Race, gender, religion and sexual orientation are such difficult discussions to have, and many of us don’t get it right, but my problem with some white liberals aren’t that they sometimes get it wrong, it’s their profound lack of self-awareness coupled with the smugness and self-righteousness that they use to lecture to others.
Too familiar. I think to have these conversations, the first thing white liberals have to do is acknowledge our ignorance - every time.
I think just a few months/weeks ago, I would have read through this article and naively thought 'Well, that's there... That doesn't happen here' (my work, my city, this board). Which makes me a Smug White Liberal.
In light of recent events, this article (and others posted) are sinking in deeper as I'm realizing we need a whole lot less back-patting about our progressive thoughts/discussions and a lot more action.
Post by pinotgrig on Sept 14, 2016 10:56:42 GMT -5
Thanks for posting this. It's relatively easy to talk the talk (though recent conversations here would prove otherwise...) but the important thing is to walk to the walk and DO something.
Post by belovedbride07 on Sept 14, 2016 11:19:18 GMT -5
What both this article and the one about white feminism I read last night tell me is that (aside from needing to do better) I need to get more plugged in to mainstream media. The majority of my news comes filtered through P&CE, here, and mostly like-minded friends on Facebook, so I don't see, or don't recognize, a lot of this happening. It's easy for me to read this and be all "not all white liberals!" and "well I don't know anyone like that," which tells me I need to reflect on it further.
It is uncomfortable to feel like I might be perceived as a smug white liberal, and I need to make sure my objective isn't to not be perceived like that, but to actually not BE one.
Trying for #3; FET 8/18 -- BFN. Leaving things up to chance for now... After three years, three IVFs, and two FETs, we finally have our miracle babIES!
Post by atarianna on Sept 14, 2016 11:40:56 GMT -5
This article was enlightening for me. I do consider myself to be actively working towards change in racial bias and inequality, but this helped keep me in check.
I am happy that I worked where I had about 50% black/white racial makeup when I worked. I am proud that I mentored a woman (WOC) who had worked for the company for years and had not ever been promoted. I guided her and helped her, I encouraged her to apply and coached her through the hiring process for a promotion. She became a lead in her department and got a substantial raise.
I have recommended my neighborhood to many friends, black and white because it has been life changing for us. The trails, lake, parks and pool are amenities we never had before.
But it isn't enough, nothing I ever do will be enough. And that is ok. I see my privilege. I see it more now than I ever have, through discussions on here, through instances in my own life trying to help others navigate life and attempting to become financially secure.
I see it when I scoped out the apartment for my friend, when I went with my adorable (white) son, nice car and decent clothes. They wine and dine me, then I put "Mohamed" on the application-- all of a sudden, they are full.
I see it when I try to help someone switch from MetroPCS to Sprint because it would save them 70% each month. But I cant, they don't have good credit.
I see it when I help someone find car insurance, and they don't qualify for the lowest tier insurance at a price 2x mine only for liability when I have full coverage. They live in a bad area, don't have credit, don't have driving history and are a liability.
I see it when I try to help people navigate public aid (the red tape is horrific!) and medicaid, and doctors (the same ones who seen children) miss devastating medical issues. When their young daughter with a collapsed lung who should have been hospitalized comes in critically ill due to their oversight.
Seeing these things, it's infuriating. I am beginning to really understand the cycle of poverty. But you know what, it doesn't impact me every second of every day. I could walk away from it and live in my white bubble. People of color, they can't walk away from it. It is their normal. Dealing with injustices and unfairness, dealing with hatefulness and ignorance, that is commonplace. And it isn't right.
I try to help where I can. I drive discussions when I can, but I know I fall short every day. I can do better and I will do better. It is the only way we can impact positive change.
Post by barefootcontessa on Sept 14, 2016 11:47:20 GMT -5
This reminds of when I worked in academia. I had a white, liberal colleague who used to complain regularly about having student-athletes in his class because they did not "earn" the right to be there. He was liberal until something affected him personally.
Thank you for posting. I think I need to read this a few more times to digest it. My immediate defensiveness of "my neighbor's are black" and "the grade school is listed as "very diverse" tells me I need to think hard.
