Why should I be ashamed of my ethnicity?

This has been around for a long time, and it's never made sense to me. Back in the day, a role of all Native Americans was created, basically you get an I.D. card telling your tribal affiliation, these days, this card system is used by the various native nations to assure benefits provided by the tribe. It's a symbol of pride in one's heritage. But, when it was first implemented, many natives did not sign up for the role, some did this out of shame. My great, great-grandmother was one of these. She attended an Indian School where she was taught that is was a bad thing to be a Native. Also, many didn't sign up for the role because the Bureau of Indian Affairs used their race against them to take their land and possessions, deeming them "unfit" because they were of native decent.

That was just a short introduction to a problem I see today, I use that example because it hits closer to home for me, being from Oklahoma, and having native ancestors. However, I do not consider myself a Native, I'm white, blonde haired and blue eyed. I'm a fourth-generation American. My great-grandfather was born in Missouri, shortly after his parents arrived from Ireland.

Every day, it seems, that I'm being told that I should be ashamed of my race. The usual reason being slavery, the other common reason being the atrocities of the British Empire hundreds of years ago. Now, I don't know if I'm related to some of the nobles who raped and pillaged across Europe and the world but, I do know that since coming to America, my family never owned a slave, they were poor immigrant farmers who could barely feed themselves most of the time. I don't know what their views on slavery were, as they had no slaves, they probably didn't think much about it, or as we like to say around here "they had bigger fish to fry".

So, why is it that society says that I should feel guilty for the atrocities of people I've never met, whose views I don't share? Why should I be ashamed to be a white American from the South? I have ancestors who fought on both sides of the Civil War. I don't know their reason for fighting though, that's been lost over the years, as many of them couldn't write. Either way, I had nothing to do with slavery, or conquest, so why should I be ashamed of it?

Should African Americans be ashamed of their ancestry because they may be related to slave traders? The odds of them being related to a slave trader are just as high as they are for me, maybe higher.

Should the Japanese be ashamed of what some of their people did in China during WWII? No, they shouldn't, they had nothing to do with it. My point is, we need to stop being ashamed of the past. We shouldn't dwell on the past either, we should learn from it.

All those with opposing or agreeing views are welcome, I'm very interested in everybody's take on the subject.

I agree with you, and I'm sure many others would too. But there are still many who want to hold the mistakes of people's ancestors against them. I don't live in the USA so I've never heard the "Your ancestors owned slaves!" argument here, but I've heard that it happens there and it's absurd. It's not like you knew about it when you were born. Nobody had any idea what happened hundreds of years before they existed. And don't even get me started on people having to pay "reparations" for their ancestors owning slaves. That almost makes me piss myself with rage.

I agreed we have no need to be ashamed of the actions of our ancestors. Whether they were perfect or not; we do no inherit their lives. Unless it is passed down through the family. As an American I have seen all kinds of people who "felt guilty" for being of certain racial backgrounds or of the color of the skin. A lot of it does revolve around politics that many treat as religion. I cannot understand why anyone would feel guilty of who they are. Because they only have one life and to feel guilty seems insane. Take it from a mutt (mixed race) who is strongly influenced by individualism. Respect is what we need to fix the bridges. The division of race is ever growing in this country because we do not see ourselves as Americans first and (insert race) second. It divides people and causes everyone to be isolated. Just my two cents.

We just have to make sure that we don't follow in the steps of our ancestors if they were evil. Evil is a perception though. Thank god that people are finally starting to understand that our ethnicity has nothing to do with honesty or trustworthiness. It is our goodness that make us good people, not the country that we came from or the religion that we have. If your fortune has been acquired by blood and deceit by your ancestors that is different, then you need to try to help some of those a little who they hurt. Remember though that those people may not be like their ancestors anymore. They may be bitter and not worthy of helping, taking the help while feeling that they deserve more.

