#91 San Francisco
March 23, 2008 by clander
San Francisco is one of the top US destinations for white people in terms of both travel and living. It is universally agreeable and is a safe discussion topic for any situation.
The city is considered one of the world’s premiere locations for white person research.
White people like to vacation in San Francisco because it has beautiful architecture, fantastic food, and it is near the water. They like to live in San Francisco because of its abundance of Non Profit Organizations, Expensive Sandwiches, Wine, political outlook, and most importantly its diversity.
Since many white people either live in, plan to move to, or closely identify with San Francisco it is imperative that you know how best to deal with them.
The City of San Francisco has a very multicultural population that ranges from white to gay to Asian. Within white culture this known as “ideal diversity” for its provision of exotic restaurants while simultaneously preserving property values. The presence of gays and Asians is imperative as it two provides two of the key resources most necessary for white success and happiness.
However, it is important to be aware of the fact that regions outside of San Francisco feature many people who are not white, gay or Asian. They are greatly appreciated during the census, but white people are generally very happy that they stay in places like Oakland and Richmond. This enables white people to feel good about living near people of diverse backgrounds without having to directly deal with troublesome issues like income gaps or schooling.
Still, the presence of other minorities are welcomed by white people for so many more reasons than just statistics! Much in the way that white people in Brooklyn feel a strong and unfounded connection with The Notorious BIG, white people in San Francisco feel the need to identify with rappers from the East Bay. Interestingly enough, the further they venture from San Francisco, the stronger their need to represent their region.
“Oh man, I went to the Too Short show last night. So hyphy man, so hyphy. You should come by some time and we’ll ghost ride the Prius.”
When you are presented with statements like this, the best response is to say “Berkeley is close to Oakland,” and the white person will likely nod and throw up some sort of west side hand sign.
Though it is exceptionally easy to put someone from San Francisco in a good mood, there are some caveats. When talking to a white person who lives in San Francisco, it is best not to bring up New York City. Though they live in a world class city, San Franciscans have a crippling inferiority complex about New York and even hinting at that will make them very sad or very defensive.
Fortunately, there is a fool-proof method for quickly returning the conversation to a positive, trust-building tone. No matter how much you have offended someone from San Francisco, you can always make them feel better by asking them how they feel about Southern California. They will instantly talk of how it is filled with crime, pollution, hegemonic culture, and the wrong kind of white people: “I swear California is like two separate countries, and I am so thankful that I live in the cultural center of the West Coast.” This will allow them to reassert their superiority and leave the conversation with a positive feeling about themselves and about you.
Castro Photo by bkusler who has done an excellent photo essay on Stuff White People Like. Dancing Photo by amynugget.
Volvos are also acceptable for ghost riding.
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yep… all the reasons i moved here…
Good entry!! I love this this blog!
http://stuffcollegepeoplelike.wordpress.com
it’s so retarded to promote another blog, especially
within this one. god damn. idiots.
quit promoting your blog. it blows. and try and get laid in college instead of writing crap.
Number one way for this blog to tell the truth:
#92 “Stuff White People Like”.
we know how to make it rain in san fran…
http://makingitrain.blogspot.com
fkst
I think San Francisco hates L.A. more than L.A. hates San Francisco. The whole NoCal/SoCal phenomenon is on display at Dodgers/Giants games…
I always believed that if any one thing was truly superior to another, it wouldn’t have to waste its time and energy trying to prove it to the other all the time without first being provoked to do so…
I’m looking at you, SF.
SF people hate LA with a passion.
LA people are vaguely aware that there’s another city up north.
LA doesn’t hate San Francisco, they don’t care enough about San Frnacisco to hate it.
Being from NY, I have an outsider perspective on the LA vs SF issue. Honestly, LA blows. It offers nothing to anyone with intellect. That is why I am moving to SF next month. But nowhere, not even SF, compares to NYC, the greatest city on earth!
Your opinions are ill-informed and you reek of provincialism, so you should fit in in SF perfectly.
BTW, Sweetie, our President-Elect attended Occidental College, located in Los Angeles proper.
You’re a dope with a nope.
LA just has CalTech, UCLA, Sci-arc, USC, Otis, LACMA, Getty, MOCA, LA Phil, LA Opera. Yup, definitely not a city for someone with intellect.
NYC is the greatest city on earth if you’re a privileged, white, myopian blind to ny’s filth, segregation, rampant gentrification, and increasing homogenation. I think you’ll long for ny’s swamp like summers of rotting garbage and bitterly cold winters of black slush in sf’s ideal climate. And you’re right about LA’s lack of intellect, it is only home to a handful of world class universities ( the best one being public-god forbid), and an arts scene that in it’s freshness and creativity eclipses NY’s tired gallery scene.
AMEN!
Now I’m going to visit LA after seeing SF. I thought you guys were talking about SF and Lousiana for a while LOL! It seems like the only people who want to visit Louisana are from a northern city like Arkansas or maybe even as far as Missouri LOL!
Eat a dick, dude! South Louisiana is freakin awesome. I currently live in San Francisco and when I’m done with my graduate degree, I’m moving back home to party 24/7 on the bayous.
We got drive-thru daiquiri shops and drive-thru boiled crawfish shops. What you got? Bring it!
