I just watched a documentary from Vice called White Student Union. Its mainly about a guy named +Matthew Heimbach , who changed a name of an organization in Towson, MD. Apparently, the group advocates for \”persons of European heritage\”. So now, African Americans feel targeted by this group and so obviously its causing a bit of a stir in the community.
At about 6:22 in the video, I think Patty was his name, he makes a statement, and I think it’s the best way to start my perspective:
\”Anytime there is a discussion about or debate on race, its more often than not… its always the left, yelling at us and telling us how horrible and how racist we are instead of opening it up for debate and opening the issue up for honest and logical debate… based on pure fact.\”
This is a debate i have had, within my own race as well as within my own family. People complain that their isn’t racial equality in America. Usually when i ask for specific examples, it always seems to appear to be petty stuff that people want to tag racism too.
Example, I was in a restaurant with a friend, and we had a server who was extremely rude to us. We hadn’t done anything to the server. We didn’t even ask for much of anything but he was just down right rude to us. The server just happened to be white and so my friend became agitated.
\”When that dude comes back with my credit card I’m going to let him have it. I am sick of his attitude… his Racist ass!\”
Most people know I am an analyst. I will analyze everything in a room. I will analyze the quality of the air with my nose hairs if you give me the time. Now Interestingly, when the guy first came off as rude, I started watching him every time he entered and left the dining area and i started to notice a few things. He was actually fighting with the employees and a lot of them were getting upset with him. You could tell they were holding back their emotions because they were on the clock and many people would see them explode if they did on this waiter. The majority of the staff i could see was not black. So it was clear that he wasn’t directing his anger at us because of race. The more i analyzed the more i noticed that he was really short with the rest of his tables he had to wait. Had i not stopped my friend he would of made a big scene and then the other people eating would of been thinking \”Awwwwww here we go again… another black guy saying someone is racist……\” I am just as sick of black people tagging racism to everything as white people are. It’s like the little boy that cried wolf.
I grew up in a situation where i was taught to look at race. \”You gotta watch’em!\” i was always told. And i remember going to elementary school with the thought of \”I have to stay away from them. I don’t want any problems….\” but even as a little kid I was an analyst. and the more i watched the kids in my classroom the more i realized that this wasn’t at all the case.
![](\"http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JO5eyLccvQc/UaiGCnUozrI/AAAAAAAATu0/O_1URvFprbk/s1600/214031141_640.jpg\")
By the time i was a freshman in High School i started speaking up every time i heard comments like that, and I started by ‘Asking Questions’ to my grandmother. She would be watching some show on TV, Oprah, Jerry Springer, Ricky Lake,
one of those style of shows and something would transpire on the show and she start her rant during the commercial break.
\”They Racist! Those white people always want to stop the black folks from doing something! They don’t want us to get ahead in life!\”
I would ask,
\”How can you say that the reason is because they are black? Maybe the person did something to make them feel that way or maybe they just don’t want anybody in that place. Why is it instantly because they were black?\”
Depending on the situation it would usually just lead to various directions but it always would end with the implications that basically my mother didn’t teach me correctly and that we live in the suburbs and I think everything is peaches and herbs cause i have all white friends.
So i decided to poll my mother,
\”Why is it that every time something happens to granny she always thinks its about race? Most of the time its not racism.\”
my mother obviously is the next generation after my grandmother so her opinion is a little different.
\”You are rightin some areas. Sometimes you will meet people who are not racist, but you still gotta watch it. There is this thing called hidden racism and that’s the one you have to watch. Some people would smile in your face and then stab you in your back because you are black.\”
Since this is my mother and she is a pretty reasonable person, I always decide to debate her on this topic to get her to see that her logic is wrong. We usually agree that its generational and that while the Civil Rights Generation (grandmother) thinks everything including the wind is racist, my mother’s generation are to just keep a \”watchful eye\” out for racism because its supposedly out there. However my generation is so \”nonchalant\” that we will get discriminated against and won’t even be able to tell. I have always disagreed with that last statement but there was no way to get her to see it differently.
The older i became the more i analyzed and concluded that the issue is with America. It’s interesting because we are taught that we are a \”diverse\” nation and the fact that we all have different backgrounds and we were able to put a country together that generally works and works well is one of many examples of American Exceptionalism. However the nation is now complete. it has been complete for 200+ years. Why as Americans do we continue to identify with backgrounds and cultures that we are no longer apart of? After 200+ years, Irish Americans are no longer Irish… Most of the people don’t know or understand the traditions, customs, or even speak the language. If you took the Irish Americans and threw them in Ireland, they wouldn’t even know how to function or fit into the society.. same with all the other races.. take an African American and throw him in Africa, he would be dead in 1 hour! The American people of Today are not connected AT ALL to the places their ancestors came from. They only understand American culture. We have our own culture, our own history, our own way of life. So why do we insist on creating this divide when we are all from the same culture, same history and same nation. Sometimes you even ask someone their race and and they come back with
\”My mother is full Irish but my dad was mixed with Spanish and Brazilian. My grandmother was Brazilian but she was mixed with Brazilian and Japanese and my grandfather was Spanish, so really i am 50% Irish, 25% Spanish and 12.5% Japanese and 12.5% Brazilian.\”
Why? why do we do this?!? And then I get REALLY upset when i see people walking around wearing Dashiki’s when they KNOW were born and raised here, their parents were born and raised here, their grandparents, great grandparents and so on.
Personally I think its time we start saying that we are Americans. I already do it when i fill out forms and when people ask me where am I from. Its stupid to keep this trend up. and when Patty said what he said in the video he was right! You can’t have a factual discussion or debate about this topic.
Everybody on both sides of the fence don’t want to talk about the facts. Why is the NAACP around still? Why do people like my grandmother continue to pay dues to a dead organization. They did their job. Once their job was complete, in order for them to stay relevant why didn’t they start trying to look out for the equality of ALL people once blacks were giving rights? What good are they? I have asked this question to my grandmother many of times, she will laugh because she knows I’m telling the truth but she says she will keep paying dues… WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!?
But when Matthew comes out and says \”all the other groups have their own gatherings so why can’t we have ours?\” Then you got the people in dreadlocks all in his face telling him he doesn’t have a right to start his own group. Why doesn’t he? We have designed a system where people feel they have to have these groups. I do not fault Matthew for this. Only thing i would want to do is meet Matthew, whether in person or on Google+Hangouts and learn more about him and his perspective without the media putting their twists on his words and editing the video to seem like this is an national emergency and riots are going to break out by the time the newscast is over with dramatic theatrical soundtracks in the background.
So as my mother would ask me,
\”well since you seem to know it all and have all the answers, what is the solution Professor Griff?!?\”
(after being called that since i was 4, i still don’t know who that is)
I honestly don’t know what the answer is. I usually tell my mother and grandmother since they cant understand that the world has changed and neither can their generation, we will just have to wait for all of them to die off before this silliness dies. But i think something has to break and someone has to make the first move. Maybe if they stop making people select their race on federal documents and only selection nationalities (for international people) maybe this can be the first step. But people getting mad at Matthew because he wants to make a group of white people is just keeping the stupidity going. We did this to ourselves.
http://www.vice.com/vice-news/white-student-union
