It's obvious when you're already caucasian, yeah. Thing is? The people this is meant to pacify are thinking 'white', or 'white supremacy', or as Chiss just pointed out, 'white priviledge', nine times out of ten. If someone makes a faux pas and it goes to court, it tends to be a 'white' person (caucasian) vs another race who tends to be targeted. We don't see a whole lot of 'other' race vs. 'other' race in the news in the US, or presented in a racial way, but if there's a caucasion person involved, and the other person can claim another race as the reason for the problem, it's all over the news.
And yeah, the hospital is covering it's ass....which it wouldn't have to do if folks were thinking "I am american" instead of "I am white/black/indian/japanese/etc"...which is where a good portion of my irritation comes in. They are thinking in cultural terms. As in 'because of my culture from where I or my family came from, I expect to be treated in these certain different ways' rather than working on a common ground of simple respect.
Do you live here? Then shouldn't you first thought be 'I am American'? We do have a culture; it changes, but it's there.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
carisma_sensei
'Caucasian' work better?
Date: 2007-03-23 09:40 pm (UTC)And yeah, the hospital is covering it's ass....which it wouldn't have to do if folks were thinking "I am american" instead of "I am white/black/indian/japanese/etc"...which is where a good portion of my irritation comes in. They are thinking in cultural terms. As in 'because of my culture from where I or my family came from, I expect to be treated in these certain different ways' rather than working on a common ground of simple respect.
Do you live here? Then shouldn't you first thought be 'I am American'? We do have a culture; it changes, but it's there.