From: shay@osiris.cso.uiuc.edu (George Shay)
Subject: Re: caucasians
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 14:56:31 GMT

Michael F. Kamprath <kamprath@caen.engin.umich.edu> writes:

>In article <sJ0cPB2w165w@midiline.la.ca.us> Patti Hayes, pattisan@midiline.la.ca.us writes:
>>   I take it as an affront for you to read here and critize what you 
>>read...you have no idea what these people have been thru or will go 
>>thru...certainly you may challenge and question but you can't tell 
>>someone they are wrong or call them whiners because you don't and WON'T
>>understand...who they are and why they feel the way they do. You can't 
>>understand if you are critizing...you can't say some of these people are 
>>wrong because you one one asian co-worker at your office or have one 
>>asian friend. One does not a people make. The asian community is JUST
>>as diverse and at times intolerant as the anglo society.

>Ahhh, but you miss the point that these "TYPICALLY WHITE AMERICAN"s are
>indirectly making (though they may not realize it): you will achieve nothing
>in getting other people to change their actions/behavior by "whining."
>Ever hear of those mental defense mechanisms in psych class?  They'll
 
So, we'd better shut up and put our heads between our legs, right?

>usually just whine (or as you say, criticize) right back.  This is true
>between any two human beings regarless of the subject.  If you feel they won't
>understand, educate.  If feel its something that's got to be experienced,

Oh, yeah, the *education* is the key to this problem? The Korean Americans
tried to 'educate' our President that they also suffered heavily in the riot
and needed help from federal government, he did not listen to them.

>try to relay it.  I agree that there are some things that just must
>be experienced, but certainly you can try to describe its effect.   

Are you kidding? Describe something one has to experience to understand to
someone who can not experience and hope he can understand?

>What follows will certainly cause any "TYPICALLY WHITE AMERICAN" to 
>either immediately whine/criticize back, or flat out ingnore you. 
>  

Oh, you have justified that 'just ignor those whiners'.

>>    IT IS A RUDE TYPICALLY WHITE AMERICAN TRAIT! This country is very 
>>arrogant and wants everyone to look anglo...it makes me sick!!!!!!
>>

>I choose to whine/criticize back:
>I find it kind of funny that you you take affront to Whites discussing topics
>that typically of interest mostly to minorities.  Why can't they say some one
>is wring (in their opinion)?  Isn't that what discussion of subjective topics
>entail: revealling, supporting, criticizing, and modifying opinions.  People 
>always speak in terms of their own experience.  True, your excperience is
>differant than mine, but does that make my ability ingest, digest, and 
>regurgetate (I was never good at spelling) discussed matters any less correct?
>I think not.  Sometimes someone removed from the situation can see things that
>others directly involved can't.  Of course, I am not claiming any special 
>awareness to "minority experience" you speak of, nor do I claim to see things 
>you can't, but claiming "others" will never understand can be, frankly, ignorant.

>And one last nit picking criticism.  You addressing Whites as Anglos is like

In Boston, *some* white teenagers from former Yugoslavia could understand
that better when they shouted 'You yellow pigs go back where you are from,
we came here first' to a vienamese family in accented, broken English.
They meant whites came to this land first though we, Yugoslavia
refugees did not, we should share the benifits because we are whites also.

>Michael F. Kamprath
>kamprath@caen.engin.umich.edu