This one took forever to draw, much longer than I expected even given the number of panels. That I kept on having to interrupt drawing so I could go to “work” definitely didn’t help. ((I was originally going to have all of last week off, but then the Unitarian Church’s wedding coordinator got sick so they asked me to substitute for her for a few weddings. Yes, that’s right, I’m a wedding coordinator for a living.))
Probably I should color this cartoon, and maybe I will someday; but that would be at least another day’s work, and right now I can’t face that. :-P Anyhow, I think it looks good in black and white. ((Although, as regular “Alas” readers know by now, I always like my cartoons for the first few days after I draw them; the horror and “oh my god, what was I on when I drew that?” will come later.))
I’m gonna put off posting this on ZNet for a day or two, since once a cartoon’s up on ZNet there’s no way for me to modify or correct it. So if you notice any misspellings please let me know.
UPDATE: Livejournal discussion of “White Lies” here.
Eva, maideleh, worry no more. The delightful Dr. Kamau Kambon has come with a comprehensive — FINAL — solution to this pressing problem.
There’s a very simple (a caveman could do it) way to avoid being accused of antisemitism while criticizing Israel: to critisize Israel WITHOUT being antisemitic.
Amp
Its important because fairness is important. Because its important for people to be accountable for their own decisions (good or bad) and no one elses. As we have been reminded so often since 9/11 not all Muslims are fanatical terrorists, though some argue that profiling all of them is unfortunate but necessary. The Japanese that were interred in the US were not at war with us, though some have argued it served the greater good.
Amp
I wasn’t talking about “white people” I was discussing one person who happens to be white. OK, you don’t give a crap about Mr. White as an individual person, I understand that. But you don’t even seem to see Mr. White as an individual at all. His worth to you as a human being seems to lie solely in what ever groups be belongs to and how they fit into your political philosophy. Fair enough, to each’s own. I happen to think that’s wrong.
“if Mr. White is systematically given unfair advantages”
Was given by whom? Society, the system, etc, is just a collection of individuals making individual decisions. Each accountable for their own.
Nobody.Really I read your reply. It was interesting. I will think about it more before replying.
If you ironically exaggerate something, and people react to what they perceive as exaggeration, who takes the blame for that?
I mean, if you believe, and write, that a lot of people say “I cannot be a racist because I’m…” then that’s one thing.
But if you knew that people usually say “I am not a racist because…” and you wrote “…cannot be…” intending to exaggerate, then that’s different.
And if you responded (or prompted others to respond) to folks who didn’t like “cannot be” in a way that conflated their protests with racism, even if you personally considered your original statements to be exaggeration, then that’s dishonest.
I don’t know the degree to which that happened, though your recent response makes me more curious.
When I first read the cartoon, I thought quite a bit of the “lies” were exaggerated mischaracterizations. That’s just the “way” of editorial cartoons from both sides. I agree with many (not all) of the underlying points, but it seemed inaccurate on many fronts.
Since the thread is dying and less likely to derail at this point…
#10: Certainly happens. however, in the context it comes up, it is less often “…has nothing to do with us” and more often “…has less to do with me than (the other person) is implying.” I note Eva’s comment at #80, I may not be responsible for institutional racism that was created before I was born, but… and this seems correct. If someone tells me that my family’s be been benefiting from slavery for centuries, it isn’t true. Does that fact change my OTHER obligations w/r/t privilege, racism, etc? No. But it’s still not true.
#9: You left out the rest of the sentence as it is commonly used and/or implied: “…solely on account of their race.” Illegal immigrants, for example, are judged on their ACTIONS (immigrating illegally,) not on their race. Arabs are often judged solely on their race, though this isn’t accepted and is properly regarded as racism. Plenty of groups are insulted based on race though it isn’t “acceptable;” plenty of groups are insulted in an acceptable fashion based on non-race. Can you list another race than whites which it is “ok” to insult based on race?
#8 No exaggeration here, IMO.