I’m from SF and now live in NY (and white too, crazy). Its all a matter of opinion and people generally like what they grew up knowing. In my opinion, SF destroys LA (its laughable)and edges out NY. But its a matter of preference, and doesn’t mean other cities don’t have huge advantages and positives. No city is perfect, all have their flaws. And whether you agree/disagree with the blog its meant to be a little over the top and satiricle. It doesn’t all need to apply to be funny. Laugh at yourselves people.
S.F. has it over NY (and LA, too) in that it’s navigable. Just as an appetizer.
San Diego is much better than San Fran…true LA is wack tho
Oh I HATE San Diego!
i’m white, i live in san francisco, and i read (and can’t argue with) this blog.
damn you, stereotypes!
I am right there with you. I’m white, live in San Francisco, and am Irish (with gay friends, to boot!).
I can’t argue with a single thing here except dinner parties. I abhor the damned things. BBQ is the way to go!
Please….there are clearly some things here which just don’t apply…
NOBODY likes Sarah Silverman.
I freakin LOVE Sarah Silverman. HOTT and funny as hell in moderation.
OMG DAN AMEN
I’m black and live in San Francisco. Most of the white people here rock, except the ones from Boston and the ones that live in the Marina…I guess the disturbing thing I like all the things that white people like except…water skiing (i could tie myself to the back of a truck), camping(the underground railroad is closed and no need to sleep outside), soccer(okay, only posh and becks), ben harper(half black), and mayonaise
Hey, Zion; I hate mayonnaise, camping, water skiing and soccer, too! And I’m as white as you can be without being see-through. I also don’t like Sarah Silverman.
Never been to SF. Never been to CA. AZ is the closest I made it. What is a typical white person? (I know I’m reading Obama’s comments into the page, but it feels good right) My sister winters in Carmel, summers in NJ and she might fit the sterotype. I like the page and the information, but like all stereotypical statements it doesn’t come close to typical white people. After all some of my closest friends are white people. I’m with Jesse BBQ is the wtg.
<! I wonder if this will work
White People Activities
The only good thing SF has going for it is Michael Savage.
Just a West Coast version of New York.
Savage is a douche. He filed a bogus lawsuit against a muslim organization that, if it were to succeed, would curtail someone’s freedom to use copyrighted material (free of permission) for the purpose of comment or criticism.
I heard Michael Savage say once he likes to live in a place full of nice people because he gets noticed more that way. He even carries a baseball bat with him when he’s in a good mood and it says something like “Homo Run!” on one side and “USA Freedom to Hate” on the other side. My Daddy thinks it’s awesome!
I am from neither san fran or NY. But San Fran is no NY. At least in NY their is yet some belief in capitalism. San Fran is in its own league, its own ball park, and that is not positive. NY does contain many righteous people. You cannot compare San Fran Lib Whack Jobs to NY’ers. Just not fair.
Whack jobs? Name calling is wrong. SF is a wonderful city with great people.
Michael Savage is our guru. He understands that Liberalism is a mental disorder. Frisco is full of it. It is really a gay town and anti-Christ and anti-Christian to boot. I avoid the town by going on the east bay. I will never sit foot in that Sodom.
Is that a headline in the “Onion”?
any place with a high concentration of intelligent people is going to be Anti-Christian / Anti-any religion.
Say what you will about SF being anti-Christian … but “Frisco”??!?
It should be said that the super yuppie, liberal, anti-Christian people in SF are not natives. The San Franciscans born and raised here are nothing like how the city is portrayed. Outside of the trendy spots like Soma or the Mission, the city actually has a large population of Catholics and Moderates/ Conservatives. This is the real San Francisco that few tourists will ever see. Although the “white” people in this article are very present in the city, the real “white” native San Franciscans consider themselves Irish, Italian, etc. We aren’t the bleeding liberals seen protesting on the news.
Ain’t it the truth. The Castro District, for instance, was almost 100% working-class Irish before 1975.
You are right, SF is gay and anti-stupid and anti-right wing, which is why we love it. Please do stay away, as we need the parking spaces.
yes, and please dont try to rent or buy any of our houses, they are gay asian houses that will fall apart after 6 months… you should definitely look elsewhere, sf like totally sucks.
>Please do stay away, as we need the parking spaces.
Except that San Francisco is too hip to have parking spaces. The City won’t even let new construction create parking spots. You really should be riding the Muni since it’s so much better for the environment..
Don’t ever say “Frisco”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unless you are affiliated with the Hell’s Angels
savage is a joke.
Amen. In a way this site is really, “Stuff Liberals Like”.
Liberalism = Whiteness… You don’t have to be white to practice whiteness… but most whites do.
whoa!!!! since theres no such thing as a minority conservatist that also must mean
conservatism= white
but if
liberalism = white
then where the hell do the blacks, asians, and hispanics fit in????
I would probably call it ‘stuff liberals with money like’ cause none of this lifestyle is affordable unless you make a buck.
couldn’t have said it better myself.
I absolutely agree. Savage is all they have going for them. And he is originally from New York! First time I have disagreed with this blog. Well 1 for 92 isn’t bad. Keep up the good work.
not the strongest but your blog is unreal. Way to expose a subculture of white people who see themselves as more open liberal and unique then others as actually being total cliche yuppies.
