Do not make the mistake of thinking that because my conclusion is the same as another person's that my reasoning is the same
Franken-Nations (below) pulled together several things I need to write something about. There was one thing I forgot to include in that list, and it's best exemplified by a post at The Whisky Bar and the comments made (59 when I last visited).
Billmon's post represents the best response I can ask for from white folks: I know how I was raised, how it shaped me and I accept that. I know the reality of what I've seen and I know I don't have to pass that on. And I'm willing to say that to white folks.
Do you know how rare that last attribute is? And do you know how important it is for white folks to say this sort of thing? If not, imagine what all the commenters would have said if an openly Black writer made all the same points Billmon did about white people.
The source of a piece of information is, itself, a piece of information that is taken into account. People within a collective receive things differently when it comes from within the circle.
That last concept is what I'll have in mind when I revisit all the things I listed in the Franken-Nations post.
Posted by P6 at August 29, 2003 12:31 PM | Trackback URL: http://www.prometheus6.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1477I know the reality of what I've seen and I know I don't have to pass that on.
No, I know I have an obligation not to pass it on.
Billmon just took some of the anger out of me. I have to admit it. When I hear one white person, say what Billmon has said, I feel better. I'm get so weary of thinking I'm crazy. Like my anger is misplaced. But it is HONEST and OPEN talks that gets us to MLK's promised land. But, the denial... the damn denial... the turning the other cheek... HAS TO END! I salute you Billmon. Your a good man.
Billmon:
Correction noted. And as an aside I have to say the thing I appreciated most other than the fact that the statement was made is the fact it seemed to be made without a trace of guilt or self reproachment. It's the lack of guilt that makes it sustainable.
My man, if Billmon is the best you've heard, perhaps you've never read Tim Wise. Do check him out.
I know Tim Wise's work. He has good stuff, but different stuff.
Billmon wrote a mea culpa. Tim Wise writes "we-a culpas."
Mainstream types respond a lot better to not being called out directly. They respond much better when someone they identify with says "I did it," leaving the "and so did you" implied. That's true whether past racism is being rejected or justified.
I'd prefer a situation in which people can grapple with the racist content of their thought and then think their way out of it. We could get to a reality check on 'acting white' because right now that has a wack definition in the lingo.
Billmon and those like him can say, yeah i was acting white, now i don't. but so long as billmon *is* irreversably white, there's no way out. this is where whitefolks are stuck whereas we blackfolks can be negroes, people of color, african americans, niggas, afrocentrics, any number of things.
I hear you Cobb, but you know what…that's not an option. I seriously prefer understanding how things are and dealing with it effectively to working on getting someone else to be the way they ought to. Especially when it's one whole hell of a lot of someone elses.
You know Derrick Bell's "Faces At The Bottom Of The Well." That's where I'm at. "The Space Traders" in particular resonates.