Don’t assume all whites are racist.

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Theresa
CA

I used to work in a public library. Sometimes, if people were too noisy, or were otherwise interfering with other people’s use of the facility, I would have to ask them nicely to stop what they were doing. Frequently, if the other person were non-white, I’d be told, “You’re just picking on me because I’m black.” As a white person, I DEMAND that blacks and other minorities not assume I’m a racist before I even open my mouth. Everybody needs correcting from time to time, and if you don’t listen when I tell you what you need to hear, you are never going to progress as a human being. Also, don’t be surprised if I am less welcoming to other blacks or minorities when they come along after you, either.
Everybody, black and white, loses in this situation.

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  • Elizabeth

    “Also, don’t be surprised if I am less welcoming to other blacks or minorities when they come along after you, either.”

    This is the really problematic sentence here. I’m not unsympathetic to your larger point. It’s difficult to feel lumped in with something you don’t consider yourself to be part of, and to be accused of participating in something you make an effort not to. Unfortunately, part of being white in America is having to make an effort to distinguish yourself from a history and a structure that is, often, fundamentally racist. What you’re doing here is chastising people for prejudging you based on your race, presumably because of their past experience, while defending your decision to treat people less well in the future because of your past and present experiences with people of the same race. No one can make you racist without your consent. Do not consent to treat people less well in the future because of how you are treated today.

  • Matthew Lieff

    Don’t assume that all non-whites assume that all whites are racist.

  • Mark

    Don’t contradict yourself in a post and expect people to respect it. Implicitly presenting a punishment for not succumbing to your demand of not assuming you are racist is simply insensitive!

  • Heather O.

    I agree with you that everyone loses in that sort of situation. However, I think that maybe the sort of reaction that you would get was due to how those people were treated by others in the past due to the color of their skin. I agree that no one should be assumed to be anything, including a racist. It just must be very difficult to have those feelings that everyone hates you. Until the issue disappears from both sides of the coin, none of us can be truly happy.