#7 It usually comes up as “…so I’m NOT racist,” not “…so I CAN’T BE racist.” I’ve got no debate that those things listed don’t prove one is a non-racist. Do you mean to imply that they’re irrelevant to being non-racist, or insufficient to demonstrate someone is non-racist?
#6 Well, we should be talking about it. Which IMO requires, at the most, one sentence: “Yes, it exists in rare instances; no, it’s not functionally relevant; no, it’s not even vaguely as much of a problem as racism against POC; and please, can we get back on topic now?” Mostly, it’s useful to know where your conversational partners stand. Intellectually speaking, who wants to even talk with someone that can’t understand the absolutely minimal aspects of your argument?
You can’t have a real discussion about the merits or morality of the draft with someone who refuses to admit there is a single con to anyone, including draftees. You can’t have a real discussion about the merits or morality of abortion choice with someone who refuses to admit that there is a single instance when an abortion would ever possibly be beneficial. And you can’t have a real discussion about race with someone who can only see one side of the pros or cons of any particular question.
#5: I know this happens; i agree with the cartoon. Though I think it’s about an even split in practice. Some folks argue that consciousness is everything–no intent, no guilt. Some folks argue that consciousness is IRRELEVANT–actions alone dictate racism. I think that arguing for consciousness to be relevant is quite different from arguing for it to be solely controlling
#4: Well, sure, it IS often unfair. Try “disproving” racism, sometime (good luck, see #7…) There are many non-racist reasons to be against immigration, and many more to be against illegal immigration. FAR too many pro-illegal-immigration people use the “racist!” attack when it’s not justified. It’s too big a deal to be assumed at the outset.
#3-1: I like these and they don’t seem exaggerated at all.
Isnt the problem with Mr. Shopkeeper rather than Mr. White?
And you really, truly have no idea what Ms. White can do? Perhaps Ms. White can stop giving her money to the racist shopkeeper and tell the shopkeeper why, for example. You seem to be investing an awful lot of energy in jumping up and down and shrieking NOT MY FAULT!!!1!! rather than recognizing that a) there is a problem and b) it doesn’t have to be your fault for you to be able to help solve it.
Nonserviam,
Your comment toward Eva is bizarre and condescending, not to mention the logical problems with insinuating that people of color are about to put all white people in death camps (and, further, your insinuation she would approve of this).
Please apologize to her in your next comment.
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Larry in 103: The Japanese that were interred in the US were not at war with us, though some have argued it served the greater good.
The Germans and Italians were at war with us, too. The Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, and other immigrants from countries around Japan were not at war with us. However, people of German and Italian ancestry were NOT interred, while people of Chinese and Vietnamese ancestry WERE.
You said at the beginning of that paragraph that fairness is important. Why is it that fairness is only important when the person in question is white? Or do you consider it fair for a third generation Chinese immigrant to be thrown into an internment camp because people are afraid of the Japanese?
Amp, if you ever redo this you might want to put on in for
“The Irish, Italians, and Poles used to be discriminated against also!”
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I am not insinuating anything, Mandolin. I’m simply taking the kuddly Kamau Kambon at his word.
Condescension is the least harsh response that Eva’s revelling in collective guilt — “guilty of racism by virtue of being white” — merits.
Nonserviam, you certainly were insinuating something, just as Mandolin says; you jut lack the courage to admit it. That’s pathetic, but it’s not our problem.
Mandolin is a moderator here; she told you what you needed to do to stay. You refused to do it. Therefore, you’re banned. Please don’t attempt to post comments on this blog any longer.
I don’t get panel #3.
Nobody.really,
I’m someone who is trying to shed a lot of racist mental baggage. Part of that involves consciously taking into account the ethnicity of a non-white person when dealing with him/her in order to know that my own prejudices are there and hopefully short-circuit them. Taking account of someone’s ethnicity so as to avoid treating them as a manifestation of the color of their skin strikes me as treating someone as an individual.
