I Was Invisible, Except for My White Skin

Huh, I took Bella's post/question as a kind of self revelation of how others have it all the time, and that she used her own pique as a viewing window.

I suspect people who didn't take it that way had a bit of real life experience going in and didn't really hear her. On the other hand, I can get that, the antagonism.

I'm a white woman who came from a mixed large city, went to a white small city for other reasons than anything about anyone's heritage, and now is in, thank you, another bigger city with a new to me mixed population, where I feel more comfortable, even if I shouldn't. Well, I don't detect hostility, but I well suppose it may be there. Not looking for it.

My niece is half black african and whitey white, and went to a high school with lots of latinos. Some, even most, of her best friends.. well, never mind that little dollop, no one can say that with a straight face any more.

We're trying to communicate here.

In North America the blacks and the First Nations have suffered enough. How anyone can still have mean thoughts against them is difficult to understand.

whitey white..

Irish already.

I've been reading a bunch of books by Sherman Alexie and a lot of New Mexico based crime procedurals... which I tend to read for location descriptions, whatever the area, Japan, Italy, wherever. A number of the Good Guys/Gals in these New Mexico books are native, and it's a fun way in to the cities that doesn't involve Chambers of Commerce. Trust me, I know I don't know much, thick history here.

Alexie elaborates on hostility between natives and whites and various combos of same - forget which book, set in the northwest. I am just a listener.

Hey Kuk, that Abner guy wasn't even killed !!!

How dare he complain when entire jewish communities were gassed in WWII ????!!

That was my take on the original post, too, osso.

For NM reading, you might try Rudolpho Anaya's stuff, starting with Bless Me Ultima. John Nichols for The Milagro Beanfield war (the movie was abbreviated, but remarkably close to the novel). Michael McGarrity is good, as well, but Bless Me Ultima is at the top of the heap. You will find a copy in that great little book shop by the Flying Whatever.

If everytime a white person talks about a personal experience with racism towards themselves people say "Hey little miss persecution some blacks/mexicans got KILLED by some racist so you just have to keep your mouth shut and take it" Is that right.

If we can talk open then we can make things better. Otherwise Bella can always go here where they will be very happy to listen http://www.stormfront.org/forum/

White people in minority neighborhoods have to go through racism just like minorities have to go threw it in white neighborhoods.(to some extent)

Their is no way racism against white people should be discounted or that it is a non-issue. Without white people thier would be no civil rights movment or Cesar Chavez labor movement. We have to be able to be open about racism if we are going to beat it.

Amigo, if I had known you were going to post here, I could have just about guessed what you would say.

Is that good or bad?

How do I come off?

Nice post Amigo.

Pretty good, Amigo, though neither of us should expect across the board agreement on much of anything.

I'd sure feel better if I could agree with littlek, more often. Oh, well.

Thanks littlek.

Roger, I hear you buddy

Fine, Amigo, I always pay attention to what you say. (watch your ass...).

Roger, it was the Flying Star... I finally have remembered the second word.

Just finished McGarrity's (hmmm, irish?) book Tularosa, will be reading more of him. Anaya, i remember a whole bookshelf of his work. Got to get back there.

Not to be coy, Roger and I met and had burgers at the Flying Star on Rio Grande. It is next to a really good bookstore of the oldfashioned kind, run by people who like and choose books. Stuffed to the gills, not very large gills, with a lot of things I'd like to read.

How's that?

Hey, maybe I've been keeping my mouth shut at the right times, after all.

Haha!

ok

It irked me. I responded. She even said herself that she fully expected someone to "come along and rip her a new one for staring this thread." She understood that there might be consequences for saying what she said, but she went ahead and said it.

Well, guess what. There were consequences. (lol, like my smug little retort constituted anything like real consequences.)

So big deal. I made a little smartass remark, and not even a very strong one. Just a little toss-off line, really.

The response? Everyone attacked me immediately, Belladea told me I was being ignorant, Amigo began to mock me by calling me "kook," Setanta decreed that I was not worthy of a response, and therefore, to be shunned, and you called me an *******.

Now where on earth do you think that hostility might have come from. lol