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> The problem is that white Americans don't have the same American experience as black Americans This implies that there is a "white experience" and a "black e
by throwaway894345 5y ago
> The problem is that white Americans don't have the same American experience as black Americans
This implies that there is a "white experience" and a "black experience" which is simply false and subtly racist. This is kind of the point of the parent's post--we've gone from understanding that variance within a race far exceeds variance between races to a mistaken belief that different races have such different experiences that we basically can't understand each other, that we're practically different species. Consider the white translator who was forbidden to translate the work of a black poet, the eminently qualified white school board volunteer who was forbidden from working with students because he wouldn't "understand the experiences of nonwhite students", or the anti-standardized-testing folks who argue that blacks are innately unable to compete in standardized tests.
On that latter point, there's a popular analogy[0] circulating over the last decade that implies that different races are like different species of animal--chimps, goldfish, elephants, penguins, etc--and standardized testing is like a tree-climbing test. To put a fine point on it, these folks are implying that blacks are innately inferior at standardized testing while whites (and presumably Asians) naturally excel.
[0]: https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/1376520062773903364 https://twitter.com/JamaalBowmanNY/status/137652006277390336...
- aeoleonn 5y agoPersonally, I no longer attempt to try to understand left-ist talking points on race. It's typically an ignorant, naive, and irrational perspective. Hence it's a waste of time to try to understand. Simply too much mutually exclusive duality, such as "We are all equal. But my group specifically-- we're different and we need special things and special treatment!"