Posted on 12/06/2017 6:49:44 AM PST by pabianice
The Multicultural Resource Center at Amherst College was full of students and community members eager to participate in the “Unpacking Whiteness” discussion Tuesday night with Amherst College juniors Tacia Díaz and Julia Pfatteicher.
Event was to explore and discuss many topics: what whiteness is, when people first realize they are white and what strategies should they adopt to move forward.
Pfatteicher, the event’s outreach coordinator, had the idea of a program centered around whiteness since she was a freshman. She felt that, “Colored or oppressed people go through the pressure and emotional labor to educate historically marginalized people.” Pfatteicher wanted people to feel comfortable to speak about what it means to be white.
“My sister wasn’t white, and I had to realize she had a different experience than me,” Díaz said, explaining that she is the only white person in her family.
“Whiteness is always something that was there, but never talked about,” Pfatteicher said. She noted the Amherst Uprising, where Amherst students voiced their opinions on racism and prejudice.
“There was a whole other experience I was ignorant of, and privileged of,” Pfatteicher said.
“Whiteness is the norm, and it is invisible,” Alyssa Snyder, an Amherst College sociology junior, said. “Talking to white people about whiteness at Amherst is nonexistent.”
Attendees discussed the difference between being white and the privilege of being white. Some people felt white privilege is known to dictate and mediate race interactions, and set everyday norms.
“It’s important to talk about the complexities of whiteness. It’s messy, but we need the opportunity to flesh it out,” Díaz said.
Participants in the discussion also shared the importance of educating themselves and how whiteness can be used to further racial justice.
“Are students going to leave this event, pat themselves on the back and say, ‘I did my white duty of the week?’ Or are they going to continue this conversation and continue to educate themselves?” Snyder said.
Saárah Murphy can be reached at saarahmurphy@umass.edu.
Race hate, brought to us by so-called “academia”
Snow Flakes unable to cope with the real world. Graduating soon.
Emily Dickinson be white. She blow you head off.
“My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun -....”
Snow Flakes unable to cope with the real world. Graduating soon.
The more I read about this stuff, the more it looks like some people just have an inferiority complex and if they’re minorities, blame their lack of self esteem and ambition on someone else (evil whiteness). Personally, when I encounter someone who has a very low opinion of themself, I tend to trust their judgment in at least that one regard.
I guess the plan is to make white people so disgusted themselves, that the government can just give them a gun to off themselves and not have to bother with boxcars and deathcamps.
March is national white history month.
George Washington was the first white president of the United States of America. Now you know and knowing is half the battle!
I made that joke more than 20 years ago with all the race batting at the time - it pains me it’s gotten even more ludicrous.
So - when do we start the classes on unpacking blackness? Is that racist?
I hope they really “unpack” whiteness and see all the blessings that white people have brought into their lives and especially Christian white people. They would be astounded. Maybe someone could make a movie along the lines of It’s A Wonderful Life but with the caucasian race filtered out.
So clueless. It is not whitness that is the problem. It is the refusal to adopt western culture that handicaps people whether they are White, Black Blue or Brown or???
And yet they will not perform the ultimate sacrifice to rid themselves of the guilt and make society a better place.
To paraphrase Willie Nelson:
“Momma’s don’t let your babies grow up to be dumbasses.”
My first thought when reading that statement is: LOWER STANDARDS!
Ask the anti white crowd to name three black run countries that could be described as first world economies. Personally cannot think of a single one
Their parents all need to be slapped, for raising kids who can’t, nay, who refuse, to cope with reality.
Racial Marxism
Hating on races because they are more successful, instead of emulating their behavior.
Suitcases can be unpacked, and whiteness can be intensified through the use of Rinso Blue!
Certain words go together, like “dogs bark”, but others don’t, like “clouds bark.” Putting words together that don’t go together is the sign of someone who does not think clearly, and who lives in a world of fantasy.
No, dear lefty, Whiteness is an attribute of clothes, paper, clouds, styrofoam cups and the light emitted by a flashlight. It is not packed or unpacked. Suitcases are packed. The movie theater is packed.
Since you put Whiteness and Unpack together, I have to conclude that your mind is not functioning properly.
As a white person I personally go packing quite frequently. It just seems prudent.
I hope I never have to “unpack” in a public place but I am ready to do it should the need arise.
Well, it is communist Massachusetts, after all.
I find her referring to "Colored people" strangely refreshing. I suppose that that means that we can now all start using the expression "Coloreds" again, right?
Regards,
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