White pride? Race & Politics revisited...

I recently was forwarded an email that made the point that only white people can be racists. That's right - whites have a monopoly on racism. The email, rather poorly, made a few points that have always seemed logical to me. Lets see if I cannot restate them coherently:


Point One

1. There are African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Latin Americans, Pacific Islander Americans, Latin Americans, and so on, but there are no white Americans.
2. Instead, white Americans are just plain "Americans."
3. Is this because white people are not allowed to acknowledge that they are part of the same race?
4. Is it racist just to be white?

Point Two

1. Whites are not permitted to use racial slurs, but racial slurs used against whites are permitted.
2. For example, a white person may not use the following words: spic; chink; nigger; towel-head; porch-monkey; camel-jockey; gook; or black (I was once personally dressed down for referring to African Americans as "blacks").
3. On the other hand, the following words are used almost daily in reference to whites without any fear of reprisal or even a reaction: whigger; honkey; cracker; whitey; caveman.
4. In law we have a term called "equity" implying that different people should be treated by the law and society equally, regardless of race, nationality, or ethnicity. Is this difference in standards equitable?
5. Speaking in terms of Christianity, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28 NASB).
6. Yet how many Christians would berate a white person for using a racial slur? How many would be offended by a racial slur used against a white person?

Point Three

1. Black history month, Cesar Chavez day, and other holidays/days of national significance that focus on one or more people groups segregates those people groups from others and divides us.
2. Don't believe it? What would happen if a politician proposed a white history month?
3. Why is it we can't just teach history? You know - for all people groups.

Point Four

1. The National Association For the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Black Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and other such organizations focusing on one people group and excluding others (I call that "voluntary segregation") are permissible in our society, assuming you do not create such an organization to promote the white race or culture.
2. Consider that the plain, ordinary Chamber of Commerce takes all races.
3. Now, why would we need a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce?
4. Assuming you can find a good reason to have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, why then can whites not have a white chamber of commerce?
5. Did you read that and think it was a racist idea?
6. What about a national association for the advancement of white people?
7. Is that racist too?

Point Five

1. If blacks can give out scholarships only to blacks, then can whites do the same?
2. What about a United Caucasian Scholarship Fund?
3. Is that racist?
4. Is it right for any one people group to "earn" a scholarship, even in part, because of the colour of his/her skin?
5. How many "black only" universities and colleges are in the U.S.?
6. How about a "white only" university or college - is that racist?
7. Is it not racist, or at least discriminatory, to treat one people group differently from the other?

Point Six

1. The Miss America pageant accepts women of all races, and a black woman can be Miss America.
2. No white woman can participate in the Miss Black America pageant or be Miss Black America.
3. A "Miss White America" pageant would, logically, ensure that both black and white women receive the same opportunities, but we'd label that racist too.
4. Would getting rid of pageants targeting specific people groups be racist?

Point Seven

1. Black pride is okay.
2. White pride is racist.
3. People can be proud to be black, yellow, red, or any colour they like (so long as that colour isn't white).
4. So, white people should be ashamed of their colour and heritage?

I did not come up with these points. I just put them together in one place for discussion. I did, however, omit a few points that I thought showed the author's own racial bias. This is the problem: people who go to great lengths to attack others' racism often fail to see their own. I believe the author of that email made some great points, but s/he also demonstrated the very same racial bias of which s/he complained.

People want to know why America cannot move beyond race and colour? It is because we live in a voluntarily segregated society where whites are increasingly portrayed as oppressors and "minorities" as beggars. I, however, have met both oppressive and distressed people from every people group. Visit a big enough city and, sooner or later, you'll see homeless people of every background. You could also find wealthy people from every background.

At the inauguration of our nation's first black president, the Rev. Joseph Lowery delivered what was surely one of the most racist benedictions ever made, and it was endorsed by the White House. You can read more about that here. He spoke of a day when "black will not be asked to give back," when "brown can stick around," when "yellow will be mellow," when "the red man can get ahead, man," and when "white will embrace what is right."

President Obama's landmark presidency began with those words, and they represent to me a sign of the times we live in. Rather than Jim Crow laws, we voluntarily segregate ourselves into different people groups in our mind. Our society blames the white race for its many problems instead of looking for realistic solutions to them.

My black friends did not choose to be black, and my Asian friends did not choose to be Asian any more than I chose to be white. God made me white, and he made my friends as they are. We don't need to waste time discussing which race is "right." Instead, I hope we focus on treating each other equally and fairly as brothers and sisters in Christ, focusing on Gal 3:28, not on skin colour. Until we have the mind of Christ, that all men truly are equal in the eyes of the Lord, the Rev. Lowery's unique brand of racism will continue to dominate our society and politics.