White liberals posting on Facebook about #blacklivesmatter, white privilege and supremacy are not cleansed of their hypocrisy and elitism because they use the right hash tags. I would urge these same people to get off their iPhones and look around to see the issues they ignore in their own lives. If you’re one of these people, before you cry out in offense, ask yourself where you chose to live and how many of your neighbors, that you know, are people of color. Where do your kids go to school? Who are your friends and colleagues? Who do you see next to you while you’re in your meeting at work? What have you done to change those inequalities? Have you recommended a black friend for a job at your company, or told them about a house for sale in your neighborhood or recommended a talented black child go to your child’s school? Answer these questions honestly and you’ll realize that you might not be who you think you are when it comes to racial issues in this country. Are you are part of the group I’m referring to as smug white liberals and you don’t even know it?
This is where I am really guilty and I'm trying to figure out what I can do. I live and work in the far Philly 'burbs. It is so white here and my coworkers are all white or Asian. While I don't plan to pick up and move, I need to find ways to at least help make my occupation and my company more diverse.
This is where I am really guilty and I'm trying to figure out what I can do. I live and work in the far Philly 'burbs. It is so white here and my coworkers are all white or Asian. While I don't plan to pick up and move, I need to find ways to at least help make my occupation and my company more diverse.
We have a token black person in my office. We talk about more diversity whenever a position opens up, but generally all that happens is we hire a white male. (Our office is also predominately female; we usually only have one male at a time.) My boss is Latina, but there are 8 of us and our office make-up is not even representative of our community.
You should probably rephrase this. Token? Like how do you know this black person is a "token?"
White liberals posting on Facebook about #blacklivesmatter, white privilege and supremacy are not cleansed of their hypocrisy and elitism because they use the right hash tags. I would urge these same people to get off their iPhones and look around to see the issues they ignore in their own lives. If you’re one of these people, before you cry out in offense, ask yourself where you chose to live and how many of your neighbors, that you know, are people of color. Where do your kids go to school? Who are your friends and colleagues? Who do you see next to you while you’re in your meeting at work? What have you done to change those inequalities? Have you recommended a black friend for a job at your company, or told them about a house for sale in your neighborhood or recommended a talented black child go to your child’s school? Answer these questions honestly and you’ll realize that you might not be who you think you are when it comes to racial issues in this country. Are you are part of the group I’m referring to as smug white liberals and you don’t even know it?
This is where I am really guilty and I'm trying to figure out what I can do. I live and work in the far Philly 'burbs. It is so white here and my coworkers are all white or Asian. While I don't plan to pick up and move, I need to find ways to at least help make my occupation and my company more diverse.
This is where I am guilty too, but I don't know what I can do about my neighbourhood. Our home schools are not considered the best, but I am almost sure that it has nothing to do with diversity in the school population in terms of race and more because of the diversity in SES. I am pretty sure my neighbourhood is really white, which is why I would actually prefer that my kids go to the school where I currently work, which is highly diverse in terms of race but we can't afford to live in this neighbourhood. We aren't friends with our neighbours, because they are all old, lol...but I still only really have one friend who is a POC.
This is where I am really guilty and I'm trying to figure out what I can do. I live and work in the far Philly 'burbs. It is so white here and my coworkers are all white or Asian. While I don't plan to pick up and move, I need to find ways to at least help make my occupation and my company more diverse.
We have a token black person in my office. We talk about more diversity whenever a position opens up, but generally all that happens is we hire a white male. (Our office is also predominately female; we usually only have one male at a time.) My boss is Latina, but there are 8 of us and our office make-up is not even representative of our community.
We also seek to improve diversity when we have open positions, and my company strongly encourages it. However, diversity means women and minorities. The strides to include more women at senior levels are slowly becoming noticeable. There are a lot of minorities who work here, but not African Americans. There is definitely a lack of African American candidates in my profession (actuary), and I feel like that needs to be addressed.
