I often hear black people say, usually with a lighthearted smile, that the ‘white man is keeping the black man down’.
To me this is interesting because:
- I, personally, have never met a white person who has expressed a desire to keep black people down;
- and even if a white person did want to keep black people down, it is highly unlikely that they are actually in an authoritative position to do so anyway ( after all, probably 99% of white people are simply workers themselves );
- and what exactly would a white person gain? Is it not true that for any position that is denied to a black person there will inevitably be someone else trying to acquire that same position?
I make this point not to be inflammatory, but because I just think that it is an interesting point. Of course now with Obama being elected ( which includes my vote ), hopefully this point is outdated.
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Black people believe that white people want to keep them down because, for so long, it was true.
That was a long time ago, though. Here’s the rub: there are a bunch of black “leaders” such as Al Sharpton and Louis Farrakhan, who earn their livings by keeping their flocks solidly inside their own corral. To do this, they preach about how “the man” won’t let the blacks succeed. Since the blacks believe the preaching, they don’t try to succeed. Since they don’t try, they fail. Self-fulfilling prophecy.
I don’t like Obama the least little bit, but he does seem to be even-handed about the victimhood agenda. He wants it for everybody, regardless of race, color, or creed.
The reason black people say or feel that is because it is true. Oppression is systemic and does not need individual acts of meanness to thrive. It exists in institutionalized norms and standards, of which we are not often conscious. Individual white people don’t have to be oppressive because the systems are. White people might not actively, individually, keep black people down; it is not unintentional, and for the most part, white people remain oblivious to it because they don’t have to think about it.
Here is a link to a good article about white privilege from one woman’s perspective. http://www.case.edu/president/aaction/UnpackingTheKnapsack.pdf
Unfortunately, Obama is not the cure. He is one man who represents a step in the direction towards equity. Until the systems and norms evolve, black people (and other races) will be oppressed, as will women, homosexuals, people with disabilities, people living in poverty, etc.
Blah Blah Blah. The responses are exactly as expected. “White people do hold black people down.” Blah freaking blah. Get over yourselves. And guess what…I’m NOT white!
The statist in this blog are erroneous.
The “White man” trying to “hold me down” is more a generic metaphor for oppression than it is a descriptive statement. Just like when someone says “The man” he or she is not literally talking about every single man.
There’s some truth behind the generic saying but your question assumes the phrase is meant to be literal and so it misses an opprotunity to discuss the real meaning.
Well, I do not think that Obama being elected makes racism go away. The US has racism as a big part of it’s history; however, the election of Obama shows that there are more people who do not share that sentiment anymore.
First of all you need to look at the person who is making the statement. Is that person, a lazy bum who wants things handed to him/her or s/he is sprouting “hand me down” racist views.
I know that as much as American has made strides in the racial department, there is still the closed door racism in certain places ie. school, certain jobs etc: the glass ceiling effect where a person will be overlooked repeatedly and therefore will not progress beyond a certain point due to colour of skin.
Overall, I do not believe the statement that blacks are barred by whites to be true. I say pay attention to the person making that statement and you will have a better understanding that most times (not all)they are just wanting an excuse for their failures. PS that is not a statement most working black people use.