#71 Being the only white person around
February 20, 2008 by clander
This concept ties heavily into post #7 Diversity and post #19 Travelling, but is important that you fully understand how white people view authenticity and experience.
In most situations, white people are very comforted by seeing their own kind. However, when they are eating at a new ethnic restaurant or traveling to a foreign nation, nothing spoils their fun more than seeing another white person.
Many white people will look into the window of an ethnic restaurant to see if there are other white people in there. It is determined to be an acceptable restaurant if the white people in there are accompanied by ethnic friends. But if there is a table occupied entirely by white people, it is deemed unacceptable.
The arrival of the “other white people” to either restaurants or vacation spots instantly means that lines will grow, authenticity will be lost, and the euphoria of being a cultural pioneer will be over.
Being aware of this can be extremely valuable in your efforts to gain the trust of white friends and co-workers. If you bring a white person to an ethnic restaurant and another white person (or group of white people) shows up, you can lose all respect and trust that you have worked so hard to acquire. Do your best to find a table with a divider, or ask the waiter to put future white people out of sight.
Note: This does not apply to night clubs.
Pages: « 73 … 67 66 65 64 63 [62] 61 60 59 58 57 … 1 » Show All
you got this one right…almost.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un6pbj0WaB4&feature=related
i’m the white guy with the cowbell.
[...] conscious options really boils down to feeling superior. Going to farmers markets or jumping headfirst into another culture is more ostentatious then effective by any measure for those goals. I’m not overstating or [...]
The only time I’ve ever been the ONLY white person in the room was at my coworker’s 50th birthday party. Other than me, it was all black folks from the Caribbean. But since I dance really well I got mad props and everyone loved me. Holla!
But in typical white fashion I acted like it was no big deal even though I was relishing the positive attention and saying to myself the whole time “so, THIS is how black people must feel during a large percentage of their lives.”
Not really, non-whites like me never think about “oh, there’s no other (non-white race) here”. They just think about the white woman who looks up from her counter at (name a store) and then gives you a look like “I’ve got my eye on you, don’t try any funny stuff darkie”
Don’t forget the walk in any store in the suburbs of anywhere (name a store) and within 30 seconds a security guard (NOT a sales clerk) comes over and says, “can I help you?”….You take the high road and describe what you are looking for, and the guard says something to this effect, “…uh….you need to ask a salesclerk for that…”
In the meantime, some white suburban kids are stealing the store blind because the dumb guard would never think that nicely dressed whites would ever steal………
There’s no slack for the black……..
When i first went on this website, i was skeptical about the stereotyping of white people. But every single article has been eerily 100 percent accurate about me, leading me to believe that I myself am white, which I am.
If even half the things on this site apply to you it doesn’t mean you are white, it means you are a bad human being.
This blog just reinforces ironic tendencies of *some* liberal white North Americans. Not all.
White liberal North Americans: you have much to be proud of. Don’t let the author of this blog – or certain snide remarks – change your mind otherwise. You have much to be proud of. Can’t we all just get along?
Dude they’re just tryin’ to be funny. A lot of this is true, you gotta admit.
And besides, it’s obvious the white liberal Americans/to some extent Europeans are the ones they’re targeting; everybody else is “the wrong kind of white people.”
‘This also translates to entire countries.
Many white people in Japan refuse to acknowledge other white people on the street or in venues because it will ruin their “cultural experience”.’
Well, maybe for some. Take my experience. I’m whitey and have been living/working throughout Asia for the past eight years.
I’d say after the first few months – if you’re really ‘taking in’ the country’s cultural ‘ways’ quite well; making more friends who are form that foreign country, etc, your views begin to change a bit. You start to ‘acculturate’. It’s not necessarily you being a ‘pompous’ white person avoiding other white people – your ‘outlook’ just starts to change a bit.
You start to view other white persons not only as persons from your ‘same race’, but as ‘foreigners’ (as they are in that country) as well – and you start to view how ‘white people’ in that host county view ‘white people’. It’s a ‘shift’, which I think ‘white people’ new to that country might take offence to – although it isn’t really meant that way (at all) … ya know??
oops, I meant how ‘locals’ in that foreign country view white people, not “how ‘white people’ in that foreign country view ‘white people.”
Japanese Americans are treated like “foreigners” alot more than a country like Japan perceived as “polite” to everyone. Not really, white American expats wrote stories on the net about not being allowed to enter a sauna “Japanese only”, as printed signs on front doors or windows with the title are common across the country. Russian travelers are also unhappy about entering Hokkaido from Sakhalin as well, reading signs to indicate racism against white people. +
I hate being the only white person around. It’s uncomfortable. And then I realize that that’s probably how a lot of non-white people feel all the time.
I’m white and 90% of the things that you’ve listed don’t apply to me, or most people I know. Maybe you should revise?
Your username is “PETA.” nuff said
No, her name was Peta. Not PETA which is an acronym. Do a search for the grammar entry.
Oh, and before you get started – my name is not Preston. Hahaha. Just thought that would have you ready to fire off yet another comment before having read the whole thing.
heck more like on this white girl, she ends up being the only white person in the crowd because everyone else hated that other white person and trick them into doing something…
This sort of happened to me last week in Senegal. We went to Bineta’s in Thies, and we were the only toubabs (white people) in the tiny restaurant filled with 4 plastic tables. Two French women showed up, and upon seeing us, turned to leave. (I know they were thinking, “oh la la, there are too many toubabs here for it to be good, cheap and local food.” They were wearing clothes made in Senegal, and local jewelry. Maybe they were French missionaries? Despite the fact that there was another table of Senegalese men, these two hesitated a long time before deciding to dine there. You can check out some of my African adventures by checking out my blog, Planet Perspectives.
I didn’t include my link – http://www.planetperspectives.blogspot.com. Now that I’m back from Africa, I stopped spending money for 2 weeks. So if you want to read about that, come visit. If you want to read about Africa, you just need to check out some older posts.
When in Rome, Do as the Romans do….
…or in 2009 Europe: when the Meccans are in Rome, we do what the Meccans tell us to do. I hope it’s not too racist or intolerant of the Islamic faith. I thought Europeans dislike American racism and find our attitudes undemocratic for good reason. Black British people are thought to had less overt racism when they live in Great Britain than here in America. +
Pages: « 73 … 67 66 65 64 63 [62] 61 60 59 58 57 … 1 » Show All