Can i get a minority's opinion?

How do you feel when a white person says there are no difference?

It depends on why a white person says this. I usually hear this when people talk about how stupid racism is. In that context it's perfectly understandable. But when a person uses this line to try and tell me that whatever racism I felt is all in my head then it pisses me off. All people are overwhelmingly the same, but that doesn't mean there aren't ignorant people who look at something like skin color and decide to form an opinion of an entire people based on that.

I don't experience racism really at all living in Austin. But in my hometown of New Orleans there are a lot of racist people. I would say about half the White population of New Orleans is racist. That's not to dis White people in general but that's the way it is there. I don't know how to explain it but one can just feel the racism without anyone doing anything overt, it was in people's eyes. Of course there is a lot of overt racism there as well. So I guess it depends on where you live. I've only really seen racism towards white people as a reaction to something the white person in question did. But I don't think it's ok to use racial slurs for anyone.

About the quote from Save The Last Dance, I feel like that sometimes. I don't think it's a white concept per se, but a white person is least likely to be on the receiving end of racism so it's easier for a white person to say that.

Racism from minorities, at least towards white people is almost always reactionary. But I think all racism is reactionary. I'm sure every racist feels justified.

blah blah blah hope that helped

it's okay. I have a black gay friend.

I'm white, but i am also a lesbian, so I experience heterosexism on a fairly regular basis. This has given me some perspective on privilege, and inspired me to do a lot of reading on white privilege. I get to have it both ways. I have definitely benefited from white privilege in my life. I have also been shut out of it when I get too gay for everyone's comfort. When I talk to other white people about the concept of white privilege, they look at me like I'm crazy. They usually say something like, "No one did ME any favors," which is simply not true.

I can't wait to read the responses you get! We need an education on racism from people who actually know the real deal!

Thank you for posting this.

http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman

I'm part of the minority, and have experienced some racism. But I don't think people should be in a certain category just based on the color of their skin. I'm actually cool when a white person says there's no difference. There really shouldn't be. And no, I don't think it's right to call anyone racial names, no matter what background they're from.

I am part of the minority group too and I have experienced racism as well. I am a soccer player and hispanic, but I have light skin and sometimes get mistaken for being white. I am sometimes referred to as a wetback because of the soccer and the fact that I can not speak spanish fluently. This angers me that people would judge me because of my color.

I once walked in front of an ambulance driver with my mother and two little brothers and he yelled at us telling us to go back to Mexico, where we belonged. First of all, we are citizens of the United States and he had no right telling us that. Secondly, we were not breaking any laws when we were walking in front of him either because we walked in a cross walk, he was at a stop sign, and he did not have his lights on; therefore we had the right away. All of us were angry at the ambulance driver, but lucky my mother got the license plate, time, and date that this ambulance driver said this. My mother called the hospital and reported him. Later, on we received a notification that the ambulance driver does not work for the hospital anymore.

Racism should end undoubtedly. When Martin Luther King gave that speech that "People should not be judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character," he was talking to all of us. Racism can end if schools can educate kids about it to discourage it and parents can discourage racism as well. As for whites saying that we are not all different, I do not care because skin color does not matter when it comes down to who is "better" than someone else; racism just degrades people to bring self esteems down.

thanks for your comments everyone i loved reading them and getting to know how you feel.

I personally think that we aren't different. When I choose my friends, places I hang out, books I read, movies I see, music I listen to, I see people as people and culture as culture. We're the same..and I'm just learning new things. But of course, this is a personal view..and when I come outside of my own mind it's obvious that we are different. Socially, economically, culturally, visually, because the majority created the difference and made sure that it was prominent enough to not be ignored.

In a perfect world we all would be the same and at 9 years old I wouldn't have had to ask my mother why the elderly White woman that I sat next to on a bench picked her purse up from beside her and slid all the way down to the end. When the tables are turned and I am the one picking up my purse... or the day that we both pick up our purses at the same time is when things would truly be the same. But who really wants it to happen at all?

People who don't understand difference create it. Hypothetically, if you like to eat apples 3 times a day you're a health nut, and all you think about is being skinny. This is the same as saying..if your skin is THIS MUCH darker than a White person who cant understand your culture, then you love rap music, all you think about is gaudy jewelry, you can dance extremely well, you can jump 5 feet or more off of the ground, you love fried food, you love food covered and smothered in hot sauce and cheese and beans.... These cultures that have began as one and leaked into many others stirred confusion, raising the question of difference to those who couldnt find an understanding and acceptance, and they rejected it, leading us to the very questioning of your blog.

Like Meke said.. our difference is based on the relevancy of the subject.

I think that i have so much to say about this that i barely got to my point..

"Prefiero morir parada que vivir la vida en mis rodillas"