>Messsage du 24/11/2000 18:47
>De : <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
>A : <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
>Copie à :
>Objet : Re: renouncing whiteness
>
>
>
> in my time as an anti-white agitator, i've seen white folks substitute or
> confuse condemnation of thier membership in the white race in various social
> situations for condemnation of the white race as a political act (mind you,
> most of these people are otherwise political white folk). when i try to
> point out the difference--some listen, most pretend like they don't hear
> what i'm saying, and a few become a little hostile.
>
>
> What is the difference between acknowledging white privilage and renouncing
> the white race? Is renouncing the white race simply going a step further
> than acknowledging white privilage, or is this something entirely different?
i think we get into trouble with the verbs "acknowledging" and "renouncing." acknowledging white priviledge is exactly what white folks did for hundreds of years--but they acknowledged it as perfectly legitimate! renouncing the white race is certainly an improvement but strictly speaking, its no better than, say, simply renouncing capitalism: the act of renouncing the white race may entail an idealogical orientation but it is not, in and of itself, a political act.
i don't mean to say that 'acknowledging white priviledge' and 'renouncing the white race' are phrases to be avoided, not at all. only that terminological precision, as in all crucial matters, is important, that context is important, too, and that one must not simply substitute saying these things for political action.
that said, yes, acknowledging white priviledge is very different from renouncing the white race. that is, there could be no white priviledge or whiteness, without a social construct called the white race.
> >what is to be done? for starters, i would be very, very happy if, say, many
> >white anti-globalization kids in the u.s. would start publically attacking
> >the white race as the most profoundly destructive historical and social
> >force over the last 400-plus years and as the the most effective 'binding
> >agent' for the capitalist system during that time. i would also be very
> >happy if those young white kids acknowledged that they themselves reproduce
> >the white race daily and made an explicit and strategically detailed
> >committment to liberate themselves--as an essential part of their
> >anti-authoritarian struggles--from the prison of the white race so that
> >they might work in deeeper solidarity with other people as members of the
> >human race.
> >
>
> What happens to the individual identity of a white kid when he denounces his
> race? Does it transform from white to human then?
no. generally speaking, that only BEGINS to happens when because of her committed participation in a major radical/revolutionary struggle of which anti-whiteism is a defining feature, it starts to become increasingly difficult to take advantage of her skin priviledge. that said, i want to be clear that there are a number of not particularly political white-skinned folk in this country who grew up around colored folk, act like colored folk, think of themselves as colored folk, are accepted by colored folk as colored folk, and want nothing to do with white folk socially. i knew a few of these as a kid in l.a. and know a few of them now. i would not want to deny the reality or the significance of who they are just because they are not 'political.'>
>
> This topic is important to me. I have been attending an American literature
> course which deals with race, and one of our goals is to continue developing
> a language which can be used to discuss race.
sounds like fun. where are you studying?
i think you will find an extraordinary amount of creative thinking power in abandonning the racism/anti-racism paradigm for a white/anti-white paradigm that is rooted in an racialism/anti-racialism paradigm. try, for example, substituting 'whiteism' for ' racism', 'anti-black' for 'racist', etc. if you work at it a bit, you'll find that you can create numerous substitutions that will help you develop--i think--the most precise understanding of what is called race possible.
feel free to write me off-list about these questions if you feel so moved.
chris niles
the new abolitionist
>
>
> Jennifer Young
>
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