Isn’t this just an attempt to prove he’s more open liberal and unique than those others who are already themselves total cliche yuppies? Like, the humour ran out ages ago, along with the close observation.
Stop being such a pissy douche. Just enjoy the website for the comedy it provides. it’s idiots like you that take offence to headlines on “the onion”
paradoxically your point is true and untrue…true in the sense
that the writer of this blog is setting himself a part as you suggest. i think that’s a given and is to be somewhat expected. in other words it’s redundant to mention it as though this was unintentional. your observation is false in the sense that he is serving as the sacrificial lamb to expose truths known but about which are unspoken.
the question of humour is also irrelevant because this, contrary to popular belief is not at all humourous. yes the quips and puns etc. are hillarious at times, but presented
with subdued gravity that eclipses the quick laughter easily.
you don’t get this “humour”, but and like many who will read this, it has nothing to do with if you can or cannot.
“Satire (n.) – An obsolete kind of literary composition in which the vices and follies of the author’s enemies were expounded with imperfect tenderness. In this country satire never had more than a sickly and uncertain existence, for the soul of it is wit, wherein we are dolefully deficient, the humor that we mistake for it, like all humor, being tolerant and sympathetic. Moreover, although Americans are ‘endowed by their Creator’ with abundant vice and folly, it is not generally known that these are reprehensible qualities, wherefore the satirist is popularly regarded as a sour-spirited knave, and his every victim’s outcry for codefendants evokes a national assent.” [Ambrose Bierce]
ambrose bierce was a san-fran-er! a san-francisconian! a friscoite! an SFer! a san-francisciano!
(no, i’m not white, although i realize this makes me seem like one. heh.)
The author should obviously do an article about how white people like to post comments, because this stream of comments is one of the the whitest things I have ever experienced.
This discussion presents an excellent case study for Post 81: Graduate School…
“Being white means to engage in a day in, day out struggle to prove that you are smarter than other white people.”
i’m black with nothing to prove, except that i’ve got nothing to prove.
RayRay I know somebody named RayBob and he’s known to his best friends by the name of GayBob because they still like him and he doesn’t pinch guys in the butt at parties or anything but would like to visit SF someday to see what it’s like. I’m just mentioning that in case you might want to meet him He’s a really, really, really NICE guy.
ur awesome
The author of this blog IS white.
I think with that comment you’re just trying to prove that you’re more open, liberal and unique than the author of Sutffwhitepeoplelike is trying to prove he is.
In reality, we’re all just fucking yuppies.
Yeah man, San Fran is a trip. You should do a post on the DMB or Charlottesville, VA, which is almost completely populated by “White People”
San Francisco is where alot of my family was born.. it’s changed alot in the last 10 years and we do have all kinds of white people from back east and the midwest that just need to live in the city.
I don’t agree that San Franciscans have an inferiority complex about NY city.. i’ve been to NYC and it definitely has it’s own character and charm, but I wouldn’t want to live there, but would go visit as much as I could. It’s fun, but then San Francisco like NY always has something going on… theatre, sports, beaches, sailing, shopping, street fairs.
I like Richmond btw, I lived there for alot of years, but there is alot of violence there and Oakland and in the city too.. who would want to live in that unless they had to?
Don’t call it San Fran.
This is spot on for the most part. Well done.
that’s for damn sure. i go to u.va and northface ‘leisure wear’ makes me nauseous.
AHHHH i got to school in Charlottesville, and when i first started reading the entries, the first thing that popped into my mind was how it’s the epitome of not only Charlottesville, but U.Va. Walking to class daily i slowly drown in a sea of northface ‘leisure wear’ and overpriced cups of starbucks coffee. someone please take pity on me, my life is sad, as i don’t fit in with this norm.
l love this blog. it is so on point. And guess what, l am Black! and live in san francisco. this place is filled with exactly the kind of white folks represented by this very blog.
@kevstar… I’m Black as well and I just came back from vacationing in SF. hahaha I was lucky if I saw even one Black person each day while I was there. While I LOVED the scenery, architecture and the food (and would probably live there if I felt like moving to the West Coast)… it is definitely a segregated city, but then so are most -not all- cities across America.
I am a blue eyed, rosy cheeked white one, and I live here in SF. My neighborhood is ALL chinese and black. on any given day I hear more Cantonese than English.
Sorry 27thFloor that you missed the black folk, they’re all hiding out in my neighborhood. Y’know … Hunters point BayView district. and then the other neighborhood, the Western Addition.
So there are 3 huge neighborhoods right there which you never went to, in which you thankfully see very few of the accurately described white people.
EXCEPT !!!!
at the Club 1 gym right in the center of the Western Addition. This is the most amazing phenomenon. The above described white people drive into the Fillmore Center, and park their cars in the secured paid parking lot, scurry over to the gym, and hurry right back out in a mad rush as if they’re afraid they’ll get robbed if they walk slower. it’s the most hillarious thing to see! That is one floor of one building FILLED with white people in a truely black neighborhood and it cracks me up every day.
