Anyone out there reading this? I just re-logged into Moxie after an almost 10 year hiatus, and I found this draft. Does it stand the test of time? I’m thinking about what I would say, today, in December 2022 about my Whiteness. Stay tuned…
I think stuffwhitepeoplelike.com is beyond hilarious; it is brilliant. Often, White people don’t see themselves as racial because being white is just…well, “normal.” Because White is the majority culture in the USA, it is hard to see collective behavior among this group. That’s what makes Christian Landers’ work so incredible, and…unfortunately for me…accurate. He names behaviors White people see as their individual preferences, and he names it for the racial behavior that it is. Is My So Called Life on my Netflix cue? Did I get my housebuddy a Bansky book for his birthday? Do I think it was attractive and cool that he is really into graffiti? These are only the most recent examples of my overt Whiteness. When I think of the movies I watch, the music I listen to, and the activities I participate in, I don’t think of them as “things white people do,” but, they are. It is important for me to continue to understand my identity as collective rather than individualistic.
When people say things like “I LOVE farmers markets, I just like my food to be really fresh.” I want to say, “yeah, we know.” This sentiment is not unique to you, nor did you make it up. Landers picks up on subtleties of Whiteness that are disappointing to discover are collective. I like to think that I’m into The Wire because of my intellectualism coupled with my passion for social justice, but…turns out, it’s all pretty White.
Moxie 