I'm ashamed to admit, but because of this, I started to avoid engaging with white people to avoid knowing what they believe in altogether. Everywhere I went, I could always count on seeing a Confederate flag or some unwelcomed bumper sticker on a pickup truck. Constant reminders that I was in a lion's den, and needed to escape.
That you are capable of viewing it as prejudice and want to find ways to move past it in some way suggests that it won't end up being some obstacle that is too big to overcome for you. It suggests that it might not even be prejudice, just a shift to a slightly different world view based on rational conclusions. May just take time to adjust.
That's all I got.
That you are capable of viewing it as prejudice and want to find ways to move past it in some way suggests that it won't end up being some obstacle that is too big to overcome for you. It suggests that it might not even be prejudice, just a shift to a slightly different world view based on rational conclusions. May just take time to adjust.
That's all I got.
If your friends are good to you in spite of their political beliefs and don't directly hurt themselves or others because of it, make sure you keep them. Division is what starts violence and civil wars.
Funny how only white people got "suckered."
Their political beliefs and therefore their voting practices are 100% hurting others. (and probably themselves).
There's also millions of people that are hurting, just like those poor, poor misunderstood trump voters, who gave him a giant middle finger.
Can we stop coddling these motherfuckers? Look at what's happening.
What you are missing is that you are giving white people the benefit of the doubt here- claiming they were "misled", "suckered" - when no other ethnic group fell for this shit. Trump's campaign wasn't about economics, it was blatant white nationalism, and trying to claim that people who voted for him didn't know what they were voting for is ridiculous. They knew exactly what they were doing.According to statistics, you're not that wrong there.
There is no need to let the election make you prejudice against white people. You came from an area that had little diversity and it showed in overall ignorance. Tons of people come from those places and moved to find out what their grandparents told them about a certain group wasn't right.
As for blaming all white people you run into for Trump and believing that "there are some good ones." Remember, the party that you will most likely vote for, for the foreseeable future, Democratic, is also mostly white. Most Democratic Senators and representatives are white and fighting the good fight with you so remember that when you prejudge a random white person.
What you are missing is that you are giving white people the benefit of the doubt here- claiming they were "misled", "suckered" - when no other ethnic group fell for this shit. Trump's campaign wasn't about economics, it was blatant white nationalism, and trying to claim that people who voted for him didn't know what they were voting for is ridiculous. They knew exactly what they were doing.
Convince me that your views are in any way more valid than when a white person dislikes black people because of negative personal experiences.
This is also what gets me- the fervent denial of the possibility that perhaps white people were fully aware of the racism and either didn't care or actively endorsed it. It's almost like a constant infantilization; this angle that they were just too ignorant to know better and thus we need to treat grown-ass adults like well-meaning children, when the fact is we all watched the same debates and rallies. Everyone is broke and everyone has poor job prospects because globalization and wealth inequality are color blind, but only white people were split down the middle on Trump.
Gee, I wonder what the split was over.
There are two fixes to your problem, OP:
1) Try not to bring up politics if you're unsure of the other person's orientation, especially if it's not germane to the subject at hand. Don't be that guy who posts stuff on facebook that nobody who doesn't agree with you wants to see, or has a bumpersticker designed to piss off Republicans or something. Treat it as a don't-ask-don't-tell situation (that policy had to be good for something, right?). If you see something you don't like, say something, but otherwise let sleeping dogs lie.
2) Find people who are committed to making a difference, PoC or not, and work with them, and then maybe you'll find common interests aside from political activism and can go do karaoke or something.
[Snip]
To those who are going through similar emotions, how are you dealing with it? It's hard to think of myself as a good person when I have these thoughts every day.
I would appreciate some advice on this and would like to hear if others are going through similar struggles.
Funny how it works, right?
Calling them out by engaging in conversation (politely) when they try to include me and making sure they know where I stand generally causes a big awkward moment and the end of said conversation so far (only has happened twice thankfully).
In a way, they became like that because we did kind of ignore them. While we were (very justifiably) focusing on other issues, we let them vulnerable to the right, the wolves in saints' clothing.
In my experience, a good chunk of the everyday bigots you met and know in TN were like the ones I know in Alabama: bigoted against a group (black people in general, muslims, liberals, LBGTQ, etc.), but were very sociable to individuals. It's weird because they appreciate me, a black man, being "not like the others". They think I'm the exception to the rule.
My best friend (who happens to be white) has, in his words, a family where half are super racist, yet they all love me to death. Now, that's not stopping them from saying some real heinous shit in my presence about black people in general or other races and groups. I think of this as general ignorance towards "outsiders" than pure unadulterated hate. I try my best to recondition them to be more open, but the older ones are pretty much set in their ways unfortunately.
Like you, I was falling into depression for most of last year, and hit rock bottom after the election. One thing that has given me hope is when I came politically active again after a good while and noticed most of the local democrats and progressives are mostly white and very sympathetic to the plights of other groups. They gave me a renewed since of pride and optimism that I had been lacking for so long.
Just remember, there are truly good people in all parts of the country. The majority of the country did not vote for Trump and his policies. There are folks that believe we're all in this together and are willing to fight; not just themselves and their beliefs, but for others as well.
Yeah seriously every theory about why whites voted Trump falls with the most basic of scrutiny when held up to a magnifying glass:
Economic Anxiety - Oh right because all those blacks and Hispanics facing the same challenges were also huge Trump supporters. Are we to believe that the white working class are just that much more gullible and stupid than the non white working class?
Hillary was a terrible candidate - Barack Obama was probably the most charismatic man to ever run for president in modern times and he only won 39% of the white vote in 2012, Hillary won 37%. https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/groups-voted-2016/. Not only will white people not vote Democrat, they will tolerate the most vile and lowlife shit from Republicans possible. It's getting pretty evident where the majority of white America stands on race.
And don't forget, WE'RE the ones that have to reach across the aisle to reach these dumb fuck. White people I like you but y'all need to start cleaning house.
So you bought into the "fiscal conservative" stuff huh? Do you really truly think people just magically became racist and bigoted when DJT ran for president? Breitbart and the alt-right have been around for awhile, it's just DJT and his rhetoric emboldened these people to not hide it anymore or pretend and use dog whistles. GOP policies haven't changed in the least, they always targeted minorities and have always been anti-LGBT. Look at the NC bathroom bill, that was well before DJT. Racism and bigotry isn't better just because its not overt. When people talk about "white privilege" (not declaring race here, just using in a general term) and being able to ignore that shit, this here is a perfect example of what they are talking about and it deserves some introspection.
What you seem to be really asking is how can you go back to being naive and ignore the injustices going on around you. You should be angry about the shit that has gone on and continues to go on, people should want feel resentment and the need to do something about it.
some people have the support of morality history and society.