Quote:
Originally Posted by Elfwreck
Refusing to allow non-white cultures to define and label themselves is one of the first and longest-lasting forms of oppression.
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I have to be honest, I know this to be true because I've heard it a lot of times from people of various ethnicities and read about it more time than I can count - but I still don't
really get it.
And I think that's the point. I'm white, and have not been oppressed by an ethnic group. I haven't had people call me "whitey" or "honkey"while spitting at me. I haven't had people try to break my accent or lose my language to "be like everyone else." I haven't had grandparents talking about being in internment camps, I haven't lived on a reservation (which in a lot of ways is effectively an internment camp), and I haven't had parents or grandparents who were forced to use a different bathroom because of their colour. I haven't been turned down for an academic position because they think I'm unreliable because I am able to have a baby. I haven't been sexually harassed or been looked at as though I cannot do the job myself because I'm of the "weaker" sex. I haven't gotten treated like an idiot at a car dealership or a mechanic. I haven't been looked at as odd because I care more about my career than being a mom. I haven't been called a fag or been beaten because of my sexual orientation.
I mean, I'm a french-Canadian guy in Western Canada, so I get the odd frog joke, but realistically, straight white guys have it easy.