The Panthers weren't fighting segregation, they were fighting discrimination. It's fairly well documented that many Panther leaders were fighting for "separate but equal".
You needn't feel white guilt, but living in the first world, a world built on the back of slavery, genocide and colonialism, and sustained by more modern versions of the same, you need to at least be aware that your prosperity is built on the pain of others; whether that makes you feel guilty is up to you. As I mention below, issues of class are often conflated as issues of race in the USA.
Of course, I do acknowledge that horrible aspect of our country's past,
This is really key. This is why people think the left are trying to make white people feel guilty. It's not about making people feel guilty, it's about finally being truthful about the past. The issue is that when many people are confronted with the truth about the past it not only makes them feel guilty, but it attacks beliefs that are core to their sense of self, especially if they are heavily invested in jingoistic patriotism. Saying that the US has committed atrocities in the past is akin to telling some people you fucked their mum and they react accordingly. It's not about guilt, it's about truth and acknowledgement that the past has an influence on the present.
(Also, I'm being UScentric her because of the nature of the audience, but this is an issue that I will rip my own culture to shreds on; Australia has a past that is South Africa bad).
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Date: 15/7/11 02:02 (UTC)You needn't feel white guilt, but living in the first world, a world built on the back of slavery, genocide and colonialism, and sustained by more modern versions of the same, you need to at least be aware that your prosperity is built on the pain of others; whether that makes you feel guilty is up to you. As I mention below, issues of class are often conflated as issues of race in the USA.
Of course, I do acknowledge that horrible aspect of our country's past,
This is really key. This is why people think the left are trying to make white people feel guilty. It's not about making people feel guilty, it's about finally being truthful about the past. The issue is that when many people are confronted with the truth about the past it not only makes them feel guilty, but it attacks beliefs that are core to their sense of self, especially if they are heavily invested in jingoistic patriotism. Saying that the US has committed atrocities in the past is akin to telling some people you fucked their mum and they react accordingly. It's not about guilt, it's about truth and acknowledgement that the past has an influence on the present.
(Also, I'm being UScentric her because of the nature of the audience, but this is an issue that I will rip my own culture to shreds on; Australia has a past that is South Africa bad).