#20 Being an expert on YOUR culture
January 23, 2008 by clander
White people are pretty conflicted about their culture. On one hand, they are proud of the art, literature, and film produced by white culture. But at the same time, they are very ashamed of all the bad things in white culture: the KKK, colonialism, slavery, Jim Crow laws, feudalism, and the treatment of native americans.
One way they can make up for it is becoming marginally acquainted with foreign cultures. It is generally acceptable for a white person to learn a few terms in a language spoken primary by non-whites (such as Chinese, Tagalog or Portuguese). They can then use these phrases to order certain ‘more authentic’ dishes in restaurants.
White people can also take passing interest in film, politics, music or art from these countries. When they actually meet someone from that country, or at least who has parents from that country they cannot wait to engage you in all the details that they have learned.
“Have you heard the new Andy Lau CD? It’s awesome!”
It is imperative that you recognize how special and unique this white person is for knowing about your culture. Acceptable responses include “Wow, I’ve never seen a white person order chicken feet,” or “How did you find about that film? I didn’t think they had dubbed it yet.”
These responses will fill white people with that self satisfaction they need. Also, they consider a reminder that they are not racist, which also makes them feel terrific.
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You just forgot to say that usually that Andy Lau CD was never heard in his/her country of origen… “Being an expert in your culture” is usually a faux pas.
Can’t agree more
pretty sure that portuguese people are white…
i am pretty sure they speak portuguese in brasil and macau.
yes, they do speak portuguese there, because it was brought from portugal, which is in europe, where people are white. very similar to the people from england, who are white, and brought english to places like jamaica, where not everyone is white. (sarcasm intended). by the way i know 3 people from brazil and they are all white, im not sure why the author thinks only or mostly nonwhite people speak portuguese
…most speakers of Portuguese aren’t white. Countries that speak Portuguese: Angola, Mozambique, Cabo Verde (all in Africa), East Timor (southeast Asian island), Brasil (which is where I live, and where the majority of the population is mixed), Goa (not a country, but part of India where they speak Port.), and Portugal, which is only a small percentage. All of this is indeed sarcasm…but learn some geography.
“white people” are a myth
Ugh.
Nothing wrong with being proud of White European culture….great music, art, literature and advances in technology came from Europe.
All the sports that blacks like and play on the professional level were invented by whites in America.
Maybe would be better to say:
“All the sports that blacks like and play on the professional level were invented by whites”.
The most popular game in the world, soccer, was invented by whites in England.
Than we made it better, down here in Brasil.
In Portuguese… ;-))
You, as well as many (for want to say most) other commentors I’ve read on this blog, seem to have completely missed the point.
but that’s what makes the site so much fun. only the superior-level white people have the mastery of white-irony (where you pretend to criticise white people to negotiate your own guilt and confusion about your own identity)
the one’s that miss it are hilarious, but not the main game. I love the one’s who get it most like me. (check my fixed-gear bike, organic vegetable coop, obama-supporting, hip-hop ‘digging’, italian speaking, gradschool attending, white arse if you want to know…)
good work to all concerned.
The fella who put this thing together is, of course, the whitest of the white, because he turns this white-irony into cash-money (buy the book fuckers), and ’street cred’.
ultimate.
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