All have culture, so don't dismiss mine because of my color...

People are not going to be pleased with this, but, what if…..someone asked you to think?

What if someone asked you to think beyond an easy descriptor, to be conscientious about you use that descriptor, and if need be, take the extra time to learn about someone you don’t know to AVOID using said descriptor?

Sounds…problematic, yes? It sounds like it would be a thing you could keep up for one, maybe two days. Better yet, one or two encounters. Especially when you consider this next statement.

These descriptors are NOT inherently offensive, but can be viewed as such in less time it takes a kitten to sneeze.

It is an interesting quandary, isn’t it? I have thought so, and it is something that I happened to make either, A, make a mistake in even talking about, or B, had far too much expectation in the audience who received my thoughts to be objective or critical or bothering to try to understand what was being said at all. To myself, it makes perfect sense. To them, complete and utter Helvetian: You can insert whatever dead or forgotten language from 2000 years ago here if you have a preference.

So, I suppose, I shall ask it here, in writing, in text. This medium seems to be more forgiving.

Well, I imagine a lot is more forgiving than trying to break down a ridiculous and racial statement made by a person on the other side of the continent (or next door, who knows) via TikTok, in 60 seconds (more like 50) and have ANYONE be able to follow along.

SO, If I were to tell you that the statement “White People have no culture” was racist, what would your first thought be? Would you be willing to hear what I would say after? Would you accuse me of being racist, tell me to stop talking/advocating/discussing anything involving people of color because I myself was not the right color? Would you argue the point with me, despite details backing up my argument, by saying that an indigenous European group has culture, but “white people” do not? Would you get into immediate arguments with others and start using profanity, insults and such?

That is a rather rambling scene, but that was exactly what happened.

And I should have known better: Really, when I approach a thought process like this, I run at 90 and consider way beyond the descriptor words and attempt to quantify why such a statement is wrong. The rest of the world, not intentionally, runs at about…..10. Might be a bit light for some, might be incredibly generous to others…but 10 seems to be comfortable.

Anyway, I say that the statement of “White People don’t have culture” or “Don’t have culture like black people” is incredibly racist. I should also mention that I don’t put really any credence into this notion of Race. Humans are human, regardless of coloration or physical adaptation to their environment. Now, because I am an anthropologist, and have such a recognition of the fallacy of the notion of “Race” I can process this thinking better. Who knows?

“Race” is an outdated term and thought process that went from describing differences in people simply to differentiate between who you were talking about, to justifying atrocities, to a descriptor of culture and country (Theodore Roosevelt, as Undersecretary of the Navy during his push for the Spanish American War, oft referred to the notion of an “American Race”, bolstered more by political and zeal about National Identity than ethnic differences). “Race” in my mind is BARELY suitable for paperwork at an employer, the census, or on your taxes to give the government bean counters some demographic numbers.

Honestly, Race should only apply to what cars, horses, and little children in PE class do when measuring speed.

But I digress, this is not so cut and dried as “3,2,1 Go!”

And that is because I stand here and watch people say White, Black, Asian, Indigenous, etc., with out any further thought, and I can see why: Initial identification and recognition of the person in front of them. Ok, I can see it...no intentional racial issues...

But then say stuff like “white people have no culture” with the SAME dismissal and without further thought.

I take offense to that. Why? The terms are not offensive? Well, step into how one like me sees this.

“White”, as a term, is a broad range descriptor used to describe anyone of either European origin, Europeans themselves, or people who fall into the “Caucasian” Racial group. It is a total, all encompassing term, right? Easy to remember, saves people from having to know much else about others, and is, well, accurate. My skin is white, so therefore, I am “White.”

NO.

A resounding no. To say “White People” is just as racist as saying “Black People”. You are using the FIRST thing you see to describe those individuals. Society has not caught up with recognizing this, partially because it is EASY to use color or obvious difference as a background. Societal Norms: White people are white, Black are black, Indian are Indian, so forth and so on.

I see it as a complete dismissal of who or what I am to just say that I am white.

Lets use me as an example of how colorful, if you will, the reality is. My country of origin (where I myself was born) is America, there for, I'm American. My Ethnic background is European. Which in turn Scottish and Irish. Which in turn goes back to the fact that the Irish and the Scottish have influences from the Vikings (actually another blanket term for a number of distinct cultural groups), the Normans, the Saxons, Jutes and Angles, then break down into various tribal groups that go back to prior to the Romans showing up. Which means that I am not White. It means that I am Caledonian, Iceni and Pict. And further beyond that, La Tene Celtic from the Iron Age, and beyond that a lost and unknown group whose original cultural identity disappeared to the sands of time and memory who were probably really good at taking down mammoth on the great plain that is now the North Sea and English Channel.

