From: peewee@infoserv.com (Philip Stromer)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african.american
Subject: Re: Who cares what whites think about racism ?
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 92 09:49:34 PST
Distribution: world
Organization: Friends of Lenny Bruce

	>Dowdy Jackson writes:
	>as AfAms, why do we care what white people think about racism 
	>in America ? 
	
Because you want to set a good example for whites, perhaps?  If you go        
around saying "who cares what whites think about racism," you're simply
providing an excuse for some white person to reverse the situation, and
say, "who cares what blacks think about racism."  That's why.

	>We as AfAms know perfectly well what the condition of race 
	>relations are.  
	
You don't speak for any black person other than yourself.  For you to        
imply that you carry some sort of proxy is disingenuous.  Okay, I'm
calling your bluff:  Who else do you speak for?

	>Whites don't live in our world so they don't understand what we 
	>have do deal with on a daily basis. 
	
We, we, we.  You speak only for Dowdy Jackson.

What a load of horse manure.  Many typical blacks talk to whites all the        
time, and recount their trials and tribulations with these whites.  You
don't need to be black to understand racism, just like you don't need
to be a drug addict to understand the problems surrounding drug addiction.

	>There has been TV show after TV show which clearly shows that 
	>whites are indeed treated far better than AfAms 
	
The NBA on NBC isn't one of them, I guess.  Stop whining and make some        
sort of suggestion for improvement, for chrissake.

	>but whites will argue tooth and nail to the contrary. 
	
Perhaps because people like you lump all blacks into one category, and        
lump all whites into another category.  Separatism that FarraKKKhan
would be proud of.

	>Of course many whites say that they understand that racism still 
	>exists but of course they themselves are not racist. 
	
Of course many blacks say that whites are racist, even though no white        
person in this country ever owned a slave.  You can't just go around
calling someone a racist without any evidence to back up your claim.
Well you can, but you won't be taken seriously, either by blacks or
by whites.

	>For a white person to be an ally of AfAms meant that they had 
	>to risk their lives.  To me these whites are not racist.

Oh, so a white person must "risk his life" to be a non-racist?  What
have you ever done to risk your life in favor of civil rights?  I
didn't see you taking on the looters in LA after the Rodney King
verdict.  You're possibly a racist?  Oops, I forgot...a black man
CAN'T be a racist.  You're protected from this, due to your own
self-serving definition of the word.  My mistake.

	>But now days whites can say that they are not racist because 
	>they know that there is no way to test them on this point. 
	
And you can call any white person racist, without any evidence whatsoever,        
because you feel like it?
	
	>No one will try to kill them for supporting AfAms in their quest 
	>for equality.  
	
No, but many blacks (yourself included) will say, "we don't want or need        
your help.  We're not babies.  We want to take care of things ourselves!"
I've heard this argument before.  What the hell is the typical white
person SUPPOSED to do?
      
     >Whites will never admit to being racists 
     
Many blacks won't even admit that it's POSSIBLE for a black person to be 
a racist.  You sound like a broken record.  Whites are racist.  Blacks 
CAN'T be racist.  Never more.  Braaarrrghhhh!  Polly wanna cracker?

--Philip Stromer (peewee@infoserv.com)