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Sounds like a reasonable strategy to me.
For what it’s worth, I don’t know if I ever “shed” mental baggage. At best, I develop greater facility at recognizing and coping with it. I have a subconscious, visceral reaction; I make the reaction conscious; I manage it. Kinda like scooping up a baseball in my glove, transferring the ball to my throwing arm and throwing it: I don’t expect that I will ever be able to skip a step, but with practice I can make the process more fluid.
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“Daily Opiate”.
Heh.
I needed that.
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It is so sad that you think it’s ALL about race. Those of us who try to produce for the world could care less about skin color. We just want to be rewarded for our results, and in return we expect to do the same for others regardless of the amount of melanin in their skin. So, I just feel so sad that you have to take so much time for something that really doesn’t matter. It’s just sad that ultimately you perpetuate the racial divides in our society much more than those that you attack ever have or will.
Having made my previous comment I must say that I do admire the talent that went into the art work etc. You are a very talented cartoonist, and if you are attempting to ‘go pro’ as it were I wish you well on that endeavor.
10. I’m surprised PETA hasn’t firebombed your house what with all those wooly mammoths you’re guilty of killing by relation to your ancestors.
9. Yes people don’t mind criticism of Arabs at all.
8. Gramps must love hearing about how bad you have it.
7. If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck, it must be a penguin.
6. I agree wholeheartedly. Whites aren’t a race! How silly.
5. Ok, you get a pass here.
4. Unfair? No. Usually results in strawmen arguments? Yeah.
3. Who’s to say he didn’t?
2. We’re not white we can’t be racist!
1. When white people say that it’s a futile attempt to forestall the inevitable cries of “RACIST!” when they dare to weigh in on a race related topic.
Dear Emma,
10. Check your reading comprehension. Do you think racism ended with slavery? Do you think Racism has been eliminated now?
9. Different people are more or less in favor of criticizing different groups. The mass media is absolutely chock-full of attacks on Hispanic and Arab people on a scale that white people have never faced and likely never will. See the push to profile folks of middle-eastern descent post 9/11. Was there a similar push to profile white Christians post Oklahoma City? No? Well, why not?
8. “It used to be worse.” ≠ “Racism is fixed.”
7. Do you understand that someone can have racist attitudes, and even take racist actions, while being kind to individual people of color? Someone might believe that black people are genetically less intelligent, for example (this is unquestionably racist) and therefore be less willing to hire them for intellectually demanding jobs (also racist) while admiring MLK (as an exception) and being nice to people of color.
6. You’re either missing the point or your response is disingenuous. It’s not that ‘white isn’t a race’ (though, of course, race is a social construct, so in that sense none of the ‘races’ are races), it’s that white people occupy a space of social dominance, so addressing racism against them is simply not as pressing as addressing racism against those who face ongoing serious racial oppression. There’s also another point here about whether ‘white’ is actually a race, which is that the definition of ‘white’ has changed quite a bit over the years. Irish people are white now. So are Italian people, Greek people, and some Hispanic people. If race was an objective, externally true characteristic, how could it be so fluid?
5. I’m glad you get that ‘intention’ isn’t the end-all, be-all. A lot of people don’t. that difference between intention and action is what I was getting at in my response to your #7.
4. There’s a reason that conservatives are taking less and less
of the Hispanic vote. If the group most likely to be affected finds your rhetoric really scary, it might be worth some self-reflection, you know? As has been pointed out more than once, both the African-American electorate and the Hispanic electorate tend to skew more socially conservative … so why is it that they vote reliably Democratic? I’d say that it’s because they find the Republican attitude towards race deeply unsettling. Their attitude towards immigration is part of that.
3. Who’s to say he didn’t? Smart people.
2. There is a standard, accepted, academic definition of racism as prejudice+power. That’s usually what people are talking about when you hear that.
1. The cries of “RACIST!” aren’t inevitable. They just seem that way to people who say (and post) racist things.
—Myca