LogFAQs > #751472

From: PartOfYourWorld | #046
This topic turned out very insightful. For its piddly post count, it's one of the more interesting reads I've seen on B8 recently. I'd like to clarify my "you're white, aren't you" post from earlier.

I can't speak for PUN, but for me, it has little to do with racism and nothing to do with hatred. It seems many whites are oblivious to this, but minorities are generally more guarded and apprehensive in their dealings with white people. It's a perception, whether accurate or not, that percolates through minority communities: the perception that whites have the power in this country and that black, brown, and yellow people are best off smiling agreeably and going out of their way to avoid confrontation (and in some cases, avoid interaction altogether). This is especially true of first or second-generation immigrants and blacks who have spent generations in black neighborhoods without really integrating.

Put yourself in their shoes: if you're an immigrant/minority from a culture where conflict resolution is two men yelling at each other for 20 minutes, wouldn't you be apprehensive to entangle yourself in a culture where conflict resolution is a web of insurance claims, lawsuits, and small claims court? My parents still are, and they both hold doctorates and have lived in America for 20 years.

I've tried to gain more insight into the hazy (but fascinating) landscape of U.S. race relations by peering through the eyes of my cousin, a little girl who immigrated here with her family as Iraq War refugees in 2010. She goes to school in San Diego county, in an economically frothy but ethnically rich area made up of Arabs, Mexicans, blacks, and whites. To her, the black kids are "black." The Mexican kids are "Mexican." The Arab kids are "Arabic." The white kids are "American." Only the white kids. I can tell that "American" is a title of which she is both envious and afraid, and it's reserved only for whites. Even I, a 20 year U.S. resident with no discernible foreign accent and better written/spoken English skills than many English majors, isn't a real American (WHATCHA GONNA DO) in her eyes.

Remember: this kid is seven years old. She hasn't watched documentaries or read books on this crap. She hasn't been instructed to think this way. Whether it was caused by her life at home, her life at school, or the media and other societal factors, this is simply the way she perceives America. The white people are real Americans. They're nice and pretty but they're the only ones who know the rules and hold the cards, so you'd better play nice and not ruffle their feathers. Everyone else... not so much. This same line of thinking holds true for many, many non-whites in this country, whether they realize it or not.

Anyway, back to PUN. Let's put ourselves in his shoes, but do it while keeping everything I've just written in mind.

If I were in the unenviable position of minority store clerk who unintentionally frightened or harmed (not saying PUN did the latter, but I'm putting myself in a sticker situation for the sake of example), would race make a difference? Yes. I would NOT be more afraid of a white parent yelling at or attacking me. I WOULD be more afraid of a white parent getting me fired and taking me to court.

From: LeonhartFour | #047
Wait, Genny is from Georgia?

I had no idea she lived so close to me...!