Originally posted by rickymouse
We just have to make sure that we don't follow in the steps of our ancestors if they were evil. Evil is a perception though. Thank god that people are finally starting to understand that our ethnicity has nothing to do with honesty or trustworthiness. It is our goodness that make us good people, not the country that we came from or the religion that we have. If your fortune has been acquired by blood and deceit by your ancestors that is different, then you need to try to help some of those a little who they hurt. Remember though that those people may not be like their ancestors anymore. They may be bitter and not worthy of helping, taking the help while feeling that they deserve more.

Hilarious, in a thread about being sick of ethnic shaming, you appeal to peoples better half's to continue with the shaming and ethnic bashing.

This is the first step in an argument of genocide. First they separate the concept of good from ethnic, while keeping the concept of evil firmly in place. So anyone who tries to avoid the ethnic genocide is "evil" and stuck with an outdated form of thinking.

Me personally? I view myself and my ethnicity as having the right to exist. Meaning I will make no apology for the survival of my biological nature. Enemies are enemies and allies are allies. People talk of how "good" it is for people to think beyond their ethnicity, only so they can take advantage of and eventually try to wipe us out.

Being South African,this is an issue for white people in my country.Hopefully after another 50 years or so,maybe the ANC government will realise that they cannot forever blame their corruption,misappropriation of income and other taxes,short-sightedness and ineptitude on the white race,who has not been governing since 1994.

The whites at least left them a modern country with all the infrastructure needed to pick up the rein and keep it going as a 1st world country.But i guess its easier to blame others if under your watch and government,the country you're ruling declines to a 3rd world one.To bear personal responsibility and keep things running shipshape as they were,takes hard work,after all.To sit on your ass and blame others merely takes opening your mouth.

I want to make crystal clear that this is the government i am criticizing here,not the regular citizens.

reply to post by Raxoxane




I agree!

I couldn't and won't attempt to say it better!

The situation here in Namibia is exactly the same and we have been independent of the Apartheid White South African government for even longer than South Africa has!

To the OP: S&F

Nobody should be ashamed of his ethnicity or race, especially white people.
Furthermore I think it's completely absurd how anyone can gloat about their race/color, but when white people do it they are immediately racist. It's frustratingly stupid.

I, as a (non practicing) fairly white Jewish person, won't have a problem with any German of my generation that will be proud of it's heritage. I'm not going to force or expect anyone to be ashamed of his ANCESTORS (eg; the reason he exists).

There is unfortunately an agenda at play to make white people feel guilty and ashamed because people with the same skin colour did bad things in the past. Basically every other race/ethnicity gets a free pass when it comes to acknowledging the sins of their ancestors, but white people are usually the scapegoats for all the problems in the world. It's a convenient excuse - why look internally at the problems and issues facing your own race/ethnicity when you can just blame some external boogie-man and continue to get apologies and handouts?

Originally posted by Dark Ghost

The problem was created when it became a consensus. White people as a whole should not submit to such things.

What's next? Men should feel ashamed of their sex because of women slavery in the past?
And in a few decades should Heterosexual people feel ashamed because Homosexual people were once frowned upon?

This political correctness is a disease and it has to stop else all display of emotions will be banned due to hurting someone's feelings.

reply to post by IsraeliGuy


I agree with the comments. There are too many different people with guilt. They even "solve" their problems with more guilt. As both a human and a American I can understand how all kinds of people can be Yahoos. Some parents just want to censor anything their children want to watch; some people have guilt of one thing or other, etc. The list can go on and on. Political correctness, to me, is a cancer. You cannot sugarcoat life try to change the world into some false fantasy dreamt up by someone with an agenda. The best thing anyone can do is survive. As people (individuals, families, etc) you can only do so little to help people. A lot comes from self-help and respect.

Everyone who does believes white people, black people, Native Americans, or any other ethnicity need to do a bit of research. I am doing my geneology and have discovered that my maternal grandfather's ancestors include a Free Black Man in the 1840 census, his children were listed as Mulatto which continued for several decades for a few on his father's side. On his mother's side, it looks like his mother was about 1/4 First Nation (she was French-Canadian...mostly.)

I am one of the visibly whitest people I know, and I'm not just talking skin tone.

