the world. You'll have to make your own heritage - not take mine because that's called stealing - not to mention that it's lazy and really insulting to those that would rather beg crumbs from the white man than earn their own way through life.

After all - I can't help it if your ancestors were pathetic losers while mine were productive and prudent.

Life sucks that way. Get over it. Go back to your Third World homelands and leave me alone.

sigh...

Ignorant racist.

I'm white. I don't feel guilty or ashamed. I feel good. As far as I'm concerned, God made all the races and thinks each one is unique and beautiful. We should all be glad and never ashamed of who we are or what color or race we are. Not only are we all equal, but we are all beautifully made.

I'm sorry to be so brief with my reply; those that know me might be glad.

If I were prone to wallowing in swampy cattails of guilt, there are FAR more worthy reasons than the sins of my distant kin.

endrestraint

reply to post by joeofthemountain


Surely you realize that your heritage includes non-white citizens, right Joe? They are part of the fabric. It's their heritage too.

Just checking.

reply to post by OutKast Searcher


but u would believe it if a black guy said it!
now that is racist!

Originally posted by yeahbut
reply to post by tothetenthpower

 

You are not you slave-owning white ancestors? Are you sure? It is possible that you aren't. But let me tell you, Karma certainly is a b!(@h. This is certainly not your first lifetime, and what you didn't rectify in your last lifetime will certainly get rectified here. In fact it is quite possible you were drawn to this topic in order to state you are not your ancestors in order to acknowledge what your unconcious soul is trying to tell you - that you in fact are a previous slave owner.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I haven't enslaved anybody other then myself to the comforts of our present society.

You not believing in past lives doesn't mean it isn't true. Of course it might have nothing to do with this, but I suspect it might on a nationwide level.

Where did I say I did not believe in past lives? As a matter of fact I have studied the topic quite seriously in years past and have seen those past lives you speak off.

Isn't it more than ironic that a black man is in charge, representing the scariest oppressed police state (even for you guys) in your history?

Actually in my history there were far more oppressive regimes such as Nazi Germany or Stalin's Russia. The US is certainly devolving into such a state, however it's not there yet.

I'm white and I've never felt reverse racism - and have always wondered why some white people seem obsessed about it - I think I found my answer - it's not part of my karma.

You certainly place a lot of your thinking in the idea that Karma is the only force that governs your life. There are a multitude of factors that could have an affect on your state of being and mind. That's a whole other conversation though.

Apparently in a past life I was a selfish rich power hungry mean SOB who screwed over poorer middleclass people of any color, and used the system to do it...and now I'm on the receiving end of it and it SUCKS...so don't worry, we all have past life karma...

That's unfortunate that you still hold on to something you no longer have control over. Karma isn't about letting the past hold you back, it's about allowing yourself to learn and move forward.

~Keeper

All orchestrated. Whites are slowly being driven into right-wing corporate fascism.

True elite are very aware of psychology and are playing both sides like a game. CIA runs white, black, and Mexican racial advocacy groups. Malcolm X famously stated that the KKK and NOI "serve the same paymasters".

Because they do.

The official 9/11 theory is intentionally easy to disprove because they are planning to let the "truth" come out and blame the Jews.

The true elites (Rome) have placed their Masonic Jews into visual positions of power (Fed chairman, big media, Hollywood, academia, corporations, etc) so they will take the blame for all that has gone wrong.

Sounds somewhat like Nazi Germany eh?

That's because the same forces who ran it are running things now.

They rely on the same tactics because the people fall for them over and over.

I wish it could be otherwise, but human freedom is a fantasy.

Nothing so ignorant has any right to be free.

Originally posted by Fractured.Facade
I was born white, denied a college scholarship because of racial quotas, was qualified for a position at a local company but denied promotion because of racial quotas.

I don't know what my ancestors did, but because I am white I will pay the price.

I'm white so I am already privileged, I have more opportunities in life, so I've been told.

I am white so anything I say here must be racially motivated.

I am white and if I criticize our president, I must be a racist.

I am white so I am guilty.

I am white guilt.

\\

be careful what you speak.

Why should we remember the holocaust? Thats something my ancestors were responsible for, not me, so why should we remember it? Why should we have a public holiday? Why should I have to celebrate the sacrifices our veterans here took for the freedom of this country in world war 2? I wasnt responsible for that war, Im not responsible that they all were drafted, why should I care? Why should I acknowledge this day? Should I be guilty for their sacrifices? From the OP and those who readily agree here, this logic and way of thinking can cross through so many ways, can be used to justify everything and anything.

To me 'Martin Luther King day' or my acknowledgement of slavery in the past has nothing to do with me being guilty of anything or anyone. My acknowledgement of this is the sacrfices people had been forced to face to contribute and build up this nation. My acknowledgement of slavery in the past is that of the fact America is not a perfect nation, and that we have come a long way to the America we are today. It is the same of my acknowledgement of those brave soldiers who have sacrificed and who are sacrificing to this day.

Those who go on about being 'guilty' of anything are just people looking to complain again. It is a matter of complaining and making a big deal about something nobody is forcing them to do. If you dont want to acknowledge slavery thats your freedom. Its a free country and nobody is forcing you to acknowledge anything. If you think your being made to feel guilty, maybe you should man up and realize this world are full of people you will agree and not agree with.

Originally posted by Ozzy Mandias
reply to post by Fractured.Facade

 

However from studying the human resources industry I can pretty much guarrantee you that it was not based on a quota system

Yah, right.
You just call it 'affirmative action' now and swear that it's not based on numbers. Forcing companies to hire mediocre applicants to pay them back for something that happened decades ago.
When will it end? Never, as long as there are 'victims', big government and affirmative action 'programs' will flourish.

reply to post by MattMulder

This is called "superiority" because they had guns and boats and doctors while the natives were running aroung half-naked with little or no technology, with all due respect.

Little or no technology you say...urhm. I believe someone named Time Wise hinted on this type of mentality which seems to be prevalent within the American demographic.

I don't think whites should have to carry an undue burden of "guilt" for their transgressions against the rest of humanity, since the rest of humanity is just as vile and vicious and ignorant and greedy as the worst whites.

Long before whites took over the world, people of every color and ethnicity were butchering each other over territory disputes and other petty differences of opinion.

Black-on-black slavery and barbarism existed in Africa before the Western white man ever set foot on The Dark Continent, and it exists there to this day. The indigenous people of the Americas were slaughtering and enslaving each other for centuries before Europeans set foot in North or South America. In Asia, the marauding Mongols elevated human butchery to a science, eventually carrying it westward to Europe.

Let's tell the Truth here for a minute: Non-whites ENVY whites.

Every race is "guilty" of oppression, slavery, violence, greed and stupidity — Whites just figured out how to create a highly sophisticated civilization out of the pigshît in which other humans were wallowing for thousands of years. So... People are still wallowing in the pigshît to this very day, but they look up and see Western white man selling "pigshît remover," and the masses are filled with envy... Nay, jealousy.

It's not about racism, it's not about slavery 150 years ago, it's not about white supremacy... It's about one group of humans having something that another group of humans want very badly. It's human jealousy.

— Doc Velocity

please, do not be distratcted by this. Forget division, in the end we are all united.