(07-17-2020, 08:51 AM)The Real Marty Wrote: (07-17-2020, 08:40 AM)homebiscuit Wrote: That’s a valid point but the poster header states that these are characteristics of whiteness that have been “normalized” by other cultures. I take that to mean if not for white people, the world would be inhabited by folks who exhibit few or none of these characteristics.
I think the poster bears discussion, and I hope it was intended that way. I think the poster is a good jumping off point to discuss what is culture, what is "white culture," how many white people actually have these characteristics, can we actually call this "white culture," etc.
The poster might be right or wrong, but it is not, in my opinion at least, racist. And the people who call it that are adopting cancel culture, ironically. They take someone's statement and accuse them of racism. That's cancel culture. And many people who decry cancel culture are doing it right in this thread.
this poster is an expression of how the leftist elites see themselves and how they see minorities. They See "White" as a superior culture that embodies inherently positive traits and thus creates wealth. Members of other cultures that take on said positive traits are "internalizing racism" or "acting white." Thomas Sowell, Walter Williams, Shelby Steel and so on have talked about this for years. They also talk about the disastrous consequences of building racial subcultures that shun young black or hispanic kids (especially males) for ACTING WHITE. Character traits, just like science or math, are universal traits. They don't belong to anyone. Some cultures may emphasize certain character traits over others, but they are unique nor do they define any single culture. Moreover, ANY CULTURE that adopts a higher emphasis on character and success will have greater prosperity. That may have something to do with the fact that in this white dominant culture, non whites are at the top of the income distribution.
The saddest irony of the whole thing is how fundamentally ahistorical this whole concept is. The poster is written within the context of post modern "multi-culturalism" the idea that no culture is better or superior than another. Any system that benefits any cultural group over another is inherently biased, racist etc. No matter if that system (capitalism) is PURELY mericratic and objective. The greater point is the idea that cultures and subcultures should be subsidized to remain isolated and not required to assimilate into larger society. The TRUE advantage that the European "White" culture had, was the natural contours of the European coastline and access to navigable waterways. Before there was the free exchange of ideas through the internet, there was the free exchange of ideas from person to person in international travel/commerce. Through that exchange it was precisely European culture's willingness to assimilate, self edit, and evolve over time that allowed for the emergence of what we now call western civilization. When they made the trip to the new world, they used an arabic numbering system, navigation taken from asia, had a religion developed by Jews and so on. This idea of collective intellectual property, cultural appropriation, and the Wakanda falacy that a group succeeds over time through economic isolation is just hogwash.
