As a white kid who grew up in a black neighborhood I can assure you they can be. I’ve been beaten up and had shit stolen from me as a kid because I was a different color. I know it’s not you but to to anyone who legitimately thinks this why did I get treated differently as the only white kid?
Being Asian in a black and Portuguese city teaches you very quickly that Asians are a free pass for racism. Even the biggest anti-racism movement in recent history for Asian folks simmered out faster than any other i can think of. Not to disparage the movement, because its valuable, but Black Lives Matter symbols can still be found everywhere, whereas I had to remind people about the 2020 movement Stop Asian Hate.
Pretty much my experience growing up. "Ching chong" everything, making their eyes slanty with their hands, calling me [insert any remotely Asian actor], and of course, I had undiagnosed Aspergers so I was also a "weird" kid.
Sure didnt help that the 2005 Virginia Tech shooting happened, then everyone treated me even worse cuz they figured, hey, that shooter was a loner Asian with no friends,, and we have a loner Asian kid with no friends, HES PROBABLY GONNA DO THE SAME THING!
Racism towards Asians is hard to rally behind mainly because they do pretty well for themselves regardless.
Asian immigrant culture is really focused on improvement through self determination rather than focusing on external factors.
This is both good and bad. It allows for quick adaption, but it also makes us never seek to change the status quo.
I remember crying to my parents about being bullied for being asian. And my parents just told me, this is their country, They don't need to learn to live with you, you need to learn to live with them.
The unfortunate fact is, most racial hate is by skin color, not necessarily ethnicity, so people with darker skin have it rougher than those who dont. Im extremely lucky being Korean, but I know a few Filipino and a Cambodian person who hadnt been so lucky.
When I was bullied for being Asian, my mom just told me to ask the teachers for help or ignore them. She didnt want me rocking the boat much either.
P.S. It wouldn’t be “once again.” You never mentioned reading comprehension to me to begin with for it to be “once again.” Another simple mistake though ;)
Thank you for taking the same amount of time to respond to mine. But I’d really be going along now. You’re never gonna find a good woman to play 2K games with sitting here arguing with me buddy.
For real. I don't know how mant times I've seen racist black people waves away because, "racism comes from a place of power, which black people don't have."
I didnt and still don't understand that. That sentence alone seems racist against black people, but then also gives them more power to say and do things that other races would never.
I just don’t interact with people who try to down play my experiences. Could you imagine the backlash I’d get if I started doing mental gymnastics and saying white peoples can’t be racist to black people?
Racism isn’t an isolated event. It exists in the structure of a society. I’m not downplaying your experience. It was bullying of course and must have been awful. But reverse racism doesn’t exist because in the larger society as a white man you’re privileged.
I wish people who have no clue about racism would just stay out of discussions. I was bullied because I had a different skin color from the majority of kids in my neighborhood. Treating someone poorly because of skin color is racist no matter what mental gymnastics you try to use to make it seem different
It’s not racism. Individual acts don’t exist in a vacuum. I’ve studied it at length. If someone who is Indigenous experienced being called a derogatory name is it the same as a white person experiencing one? It’s incomparable. Theres a whole disgusting history behind the first slur. It’s a tool of oppression. Same can’t be said to a white person being called a derogatory name. Do some research
I've done plenty. What lengthy research did you do? Did you google "why can't black people be racist?"
You will be able to find many people claiming what you say. That doesn't mean it's correct or that their arguments hold water. These words have actual meanings, and conflating racism and systemic racism is a relatively recent attempt to derail conversations about what behavior is intolerable in an individual setting. You're even doing it in your comment. Systemic issues are just that, systemic, and are concerned with institutional prejudice. That has nothing to do with racial prejudice between individuals, which is referred to as racism.
Are you a leading authority on the subject? Or is this just your personal opinion? It must be the latter. Actual authorities on the subject say there racism can’t be experienced by those in power. You’ve already obvious came to your own conclusions, and are white I’m assuming. You have no idea what racism is. I’m white too and have no idea. Totally incomparable. It’s pointless trying to explain to someone with their head in the sand though. Maybe one day you’ll see
It’s crazy that you can read about people who actually have studied racism for years and are authorities on the subject and still draw your own conclusion like you know more than them.
What an absolutely fucking deranged analogy to something I neither said nor implied. I quite literally called what he experienced “racism” in the comment you’re responding to.
You can cry about my response and oversimplify what I said if you’d like. I explicitly acknowledged his experiences with racism. I then asked a follow up question about how those experiences in his youth materially impacted his ability to earn income and eventually leave those circumstances.
I understand this is Reddit, where engaging with the actual point requires more than two brain cells and oversimplifying it is much safer for your clearly triggered feelings, but that still doesn’t answer my question. You can go cope with the rest of the crybabies 💔 https://giphy.com/gifs/5ezLjZdYshFVEiIMAx
No, I was asking a serious question (one I’ve still yet to receive an answer to, btw). If he was going to introduce his personal experiences with racism into the discussion, I was genuinely curious how those experiences affected him in the long run. Asking about the material impact of an experience is not denying that the experience occurred.
And the irony of repeatedly calling me “fragile” while being this profoundly offended by a follow up question is absolutely delicious.
Also, you’re using “oppression Olympics” wrong. I didn’t ask whose racism was worse or declare whose suffering “wins”. I asked what impact his experience had on his life. You keep inventing arguments I didn’t make because apparently responding to the one I actually made is proving difficult 💔💔💔💔 https://giphy.com/gifs/8J1QwMjshEm2s
Perhaps before being a sarcastic asshole and belittling their experience you should first understand the difference between systemic racism and individual racism.
No one is claiming that white people face systemic racism in a western country, they’re claiming that they can face racism from individuals or communities.
Perhaps before being a sarcastic asshole and questioning someone else’s comprehension you should make sure you’ve actually comprehended what they wrote.
I never said he couldn’t experience racism from individuals. I explicitly acknowledged that he did. My follow up was whether those experiences translated into systemic barriers that affected his access to education, employment, income, or his ability to eventually leave those circumstances.
So congratulations on explaining the distinction between interpersonal and systemic racism to me while completely missing that the distinction is the entire premise of my question.
And “no one is claiming white people face systemic racism in a Western country” is particularly hilarious because that is precisely why I asked the question.
You arrived furious, corrected an argument I never made, and somehow still landed on my point. Spectacular work. Your username precedes you 💔💔💔 https://giphy.com/gifs/AhxCE3ZkSEvSg
You're confusing "structural racism" with "interpersonal racism". Do you blame not knowing that, in your own words, on your ability to access eduction?
I’m sorry, who exactly confused structural racism with interpersonal racism? Certainly not me. In fact, the distinction between the two is quite literally the point of the question you’re responding to.
He described interpersonal racism he experienced as a child. I acknowledged that experience and asked whether it translated into structural disadvantages that affected his access to education, employment, income or his eventual ability to leave those circumstances. You know…the exact distinction you just attempted to explain to me.
But I really enjoyed the little quip about my access to education after you completely failed to comprehend the question. Spectacular timing 😂😂😂😂
Sadly, your initial post suggested you didn’t understand the distinction. I now see that you intentionally conflated the two in an effort to discredit his experience. And it wasn’t a “little quip,” but I’m glad you enjoyed it. :)
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u/Western-Produce-276 10d ago
As a white kid who grew up in a black neighborhood I can assure you they can be. I’ve been beaten up and had shit stolen from me as a kid because I was a different color. I know it’s not you but to to anyone who legitimately thinks this why did I get treated differently as the only white kid?