I think Greg, and Sheena Mason, are making the right argument. Maybe it would be a bit clearer to contrast with, as Glenn mentions, the Irish in Northern Ireland. To “de-racialize” would not be to give up being Catholic, or being the descendants of an oppressed people, or traditions like playing the bodhran or playing curling. It would be to give up the racial category of “white,” the concept of “whiteness” as being above other races (or equal to them, or less than!). It would be to give up the idea that being “white” puts you on the same “team” as an Englishman, a Russian, or an Albanian. This is what Greg says by “keep the culture and the heritage, give up the race.” Race a fake, overly broad bucket created purely for the purposes of hierarchy. Culture and heritage and ethnicity are quite real. Now, can you still be a bigot about your heritage? Is it possible to be hierarchical about one’s culture? Abso-freakin-lutely. This may be the biggest problem with a deracialization approach to anti-racism: so much of what we see and identify as “racism” is in fact an ignorant sense of cultural superiority over another group with different norms, along with a willingness to assume someone else is culturally inferior to you based on nothing but your estimation of their group membership. We can get rid of race, and we should, but the bigotry will still be there.
You can't give up "whiteness" without also giving up "blackness." They are Siamese twins who cannot be separated. "Blackness" is based on the racist myth that all people throughout the world with any "black" ancestry (from 100% to "one drop") are really part of the same race, nation and culture.
Being a bigot about anything is troubling, though I suspect we are all bigoted to some degree when it comes to things we are passionate about. Perhaps things like core values. And as long as we don't hurt others or don't thrust our opinions on others, I think that's ok.
In terms of culture and heritage, most of us are proud of where we came from. I would prefer (very strongly) that my kids marry someone from the same (not even similar) culture. I am not being bigoted, but it's simply more convenient from a logistical point of view. Marriage has become such a fraught business that, if possible, you try to seek to minimize the potential for disagreement. I also want my culture and heritage to be perpetuated. It is already getting watered down, and I don't want the process accelerated. I imagine this is true of most others. So my point is that there's no harm in thinking your culture's the best, and passing on time-tested tradtions and folklore to your kids, but keep it personal. We used to be able to do this a decade ago, with things like religion and politics. Now everything is fair game, more's the pity.
I think Greg, and Sheena Mason, are making the right argument. Maybe it would be a bit clearer to contrast with, as Glenn mentions, the Irish in Northern Ireland. To “de-racialize” would not be to give up being Catholic, or being the descendants of an oppressed people, or traditions like playing the bodhran or playing curling. It would be to give up the racial category of “white,” the concept of “whiteness” as being above other races (or equal to them, or less than!). It would be to give up the idea that being “white” puts you on the same “team” as an Englishman, a Russian, or an Albanian. This is what Greg says by “keep the culture and the heritage, give up the race.” Race a fake, overly broad bucket created purely for the purposes of hierarchy. Culture and heritage and ethnicity are quite real. Now, can you still be a bigot about your heritage? Is it possible to be hierarchical about one’s culture? Abso-freakin-lutely. This may be the biggest problem with a deracialization approach to anti-racism: so much of what we see and identify as “racism” is in fact an ignorant sense of cultural superiority over another group with different norms, along with a willingness to assume someone else is culturally inferior to you based on nothing but your estimation of their group membership. We can get rid of race, and we should, but the bigotry will still be there.
You can't give up "whiteness" without also giving up "blackness." They are Siamese twins who cannot be separated. "Blackness" is based on the racist myth that all people throughout the world with any "black" ancestry (from 100% to "one drop") are really part of the same race, nation and culture.
Agree. Put them both in the garbage can of history.
Being a bigot about anything is troubling, though I suspect we are all bigoted to some degree when it comes to things we are passionate about. Perhaps things like core values. And as long as we don't hurt others or don't thrust our opinions on others, I think that's ok.
In terms of culture and heritage, most of us are proud of where we came from. I would prefer (very strongly) that my kids marry someone from the same (not even similar) culture. I am not being bigoted, but it's simply more convenient from a logistical point of view. Marriage has become such a fraught business that, if possible, you try to seek to minimize the potential for disagreement. I also want my culture and heritage to be perpetuated. It is already getting watered down, and I don't want the process accelerated. I imagine this is true of most others. So my point is that there's no harm in thinking your culture's the best, and passing on time-tested tradtions and folklore to your kids, but keep it personal. We used to be able to do this a decade ago, with things like religion and politics. Now everything is fair game, more's the pity.