I didn’t mean it like that, more like, “whiteness” is defined more by what it isn’t than what it is. It’s an in-group that defines itself by not being a part of the out-group. Italians are “white” for now, but weren’t 30 years ago or so. Irish people weren’t white for a very long time, despite being some of the most pale people in the world.
“White” people don’t have a “culture” because “white culture” doesn’t exist. White ethnicities have cultures, but “white” is meaningless. A lot of people in colonial nations latch onto “whiteness” to be a part of the “in group.” We should oppose this sort of thing and encourage people to celebrate their culture rather than trying to smash it all into some empty homogeneous “white” culture.
Oh, I was thinking more of my own country, Italians were our vilified group of immigrants until the 90s (then it switch to Chinese immigrants, then Muslims)
I mean I get all that, but at the end of the day, that’s not the sort of framework that is salient. It’s not even that big of a deal, it just wears on you after a while.
Sorry if it made it seem like I was invalidating your feelings there. It doesn’t wear on me, but that doesn’t mean other people aren’t worn out by it. I do have a lot of contempt and loathing for people with strong “white” identities though, so I don’t mind being “collateral damage” when they are getting made fun of.
I think thats fair, especially when its some rich suburban white kid with liberal parents telling you youre bad because youre white and they just read about it for the first time on reddit
All of that is true. However, a white person rejecting “whiteness” does not prevent others from attributing that identity to them anyway, any more than someone else can prevent society treating them as nonwhite. If someone starts shooting people they view as white, then all of your reasoning means nothing.
I didn’t mean it like that, more like, “whiteness” is defined more by what it isn’t than what it is. It’s an in-group that defines itself by not being a part of the out-group. Italians are “white” for now, but weren’t 30 years ago or so. Irish people weren’t white for a very long time, despite being some of the most pale people in the world.
“White” people don’t have a “culture” because “white culture” doesn’t exist. White ethnicities have cultures, but “white” is meaningless. A lot of people in colonial nations latch onto “whiteness” to be a part of the “in group.” We should oppose this sort of thing and encourage people to celebrate their culture rather than trying to smash it all into some empty homogeneous “white” culture.
Truly the 90s were a terrible time for Italian Americans; I became white just a few months after being born
Oh, I was thinking more of my own country, Italians were our vilified group of immigrants until the 90s (then it switch to Chinese immigrants, then Muslims)
I mean I get all that, but at the end of the day, that’s not the sort of framework that is salient. It’s not even that big of a deal, it just wears on you after a while.
Sorry if it made it seem like I was invalidating your feelings there. It doesn’t wear on me, but that doesn’t mean other people aren’t worn out by it. I do have a lot of contempt and loathing for people with strong “white” identities though, so I don’t mind being “collateral damage” when they are getting made fun of.
I think thats fair, especially when its some rich suburban white kid with liberal parents telling you youre bad because youre white and they just read about it for the first time on reddit
All of that is true. However, a white person rejecting “whiteness” does not prevent others from attributing that identity to them anyway, any more than someone else can prevent society treating them as nonwhite. If someone starts shooting people they view as white, then all of your reasoning means nothing.