The Burden of the White Male is the Responsiblity of the White Male
What made me think of this topic was another discussion that has been going on here about white males.
Here's my opinion; We as white males, specifically who live in the United States, are in the highest position of power and more importantly comfort than any other group or demographic definitely in the country and arguably in the world. We rarely feel discomfort or to put it more succinctly, we rarely feel the discomfort of the "other". The discomfort of the woman or the person of color or the immigrant are three that stick out in my mind. I'm sure there are others. We do not get looked at differently because of our skin or or body type or the way we dress. We are not judged because of these attributes or characteristics. We rarely feel the wrath of stereotyping we so often put on others. So when we hear anger from persons of color, immigrants or women, instead of reacting, we need to step back and listen. The burden is on us. Whether we like it or not, racism and misogyny is very much built into our society and we need to take the responsibility to deal with it more than any other group.
So for all white males out there, I challenge you, think before you react. Take the role of the other. Most importantnly, put yourself in situations of discomfort as much as possible. Attend an event that you are the minority, not the majority and see how you feel. This is our burden.
My question to you is; do you think this is our role to take? Do you think this is important? How do you, as a white male, see what your role or responsibility is in your society, United States or otherwise?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Arcus on -
Only if he outperforms his father can he deserve special respect. Great men are usually born into families with wealth and a large degree of inter generational struggle. Charles Darwin and Dubya are pretty good examples. Obama and Lincoln have more modest backgrounds and probably more experiences. Most people also have the ability to follow in their footsteps, if they choose to do so.
Incompetence and failure is not an excuse for unfortunate circumstances.
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Permalink Reply by Bradley Alexander on -
Being an atheist in America makes one more of an outsider than anyone else based on skin color, gender, or sexual preference. Period.
http://friendlyatheist.com/2011/06/08/were-still-unelectable/
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Permalink Reply by Robert Karp on -
Bradley I agree with this, but again because we are in this group, I am hoping it gives us more incite on how to behave with others who are different than us. I am hoping it teaches empathy.
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Permalink Reply by Dustin on -
So the 'real' privileged people are not 'white males' but 'Heterosexual , Christian believing upper class white males'?
I don't need to be an atheist in fear of losing a good chunk of my income if the parents of my students find out or the church I play for decides to can me ... to know what empathy is.
I mean people already assume I'm gay half the time because I don't care about sports , I am a tad feminine and I spent most of my adult life so far around women in choirs and ballet classes , etc.
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Permalink Reply by Shinken Del Fénix on -
I am appalled by the level of ignorance that I have seen on this forum, from Sassan in particular. You send to me like a middle-class White man who has never been without, who has never experienced poverty or the sharp blade of hopelessness that the prison of poverty brings with insipid prejudice as its warden.
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Permalink Reply by Sassan K. on -
What exactly does a "middle-class White man" sound??? Another stereotype and inherent racism against good old whitey - no problem though - keep hating on the whitester as racism and stereotyping is only wrong against non-whites.
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Permalink Reply by Dustin on
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I mentioned a few more stereotypes above.
The one that annoys me the most is:
'White men are privileged'
If THAT isn't a stereotype I don't know what is.........
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Permalink Reply by Dustin on
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Oh , I get it. No white man lives in poverty in this country. I didn't know that. Thanks for clearing that up...
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Permalink Reply by Kris Feenstra on -
The forum has little to do with it. While some of the most vociferous members may fit into your notion of ignorance, the majority post their views more reservedly. If you're targeting Sassan specifically, overall his positions tend to be the minority view.
To be clear, this is neither a criticism against you or Sassan. I just wish people would leave 'the forum' out of it as the forum is really a large group of user contributions that represent a gamut of different viewpoints.
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Permalink Reply by Arcus on
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Try living 5 year with debt piling on each month because there just aren't enough hours in the day. You work for 12-14 hours a day, 7 days a week, getting paid less than $1000 per month. That is clearly poverty level for most Western countries, about the standard of living you expect the average citizen in Iran or Brazil to afford. The "average" Libyan and Russian and Saudi has a much, much higher living standard.
After having had to take debt for $150.000 over 5 years just to cover taxes and living expenses, you have accomplished the great feat of owning absolutely nothing. Then you get fired. You can't get any other job, not even as a gas station attendant or McDonald's fry cook.
Would that qualify to any extent to describe what you are going for?
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