Post by pinkdutchtulips on Sept 14, 2016 13:11:35 GMT -5
Very good article
This is something I struggle w as I've offered to share my 'escape from DV' story w local DV shelters. Sadly it's chock full of white privilege and I'm going to have to make a conscious effort NOT to let smug white liberalness creep into it. It's a story that needs to shared in a sense that I was able to get out but at the same time how the hell do I present it in a way where POC can relate to it *sigh*
Muddled - Do you have a link to the NPR series? I am interested in checking it out.
I don't. I've been listening to it in the car. (Still so weird that I have a car.) It's part of their election coverage. Issue 28, I want to say?
It's interesting because no one talks about whiteness. Many of us euromutts grew up more or less without a culture or any strong roots. And, yes, we are clueless.
Eta: The programs I have heard have been primarily addressing how we relate to other races.
Post by redpenmama on Sept 14, 2016 13:33:03 GMT -5
This is a really good article; thanks for posting. I've been thinking about a lot of this lately and how it applies to me personally, but it's articulated far better here. Merely having the "right" ideas is meaningless without action.
Post by aspentosh on Sept 14, 2016 13:33:48 GMT -5
"Suggesting that blacks stop being Democrats or Liberals would be a waste of my time, but what I am suggesting is that we require white liberals to do more than pat us on the head and tell us they know better."
"The truth is that Liberalism is about making elites feel better about themselves and their lives without requiring the underlying action of significantly improving the lives of African-Americans."
So damn true.
And this was a great check for me to read. I was looking at the diversity of our neighborhood and schools and while it's not bad, it could certainly be better. Just one of the things that hit me.
This is a really good article; thanks for posting. I've been thinking about a lot of this lately and how it applies to me personally, but it's articulated far better here. Merely having the "right" ideas is meaningless without action.
It makes me think of tolerance vs. acceptance. Why we so often cite tolerance as a goal, I will never understand.
This is a really good article; thanks for posting. I've been thinking about a lot of this lately and how it applies to me personally, but it's articulated far better here. Merely having the "right" ideas is meaningless without action.
It makes me think of tolerance vs. acceptance. Why we so often cite tolerance as a goal, I will never understand.
At schools, we have been working towards 'celebration', because even acceptance doesn't sound sufficient.
Good read. My husband and I have been talking at length recently about how much of a bubble we live in despite living in one of the most diverse, international cities in the world.
Guilty. Working in academia is like a smug white liberal echo chamber sometimes.
Yes. I worked on the staff side at Berkeley, and my xH was a grad student. I couldn't stand the paternalism sometimes. The city was (is still?) run by left-leaning Democrats and Socialists, yet there were, and are, huge disparities in performance between black and white kids in the public schools. Drugs were everywhere, yet the white people I hung out with never got in trouble; arrests only were made in poor, predominantly African-American areas. People were super happy to decry the racist policing in L.A., but never lifted a finger to change the biases right in our own city.
Post by imojoebunny on Sept 14, 2016 17:50:05 GMT -5
I have sent this to quite a few people today. I have been struggling to pinpoint my discord with the "liberal" town we move to, two years ago. I think this does a great job of summing it up. Here, they speak in a way that is conceptually perfect, yet their fears and behaviors are not congruent.
Thanks for posting. There are def things talked about that I have been guilty of.
My very liberal company has been doing a great series of lunchtime sessions hosted by the diversity council that have been really great. I sat in on one last week where Verna Myers spoke about "what if I say the wrong thing:interrupting bias in ourselves" and it was really enlightening. I am glad the company is taking action on diversity.
Post by brandienee on Sept 14, 2016 19:32:35 GMT -5
This article is so true.
I have friends who live in Camden NJ. I went to college there. It is a good city with a bad reputation. During the DNC in Philly, there was a "Camden Rise" benefit concert. My friend was working this at the bar we all go to. Some of the things they overheard were so awful. People worried about being shot, joking about being shot, joking about finding drugs or prostitutes. These are BLM supporters, but still can't see the fact that people still live there. It was so frustrating to hear, especially for my friends who are trying to be an active part of the community.
I admit that am full of service to my liberalism, but I also know that lip service is almost worse than just being outwardly racist. I am thankful for my experience in college because I was able to be surrounded by people that would challenge me and question my motives.