Why Are Minorities "Proud" of their Heritage and does that Pride Cause Problems?

Please excuse the radical title, but it is about all I could fit. I bring this up based upon the discussion about Rob Parker of ESPN's ignorant comments about RGIII (discussion found here).

As a white guy, born and raised in the Houston area, surrounded by minorities - racism isn't something I experience daily. Obviously, being white I don't think I can experience racism to the degree as Blacks or Hispanics but what I mean is I don't experience people being racist all that often. I know racism still exists, and I know it is horrible... I'm not trying to deny it.

I was one of a handful of white kids in a school for 2+ years, so I'm well aware of racism. I've been beaten up and robbed of my lunch money because I was white. I also live in an area of town where only 7% of the population is white (77036 -Hispanic, Black and Korean). I get looked at funny when I go in to the La Michoacana at the end of my street all the time, but **** their marinated fajita meat is awesome.

I personally believe that some of the aspects of the "proud culture" of Blacks, Hispanics, Indians or anything else actually helps perpetuation or racism. As a white guy, I like to think of race along the same lines as Morgan Freeman. Don't even acknowledge race, and it eventually won't even play a role.
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The bottom line is, the vast majority of America's population arrived in the United States post Civil War and had nothing to do with slavery. My family personally came from Canada in the 1880s. Compounding that, fewer and fewer people alive today were around during segregation. I realize segregation was only 1-2 generations ago, but as a nearly 34 year old white man I know nothing of it personally nor do most minorities today. Yes your parents or grand parents probably experienced it, but nothing I can say or do will ever change that.

With that said, there is clearly a two way street when it comes to racism. If large numbers of blacks are really chastising RGIII because he chose a white wife and he didn't vote for Obama, how is that in and of itself not racist? You are judging someone based upon the color of his soon to be wife's skin and the color of his friend's skin. How is only voting for Obama because he is black not racist? How is completely ignoring the fact that Obama is half white not racism?

I know this is a complex and sensitive subject, and I'm not going to rattle off that I've never dropped an n-bomb and that I have a token black friend. The only reason I truly ever think of race is because people of other races bring it up. I don't live in the back woods with KKK members and my grand parents are all dead so I don't experience racist people all that often, and when I do I just ignore them and call them ignorant as they are.

I'm sure some people will be like "You don't know how it feels to have your parents or grand parents treated like **** through segregation" or "You don't know how it feels to have a white woman be scared of you." This is true, but I also feel the only way we will ever get past that is to ignore the issue of race all together like Mr. Freeman suggests.

As a white guy I know I have a leg up, and I don't want that to be the case. To be fair my family was poor as hell, so never silver spoon or trust fund here.

I guess I just want to get feedback from minorities on how they view race so I can have a better understanding of where the hell we go from here as a country.

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It's a large number, just like me saying there aren't plenty of closet white racists out there. Is it a majority? Of course not, but there are large numbers on both sides of the aisle.

They should fight for injustice, but as an American, not as a black man, or a white man or a Hispanic man. We've gotten to the point where people outside of your own color will rally your cause, so why limit it to that?

I am a history buff, and I can appreciate that greatly. However, I do believe that it should be treated as American history, not black history or the like. Of course I'm looking at it from the other side of the aisle, but so are the majority of Americans who aren't minorities.

This is pretty great, never even really took the zoning aspect in to it. With that said, except in the largest of inner cities I think this is becoming less and less of an issue as minorities hit the suburbs and whites move inward.

I simply don't buy the economic struggles aspect of it anymore. I know kids lost in the inner city have a tough time climbing out, but I also know I lived under the poverty line, had a deadbeat father, was raised by a single mother and became something of myself. The American dream is real, and if people choose to ignore that and feel sorry for themselves, so be it.

 

Never said they weren't, as I know that they are. Just pointing out that I think a faster way of getting over it is simply ignoring that race is even an issue, and eventually it won't be.

 

Being a white person, I've heard from many white people that would disagree. I know people who aren't racist that look at the "history months" and go, "WTF?" They then feel that if they question those motives they'd immediately be called a racist, so it is a no-win scenario for them.

I also know people who are completely annoyed that Obama is considered black when he is half white. Wouldn't it go better for race relations if that was the championed fact? "Look, a kid from a mixed relationship became the President of the United States?"

 

Didn't say that wasn't the case and I didn't limit it to just people of color. With that said, I know far more Irish, Italians, and other people with European backgrounds than blacks yet I never hear them say a word about it. With the exception of food or liquor, they never bring up race or their countries. They don't just sit around and say "WOOOHOOO ITALY!" unless it is the World Cup.

I disagree that it highlights the racist mindset endemic to this topic. That's the point. As a white dude, I can't even bring up race without being labeled a racist... even though I did so due to clearly racist remarks from a black man on television. That is the issue, people are quick to get defensive when honest questions are asked... that is why race shouldn't even be a part of it.

I'm not racist, and simply because I ask questions challenging how things are handled by another race doesn't me make me one either.

 

I said I experience it all the time, just being where I live. I of course only "vacation" as a minority, I don't live it. I have no doubt it is tougher being a person of color, thus the reason trying to find ways to remedy that quicker.