From: q2tj@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american
Subject: Re: Who cares what whites think about racism ?
Date: 22 Dec 92 17:18:19 EST
Distribution: soc
Organization: Cornell University

dowdy@tochtli.biochem.nwu.edu (Dowdy Jackson) writes: 
> After reading most of the articles regarding institutional racsim, ect,
> I see that most of the white posters are saying that:
> 
> 	A. AfAms whine too much because racism isn't as bad as it use to
> 	be.
> 
> 	B. Not all whites are racist because they don't trip if an AfAm
> 	moves next door.
> 
> 	C. AfAms benefit from AA programs and these programs hurt whites.
>
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These comments are well taken, but I see the issue in a different way.
I think the problem is that (most....i'll stick my neck out with a
generalization) whites don't want to really listen to blacks.  And I mean
careful and critical listening, whether listening to someone in person,
or over tv, movie, books, or the net.  I would refer to the A, B, & C.
list given above as THE BRUSHOFF.

And a brushoff hardly comes as a surprise.  First, no one (in this
case whites) likes to have an acusing finger pointed at them personally.
No doubt, a lot of this is simple human nature, but this urge towards
the brushoff of blacks should be resisted in an effort to actually
*listen* (and understand) what blacks are saying.

Second, as soon as mention is made of "institutional racism" another
issue is automatically raised....but NEVER openly discussed.
And that's the issue of our existing social order.  If someone is
happy with the existing order, and considers it fundamentally just,
they probably aren't going to have much patience about hearing about
change.  They might listen a little if the change is reform, but will
not listen at all if the change is revolutionary.

It's natural to feel frustrated talking with people who have an
inclination not to sincerely listen; and perhaps (as said in above post) it
isn't necessary to talk anyway.  But for people who *are* foolish
enough to consider talking about race issues with the OTHER race
I think that things are *so* bad that it will have to be prefaced
by a discussion of principles of how such interaction can take place.
(and I'm thinking primarily of interactions that take place in more
academic settings....like with school administrators, faculty cocktail
parties, or within campus newspapers, say).  Now, even in limited and
supposedly safe academic settings, things are still fairly hostile when
it comes to even talking about race issues for simple reason that any NORMAL
person will be absolutely FURIOUS over what's been going on in this 
country, especially those on the short end of the stick.

To get the ball rolling (on USENET, at any rate) I'll put forth
some principles/recommendations.....and see what people think.

1. whites have to make sincere effort to listen/understand

2. blacks should avoid things like "if you don't already know this then
   you're too far gone"  "i shouldn't have to explain the history of
   opression, there's a library full of books...figure it out yourself"
   I think that one shouldn't hesitate to forthrightly make specific
   recommendations on books that you think a white person should read.
   Say "If you read the following books, you will undertand this better"

3. whites (especially those guys who run the conservative _________-review
   papers) really ought to stop side-tracking EVERY race issue into a
   diatribe about affirmative-action or the latest PC abuse.

4. The word YOU must be used carefully.  Of course people aren't going
   to listen when the word YOU is constantly used as a battering ram
   of both COLLECTIVE and INDIVIDUAL indictment.  For instance, instead of:
   "You don't know what it's like to be ___________" it is better to say:
   "I think that you are wrong about ______________....here's why, or 
    read this book to understand better"  It is a general rule of negotiating
    to replace the "you-message" with the "i-think message"  Now some of this
    is culturally dependent, and I've presented it from the viewpoint of
    the dominant culture.  Perhaps this could be a good s.c.a.a discussion.

5.  Don't have high expectations of talk, or net-talk for that matter....
    but you never know ;-)

6.  Don't underestimate the ignormance of those you're talking to.
    Studies show that people are usually 65.3% more ignorant than you think ;-)
    That's why patience is always needed....as disgusting as that seems,
    I think it's the truth. 

that's all for now.  I'll conclude by recommending a book ;-)
_Getting to Yes_  is a good book on techniques of principles of
negotiation (originally devoped for lawyers...but it's applications
are much wider).

later,
Steve Seidman
q2tj@vax5.cit.cornell.edu