I don’t know where you went, but I see more Asian than white or black people in any and every neighborhood I ever venture into.
this blogger is Right on about white people though. Super accurate in describing how even I view the white experience in this city. Very unbefriendable lot these white folk
It’s interesting to me that people constantly bash white people on this blog. I love this site for what it says, but when reading the comments it gets a bit disturbing. If somebody ever said ‘thankfully you see very few’ of any race other than white, they are a bigot and considered ignorant, which is exactly what I consider tandula. Why is it so bad to see a lot of white people? If I saw a lot of Asians it wouldn’t bother me one bit, Blacks, Latin Americans, fill in the blank, still shouldn’t be much of a factor. We all have stereotypes and they’re very funny to point out but people need to stop taking what is funny and turning it into a way to bash a race and, effectively, be racist.
Hmmm – “the other neighborhood” AKA The Western Addition is smack dab in the land of whitey, actually. It does have a sizable low income housing development (mostly non-white, yes), but The Western Addition, Lower Haight and Fillmore areas have all been pretty much white-washed by now. Just look at the property prices in the area and you’ll know that whitey is there to stay. A housing project or two does not equal a non-honky neighborhood, per se. Just look at Potrero Hill for another example of this – 7 figure “cottages” on one side of the hill (whitey), and public housing on the other side (non-whitey).
Since you are a blue eyed a rosy cheeked SF resident I can understand your lack of knowledge of the many other (mostly) non-whitey areas of “The City”, and at least you got BayView/Hunters Point right, but there’s also Visitacion Valley, Excelsior, Outer Mission, Ingleside, Ocean View, Crocker Amazon, and chunks of the southern Sunset as well. These areas are mostly Latino\Philippino\Chinese\Pacific Islander (AKA non-whitey). Remember – black ain’t the only non-whitey.
Every city I’ve ever lived in has predominately “white” neighborhoods, “Hispanic” neighborhoods, “Asian” neighborhoods, “black” neighborhoods, and so on. This includes Charleston, S.C., Miami, Seattle, S.F., Chicago, Cleveland, and New York. Was this because of discrimination and segregation or because of a natural affinity and comfort that people derive from being around others most like themselves? I don’t have any kids, for instance. I would never consider a move into a neighborhood that was made up of house after house full of kids. Not that I don’t like the little darlings. It’s the colorful plastic toys in the yard I can’t stand. I also wouldn’t move to the Upper Fillmore or Pacific Heights, either. I wouldn’t like the demographics. It’s my choice where to live and what kinds of people I want to surround myself with, and others have that same choice. I must admit that of all these places, S.F. has been my favorite, because of many factors that I don’t want to bore you with here. The main reason is the tangible sense of freedom that I felt to be myself. I felt no pressure to be like anyone else, and I felt accepted and loved by blacks, Asians, Hispanics, men, women, and, yes, even the British.
Live in Northern Califoria once – but leave before you get soft.
Nice piece but being from SF, I have to say this post is incorrect because the areas surrounding San Francisco are filled with white people. Come on now MARIN! Hello, have you ever been to the Bay Area? Not to mention south of SF. SSF, any city in Silicon Valley, Half Moon Bay, and even East bay you got Alameda, Berkeley, Piedmont. Get your facts straight.
Yeah white folks be liking the SF. ha ha
Dude, you’re wrong. Have you been to the peninsula lately? Redwood City? EPA? Where do you think all the working class latino families that are being pushed out of the mission by white people are GOING? San Francisco didn’t use to be so white, but it is getting whiter by the minute.
This whole list is racist and wrong. First of all most of the stuff on here wouldn’t be liked by most right-wing, conservative whites living in the Bible Belt of this country. Second of all, most of these things are liked by middle-class people all over the world. In fact, the middle-class is the only universal class on the planet. And again, were talking about a liberal middle-class here.
Don’t get so defensive. It’s too easy to point the finger at the right, when its the liberal left that reproduces whiteness the most. Dude, San Francisco is the WHITEST place on the planet.
There used to be two predominantly black neighborhoods in the city, Bayview and Fillmore. The Fillmore became mostly gentrifed, but the Bayview has a very large black population, and do parts of Visitation Valley. Many blacks moved out to the suburbs or to other parts of SF. San Francisco is getting so expensive to live in that it is in danger to becoming “Manhattanized” where only the uber-rich can afford to live. The other danger is San Francisco becoming an adult Disneyland with only tourism as its main business. Still it is one of the five real cities in the United States besides New York, Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans.
lmfao the fact that you didn’t mention LA proves that you a SF native. but i agree with your list that those 5 cities are definations of what an ideal US city is.
San Francisco hopes to reverse black flight
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-08-26-urban-blacks_N.htm
Ok – here’s the deal on San Francisco. I can see how it’s very true that “Frisco”, to the outsider, looks almost 100% honky. That’s probably because most of the neighborhoods that are heavily touristed here are totally white – with the exception of Chinatown, obviously. But, if you head south, you’ll find a different city altogether – in Bayview/Hunters Point, Portola, Visitacion Valley, The Excelsior, Ingleside, Crocker Amazon, Ocean View, and the Outer Mission it will be harder to spot whitey. In fact, in these neighborhoods, which actually make up a very sizable portion of San Francisco, whitey is definitely in the minority. And the honky’s that you do see are often old-school SF natives or working class (definitely NOT the strain of whites that this site is so focused on). Some of these neighborhoods have been going through a small degree of gentrification in the recent past, but still remain largely white free.
