Tell 'em Bunk!

and he's a humble man so you know he's right!

I hate the premise, and I hate the term "white america". Of course racism still exists. And yes, there are racists and ignorant people who try to say that it doesn't. But saying "white america" just throws every white person into the same pool, which is racist in itself. Countless white americans have stood up and even risked their lives defending the equality of not just black people, but all races. Racism affects everyone. Ironically, and tragically, I think racism is a unifying factor. All races do it and all races suffer from it. And all races should get behind the elimination of it. It starts with balking against racist friends and family who, through societal pressure, casually compel you to blame, fear or find comfort in hating the "other".

"I'm so upset by the relentless state mandated murder of black Americans, that I'm actually somehow more angry and personally hurt about the implication that I may actually be complicit in perpetuating racism and racist attitudes, than the actual problem!"

Racism is institutional first and foremost. Come back to me when white people have a history as being treated as slaves, come back to me when you are considered dirty on mass just for the colour of your skin, come back to me when you struggle to find a job just about anywhere, come back to me when the picture printed of you in a newspaper is one that depicts you as a victim at fault.
Come back to me after you've sat your arse down and listened to the lived experiences of people of colour.
Then you might realise that white people don't have all the answers, and we should shut the fuck up, sit the hell down and listen.

Well, of course its white america. Just because you moved to the city to escape your dad's racism doesn't mean your dad stopped voting the republitard ticket, didn't utter little racist asides to his buddies at the gold club, etc. Yes, even if you don't have a racist relative, you know you have a friend that is, and you can talk to them, confront them.

It IS a white problem.

It is not a white problem, it is a human race problem. Every ethnicity has racism towards others. I refuse to allow people, whose only real knowledge of racism is what they've been taught by professors who make a living off 'white guilt', to label my race as inherently the only racist one based off of what happened almost 150 years ago.

Are there white racists? Hell yes! There are also Hispanic racists, Asian racists, and Black racists. Every culture fears and has stereotypes about other cultures that are not logical, but are ingrained into their sub-conscious from the moment they learn how to listen. If you have ever been to Japan, you learn very quick that there is a undercurrent of racism that is extremely strong. Same in the Middle East, same in many parts of Africa.

Is it fair to only label white people as racists when most of the people living today do not come from a family that owned slaves, or in some cases were close to slaves themselves? Half of my family came over to this country from Germany and immediately went to work in the coal mines, paying a huge chunk of their wages to the company store to subsist. The other half came from Italy and were also relegated to the poor jobs that no one wanted. I am 100% certain that they were scared and racist towards other races, because everyone is scared of the unknown. You grow out of it over time and the mixing of cultures.

Although I can assume racism exist in all cultures and among all colors of people, I live in America. In America "whites", seem to me, to overwhelmingly hold all the positions of power(police officers,management of work place,politicians,etc.). So although there may be racist non whites, their racism will most likely never have a chance to effect me in any way. I've had contact with the police probably 15-20 times in my life (pulled over mostly). All white officers. I've had a handful of job interviews in my life. All Caucasians deciding if they were going to hire me. So racism is horrible no matter who is racist, but the effects of it is felt almost exclusively by non whites in America I would argue. Just my two cents, from MY view of my world thus far.

Um....did you forget what color the slaves that built the pyramids were? Have you heard of indentured servitude? Ever heard of an empire called Rome? Whites HAVE a history of being slaves.
Have you forgotten how the Irish, or German, or Chinese, or Japanese, etc. were treated? White, and other non-blacks have been treated as dirty on mass for the color of their skin, or the lilt of their voice, or the shape of their eyes, really for just about every ridiculous reason man could think of. Blacks have no monopoly on a history of mistreatment of their 'group'. They do seem to be the main target today however.
Do you think ghettos are 100% black? Let me dissuade you of that fallacy...they are not. Many 'white' people have LIVED many if not all of the experiences of people of color, for example, mixed race people (particularly those in the south), adopted white babies in black families, and whites that simply identify more closely with a 'black' community. Not ALL white people are ignorant of the reality and implications of racism. Some are.
Because 'white people' may not have ALL the answers does not mean they should not have a voice at the table discussing racial issues....but they should certainly not be the only voice either....they probably should not be the loudest voice too.

So did all those encounters with white people end badly or something? You make it sound like being white and holding a position of power immediately makes that person a racist. How is that not racist towards white people? Should a white person feel guilty for applying to and getting an affluent job? When I was a teenager I remember apply for a job each summer at the local 7/11 and other local shops. I distinctly remember the 7/11 manager would only hire Middle-Eastern employees and another store only hired Asian employees. I remember thinking how discriminating this was but managed to move on and eventually found a job elsewhere.

What about the hiring of visible minorities over potentially more qualified non-minorities just because there is a mandate to achieve a certain level of ethnic diversity in order to be considered an equal opportunity employer? How is that not racist towards white people?

As was mentioned by another poster above, racism is not a trait limited to white people. Personally, my parents brought me up to judge people as individuals, by how they act and treat others.

Slaves didn't build the pyramids.

I've talked about race a lot before on here so I don't really see the point in weighing in on this 'White America' stuff. I'd just like people to look at the youtube comment section on here. Just take a moment and look at what people say when they're anonymous and they don't feel like they're part of a community, like we are here.

Also I love Bunk and I love The Wire.

I'm back!!!

Slaves? Yep
Job discrimination? Hell yeah/
Depiction of victim as criminal? You bet your goddamn arse

We done yet?

Don't get me wrong, racism, particularly against blacks, is still an issue in the US (and other parts of the world). But maybe next time read a history book or two before spouting such utter drivel.

