Hi,
This stuff has been bugging me for a long time.
This summer there was a terror attack in the city I live in.
Two of my friends, and even my psychologist, all of them white, has said that they are so happy that it was a white guy who was the terrorist. When I ask them why, they say that it would be very difficult to be brown skinned like me, to live here in Norway, if it was a brown skinned terrorist.
And that makes me start to think. Why would I be made responsible for other peoples acts, just because I am not white?
I don't go around and blame white people for what other white people are doing? So why would I have to accept to being a recipient for other peoples fears and hate?
What also makes me wonder is, are my friends and psychologist really talking about what they think how other white people would react to brown people, or are they really only projecting their own racism onto other white people?
I feel it's like threat, when they say that I am lucky that it was a white terrorist... it really makes me wonder why they are saying that?
I am not going around and blaming white people for the terror, so I'm wondering maybe it is a trait with people to collectively punish people of other skin colours?
Your insights are appreciated.
Edward
Maybe because of the cultural differences? And that sometimes it's difficoult for people of different cultures to really understand each other. What one doesn't understand often gets rejected or blamed etc... At least that's how I feel it.
I had a similar reaction when I red that some people said it was good that it was a white person... I'm white though, pretty pale skin:P What I figured when I red the statement was that then our society would stop blaming black or brown people for everything and achnowledge that white people too, are capable of doing things like that... But don't know whether I intuitively interpreted anything or not. At least that's what I got from it.
When I got a phone from my father shortly after they had caught the man, one of the things he haid puzzled me: "At least we don't have the same last name as him." I thought, "huh, what would that matter?"
But it does say something...
Hi Edward,
Interesting topic, when we heard about the attack in Norway, my parents thought it was unfortunate, but also commented that they were glad that it wasn’t the Arabs who did it (I’m born in AUS but my parents were born in the Middle East). I bet every other race was thinking the same thing.
It feels to me like your friends made that comment rather innocently though, like they said it more out of concern for you because they were aware that racism exists in Norway and they don’t want you to be discriminated against. They want you to be treated well.
It’s just that most people have a tendency to generalise and make judgements and there is racism in the world. It’s like when I travelled to the US earlier this year. Try getting through customs when you fit the profile of a young middle-eastern male… It was fine but they make sure you’re searched just that little bit more.
From a different angle, discrimination and racism can also be a good teacher in a way. For example, when I’m being discriminated against, I can choose how to react and have a chance to find out were my issues are. Hypothetically, if I have no self image then there’s nothing there to react, so I don’t really have a problem either way. If I’m not at that place (which I’m not) then discrimination still serves me and I’m glad that its there.
We also get a chance to feel compassion for people full of hate and violence that commit acts of racism. They really have a lot of issues and are on their own learning curve. I heard that after September 11 there was a huge jump in the frequency of the earth’s magnetic field as a result of the millions of people pouring out love to the Americans in that moment. That’s about all I can think of at the moment…
Peace, Robin
Thank you for your response.
Robin, it was good for me to hear this from you. You're the same age as me, and since I have no colored male friends, it was good to read your experiences and your way of looking at things.
This does not seem to be problem for me anymore, and I'm happy again :)
Edward