The white population in the more northern parts of the city remain largely ignorant of these “outlying” areas – even the more “down” of the Mission hipster set has probably never ventured out on Mission Street south of the 280 freeway overpass (only about a mile from where they congregate en masse). In fact, to many of these whites, the southern side of the city isn’t even thought of as San Francisco at all.
Full disclosure – I’m a honky living in one of these “no-go” areas (Crocker Amazon), so I can tell you all of this from my everyday experience. My ‘hood is mostly Chinese\Latino\Philippino with a smattering of black, and a few working class whites – not to mention the odd honky gentrifier here and there (the group with which I’d probably be lumped). I’ve actually had white acquaintances ask me how often I get back into “The City” – you see, the “white” mind just can’t get it’s head around a part of “The City” were they are a minority. In fact, they just erase all ideas completely.
So, hallelujah – in fact, yes – there actually are still non-white, non-gentrified parts of San Francisco. They are defiantly off of the white SFer’s radar, but they do exist. Now, if we could just get a Peet’s put in on the Mission\Geneva intersection I wouldn’t feel so isolated down here…
youv’ve clearly never been to santa cruz.
hahahaha. or humboldt. or the sierra nevadas. i hate to break it to ya’ll but theres plenty of black and latino people in SF.
thank you hooker.. I see them EVERYWHERE and I’ve been mugged by them.
There most of the blacks are in jail not in neighborhoods
Really? I’d like to know where. Seriously. I’m black and visited San Francisco last month and wondered to myself the entire time, “Where are all the black people?”
Market Street. Just farther away from the water. They don’t like all the whites that congregate near the water.
Or Walnut Creek.
Yup…as soon as we get our own Whole Foods it’ll be a white paradise!
Actually, this definitely more upper class and very much American. If you go to other parts of the world you will see it is hard to find people who are so ridiculous.
Bullshit. Speaking as a British person who has spent a lot of time in the US, another thing the particular brand of white people discussed here LOVE is dissing America in a way that is almost as parochial and small-minded as the unquestioning self-adoration of Bible-thumping, confederate flag-wavers. There are whole social chunks of Germans and Brits who are every bit as ridiculous (usually in VERY similar ways) – if you travelled with your eyes open and let your own self satire take a back seat for a while then you’d notice that.
Fergus:
What a great name– are you from Scotland? Yes, I have lived in London, Paris and in Italy and the racism there is more concealed but actually more acute. Thanks for an International pespective.
Damn, Great Britian still a country, I thought Bush bought them back in 2001. My Bad.
Another thing white people love is smug preaching from our white brethren on the other side of the pond on how provincial we are. Thanks, Furgus!
I agree
Very true
Yah, Americans are so funny people
I love this website
Gays and Asians are great minorities for white people because they don’t threaten them.
I’m not afraid of Asians in San Francisco, except when they’re driving.
Not true. Kids growing up in San Francisco have to watch out for Asian gangs.
very true, white men feel inferior to black men because they’re bigger and they feel inferior to hispanic men because they can
dance
Hispanic men can dance?
I was thinking the same thing.
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are you on crack? white men don’t feel inferior to Black or Hispanic men. we employ them…. of course, I would like a set of 22′s, but my whiteness won’t let me, plus the ridicule from my fellow whiteys would be too much.
while some white men do have comfort issues around men of the “darker” – if you will – races (indeed, racial comfort is not something commonly found anywhere in the US where there is also diversity, though its scores better than it was), i dont think it’s so much that they “feel inferior to” these men as much as they are “scared” of them.
The truth hurts. Anger scares people, especially when that anger is felt to be directed at the self; whether or not it is truly directed at one’s self at that point is immaterial really, since the emotion is felt and the fright awakened. And that history of anger is a long one. An interesting example of white anger stemming from fear: the vast majority of black men who were lynched or killed in a similar fashion in the US had violent injury done to his genitals; castration, mutilation, what have you. Strange fruit indeed.
Maybe these old white bastards feared the black men would steal their white women. Maybe they envied them for some other power, imagined or not. But the psychological implications of such acts are very clear. They wanted to attack the very center of the black man’s power, and rip it from him. And they did it, for hundreds of years.
How much damage done to the American black community.
How much anger created in that community psyche, by these unspeakable acts? No wonder people are pissed!
And then things changed. We have some measure of equality.
And NOW, we wonder why some white men fear when walking through a predominately black neighborhood? (Ironic, of course, since 50, 100 years ago it would have been the black man who feared in the same situation). Pent up anger. Fear. On both sides now. Fear of retribution taken for acts they and their ancestors never committed, but that they still feel guilty for? Anger for being blamed for it? Fear of a race which has systematically enslaved and disempowered you for 400+ years? Anger about that? Doesn’t make for the most comfortable situation.
But it doesn’t mean that the plan has all gone wrong. It’s not terrible to be afraid, feel threatened in a given situation; it doesn’t make you a horrible racist. Its not wrong to feel anger towards someone whose people have fucked your people up for centuries while you built this country. this unchartered path through the morass that is race in America – I believe it IS going in the right direction. These are our growing pains. And its understandable. BUT.