And if you really want to get into an oppression contest...
African slavery started a few hundred years ago.
The Irish have had EIGHT HUNDRED YEARS* of oppression by the English, and I haven't even touched on the godawful misery the Jews have endured for thousands of years.

But that's a meaningless pissing contest and it only leads to idiocy.

* I am culturally obliged to write that in all caps. Sorry, it's an Irish thing.

You can lump me in with the racists when, and only when, you see me doing something racist. My skin color does not qualify.

If you're attacking racism by being racist, your problem is clearly not racism. Your problem is being the target of racism...apparently it's fine if the target is someone else.

ooooh shit.nice one @ChaosEngine!
since many here have already pointed out some nice perspective and historical context,allow to just add two points to this fine thread:

1.the real question has little to do with race.that is a canard that is shoved down our throats constantly and while many still buy into that bullshit,many of us are waking up to the fact we are having are chains jerked.the problems do not lie with race or culture but rather between the powerful and the powerless.

2.i hate to break to those folks who identify with the term "white" but that term is just a politically manufactured term created in the mid the late 1600's,that term had never been used before...ever.the term was politically created to manipulate poor european indentured servants to identify more with their much more privileged and wealthy european plantation owners,in order to dominate and control a growing african slave population.

thats a lil tidbit they tended to leave out in american history but without it the civil war doesnt make a whole lot of sense.

i mean think about it:we were taught that the civil war was basically about states rights.
yes..the states right to have and keep slaves and continue into the newly appropriated land (actual STOLEN,from mexico).

so how do you get a poor,penniless white person to go fight a war so their wealthy counterparts can keep their slaves?which would directly affect their employment options and henceforth keep them jobless and penniless.

you convince them the color of their skin is what matters most!
a political ploy that worked brilliantly.

No, he means what he said literally. The current thinking is that the people who built the pyramids were paid workers with rights and possibly even medical cover.

No, I'm not making this up.

I had heard something about that theory, but I thought it only applied to the designers, architects, and foremen. Is that wrong?

Last I heard it was the manual labourers too, but I haven't read anything about it for a while.

So, no 'white' Egyptian slaves at all (disputing the bible)? Or just not building pyramids?

Biblically, Hebrew slaves. Historically otherwise it appears they and various other captive slaves were held and used in Egypt.

Egyptian labor build the pyramids. Citizen workers. conscript and contract both, lived in worker villages located around the construction sites. There has been much modern excavation of the villages. Residences, bakeries, and such has been found.

Sup.
A lot of assumptions going on here, while I initially drew on the near constant slaying of black men and women in America, in my closing remarks I wasn't just drawing on the struggle of black people in America, but on the struggles of people of colour throughout history, (In particular I had the Chinese railworkers in mind, along with the British colonial attitudes to Indians when I was writing my comment)

And furthermore there is alot of merit to the responses to my original comment, which I will discuss in a further comment.

Straight up yes, just because your skin colour is white, doesn't mean you will be treated as a prince, I never intended to insinuate that at all, just look at the position of women throughout history, oppression works through many levels, class, sex, race, nationality, the list goes on, and I was only referring to race, and I should have really been writing in a manner which acknowledges intersections of oppression, so my bad, and good job chaos engine for calling out this failing.
This next thing is what bothers me, despite the anger and the vitriol expressed in this thread, all seem to agree with my central thesis of "don't diminish oppression which you don't experience" and "don't get your underwear in a twist when someone generalises about an oppressive group"

for example, I am English, and I will never try to diminish the perception of oppression that Irish faced, and still face today at the hands of the English. What's more if an Irish person says to me that the English treat them terribly, I would have to agree, throughout history and now, we have.

And this is the real crux: if an oppressed group says that another group that you belong to is oppressive, the proper reaction isn't go "OH I'M NOT LIKE THE OTHERS, PLEASE GIVE ME A GOLD STAR MR. OPPRESSED, ALSO SAYING THAT IS ACTUALLY RACIST/NATIONALIST/WHATEVER". The proper response is listen, so you can treat that person better, and hey if you are one of the good guys that stands up for oppressed groups good for you!, be happy with the notion that you are a good person, and not unhappy because you didn't get a pat on the back from said oppressed groups

No lumping of racists was done.
I suggested that as a member of a group you can be complicit in racist attitudes (ever made a remark about asian's being good at math for example?)
It can be incredibly subtle, I'll admit I've done that sort of micro aggression shit before, I'm no angel.
As per my last response, if you are more upset by the phrase "white people often treat black people badly" because it implies that as a white person, you might often treat black people badly then I've got great news, you aren't a racist! But you do seem to care more about implicit, quite general remarks to your character than actual racial injustice, (ie: job discrimination and police brutality on the basis on skin colour) which might be food for thought.

I only meant to point out that 'people of color' have no monopoly on being treated badly, historically, nearly all 'races' have been oppressed at some time. That does not minimize the oppression people of color suffer under today, only notes that they are not alone, and others have suffered as they do.
Also, if someone says 'your group is racist' and I'm not racist, I should point out 'I don't belong to that group, which is racist'. That seems to solve your issue of the issue being ignored, but does not require a non-racist to allow themselves to be oppressed under the blanket color of racism. You don't need a 'pat on the back', but at the same time you shouldn't just accept being labeled 'racist' for no reason other than the speakers racism, if it's not true.

Added for anecdotal evidence.

*related=http://videosift.com/video/South-Carolina-cop-shoots-man-for-getting-license

South Carolina cop shoots man for getting license has been added as a related post - related requested by notarobot.