renouncing whiteness

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

At 12:48 PM 11/22/00 -0500, Doug wrote:
>How does the white race go about abolishing itself? I heard a story 
>once about Ted Allen getting into a cab and having the driver address 
>him in a conspiratorial, racist fashion as a fellow white person. 
>Allen denied he is white. But whiteness isn't a matter of 
>self-identification alone, is it? It's how you're treated throughout 
>your life. What is to be done?
>

As Paul Gilroy eloquently argues (_Against Race : Imagining Political
Culture Beyond the Color Line-) whiteness/blackness is a debilitating state
of mind.  I feel sorry for people who cannot transcend that pathetic
framework of Amerikun political discourse.

A few weeks ago I talked to a black female activist from South Africa at a
meeting devoted to measuring different forms of volunteering.  Despite the
politcal nature of the subject, I was greatly impressed by her
matter-of-fact approach and professionalism - no bitching, moaning and
racializing everything so characteristic of many US-ers.  That prompted my
agreement with Norman Finkelstein's thesis that US political discourse
tends to be driven by grievance manufacturing industries controlled by
ethnic groups.  

wojtek