Mmmm, tasty mammoth.

I get that this is a mouthful, and someone random out in the world is not going to know or make the effort to know or even care. Its too hard to say all of that, and the mix that is me is not something that they are going to ask about. It is easier to say white.

Lets look at some easier examples then.

Vikings: There is a hit TV SHOW that has single handedly gotten the last two generations interested and some what familiar with this unique and distinct CULTURAL group. To the point that the religion that these people practiced a millennia ago is seeing a resurgence to the point that you can put it on your dog tags in the military. To the point that details about their culture is READILY recognized by Joe Q. Public as he walks down the street. No longer is this the realm of historians and ren-faire nerds and researchers: Everybody recognizes it.

Celtic Peoples: The Irish and the Scottish are the most readily recognized, with their kilts and whiskey and cultural heritage of telling the British to pound sand to the point of war, attrition and attempts at independence. Susan Q. Public has a crush on the Outlander Scotsman in his kilt, the kids know who and what the Lucky Charms Mascot is right before getting cracked out on the sugar content, and Joe Public probably says he is Irish, has an Irish Grandma or has a Celtic knotwork tattoo. Yes, I'm being a bit ridiculous, but here is the thing: NO ONE mistakes leprechauns and Kilts and Celtic knotwork and whiskey and Guinness or William Wallace for, say Italian Culture.

Italians: Not to break them down to a few words on purpose, but Italian food is so distinct that people who have never SEEN an Italian know what it is. Mario and his buddy Luigi are two ridiculous videogame characters invented in JAPAN, and EVERYONE knows without a second thought they are Italian, and don’t mistake them for, say, the French.

The French: Famous for Wine, Passion, the Language of LOVE, baguette, those little hats and being snobbish, I guess. That’s the stereotype, but if you tell a Frenchman his wine is as good as English or California wine, he might stab you with his cigarette before throwing you in the Seine. I suppose, though, you should have shared some swiss chocolate with him.

The Swiss: famous for putting their stamp on creating confectionary made of a plant from the other side of the globe! Recognizable for probably being the first people to come up with the notion you can strap planks to your feet and sail at breakneck speeds to you death at the bottom of a sheer mountain face in the snow.

The Greeks: Democracy. The Greek Spartans gave us laconic speech, the statement of “Molon Labe “ and our earliest recorded military accounts and some of the most riveting and exciting epics ever written, as well as a pantheon of gods that are distinct to them, so much that when the Romans borrowed them, there was no confusion on who did what, even with the name changes.

This is a ramble, because I'm getting out of hand and a little ridiculous: Never the less, I want to know if you see the similarities here.

They are European Cultures. Food, music, personal identity, Religion, history, government. All of these hallmarks that fall under the description of “CULTURE” as seen in the dictionary.

They are, as everyone is willing to swiftly point out, White. White is the description for Europeans, right? Europeans, when that word is said, you think “white”. Despite the racial diversity of Europe in the year 2020, the IMMEDIATE, DEFAULT and SINGULAR descriptor for them is white.

Americans of European decent: White.

South Africans of European Decent: White.

Australians of European Decent: White.

No one will mistake me for an Indigenous American. No one will mistake me for an African-American, or Asian-American, or anything.

Everyone will, by default, call me white.

This is where it lands in the general population’s court, and they fail to recognize their OWN ignorance here. Would I call it ignorance? Yes, innocent and yet societally groomed by a simple desire to simplify a description, yes.

SO, when someone, regardless of race, says “White People”, I automatically infer that they are referring to Europeans and European Origin peoples. And when they say “White People have no culture”, they are saying that Europeans have no culture. That insults me. That insults where I come from, regardless of how far back it goes or where. That is a statement that uses a RACIAL term to put one “race” down, while raising another.

Now, before you get bent out of shape, realize this: There is no better cultural group. WE ARE ALL EQUAL. WE ALL HAVE CULTURE.

However, to throw this statement out in a way that infers that one racial group (again, based on societies generalized and widely accepted terminology) has no culture, and another racial group does, throws this notion of Equality right out the goddamn window. When you do that, there is no progress, no hope of change, because people allow themselves to perpetuate the issue without any sort of acknowledgment, and then the virus spreads. Fitting….

