I feel like I should start out by saying that I dont have any studies or numbers, and that this isnt meant as a condemnation or a definitive statement. I just think its a conversation worth having, and I wanted to share my experiences in the hope that it might resonate with some of you.
Im a straight white guy. Well, mostly white, I guess. My father is Cuban, and I have a Spanish last name, but since Ive anglicized it (removing the tilde and pronouncing it a more anglo-friendly way), its more often confused for Italian, honestly. So while Im technically biracial, I look white, and most people assume as much until they learn differently. So my life experience on a daily basis is that of a white person.
In additional to being a straight white(ish) guy, Im also a liberal. I think social safety nets are the bees knees, I think our wealth disparity is one of the worst issues were facing today, and Im all for a more practical view on drugs, specifically in referring offenders to treatment instead of prison, and legalization for the less dangerous substances. I also think the Confederate Flag is a garbage rag for racist fucks. Im very much anti-racist. Most white liberal guys are. But the issue is that, from my experience within the white liberal community, there isnt so much a problem with intellectual racism, but rather emotional racism.
So what do I mean by that? Lets start with defining what I mean by those two terms.
From my perspective, intellectual racism is knowing, on a purely academic level, that racism is wrong. Slavery was awful, the Civil Rights Movement was completely necessary and racism (towards all minorities, not just those that are black) is still totally an issue that plagues society today. Its basically the same as admitting the sky is blue. As long as youre not too deep in a pool of cognitive dissonance, most people are on the same page about this.
Emotional racism is trickier, though. Emotional racism is being a little uncomfortable in a room full of black guys because you feel outnumbered. Emotional racism is walking up to the white teller at the bank instead of the Latino one because you think its more likely theyll speak English. Emotional racism is the monolith built by these tiny, seemingly invisible moments of racial tension. And herein lies the issue.
See, its VERY easy to shrug off emotional racism when you feel like it doesnt define you as a person. I mean, sure, Ill maybe cross the street if I see a bunch of thug-looking black guys walking on the sidewalk, but that doesnt make me a RACIST, right? I mean, its not like Im actually hurting anyone, am I? Well, yes, I am. My behavior may be invisible to the world at large (or even to that group of guys who just arent dressed up that day for whatever reason), but it isnt invisible to me. And every time I justify it to myself as a reasonable action, it becomes more and more default behavior. And after a while, it actually becomes who I am. I become the guy who wont go to the South Side of Chicago because I dont want to deal with seeing poor brown people. I become the guy who doesnt want to see Straight Outta Compton on opening night because I dont want to deal with the crowds wink wink. And once thats just who you are, you become a small part of institutional racism.
(For the record, the South Side of Chicago is rad, and I totally saw Straight Outta Compton opening night and laughed my ass off when I saw a guy in my theater spark up a Black N Mild)
So now that weve established what intellectual vs. emotional racism is and how the latter actually DOES affect you as a person, lets get back to white liberals.
Just like any other group, white liberals arent actually a monolith, so understand that the group Im really referring to is the kind of white liberal who grew up in a middle class (or even upper-middle class) environment, took Gifted and Advanced classes through school and went to a liberal university to get their degree. And now theyre politically active in a way that requires very little of them in the way of actual action. Stuff like getting into arguments on Twitter and citing think pieces on Salon during conversation.
This guy (or gal - white liberal ladies are equally guilty of this, and white feminism is a whole other thing that Im not nearly qualified to speak on) grew up being told that they were smart, that they were well-read, and that theyre part of the superior liberal society. There is a TREMENDOUS superiority complex that white liberals have, because by being on the right side of intellectual racism, they believe theyre absolved of their emotional racism. And beyond that, this superiority complex breeds venom for anyone who even disagrees with them, let alone points out some of their own flaws.
Thats how you get to situations where a bunch of Bernie Sanders supports are in constant arguments with the Black Lives Matter group. On an intellectual level, white liberals want the same thing - equality for black people. But they want it in a vague and distant way that suits them. They want black people to be free of discrimination, but they want it on THEIR terms. They want it achieved in a way that isnt inconvenient or obtrusive to their own goals. White liberals of this ilk see themselves as being a part of that superior, morally bulletproof society, so why should they take their attention away from Bernie Sanders to give mental real estate to a bunch of black people? Dont black people know that white liberals already know whats best for them?
Look, were all guilty of emotional racism sometimes. Ill totally admit it - I catch myself thinking something racist every once in a while, for sure. But I think what you have to do in that situation is not just bury it down, but take a moment and think about WHY you made that choice, and make a note to correct it in the future. Its not as easy as flipping a switch, but ignoring the issue only makes it worse. As white liberals, we need to understand that were not inherently superior to anyone else, and actually take time to LISTEN to people to broaden our perspectives.
Id love it if folks who belong to different minorities would share their experiences with white liberals, and explain how they were treated. I hope it went well, but deep down, Im sure a lot of it came off as patronizing at best and downright vile at worst. But I think its important for us to examine those experiences and look inward. I cant fix anybody else, but I can fix me, and I hope that by talking to more people outside of my comfort zone, Ill actually become a better person.
What do you guys think? Do you feel similarly, or are my experiences not indicative of your own? Again, I dont have statistics or numbers or studies to refer to here, so Id welcome any dissenting opinion if theres something Ive passed over or ignored. Ultimately, Id love it if we (and especially I) can learn something from this word vomit haha.
