Racism through Whiteness
Why do we hate that much is
different? Over time hatred has been a problem
brought on by many different situations. The
majority usually hates the minority and vice versa. In modern
society today, the ìUnitedî States of America are not very united on racial issues.
***
Racism is a persuasive problem that
thrives amongst us. Even though we are in the twenty-first century
it is easy to see how the majority of the population is ignorant towards the
multitude of ethnicities amongst us. Through the years the words
ìblackî and ìwhiteî have been fully defined to their opposites while the word
ìwhiteî has been defined as purity, ìblackî has been defined as evil.
Unfortunately during the twelfth century, when these words were written into the
dictionary they were standard. In 1580 the word ìraceî was defined
as ìa family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stockî.
While, 300 years after this the word ìracialî was defined as, ìof, relating to,
or based on a race & existing or occurring between races.î While
this definition does not indicate that there was racial tension within society
at this time there clearly was. The word racism was not defined until
1936. This is odd because, by 1936 racial tension was a large
part of society and has been for four hundred years. Why did
it take so long for ìracismî to be defined while the words ìblackî and
ìwhiteî have been defined since the twelfth century? The word
ìracismî was defined as, ìa belief that race is the primary determinant
of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent
superiority of a particular raceî. After changing the words
racial and race the definition for racism means, ìa belief that a class
or kind of people unified by community of interests, habits, or characteristics
is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that
existing or occurring between these groups forces are differences that leads
to the idea of a inherent superiority of a particular group.î
***
According to many, ìwhitesî
are supposedly the majority. What is ìwhiteî? Surely
I view myself as white, but I am really Italian, Irish, English, German,
and a little Jewish. My ancestors had not arrived in the USA
until the early 1900ís. At that time the Italians and the Jews
were discriminated against. But now I am ìwhiteî.
When children are very young race does not matter to them, all kids are
the same, but as they grow up they are influenced by their parents behavior.
***
Over the years I have realized
that everyone are equal. Being in Milwaukee my whole life racism
has always been present in the community, but I am oblivious to it perhaps
I did not want to. Until my freshman year in college I really
was not aware of the rest of the worlds view on racism. In
January 2000, my friend Eileen and I went to a deli located on 17th and
North Ave. As we got out of the car I could tell something
was wrong with Eileen, but I was unsure of what. While we were
there she did not speak very much. I asked her if there was
something the matter and she said, no, I figured she was not feeling well,
so I left it at that. I had been to this deli many times before
and never thought that the place was what made her feel the way she did.
After we left she became talkative once again, I thought she was just feeling
better. That following Monday, during sociology class, we had
a paper due. Eileen and I read each others papers before we
were to turn them in. I had no idea at the time what she chose
to write about. As I read into it she talked about the town
she came from and how there was only one black person and when she came
to Milwaukee she felt intrigued when she would see them on the bus driving
by or even walking down the street. But, when she went to the
deli with me she felt scared and helpless. Of course this would
explain why she grew quiet that day, but it still shocked me to read this.
I had not realized that there were such people that actually felt the way
she did. Throughout the rest of that year my eyes were opened
to many other instances where these types of situations had occurred.
Even though I did not understand where the racial tension was coming from
I could see where it was leading too.
***
That following summer,
while working at the Greater Milwaukee Open, my 65 years old cooking partner
turned to me one morning and said, ìWhat the hell are all these monkeys
doing here, you know they cant count, so why do they want to watch golf.î
At first, I did not get what he was talking about, I did not see any monkeys,
and then my eyes opened once again to view racism at its purest.
***
This makes me think that white is a term
to represent control. Think about how many black people hold
high positioning jobs. Not many. Within the U.S.
Government, there are fewer than a handful; this ratio is very similar
to that of the large corporations in this country. How is someone
of a nonwhite pigment supposed to excel within a nation of glass ceilings?
I have held many different job positions within the last three years and
I honestly can say that I have never had a black boss. I have
worked along side blacks, but in my experiences they do not get promoted
as fast as whites. Does this mean that Whiteness is favoritism?
I would like to feel that the reason I get promotions is not because I
am white, but instead because I am the better candidate. Lately
I do not know what to believe. My passed ideas are left with
many unanswerable questions unless I take into consideration the fact that
I am favored over colored employees for a reason that I am not fully sure
of.
***
I remember when I was
very little, I asked my grandmother about why blacks are called black when
they are really brown? She told me ìWhy are whites called white
if we are really peach?î Then she told me that it doesnít matter
what color a persons skin is, because any way you look at them they are
still a person. She continued by telling me a story of when
she was young, ìEveryone would always tell me that the blacks had
dirty, rundown houses and that whites always had nice and clean houses,
but your great-grandfather would tell me otherwise. He was
a milkman; he would tell me that some of the black families that he delivered
for had some of the cleanest and nicest houses he had ever seen.î
That day my Grandma taught me an important lesson that I can use today.
It does not matter what color ones skin is or what language someone speaks,
or even how much money has, deep down we are all Gods people.
So why does it matter what whiteness means? The more important
word that we should be analyzing is Humanity.
***
Unfortunately according
to history, as long as we have people to pass hatred on down from generation
to generation, then the world will never be able to fully eliminated racism.
This is a large problem that has greatly become crude and considered out
of style among the many politically correct parts of society.
Unfortunately, it is that small minority that keeps the majority out of
view with nirvana. Until these small groups are eliminated
whiteness will continue to viewed as a negative segregation.
Matthew Winters