Race isn't something you finish.

[raybear]

I would be pleased as punch if you took the time to answer my poll. Please answer the one that fits best, even if it's not completely accurate. Feel free to leave additional comments if you need to qualify an answer, but don't skip one. If you don't want to answer one question, I'd prefer if you skipped the entire poll.

The questions are geared more towards white people, but anyone is welcome to answer. I'd love to compare and contrast, even if I'm no sociologist and this isn't a perfect sample.

[Poll #55034]

Comments

[clockwatcher.livejournal.com]

what do your friends of color think of your liberal self-righteous rainbow alliance pride? I know you said this tongue in cheek, but it's an interesting question to me seriously.... on how to be a white ally without being more progressive than thou.



jessie

[raybear.livejournal.com]

my "liberal pride", shall we say for short, is generally kept away from my relationships with people of color and more often than not comes up in my relationships with other white people. it wouldn't really occur to me to say to some random black person "well, my best friend is black" (not that i haven't been guilty of this in the past, it's more that i've worked through that issue so it doesn't come up as much), but it does sometimes pop in my head when talking to other white people, as a way of showing how open, liberal, cool, down, etc. i am.

for me personally, i generally just try to remind myself that i'm not a cured white person who now sees no color or engages in racist behavior -- i'm still operating within the systemic racist institution and dealing with my own cultural conditionings, so i just remind myself constantly that i'm not immune and i have to keep moving forward.

but it's fine line between trying to communicate that your ally without being self-righteous. for the most part i try and let my actions and politics speak for themselves without giving lots of qualifiers and references.