X

I don’t care about blacks anymore.

Paul Rojas,
Tulsa, OK.

I’m going to come out and say it…the same thing thousands, probably millions of people in this country are feeling, at this point.

I don’t care about black people’s problems anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I care very much for the black people I known personally. I care about them as people, as much as whites, Asians, Latinos, and every other human being on earth.

But I no longer care about the special set of issues that many black people hold so near and dear, and that seem to define them as a group…though thankfully, not as individuals.

I’m simply worn out with them. Exhausted by their constant demands, their neediness, their helplessness, their hypocrisy, their never ending problems, their inability to take advantage of the myriad opportunities practically delivered to them, their ungratefulness, their refusal to take responsibility for their own lives or accept the consequences of their actions.

I’ve just thrown in the towel. I can’t keep caring about problems that I obviously can’t do anything about. Especially when they have brought at least some of it on themselves, or when they won’t make the lifestyle changes necessary to succeed or to overcome or avoid their problems.

There comes a point, where I just quit listening. When racist graffiti is discovered on a college campus, or on a black person’s house, my reaction is no longer outrage, disgust, and sympathy for a victim of a hate crime. It’s outrage and disgust alright, and it comes a few days later when it is almost always revealed to be yet another racial hoax perpetrated by black people. I really don’t want to hear them tearfully recounting that heartrending moment when they “discovered” some mean white KKK member had snuck into their laundry room, completely unseen and invisible to video cameras, to scribble “Trump ’16” and “Die niggers” on the wall. At this point, I’ll turn the channel.

I applaud those who are successful, and overcome challenges, and I wish them well. But just like my white colleagues, if they make poor decisions, spend their money foolishly, refuse the free education available to them, have children they can’t afford, get involved in drugs and criminality, I have little sympathy. And I’m not likely to make an effort to be friendly with them or get to know them. I’ll be polite, but I don’t particularly care to associate with them, white or black.

I no longer excuse or rationalize violence, criminality, laziness, indolence, careless babymaking, willful dependency or degeneracy among blacks, any more than I do with whites. If you’re a thief who doesn’t support his child, and spends his days drinking and whining about how his life sucks, your black skin doesn’t get you a pass from me. You’re just as much of a piece of garbage as your fellow white bum. Doesn’t equality feel good?

Perhaps it’s the hyper-sensitivity, the arrogant and unabashed racism toward other races, and the self-entitlement. Could be the willingness to drop everything to riot, loot, burn and destroy personal and public property, menace, threaten and physically attack innocent white people. Or the propensity towards cowardly mob attacks on vulnerable whites, especially the elderly, women, any white person they catch alone and defenseless.

70 years ago or more, white men did beat up or occasionally murder blacks they suspected of wrongdoing…just as they did to other whites who “needed killin'”. Vigilante “justice” was an injustice, nobody argues the point. It was wrong, and the civil rights era exposed these as shameful and reprehensible acts. Black and whites marched together and lobbied their political leaders to put a stop to racial injustice, to shame those guilty of racism, and to codify and enforce equal rights for all. A noble and righteous cause, one which was long overdue.

But here it is 50 years later, the president, attorney general, and a disproportionate percentage of the top government executives are black. The mayors, commissioners, police chiefs, and other local adminstrators in most, if not all, major cities are also black. Black Run America has not brought prosperity to its constituents, rather, its Democratic policies, programs and spending have driven once majestic and prosperous cities into bankruptcy, decay and abandonment.

I just can’t bring myself to feel for the people who scrawl vulgar graffiti on the sides of stately brownstones, or who break the subtly rippled glass that a craftsman, white or black, had carefully glazed in an ornate linteled window a hundred thirty years ago. There’s no part of me that yearns to reach out to people throwing garbage onto what had been a tidy, manicured patch of decorative greenery flanking a grand marble entrance with exquisitely carved doors. I just don’t have it in me, anymore. I do wonder what has become of the respectable, genteel families who were displaced by the social engineering policies of the New Deal, leaving their architectural legacy to the ravages of neglect and deliberate defacement.

I’ve left the “dialogue”, which turned out to be nothing more than a one-sided, accusatory tirade, berating me for unspecified harm I am to bear responsibility for, and denying me the right to respond with my own, civil point of view. There’s simply no point having “the conversation” any longer. You smugly assert that I have no right to my views because I can’t possibly know what it’s like to be black. Yet you claim in the same breath, to be the arbiter, the expert on my own race, and therefore I have no right to speak for myself. So, have your own “dialogue” with yourself. I’m out.

No matter what I do, no matter what I say, you say my whiteness makes me racist. So there is no longer any point in considering it. Fine, you say I’m “racist”. I don’t care anymore.