We desperately, as a country, as a people, need to
a) recognize this anger and fear for what it is, and
b) learn to grow through and past it
what obama said in his already famous speech, so heartbreakingly eloquently, is true. There is still significant racial-injustice based anger in this country, in our culture. And it’s real. Really real.
but there’s this
“For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years… the anger is real; it is powerful; and to simply wish it away, to condemn it without understanding its roots, only serves to widen the chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races.” – Obama, 3/18/08
we cannot just wash it away. its here and we have to engage, scary as it is… for everyone.
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gingers are the worst! lets not even talk about them
the more you talk about something the worse you make it. i red heads are the real minority, lets talk about that. we make up 2% of the WORLDS population. i just want everyone to shut up.
Something people don’t often consider is that, despite our countries civil rights movements and laws, racial inequality is still rampant. Most notably in the economic and legal structures of America. Statistically, the majority of people imprisoned are black and hispanic males. Racial profiling is something they teach you in the police academy. Blacks and hispanics do not have the same opportunities, despite the whole “you-can-acheive-anything-you-put-your-mind-to-american-dream” bullshit. I know that I am lucky to live a lower-middle class lifestyle, and that it is most likely attributed to the fact I am white. The truth is, America is a country built upon the ideals of bourgoise white males. Women are still a power minority, blacks are still a minority, hispanics are still a minority, etc. Change is slowly occuring, but it is taking a long time and it will definitely be a while before true egalitarianism is reached.
Lya,
I really liked your comment. I think that Corey’s comment was unnecessarily snarky. I’m Black, and I respect anyone who at least tries to understand both sides of the coin.
lya. I bet you wear ugg boot and sweat pants with big glasses. nothing quite like a preachy white girls opinion on male racism, oh and thanks for the obama quote, you are so “down”
Ain’t got no time to read this post. Can one a y’all summarize it please?
Ah….Racism……it always rears its ugly head.
(Comments wont nest below this level)
roberto,
it is people like you that give me migraines.
He’s right though, for the most part—it’s not “white” people, it’s upper-middle class American liberals with general ethnically Anglo and religiously Protestant (though usually secularized) backgrounds.
aka White People.
Yeah, but there are already a half a million outlets to make fun of the Bible Belt crowd.
The fact that people like you are evidently unable to laugh at themselves once in a while is proof enough for me that this website has some redeeming value.
I couldn’t find any where else to post this but in this thread.
Burning Man?!?!?! It has to be one of the most obnoxious thing that white people constantly obsess over year round. They use it as a way to have a one up on say, someone who has not gone or has not gone as many times. They spend all year figuring out new ways to bring attention to themselves by wearing some silly outfit or some stupid art installation…just for bragging rights. Tons of SF people go to BM, so I posted it here.
Please include it on your list.
Thanks!!
Good idea… seems like everybody I know, (which is mostly white people) has either gone to Burning Man and won’t shut up about how transcendent an experience it is or is planning on going “this year”.
__________
White people love: http://whatiwatchedlastnight.blogspot.com
Haha!
The green, blue, red, yellow and orange people that I usually see at burning man also think that there are too many white people… oh well what can you do…?
Just a note I’m mixed and at burning man color really doesn’t matter.
You don’t even have to leave town or bother to go to Burning Man to wear a silly outfit or do a stupid art installation. Keep it local!
yeah. skip the burn. its way over crowded.
totally sucks anyway. just a bunch of old naked hippies running around worshipping satan.
bummer. i love burning man, live in oakland, have installed art out at the festival, and love to dress up in costumes. obsess all year long? no. like getting away from my cell phone with all my friends for a week of doing almost nothing productive? yes. don’t hate the player, man
That should have been “don’t hate the playa”…then you would have had a nice little pun
“They use it as a way to have a one up on say, someone who has not gone or has not gone as many times.”
I disagree with this part of your assessment. Like evangelical Christians, “burners” (as they are commonly known) do not try and one-up “non-burners” so much as they are attempting to evangelize the event to anyone who has not attended.
Bragging rights are usually centered around the number of, and earliest, Burning Man attended, not around costumes, art installations, “mutant vehicles” (an art car meeting the event’s strict safety and artistic requirements) or theme camp.
Burners typically consider the “last good Burn” to be the year they first attended. Within the hierarchy of burners’ sense of superiority, the earliest year of attendance seems to trump the total number of events attended. So a burner who first attended the event in 1994 tends to think themselves superior to someone who has attended continuously since 2000.
It is important to note that this type of one-upsmanship is usually reserved only for discussions between burners. Discussing how the quality of the event has declined over years could discourage the non-burner from attending.
The moment a first time attendee arrives, it becomes perfectly acceptable to inform them of how much the event has declined from years prior. This criticism will often be directed at a particular costume, theme camp, art installation, mutant vehicle, sexual experience or drug the first time burner is experiencing at that moment without regard for the effect it will have on their enjoyment of the experience.
that’s awesome… you should write the entry FOR burning man. because it should definitely be on here.
WTF is a burner..this must be a west coast thing…
As I described at the start, “burner” is the term Burning Man attendees use to describe themselves.
