How should white people atone for their racism?

[Spiderman]

Recently I heard a black lady argue with a white lady and she said she takes no disrespect from any white person, because white people must atone for slavery.

I try to atone because that was what my Father used to do. He took us into slums of Chicago to work with Mother Teresa's Nuns feeding and caring for black people. I've lived at Saint Lukes mission of mercy in the ghetto of buffalo New York where white people give black folks free houses, free clothing, free money, free hygiene products, hundreds of meals every day, free dentists and healthcare clinics, and yet I heard so many hateful comments towards white people and was harassed for my ethnicity.

Repeatedly I go to the soup kitchen here and the majority of volunteers behind the counter are white, and the other line benefiting from their charity is primarily black. I have seen far more works of charity coming from white people and they don't make racial slurs. At least, almost never. I hear racial slurs from blacks regularly.

As a Franciscan I did similar works of charity. Also, where I am now, I give more money to African Americans than other ethnicities. Then I get treated like a sucker and a chump to be manipulated and I simply had to cease doing that because people I didn't even know were knocking on my door asking for sometimes even 10 to 40 dollars. I had a reputation of giving out money, and it came to haunt me, and honestly, I don't make hardly anything. I get general assistance and pan handle (but am looking for a job.)

Almost all the people that beg me for change wear nicer shoes and clothes than I do. One of them who got some money from me, and asked me for money repeatedly, so I said "This is the last time. I make just as much as you". He said, "no, I don't make just as much as you. I make more." He smiled and walked away, leaving me thinking WTF!

So, now, I just say, "I don't have money for you, but even if I did, I would not give it to you." It offends them, but I simply don't care anymore. Not to mention, I've heard far more racial slurs from black people than from white people. Extremely more! I've lived in ghettos, jails, and homeless shelters throughout life.

I'd bet I've interacted and lived with more African Americans than anyone on this forum, and many of them are great people, and some of them helped me out with money as well. It means a lot to me when that happens, and I never forget it, and always give them a blessing and gratitude for their kindness. I kid you not. I lost my virginity to a black girl, I've had a black judge, an awesome black public defender, I've got a black probation officer, and a black AA sponsor, and black peer specialist. They are friggin awesome and better people than myself.

I have no problem whatsoever with skin color. I wish I was darker lol. I just have a problem with certain behaviors and selective outrage that I see coming from black people that I don't see coming from every other race combined. I'm just wondering why there is such a huge double standard and hypocrisy that I find far more prevalent amongst one ethnicity.

So, if white people must atone for their harsh treatment of other races, how should we go about it? Let's not forget hundreds of thousands of white people that labored, suffered, and shed their blood to end slavery, and eventually end white privilege.

 

[Jainarayan]

 

[David1967]

I never owned a slave.....I don't need to atone for (mod edit) ****.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Recently I heard a black lady argue with a white lady and she said she takes no disrespect from any white person, because white people must atone for slavery.

I stopped reading here because I didn't own any slaves nor am I racist.

I, personally, am ready and willing to help anyone in need that is willing to work with me in helping themselves.

 

[LuisDantas]

While there is something to be said about historical debts, there is also a lot to be said about not accepting grief for mistakes that were not ours in the first place.

Before that, even, we all owe ourselvers a modicum of self-respect and self-acceptance. If for no other reason, because emotional integrity is exceedingly helpful in actually attaining constructive goals.

 

[Jainarayan]

I stopped reading here because I didn't own any slaves.

I, personally, am ready and willing to help anyone in need that is willing to work with me in helping themselves.

 

[Spirit of Light]

we are all human beings, skin color does not matter, we should treat each other the same

 

[Stanyon]

Ever wonder why we don't hear much about reparations for slavery except for every four years or so....around election time?
I don't, I know why

 

[Nakosis]

Recently I heard a black lady argue with a white lady and she said she takes no disrespect from any white person, because white people must atone for slavery.

I try to atone because that was what my Father used to do. He took us into slums of Chicago to work with Mother Teresa's Nuns feeding and caring for black people. I've lived at Saint Lukes mission of mercy in the ghetto of buffalo New York where white people give black folks free houses, free clothing, free money, free hygiene products, hundreds of meals every day, free dentists and healthcare clinics, and yet I heard so many hateful comments towards white people and was harassed for my ethnicity.

Repeatedly I go to the soup kitchen here and the majority of volunteers behind the counter are white, and the other line benefiting from their charity is primarily black. I have seen far more works of charity coming from white people and they don't make racial slurs. At least, almost never. I hear racial slurs from blacks regularly.

As a Franciscan I did similar works of charity. Also, where I am now, I give more money to African Americans than other ethnicities. Then I get treated like a sucker and a chump to be manipulated and I simply had to cease doing that because people I didn't even know were knocking on my door asking for sometimes even 10 to 40 dollars. I had a reputation of giving out money, and it came to haunt me, and honestly, I don't make hardly anything. I get general assistance and pan handle (but am looking for a job.)