I’m sure there are those who will say in rebuttal that they are “tired of” being the victims of racism every walking minute of their lives. And to this, I say…”Ok, I am willing to accept that you are being victimized by the inherent racism absorbed by simply being in proximity to white people. But you must accept that my response will be to avoid you, and to decline to involve myself in your issues, lest my whiteness somehow damage you further.”

Who will misrepresent your personal story?

S. Michelle Place,
Tulsa, OK.

The goal of the Tulsa Historical Society & Museum is to provide space for all persons to tell their story. If you don’t tell your story, someone else will and they probably won’t get it right. Your story is part of America’s history. Learn your story, share your story.

White In Oklahoma….Unwanted Racist Thoughts

tumblr_mq31ukmVYO1qj171uo1_500Taryn,
Tulsa, OK.

Being white in Oklahoma for the last 15 years is annoying sometimes. I grew up in a very tolerant family in CT then CA and was the minority in a mainly black neighborhood. My first boyfriend and love was black. all my friends were black. I was actually racist against white people. I claimed that my Italian heritage made me “not white”. In Oklahoma racism is very prominent especially in peoples “jokes”. I find these views creeping into my thoughts and it bothers me. I know that I don’t agree with these views but to have these racial thoughts, prejudices and ideas even for a split second bothers me.

Yes I do fear Black men

Rachel,
Tulsa, OK.

Black men are many times more likely than White men to be thieves, rapists, and murderers. When I see a Black person I am more fearful. This is a natural reaction, it is the same reason that most White people in my city live in White neighborhoods, because living in those Black neighborhoods means being many times more likely to be victimized. I understand that it is not fair that these Black men can’t walk down the street without fearing that people suspect them of being criminals. I can’t walk down the street without fearing that I will be robbed or raped.

Equality Promoter Becomes Racially Inferior

Amy Blue
Tulsa, OK

As a white girl in a top-ranking and racially diverse high school, I could not understand why the student population segregated itself racially. I saw all of my classmates as equals and felt a strong sense of responsibility to make others see their classmates in the same light. I climbed out on a socially-unpopular limb, trying to unify (mostly) two student populations: the white kids who, at lunch and after school, hung out in the back of the school and rarely took part in the school’s extra-curricular activites… and the black kids who hung out in the front of the school and were happy to be surrounded by their own race in a school with a traditional black history. The front of the school is where you found the school’s homecoming queens and the star athletes. In the beginning, I felt it was my responsibility as a white girl to prove to other whites that black kids weren’t bad… because it was the blacks who were discriminated against. But, as my social network of black friends grew, I soon realized that the black kids discriminated aginainst the white kids just as much as the whites against them. But, for my black classmates, their self-segragation was rooted in a deep history of civil rights violations. I believe they felt not only a willinglness to segregate themselves from the school’s white population, but a responsibility to do so. It was a matter of pride. The school we attended was a purveyor of the American Dream for children of all races. Everyone knew they were going to be successful in the real world and chose to spend their high school years enjoying time with their like-skinned peers, not wasting time on race relations. After college I joined the American workforce. My first job paid $18,000 a year and required 60-hour work weeks, but I was doing what I loved to do. My next job paid $25,000, my wealth of professional knowledge grew and I was working a measly 50 hours a week. I watched others in my industry come and go. The heavy workload and low pay was a deterrant and some just weren’t good enough to keep their jobs. But even as I tried to prove myself and my worth as an over-achieving employee, eraching for the next level of my career, something disturbing began to happen. My colleagues, who had less experience, less knowledge and fewer skills were snapping up the jobs I wanted. Even people who had been fired for incompetence were being placed in jobs well beyond their competence level. The reason? They were minorities. One of my Asian friends told me I should change my name to something more ethnic. Perhaps that would help me land one of those coveted jobs. So, it seems, the tables have turned for this white girl. The discrimination I am feeling now is rooted in that same deep history of civil rights violations… only now it’s grown a new branch. This is the first time I’ve ever shared my story or my feelings because I, too, share a sense of pride… not for my white race but for all of the other races that have been discriminated against for so long. This is progress for them, right? This is what I wanted when I set out to desgregate the social circles of my high school, right? I wish I could leave it at that, but I can’t. When you are the one feeling the discrimination, knowing you’re being judged because of the color of your skin and your hair and your name, you feel violated. So, what’s next? Do I go out on that socially-unpopular limb again, this time fighting for myself? I don’t think so. Now I have a career to protect and a family to feed. Instead I choose to give ProPublica this short story and my six words. Equality Promoter Becomes Racially Inferior.

Join the Newsletter

Subscription to our newsletter open soon.

Indulge in timeless elegance with our hand-curated collection of luxury vintage men’s fashion. From classic suits to iconic accessories, our online store offers a premium shopping experience for the modern gentleman who appreciates quality and style. Shop now and elevate your wardrobe with our carefully selected pieces that celebrate the art of craftsmanship and heritage fashion.