I reject the moniker of White Supremacy. I’m an older white man that in today’s political atmosphere, must be a racist, simply because of my race. It’s curious to me to see people that were born white in society to disdain something that they had no control over. Think about it: all of us, of any race or ethnicity are born that way. We didn;t choose to be white, brown, or black. I object to the idea that the condition of my birth defines me when those making these accusations know nothing about me, or anyone else for that matter. Unlike those that are white that discuss this problem in our country, I don;t walk around displaying my friends of color to show that I am not a racist. I don’t talk about race, to anyone, because I don’t care.
If you’re a human being, I look up you as not someone of a particular race, but as someone that I’d like to know. Martin Luther King, Jr once said (paraphrasing here) that people should not be judged on their color, but on their character. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I may say specifically, that’s how I was raised – before MLK. My Dad was in the military and I was born into the “integrated” military, made possible by Harry Truman. When I was growing up, I lived next door, across the street, etc., from people of every race: black, brown, asian, Native American…In 1968, I had neighbors on base that were an interracial couple. 1968. None of us, kids anyway, thought anything about it.
So, I wasn’t raised to be racist even though both my parents were. They were born in a time when non-whites where looked down upon and yes, persecuted. I was raised to respect everyone – that deserved respect, no matter their race, ethnicity, religious belief – whatever. This is why I reject the idea that white people, generally, are racists. This is something that some politicians, and political activists want to advance to divide us as a people, and it disturbs me to no end that many will not stand up and declare that they are not prejudiced against others because of their race. It’s almost become a silencing technique of some that will say that if you’re white, you have no voice. What?
Does racism exist? Certainly. Is it specific to the U.S.? No. Racism is a malady that exists everywhere to some extent and I actually doubt it’s prevalence in my country more than any other. The difference is that we have race-baiters out there on television discussing how bad we, as a country, are. Yet, the number of hate crimes, based on race here in the United States is at it’s lowest ever. Of course, we can never convince those that blame every incident on racism, but them, we never will be able to convince charlatans who seem to have the media presence to admit to that fact.
Which brings me to the media, which seems to feed upon this virtually non-existent problem. These people love the idea that every instance of a police encounter with someone of a race other than white, is racist. Note however they won’t report the devastation in some minority communities due to…racism, caused by those of a particular political party, in charge, that they will go out of their way to excuse. Someone point that out? You’re a racist.
I’ve never held my tongue and I hope by writing this, more people will stand up, no ,matter their race, to say that the problem we see with race in our country is exacerbated by those looking for political contributions and none of which are looking to solve any problems we do have with race in this country. I’m not a racist. I’m not a White Supremacist. I don;t accept you derision for being born the way I was, nor will i apologize for something that I had no part.
Maybe, instead of accuising one another we should begin to bring each other together. That doesn’t sound like something a conservative would say, does it? It’s actually something conservatives have been saying for decades.
Conservative Skeptic 
For Eff’s Sake, is that what the OK sign is supposed to mean to White Supremacists? They can’t have it!
Here is the message of The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. of ” I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character?” Just for addition to your excellent post, Jim.
As a “woman of no-color” I protest that my heritage, traditions and culture have no significance in America. Get over it, people! And the new darling designation of “woman of color” makes me want to puke.
Before Obama, we were well on our way to becoming a nation that did not see skin color. Even here in my backwards area of the US, there are couple combinations of all skin colors, mixed-race families and white grandparents caring for their bi-racial grandchildren. Now this is going to sound racist, but I don’t see many black grandparents caring for their bi-racial grandchildren. In fact, I can’t think of ever seeing a grouping like that out and about shopping or at events. I had not thought about it until just now.
What’s up with that anecdotal evidence?
As you were, Jim, I was reared to be color-blind and I dared to ignore my the opinions of my peers by befriending black students when we finally integrated in 1969, my junior year in high school. Some rough times there, but screw them. We lived on the edge of town, where black families lived a couple of houses down…lower class area of a small town, where there had actually been race riots and a lynching once upon a time. The Historically Black College is still a relatively thriving part of the University system and attracts mostly gay blacks and local students specializing in Agricultural, Industrial, Physical Therapy studies. My husband and two sons graduated from there. The white population of the college is maybe 20 percent now, which is an absolute guess. Anyway, the college is also a political driver, but the county is the poorest in the state and the population struggles. I guess I am relating this because we grew up with an idea that…well, there are people with dark skin and a different culture. To deny this different culture is just plain stupid. Do I think white culture is superior? Well, yes I do. I see exactly what the black culture of my high school peers did to them and mostly it set them back in life. Many of them came at the world with an attitude that hindered advancement and personal growth and financial growth and individual responsibility. And that was a shame, but it is far worse now. And it shouldn’t be.
Am I a White Supremacist because of how I reason? No, I am a realist.
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I do agree we still have racism in this country and when I see it I try to speak up. However, apparently through “Critical Race Theory” and “Intersectional Feminism” along with the bestseller “White Fragility” we are all racist and we can’t even see it. It smacks of a conspiracy theory if you analyze it in that framework. It is not fact, but a theoretical framework which is nearly impossible to refute. I don’t know how long it will last, but it’s horrid and divisive. I think people like us in a certain age group did encounter points at which we stood up to racism more than anyone really is likely to have to do today in order to cross racial boundaries, so it is odd to be thought of as racist based on our shared histories.
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