Whites acknowledging cultural differences
A friend of mine recently said something that could be construed as racist. I thought at first that it indeed was - an instinctual reaction as a white person, perhaps - and then I saw complexity in it.
The comment was made in response to an art piece made by a friend of mine, of south american descent, but born in the U.S. My friend looked at the artwork, which in my mind revealed no particular cultural aesthetic, and said, "It's so interesting how the latin american aesthetic is so vibrant." Attributing the fairly plain artwork to one's cultural heritage, in this instance, seemed rather ridiculous; there was simply nothing that screamed out any particular perspective or identity; much in the same way a photograph of grass might not reveal much about the cultural identity of the photographer.
I was quiet, but I was offended for the artist. I called up my artist friend and she laughed when I told her about the comment. I was relieved, but also apologetic for my friend, the art observer.
I've been programmed to think that any comment about non-white culture made by a white person - unless it lauds the discussed culture, or disses white culture in the process - is racist and suspect. This is bogus, I find more and more.
Doesn't every group make observations of people not in that group? What's different, say, about an older woman of Chinese descent generalizing about white people, than a woman of european-american descent making a comment about Chinese people? If, let's assume, the comment made by the white women is not informed by some racist paradigm that originated during a less-enlightened era, than, there is nothing different, I say.
Acknowledgment of difference is not bad. Yet, whites have been increasingly bred to think that it is, and to therefore be punished when making some innocuous observation to do with cultural heritage.
Lessons learned: these things are infinitely complex and layered. We must study things critically, and not be force-fed something just because it's delivered in the most socially acceptable or desirable form or ideology.
jem
The comment was made in response to an art piece made by a friend of mine, of south american descent, but born in the U.S. My friend looked at the artwork, which in my mind revealed no particular cultural aesthetic, and said, "It's so interesting how the latin american aesthetic is so vibrant." Attributing the fairly plain artwork to one's cultural heritage, in this instance, seemed rather ridiculous; there was simply nothing that screamed out any particular perspective or identity; much in the same way a photograph of grass might not reveal much about the cultural identity of the photographer.
I was quiet, but I was offended for the artist. I called up my artist friend and she laughed when I told her about the comment. I was relieved, but also apologetic for my friend, the art observer.
I've been programmed to think that any comment about non-white culture made by a white person - unless it lauds the discussed culture, or disses white culture in the process - is racist and suspect. This is bogus, I find more and more.
Doesn't every group make observations of people not in that group? What's different, say, about an older woman of Chinese descent generalizing about white people, than a woman of european-american descent making a comment about Chinese people? If, let's assume, the comment made by the white women is not informed by some racist paradigm that originated during a less-enlightened era, than, there is nothing different, I say.
Acknowledgment of difference is not bad. Yet, whites have been increasingly bred to think that it is, and to therefore be punished when making some innocuous observation to do with cultural heritage.
Lessons learned: these things are infinitely complex and layered. We must study things critically, and not be force-fed something just because it's delivered in the most socially acceptable or desirable form or ideology.
jem
posted by jemcollections at 9:19 PM
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