4 ms·

Ah, yes, at all costs, we mustn’t make white dudes feel uncomfortable. That would be a disaster! They’ve only been running things since the outset of our count

by freen 5y ago

Ah, yes, at all costs, we mustn’t make white dudes feel uncomfortable. That would be a disaster! They’ve only been running things since the outset of our country, and literally using the force of law and violence to guarantee their social dominance for generations. If we point that out, and how injustice in the past impacts the present, white dudes will feel bad, and that’s intolerable. Edit: I am a white dude. And I don’t feel shame, I feel responsibility. Ask a German how they feel about Hitler.

hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
You have no idea how strange your comment sounds in some countries outside of the USA.
- guerrilla 5y ago
  Can you elaborate on what you mean? This was very vague.
  - hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
    This is a complex matter and it's hard to describe adequately in a single comment. In short, the USA has a very specific racial situation: black people had been slaves, and until quite recently (some HN readers may even remember that) there was racial segregation. The consequences of that are omnipresent today: black people are, on average, in a worse social situation than white people. One would hope that with time the situation would get better, but it's not happening at the speed one would hope. Also, for some reason people don't like to mix that much. Black-white marriages are not a norm - and it doesn't look like this is going to change soon. To add insult to injury, the children from mixed couples have another set of challenges: often they are made felt they don't belong to either community. The issue of race does mean a lot in individual and social contexts. Now imagine you are living in Russia. Over centuries you were a poor peasant, always at the mercy of someone. In the end you believe all your woes will end if you join others in yet another attempt to make things right, you kill the tzar, and soon you realized you just exchanged one tyrant for another. This is going on more or less until today. Nothing here has anything to do with race. It's similar in many other countries. But Americans have the tendency to perceive everything through their own context and project it onto the whole world. It makes no sense.
    - freen 5y ago
      Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln were pen pals. The specifics differ, but the general themes are the same.
goodpoint 5y ago
Most of your comment is very poorly phrased. > And I don’t feel shame, I feel responsibility. This is spot on. There is nothing to feel ashamed or guilty. If anything, people can feel GOOD about creating a world where people are judged for their actions rather than attributes they have no control over.

by freen 5y ago

hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago

You have no idea how strange your comment sounds in some countries outside of the USA.

guerrilla 5y ago
Can you elaborate on what you mean? This was very vague.
- hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
  This is a complex matter and it's hard to describe adequately in a single comment. In short, the USA has a very specific racial situation: black people had been slaves, and until quite recently (some HN readers may even remember that) there was racial segregation. The consequences of that are omnipresent today: black people are, on average, in a worse social situation than white people. One would hope that with time the situation would get better, but it's not happening at the speed one would hope. Also, for some reason people don't like to mix that much. Black-white marriages are not a norm - and it doesn't look like this is going to change soon. To add insult to injury, the children from mixed couples have another set of challenges: often they are made felt they don't belong to either community. The issue of race does mean a lot in individual and social contexts. Now imagine you are living in Russia. Over centuries you were a poor peasant, always at the mercy of someone. In the end you believe all your woes will end if you join others in yet another attempt to make things right, you kill the tzar, and soon you realized you just exchanged one tyrant for another. This is going on more or less until today. Nothing here has anything to do with race. It's similar in many other countries. But Americans have the tendency to perceive everything through their own context and project it onto the whole world. It makes no sense.
  - freen 5y ago
    Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln were pen pals. The specifics differ, but the general themes are the same.

goodpoint 5y ago

Most of your comment is very poorly phrased. > And I don’t feel shame, I feel responsibility. This is spot on. There is nothing to feel ashamed or guilty. If anything, people can feel GOOD about creating a world where people are judged for their actions rather than attributes they have no control over.