Im a straight white guy. Well, mostly white, I guess. My father is Cuban, and I have a Spanish last name, but since Ive anglicized it (removing the tilde and pronouncing it a more anglo-friendly way), its more often confused for Italian, honestly. So while Im technically biracial, I look white, and most people assume as much until they learn differently. So my life experience on a daily basis is that of a white person.
In additional to being a straight white(ish) guy, Im also a liberal. I think social safety nets are the bees knees, I think our wealth disparity is one of the worst issues were facing today, and Im all for a more practical view on drugs, specifically in referring offenders to treatment instead of prison, and legalization for the less dangerous substances. I also think the Confederate Flag is a garbage rag for racist fucks. Im very much anti-racist. Most white liberal guys are. But the issue is that, from my experience within the white liberal community, there isnt so much a problem with intellectual racism, but rather emotional racism.
So what do I mean by that? Lets start with defining what I mean by those two terms.
From my perspective, intellectual racism is knowing, on a purely academic level, that racism is wrong. Slavery was awful, the Civil Rights Movement was completely necessary and racism (towards all minorities, not just those that are black) is still totally an issue that plagues society today. Its basically the same as admitting the sky is blue. As long as youre not too deep in a pool of cognitive dissonance, most people are on the same page about this.
Emotional racism is trickier, though. Emotional racism is being a little uncomfortable in a room full of black guys because you feel outnumbered. Emotional racism is walking up to the white teller at the bank instead of the Latino one because you think its more likely theyll speak English. Emotional racism is the monolith built by these tiny, seemingly invisible moments of racial tension. And herein lies the issue.
See, its VERY easy to shrug off emotional racism when you feel like it doesnt define you as a person. I mean, sure, Ill maybe cross the street if I see a bunch of thug-looking black guys walking on the sidewalk, but that doesnt make me a RACIST, right? I mean, its not like Im actually hurting anyone, am I? Well, yes, I am. My behavior may be invisible to the world at large (or even to that group of guys who just arent dressed up that day for whatever reason), but it isnt invisible to me. And every time I justify it to myself as a reasonable action, it becomes more and more default behavior. And after a while, it actually becomes who I am. I become the guy who wont go to the South Side of Chicago because I dont want to deal with seeing poor brown people. I become the guy who doesnt want to see Straight Outta Compton on opening night because I dont want to deal with the crowds wink wink. And once thats just who you are, you become a small part of institutional racism.
(For the record, the South Side of Chicago is rad, and I totally saw Straight Outta Compton opening night and laughed my ass off when I saw a guy in my theater spark up a Black N Mild)
So now that weve established what intellectual vs. emotional racism is and how the latter actually DOES affect you as a person, lets get back to white liberals.
Just like any other group, white liberals arent actually a monolith, so understand that the group Im really referring to is the kind of white liberal who grew up in a middle class (or even upper-middle class) environment, took Gifted and Advanced classes through school and went to a liberal university to get their degree. And now theyre politically active in a way that requires very little of them in the way of actual action. Stuff like getting into arguments on Twitter and citing think pieces on Salon during conversation.
This guy (or gal - white liberal ladies are equally guilty of this, and white feminism is a whole other thing that Im not nearly qualified to speak on) grew up being told that they were smart, that they were well-read, and that theyre part of the superior liberal society. There is a TREMENDOUS superiority complex that white liberals have, because by being on the right side of intellectual racism, they believe theyre absolved of their emotional racism. And beyond that, this superiority complex breeds venom for anyone who even disagrees with them, let alone points out some of their own flaws.
Thats how you get to situations where a bunch of Bernie Sanders supports are in constant arguments with the Black Lives Matter group. On an intellectual level, white liberals want the same thing - equality for black people. But they want it in a vague and distant way that suits them. They want black people to be free of discrimination, but they want it on THEIR terms. They want it achieved in a way that isnt inconvenient or obtrusive to their own goals. White liberals of this ilk see themselves as being a part of that superior, morally bulletproof society, so why should they take their attention away from Bernie Sanders to give mental real estate to a bunch of black people? Dont black people know that white liberals already know whats best for them?
Look, were all guilty of emotional racism sometimes. Ill totally admit it - I catch myself thinking something racist every once in a while, for sure. But I think what you have to do in that situation is not just bury it down, but take a moment and think about WHY you made that choice, and make a note to correct it in the future. Its not as easy as flipping a switch, but ignoring the issue only makes it worse. As white liberals, we need to understand that were not inherently superior to anyone else, and actually take time to LISTEN to people to broaden our perspectives.
Id love it if folks who belong to different minorities would share their experiences with white liberals, and explain how they were treated. I hope it went well, but deep down, Im sure a lot of it came off as patronizing at best and downright vile at worst. But I think its important for us to examine those experiences and look inward. I cant fix anybody else, but I can fix me, and I hope that by talking to more people outside of my comfort zone, Ill actually become a better person.
What do you guys think? Do you feel similarly, or are my experiences not indicative of your own? Again, I dont have statistics or numbers or studies to refer to here, so Id welcome any dissenting opinion if theres something Ive passed over or ignored. Ultimately, Id love it if we (and especially I) can learn something from this word vomit haha.
I also went ahead and just bolded the main points for people who don't have time to read all of that. 
