Should a white person be ashamed for being white?

The resurgence of police chokeholds and racism under Trump has made some people feel that white people should be ashamed of being white.

What do you think?

I think your statement is false.

Is a strawman is afraid of being a strawman?

I agree with bobot. I haven’t seen anybody arguing that the mere fact of being racially identified as white is anything for anybody to be ashamed of.

Here are some things that I think are being called out as shameful in the current controversies:

  • White people complacently ignoring the fact of their racial privilege and getting offended if anybody points out their racially-privileged status.

  • White people assuming that if a white person doesn’t explicitly endorse racially discriminatory beliefs, then there’s no way that white person can “be racist”.

  • White people reflexively blaming the impacts of anti-black racism on the alleged intransigence or folly of black people themselves.

  • White people reacting to widespread outrage about egregious racist injustice by diverting the conversation to whether white people are being unfairly harmed or blamed by said outrage. (See, e.g., the topic of this thread.)

Which people?

I think it’s stupid and pointless.

No. I’ve seen lots of people online (some here) say they’re ashamed of being white, but they’re just losers who are trying to make this all about them. It’s pretty sad.

Cite?

A lot of people on Twitter, social media, etc.

I’ll respond further, maybe, when this thread finds its way to the appropriate forum.

** Should a white person be ashamed for being white?**

Only if they’re also a Yankees fan. :slight_smile:

That’s not how cites work here. “A lot of people on Twitter” is not a cite. You need to link to specific examples to back up your assertion. Otherwise, it’s not a debate.

This is a very discriminatory and unfair statement.
Non-white Yankees fans should also be ashamed. :stuck_out_tongue:

Nope, nobody should be ashamed of skin color.

“Some people are saying”…what exactly?

You’re right that you won’t typically see anyone argue that. But depending on what areas of the net you frequent, you may see individuals posting disclaimers revealing their whiteness almost apologetically when they participate certain topics of discussion. You may also see people sometimes say something makes them ashamed to be white.

Just search “Ashamed to be white” on Twitter. You’ll get, like, a million results. It ain’t rare.

I don’t think so, but what a provocative question!

Is provocative the right word?

Sure, but what I said is that “I haven’t seen anybody arguing that the mere fact of being racially identified as white is anything for anybody to be ashamed of”.

ISTM that when people colloquially use the phrase “ashamed to be white”, it means something quite different. Namely, that they’re ashamed of the racism and bigotry that has been so pervasive in traditionally white-supremacist culture, and ashamed that they’re still the beneficiaries of societal privilege based on that racism and bigotry, and ashamed of the continued failure of white people in general to effectually stamp out that racism and bigotry.

That’s not at all the same thing as being simply “ashamed of skin color”, as Velocity put it.

I imagine this’d be a difficult interpretation to evidence.

What do YOU think?