Almost all the people that beg me for change wear nicer shoes and clothes than I do. One of them who got some money from me, and asked me for money repeatedly, so I said "This is the last time. I make just as much as you". He said, "no, I don't make just as much as you. I make more." He smiled and walked away, leaving me thinking WTF!

So, now, I just say, "I don't have money for you, but even if I did, I would not give it to you." It offends them, but I simply don't care anymore. Not to mention, I've heard far more racial slurs from black people than from white people. Extremely more! I've lived in ghettos, jails, and homeless shelters throughout life.

I'd bet I've interacted and lived with more African Americans than anyone on this forum, and many of them are great people, and some of them helped me out with money as well. It means a lot to me when that happens, and I never forget it, and always give them a blessing and gratitude for their kindness. I kid you not. I lost my virginity to a black girl, I've had a black judge, an awesome black public defender, I've got a black probation officer, and a black AA sponsor, and black peer specialist. They are friggin awesome and better people than myself.

I have no problem whatsoever with skin color. I wish I was darker lol. I just have a problem with certain behaviors and selective outrage that I see coming from black people that I don't see coming from every other race combined. I'm just wondering why there is such a huge double standard and hypocrisy that I find far more prevalent amongst one ethnicity.

So, if white people must atone for their harsh treatment of other races, how should we go about it? Let's not forget hundreds of thousands of white people that labored, suffered, and shed their blood to end slavery, and eventually end white privilege.

Being a racist is not against the law. Benefiting from White privilege (whatever that is) is not against the law. So nothing to atone for.

However the Black lady is right, she should be accepting disrespect from anyone, Black, White, whatever color. Does this mean that if she were being disrespected by a Black lady she'd be ok with that?

So she shouldn't be being disrespected but her reasoning is lame.

 

[Revoltingest]

I never owned a slave.....I don't need to atone for (mod edit) ****.

Face it....you're guilty.
Someone with your shade of skin owned someone of their shade of skin 200 years ago.

 

[sooda]

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Towards atonement what we should do is try to be outgoing and friendly, but not everybody is talented in this area. Some people are socially challenged, but everybody can do their bit. Just try to look past differences.

 

[Revoltingest]

Ever wonder why we don't hear much about reparations for slavery except for every four years or so....around election time?
I don't, I know why

Cuz that's when the sort of person who believes politicians'
promises becomes briefly useful to those politicians.

 

[Salvador]

White people should atone for their racism by hiring minorities, doing business with them, watching basketball, gaming Indian Casinos, listening to rap music or hip hop songs, having some few black friends on Facebook; basically, whites should be doing what I've done to show I'm hardly racist.

 

[Spiderman]

we are all human beings, skin color does not matter, we should treat each other the same

Yes.

I do not disagree with you, but am frustrated with certain behaviors. As I said, I have also met so many black people who I consider better people than myself.

Because of the environments I live in, I do indeed get discriminated against, threatened, and hit.

For the sake of being fair, I've lived in slums. I'm sure poverty has a lot to do with those behaviors, not ethnicity.

 

[Revoltingest]

White people should atone for their racism by hiring minorities, doing business with them, watching basketball, gaming Indian Casinos, listening to rap music or hip hop songs, having some few black friends on Facebook; basically, whites should be doing what I've done to show I'm hardly racist.

You ask too much.
Rap music...really?

 

[Salvador]

You ask too much.
Rap music...really?

I rhyme right to my rapper delight ....

 

[Enoch07]

Face it....you're guilty.
Someone with your shade of skin owned someone of their shade of skin 200 years ago.

Sure white folk owned brown folk. They also bought those brown folk, from other brown folk that captured and killed most of that slaves tribe, who captured, killed, and sold those slaves, rinse repeat for 1,000+ years before white man ever showed up.

But hey the white folk is the only guilty ones in the equation.

 

[Revoltingest]

Sure white folk owned brown folk. They also bought those brown folk, from other brown folk that captured and killed most of that slaves tribe, who captured, killed, and sold those slaves, rinse repeat for 1,000+ years before white man ever showed up.

But hey the white folk is the only guilty ones in the equation.

That's not going to be a popular narrative in
any political party courting brown folk for 2020.

 

[Quintessence]

You know, it's sad.

For the most part, I'm race blind. The only reason I care at all about race is because others around me keep talking about it and making such a big deal about it. Social norms pressure me into thinking it something I should care about too. I try to ignore it as much as possible, because I see how it changes my thinking about things in directions that I do not like. I like being race blind and not giving a crap about any of it. It means I treat people as people, full stop.

On that note, I'm going to proceed to ignore this thread from here forward.