General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Is it productive to repeatedly remind white people of how privileged they are? [View all]Liberal_Stalwart71
(20,450 posts)than white conservative malappropriations of people of color.
Why? I can't (and won't) speak for all people of color, as I'm only one and I'm also a woman, but what I have witnessed in white liberals--not all--is this condescending paternalism directed at us. They act as if they know what's best for us, as if we can't decide for ourselves what is best for us. They decide how we ought to act and think; what's the best policies for us and where we should live. These paternalistic attitudes are not new here. There are quite a few examples to this day. We saw it during the 2008 Democratic Primaries when Hillary proclaimed that all MLK, Jr. did was make speeches; it was LBJ who actually got things done. We see it today from many white liberals and their attitudes towards Barack Obama with them acting as if they are smarter than he is, telling him what he ought to do and how he ought to this or that. I could go on and on. White liberalism has its own brand of racism that, to me, can be more dangerous because they don't even realize how condescending, harmful and unproductive they're being. Just like this thread. They tell us that there is no racism, as if they themselves are black. How would they know that there is no racism if they are not people of color? They wouldn't know this. They can't tell us that there is no racism or that racism has declined or that things have gotten better for us; or, that we should feel a certain way vis-a-vis racism. It's not their place to tell us anything about how we feel regarding racism of any kind if they are not people of color and therefore are not subjected to this mess nearly every day of their lives. That, for me, is the biggest problem with white progressivism--their eagerness to deny racism and their paternalistic, condescending attitudes towards people of color.
NOTE: This is not directed at ALL white progressives.