The term ‘burner’ also applies to individuals who participate in regional burns (events that are more like the original burning man – smaller, more intimate, more community-centered). Regional burns give the feel of community, sparticipation and radical self-reliance that burning man embodied, without so many frat boy gawkers that ravage the original event. Texas held the first regional burn, Burning Flipside.
“the feel of community, sparticipation and radical self-reliance that burning man embodied”
this would exactly encapsulate why it’s such a whitefolk-thing. because the rest of us colored people generally already HAVE that feeling of community (because of racism from white people in this country – we have to stick together) AND of participation/radical self-reliance (uh, we have no choice but to do the above to or else our people would get stomped out by your people).
this, would then, encapsulate why i find white culture so irritating. they’re taking something that’s standard for others to survive, co-opting it cos they “miss” it in their own lives, since instead they get to benefit from white privilege, and then staring at their bellybuttons, getting all self-congratulatory about it, writing articles about themselves, and deciding that they’re brilliant.
I have nothing witty to say about that, so therefore I must bring up an irrelevant tangent, just to bring attention to my own neuroses!
I might look like a tangent, but I’m just a tourist that knows how to live on $5 a day. I still always carries $200 in my wallet just in case when the police are out rounding up tangents.
But that’s besides my point. I just wanted to ask somebody if a Jew is considered white here in Frisco? I don’t hardly see a Jew where I come from, much less know any as a friends.
To this poster who asked:
trailer dogg on March 29, 2008 at 5:42 pm
I might look like a tangent, but I’m just a tourist that knows how to live on $5 a day. I still always carries $200 in my wallet just in case when the police are out rounding up tangents.
But that’s besides my point. I just wanted to ask somebody if a Jew is considered white here in Frisco? I don’t hardly see a Jew where I come from, much less know any as a friends.
Yes Jews are considered white.. what else could they be? They look lilly white to me.
holy crap. all these people posting all these comments, and not a single person points out that the idea of “race” is not a scientific fact but rather a cultural/social construct!? didn’t all y’all white people get your freakin’ liberal arts educations like this website says you do?
ok peeps. so basically the whitefolk that this website talks about is mostly WASPy white. y’all know what that means? WASP = white anglo saxon protestant. that encompasses not just “race” (white) but also religion (protestant) and region (anglo and saxon… from anglia and saxony… etc.). the folks who came over from england, mostly.
it’s WASPy white culture that is the dominant culture here in the US. so just to say “jews are white! therefore they’re a part of the dominant culture!” is so facile, simplistic, superficial etc etc…
!!!
Yes, a jew is considered white provided he is from a etnic group that would be consodered white: Russian/German/Spanish etc. However, of he was a black Moroccan jew then he would be black.
Jews are a “nationality”. Look it up and ruminate.
Only if you have blue eyes and look the Jesus pictures we have hanging in our white living rooms, will you be able to qualify as “white”. Otherwise, you probably look like Judas or Barrabas and are therefore black. White people really like pointing out racial tension issues in the Bible.
I don’t have blonde hair or blue eyes, I’m Jewish, and you’d probably call me whitie if you saw me on the street. Jews aren’t black, we’re Semitic. The world ain’t that simple, banshee.
isn’t judaism a religion (not race)
Judaism is a race and a religion. You can convert to Judaism, but there is a long cultural heritage that is attributed to the Jewish ethnicity. You can be of Jewish descent, but not practice Judaism. The Jewish ethnicity is considered a middle eastern race, (I think, not 100% though) and a more interesting question is are Jews white? They may have white skin, or may not, but are they part of white culture? Is there even a white culture? Or is it jsut an amalgamation of other cultures that white people have conquered, forced to assimilate or extinguished entirely?
They may not be W.A.S.P. (White Anglo Saxton Protestants) but they are still “white”. White skin is white skin – which is WHITE. the U.S. Census Bureau considers you white as well as certain people of Middle Eastern descent due to your physical features and mostly white or almond skin tone. Pasty pale blondes and redheads aren’t the only “white people” Get over it, you’re white!
P.S. I’m half a Jew and have several Jewish friends and have never considered ourselves “non-white”
Thanks for reading…
whoa whoa whoa. i think you are forgetting the vast populations of jews of color. jews in india and jews in africa that have existed for hundreds and hundreds of generations. in fact, these jewish communities are some of the oldest jewish communities in the world. they were never affected by the holocaust because they are seen by their RACE and skin color first before the fact that they are jewish.
so yes, american, european and middle eastern jews are white, because they’re certainly not brown and they’re certainly not black. and they have not been treated, or forgotten, in the same way that the brown and black jews have been.
and what’s the point of american or middle eastern jews trying to claim that they’re not white?? are they trying to shed their white privilege and morph their identity..? because that’s something only a white person could do anyway….
i’m a jew. if jews are middle eastern and non-white, then i guess i’m not white, and therefore all jews are non-white. but — who says all jews are middle eastern or that all middle eastern people are non-white?
I have too much spare time like other white people so I looked up the demographic category for Middle Eastern people. According to US Census standards, they are categorized as “white”, therefore Jews are “white” too even if they are considered Middle Eastern.