By about the 5 or 6 generation everyone is going to be a mutt. Color means nothing.

reply to post by korathin


So you are saying I can't just let people have your own lives and since I am not with your cause I am your enemy? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I do not see anything bad about people because of their ethnicity. I see problems in their attitude.

Originally posted by rickymouse
reply to post by korathin

 

So you are saying I can't just let people have your own lives and since I am not with your cause I am your enemy? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I do not see anything bad about people because of their ethnicity. I see problems in their attitude.

(((((((((((((((((((I never said because someone is of a different racial group or ethnicity that they are enemies. What I said is that some are allies and some are enemies. I identify people as an enemy because through their quest toward integration they are trying to destroy the ethnic group I am and am a member of.

People who wish that everyone would change their "attitude" about race, create social norms where a person is a racist if they prefer to date/marry women of their own ethnicity. People who "just wish society would move beyond race" create social norms where a person is a racist if they wish to form cultural or social associations with members of their own ethnicity. All of which are clearly acts of genocide and attempted genocide as defined by international law.

Those who respect my right to exist are my allies and I will respect their right to exist. Those whose deeds or actions impede my inherent and non deniable right to exist, are clearly my enemies and I would be a total fool not to mark them as such. Now if you want to make the argument that the concept of the "White Race" isn't real, or that out right hatred on the basis of race or ethnicity is a bad thing; I can agree as I don't see why I have to hate that which is different(or why I should be lumped with people who aren't really the same as me and didn't consider people like me truly "white" till the 1960's), I like other cultures and other ethnic groups, it is just that I also really like my own ethnic group as well.)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

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meh, no such thing as the white race if you ask me.

also the whole idea of the "black race" seems to me to have been created by slavery anyway to enforce division and justify the situation, then taken ownership of by those who suffered from slavery.

i'm white, as if it matters.

i'm very proud of my ancestry though, and can trace if back a fair few generations.. i know where my "blood" came from and the cultural heritage that brings. i know the deeds and history of my family, where they went and what befell many of them.

i'm proud of my celtic blood, my norse blood, my ancient british blood, my saxon blood - for me these are tangible even though i did nothing to attain that blood and it was an accident of fate. i have learned their history, their arts, their gods, their stories and in some cases as much of the language as i have been able. for the "bad" they have done i feel no guilt though.

but i have no reason to be either proud or ashamed of being white, it's just pigmentation. to make anything of that seems quite pointless to me.

Sorry, but I had to re-write what I wrote because I didn't say it the right way.

Now as for "black" to my understanding that means the racial group "Sub-Saharan African's", as even "black" South Africans migrated to South Africa from Sub-Sahara North Africa. There was a local group of people in South Africa, but they died out due to competition from the new North African migrants and smallpox or measles later by I think Portuguese merchants. Some of the descriptions I read about the native South Africans is they where kind of like the aborigines of Australia.

reply to post by korathin


What is wrong with German people, I have German friends and relatives. I am Ethnically a Finn, and get along with most people I meet. The only ones I don't like to hang around with are people with a chip on their shoulder, they have such a negative attitude. I try to steer the conversation into neutral subjects when talking to these people. We can all get along.

Why would anyone associate a person with an ethnic group without evidence that they are acting that way anyway? I look at people as individuals. Germans are intelligent people and they usually make loyal friends. I know a few black people and the ones I know are good people. There are cranky people in all ethnic groups.

I was not cutting you down, just questioning why you felt that way. We are all stuck in this world together so why can't we do it with a positive and friendly attitude. That doesn't mean we have to let some people step all over us either, and I have been around long enough to know that happens. People who want to control others are all around in every ethnic group.

reply to post by dave_welch

Why should I be ashamed of my ethnicity?

Red, white, black, yellow, green, purple... it doesn't matter. You are who you are and whatever you make of yourself in this life. The opinions of people who judge others by such shallow standards really don't matter anyway.

The whole world is out there with something like 8 billion people who are all different. Not everyone is the same. Don't let your negative experiences with a few poor examples of humanity lead you to the same mistakes being made against you.

i