I don't understand this really

[james_davis_nicoll]

But apparently white people whose relatives were progressives back when that was dangerous get full credits for that even if they had no choice in the decisions or actions involved (In my case, because I was not born yet). Yay me! I can claim at least two generations of social liberals on my father's side and while I have never done anything of note in this field [1], at least I have not been an active impediment.

I understand that those people who were denied the basic rights due any human are supposed to be grateful to that handful of oppressors who somehow managed to meet the minimum level of human decency and who worked to mitigate some of the obvious social inequities of the time. Will the oppressed know to bask in the pearly white glow of my good luck in picking my relatives or will I need to hand out cards announcing that that my ancestors weren't the complete assholes most of the rest of their social class were at the time?

What else is covered by this policy? Can I claim to be an important engineer because my father and grandfather made notable (but distinct) contributions to that field?


1: I have voted for politicians who grudgingly did the right thing once the polls made it obvious which way the public leaned and after the courts made it clear they had no real choice in the matter.

Comments

[anzhalyumitethe.livejournal.com]

I know it's nationalist dickery; but still, WTF?

I wish I could explain it, but, uh, I can't.

Ukrainians, and supposedly Russians and Belarusians, have got the "If you aren't one of us, you suck, big time and are especially stupid.

They LOVE to go on about how naive and stupid Americans are. This one has developed into a sore point for me.

Lyuda and one of her friends from Ukraine always jump on people there over this. If Ukrainians/Russians/whatever are so much smarter, how come they aren't the ones with all the money/power/whatever-the-topic-of-conversation-is while Ukrainians and Russians don't. The usual response is that there's some sort of conspiracy against the R/U/B/Whatevers that keeps them down.

Anyways, back on topic, they consider Georgians - not the American state - to be black people. Ditto Italians and Greeks. They even hold their noses wrt Serbs.

I just don't get it.

[anzhalyumitethe.livejournal.com]

Speaking of stuff like this, wtf is the conspiracy theory so damned powerful?! R/U/Bs eat them up. Others do too.

wtf, over.

[pixel39.livejournal.com]

Because it's easier to blame someone else for your problems and play the perpetual victim than to A) admit that some of your problems might be self-inflicted, and B) do something about them.

[womzilla.livejournal.com]

I work in an office with three very bright Ukranians who all grew up in the Soviet era.

When the entire apparatus of government is devoted to lying to you, constantly, about everything, if you're bright you learn to put 2 + 2 together to equal 4, because otherwise you could well suffer horribly. Unfortunately, this makes it more likely that you will put together 1.49 + 1.49 and get 4, as well.