In Defense of the Guilty White Liberal
Finally a white person publicly states the obvious:Guilt is good, people! The only people who don't suffer guilt are sociopaths and serial killers. Guilt means you have a conscience. You have self-awareness, you have—in the case of America's history of racism—historical awareness. Just because things have gotten better in the present doesn't mean we can erase racism from our past or ignore its enduring legacy.
It's a shame that the country had to go damned near off the deep end for folks to be able to come to their senses.
Technorati Tags: guilty liberal - 2008 presidential campaign
1 comment:
Ha ha!
Knew that if I searched long enough, I'd find someone who has said what was on my mind, just better.
"Guilt is good, people!"
Similar in outlook to the criticism that conservatives are happy to be fed their world view while self-doubt is a natural state for liberals.
And that's a criticism of both sides, leading to arrogance through ignorance on one side, and inaction through indecision on the other.
I looked up your blog title, and "the Adinkra symbol meaning participation, democracy and pluralism."
I think I understand the first literal part of the quote: "if your hands are in the dish, people do not eat everything" - meaning people see someone being territorial and back off -
"...and leave you nothing" - does that mean that that someone, in distancing themselves, lose opportunity for unity?
I read your link to Tim Wise and he encapsulates in much better words what I have been saying for years - that it's not racism for white men to say shitty things about other white men.
If we can't say these things, who can?
And I use the royal "we" advisedly, I hasten to add!
Hope you keep up with your blogging, this is much needed stuff.
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