Judism is not a race, never have and never will be. Just because the Jews wish it was a race, it is not. Check the REAL facts, not a wiki. Just because they have one of the highest incidents of Autism, and other diseases specific to them, it is still not a race. I have never seen it listed as a race on any of the food stamp applications, job application, or hand gun application. (damn thats a dangerous combination of forms to fill out).
Get real, next you gonna want special treatment at the Special Olympics. Two finger booger dig competition.
The real facts are that Jews are a race, they’re part of the Semitic family. Hence the word for hating Jews is “anti-Semitic”, rather than “anti-Jewish”. Also in the Semitic family are Arabs and Druze, amongst others. Most American and European Jews have long dilated bloodlines however, and are pretty much white (except by Nazi standards). Jewish bloodlines follow matrilineal heritage. If you’re mom’s a Jew, then so are you.
White people do in fact have a culture. One you can thank for the things like the Magna Carter, the Constitution, Democracy, Communism, Socialism, impressionism, harnessed nuclear fission, flight, gothic architecture, classical music, country music, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis, American Idol (sadly), Dry humor, Superman, MTV, Fiddle/Violin, Bag pipes, champagne, the sandwich, mashed potatoes. As with all cultures, there are pros and cons of equal magnitude. Don’t be mad that historically Europeans where better at government…
Wow. Did human history begin when Europeans became dominant? Did great civilizations with great cultures, multilingual people, music, literature, art, science, mathematics, medicine, law and good government not exist while much of Europe was, by comparison, barbarous and primitive, that is, before it learned to wage war, destroy other cultures, commit genocide and enslave the world for its resources?
If you’ll look up the definition of rock and roll you’ll find that it is a music form derived directly from blues, gospel, jazz, country music and rhythm and blues. You can hear all of these in the music of Elvis, the Stones and the Beatles. John Lennon learned to sing rock and roll from Little Richard, who tutored him. Elvis seems to have picked up a lot of great moves from Sam Cook. News while it’s news: Eric Clapton didn’t write “Crossroads.” Look up Robert Johnson and listen to where Clapton’s blues licks came from. He’ll be the first one to tell you. American rock music–and our culture== is not white people’s music. It’s American. That’s all of us, big guy.
Uh, and this blog is probably written by a person who understands irony and can laugh at him or herself. I don’t know what color they are. chill out, Eric, it’s irony. Do some reading, or something.
Magna Carter? Is she related to Jimmy?
Yes – younger sister. The family doesn’t talk about her much – she moved to Minnesota and works in a mall.
Wow…so many people on this site display not just the reason why both white people and America are viewed so dismally at times. First of, it is the “Magna Carta”…lets repeat that…Magna Carta. I wonder how many people on here even know what that piece of parchment actually describes.
Also, lets get our semantics and grammar correct as well (I mean, if you’re white, isn’t that the point anyways, aren’t you supposed to prove your superiority to the “uneducated, inarticulate minorities”). Yes, Europeans “were” better at “creating government” or “governing” – government is not a verb. (One could argue that Europeans still ARE better at governing; however, that is an entirely separate topic.)
Why can’t government be a verb?
I will government you if you continue the behavior. or When I government I fell amazing, like a fresh nicely smelling breeze!
that is really all I have.
Then we agree on the list, excellent. I’ll get my bi-lingual secretary to proof my posts next time.
Forgot tosay I mean I could probly make friend with a Jew, but since I dont right yet then I cannot ask one if their white or not.
Sorry for the double post.
I think you are white till proven Jewish… not usre how it works LOL
OK, here’s how it works.
White people think Jews are white. Black people think Jews are bastard whites. Assimilated Jews get fooled into thinking they’re white, but real Jews *KNOW* we’re not white and only pretend to act a little white so you white folks will tolerate us instead of thinking of us as “Arabs who don’t bomb things”.
This is really funny I’m really enjoying myself even with a triple post. I guess you can go ahead and enjoy a lot more self indulgence when you are here in Frisco, and white. LOL! OH that felt good, but don’t ask me what it was!
One more thing though if anyone has any questions about black people I can probably help you because I have a mess of black friends back home LOL
White people from San Fran never say “Frisco”. We can always spot the out of towners.
Locals never say “San Fran” either. They say “The City”. On that note, if you go to a Golden State Warrior game, you will see alot of people wearing “The City” gear. Since the Warriors play in Oakland, they call them the Golden State Warriors and not the Oakland Warriors. When the gear refers to “The City”, it really refers to the old San Francisco Warriors. People in the area would feel uncool if they had to actually represent Oakland. But as the blog says, white people like to think they are multicultural in San Francisco, even though they NEVER drive through Oakland.
It’s fun to say Frisco when you move away from it, though.
You are wrong.
it be b callin called the like sick frazzle or the ese effe or the you dont! thats the slang
Every time I hear Frisco I think of the city in Texas. :[
We also NEVER say San Fran.
White people don’t like Calling It Frisco, but we’re changing that. Callitfrisco dot com!
Then again you may just be spotting the people from the area who like tweaking the nose of all the white people who get all haughty about being from “The City.”
Oakland should be called the City and SF called West Bay
Fuck charlottesville. this is stuffsmalltownassholeslike.com
http://www.tucc.org
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