The reading by Valerie Babb really got me thinking about whiteness in America. In a lot of ways, the fundamental formation of whiteness in America remains the same. Certainly, there have been changes from the Puritanical Christianity of New England and the loose and rough living of Virginia. However, certain elements of each of these have contributed greatly to the way whites in America live today. What I enjoyed greatly about the reading by Babb and also the capture narrative of Mary Rowlandson, the John Smith piece, and the Cotton Mather writing is the way that one can pick out some nuances of the way these people chose to portray their white culture in comparison to other cultures. The nuances include word choice and the hidden emotion they used as well. Also, many of the attitudes (especially towards other races) they reflected are considered disgusting today by whites, and we as white people like to try to make up for our ancestors' mistakes. This is what leads to the current American whiteness--a comic thing, really. Be sure to remember number 20 for later.
The comic side of it is what white people like to do these days. They go out of their way to do things that make it clear they are good white people and try their hardest to be cool. This has given birth to social awareness movements, yuppie culture, hipster culture, indie rock, music or film festivals, Barack Obama's fame, McDonald's SnackWraps, Hollister Co., vegetarianism, popular R&B music, and so many other funny little white people things.
White people like to make sure they are seen as tolerant to other races. It is not enough to be siliently tolerant, a white person must be blantant about it.
White people like to make sure you know your lifestyle is OK to your face.
White people like to secretly hate or envy others' lifestyles.
White people enjoy being offended on behalf of other people. Especially when it's a group of people that they do not belong to (eg. A white straight female being offended by the word "faggot" in reference to a homosexual male; a white 50-something making it clear he is not okay with someone making fun of the poor black kid.)
White people love you. Just accept that.
White people hate you. Just accept that.
White people will go out of their way to make it known that they liked your favorite band long before that band had any Top 100 hits. In fact, they have a copy of that band's first album (the self-titled Your Favorite Band: Before They Were Cool) on vinyl and it was recorded using analog. Which brings me to two new points.
White people love the irony of indie culture. In fact, they love irony in general. They also like struggling to be cool, but hate actually being cool.
White people love vinyl records. It's not just vinyl records, though. They love the vinyl records because they are described as something that is ever-so-important to white people. That is vintage.
White people like black people.
White people hate white people who don't like black people.
White people hate black people think they are white people.
White people like Asian people.
White hate it when you make jokes about Asian drivers and Asian kids in math classes who play the violin.
Remember #20.
White people hate Asian drivers and Asian kids who do better than they do on math tests and can play classical music on stringed instruments.
White people love texting.
White people love making up words like texting.
White people probably hate me.
White people like sex.
White people do not like sex on TV before 9 PM.
White people love sex on TV past 9 PM.
White people love Old Spice.
I could go on so far with this list. I have more right on the top of my head, but I think you get the point.
This post was largely inspired by the blog "Stuff White People Like." I feel that the list is very in complete. Some things are missing like Dave Matthews Band, Labrador Retrievers (referenced in Dogs), Acoustic Guitars, The North Face jackets (referenced in Outdoor Performance Apparel), and other things. However, you must take the time to read some of the blog. Or at least glance at some of the titles. After doing this, go back and score yourself on how many you must admit that you like. You don't need an actual number just get an idea. You'll find out just how white you really are despite your counter-productive attempts not to be.
Some of the one I really enjoyed because of the silly truth are: #3, #8, #11, #12, #18, #20, #35, #40, #41, #66, #88, #93, #106, #108, #116
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Andrew, this was a really amusing blog post but you made some pretty amazing points at the same time! The second paragraph was by far the best. There were a lot of references about things white people like that I have to admit I'm totally guilty of liking. Also, with that whole "I liked that band before they were famous" thing, it's totally true! I try to find unique music that's actually good, and then like two years later they get famous. For example, 3OH!3 was my favorite band sophomore year, but then at the end of junior year they got famous. UGH. Okay I think that you get my drift.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be honest here (so sorry if I upset you at all…if I even have the power to do that)—I was really conflicted when I was reading your blog. During parts of it I felt a little like you were making unfair generalizations and clearing the way for negative connotations (which was almost ironic given the topic of Babb's article), yet while reading other parts, I was appreciative of those same generalizations and connotations, regrettably because of their potential truth. I understand that a big point in your writing this was to highlight the comedy in so much of what people do, and you're probably proving another point altogether just with the fact that I'm not having as easy of a time laughing at myself and those around me as I could be, so, of course, I'm not disagreeing with what you've written because there were just as many instances in which I was thinking "Wow, I can definitely think of someone who reminds me of #49" as there were ones when I was thinking "I WISH everyone could just like black people (and people from other races for that matter)."
ReplyDeleteRegardless, you've got me thinking, which is absolutely a compliment.
I thought this was a thought-provoking blog post as well. Some people wouldn't admit that some of these statements are actually true, but for a lot of white people in today's world, the majority of these statements would definitely be true.
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