BELIEVE ME, THIS IS NOT EASY TO COMPREHEND. Takes some serious thinking and requires one to be aware of the world around them. I’m asking and hoping a slice of the world’s population will readily be willing to acknowledge their own part in it, and want to consider anything at all.

For me to ask that is akin to pissing on a volcano to put it out.

Now, I want to say some other things here that make sense from my perspective.

I think saying “Black Culture” is just as problematic as saying “white culture”. “Black” is used to describe Africans and African-American and African-European interchangeably. There are African-Americans in this country who are NOT descended from enslaved people, but they are African. To say “Black Culture” is dismissive of immigrants who came here of their own free will, and dismissive of cultural identities and practices that still exist in their native, unchanged form in Africa, or new ones that developed because of the changes in our world that are unique to the African Continent.

African-Americans descended from enslaved individuals: Enslaved peoples still had distinct cultural differences, even while enslaved. This is not condoning slavery in the slightest: it is an observation that culture does not die totally. Their food, their singing, how they wore their hair, use of talismans and superstitions and belief systems, those do not just vanish. They did change, yes, but they did not disappear: Louisiana Voodoo is a belief system that has origins in Africa, is singularly unique because of how it developed. Modern Day African-American Culture is prevalent in music, identity, clothing, language, food and interaction. And it differs incredibly based on WHERE it is in the United States. Soul Food and Gospel music are not attributed to African American culture outside of the South, but NO one mistakes it for something else. Rap culture is distinct based on what side of the continent you are on. Social Identities differ on which cities you are in. To just pile all of these distinct and unique cultural facets and attributes under the blanket, generalized term of “Black Culture”, you are being dismissive of the process that created them, the people who practice them, and the identity that is tied to them.

You also would be called a raging racist if you were to say that “Black people don't have culture”. You’d be run out of town, threatened, reported: Might even get fired or suspended from your job. At this point, also, you will be called a racist if you ask this question:

"Why do black people have culture, and white people do not?"

That probably would go over as well as smoking a cigar while strolling around in a hydrogen factory. Hindenburg knows. But, it does highlight the disparity of trying to say that. I just pointed out that "white" vs "black" as generic terms for people is dismissive to both groups. So, why do people try to justify saying one group does and one group does not?

Indigenous cultures are the same: When someone says “indigenous people”, my response is “well which one?” Thanks to my experience and educational background, I know that there are hundreds of distinct groups and cultural identities that are NOT the same as others. I worked a project where there were people representing 3 separate tribes, and the mood was frosty to down right racial hatred between them: To just blanket term them in each others presence as “Indigenous” and not give their unique identities and names acknowledgment would probably have landed one a beating from someone, or at least, getting removed from the project/fired.

By the way, notice how we have gotten away from colors as a description? I really don’t have to detail that out, do I?

Now, I really could keep going with this: Asian-Americans (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Hmong, Vietnamese), Mexican-Americans/Latinos, etc. Blanket terms that dismiss cultural origins or ethnicities or identities based on the FIRST thing you see.

But I won’t. Because the screaming will be too loud, and no one wants to hear. I will have enraged those who see the buzzwords and have lost their objectivity to try and listen and consider words. If you have gotten this far, well, I will have to send you a prize.

That said, I will close with this thought, which makes sense to me, and maybe, wont come off as complete gibberish.

I hate using words like “white” or “black”. I do not see that. My eyes might register ethnicity or ‘race’, as much as I hate that word, but in my mind, there is no physical difference. Each person is a unique thing, a sum of culture, ethnic background, history, experiences, and choices. I don’t see a color: I see a human, a human who’s story might start in Africa, or Japan, or Arizona, but a human none the less.

NO one is better. No one is taller. No one is worth more than another.

Statements like “White people have no culture”, regardless of the speaker’s intentions or point of view, is goddamn wrong. I don’t care what you mean, what the reason for saying it is, or what you are trying to explain. You want to make a statement, don’t use blanket terms to illustrate it. In my mind, that is lazy, inconsiderate, and yes, racially driven: And you don’t even know it because you wont open your eyes to see what you are saying.

Maybe its my training. Maybe my career, maybe my upbringing. Maybe my soul just old and I’ve see it all already…..I can’t tell you.

But god damn…… we have a long, long way to go as a species.