Interracial marriage? Racial covering?
The other day, when reading the book 'Covering' by Kenji Yoshino, I saw this:"Racial covering occurs when non-whites “act white” by modulating their behaviors."
Yoshino gives an example of Eric Liu’s memoir ‘The Accidental Asian’ where Liu says “Here are some of the ways you could say I am ‘white’”:
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I listen to National Public Radio. I wear khaki Dockers. I own brown suede bucks. I eat gourmet greens. I have few close friends “of color.” I married a white woman… I am a child of the suburbs. I furnish my condo à la Crate & Barrel. I vacation in charming bed-and-breakfasts. I have never once been the victim of blatant discrimination. I am a member of several exclusive institutions. I have been in the inner sanctums of political power. I have been there as something other than an attendant. I have the ambition to return. I am a producer of the culture. I expect my voice to be heard. I speak flawless, unaccented English. I subscribe to Foreign Affairs. I do not mind when editorialists write in the first person plural. I do not mind how white television casts are. I am not too ethnic. I am wary of minority militants. I consider myself neither in exile nor in opposition. I am considered a “credit to my race.”
Well I had to stop at “I married a white woman” and think a little! Yoshino points it out too:
Notice how Liu’s list includes all four of the covering axes: appearance (“I wear khaki Dockers,” “I own brown suede bucks”); affiliation (“I listen to National Public Radio,” “I furnish my condo à la Crate & Barrel,” “I speak flawless, unaccented English”); activism (“ I do not mind how white television casts are,” “I am not too ethnic,” “I am wary of minority militants”); and association (“I have few friends ‘of color,’” “I married a white woman”) … Contemplating my racial covering behaviors incites no such self-recrimination. It strikes me that I, like Liu, am an “accidental Asian” - someone who only “happens to be” Asian.
Most educated non-white people have been accused of “talking white” … an accusation that lands with a sting. Looking at Liu’s list, I think most of us are in it. I must as well put my name on the list of racial coverers … I love listening to hip hop. Does this mean I am trying to be Black… that I only "happen to be" whatever it is I am?
Going back to what made me stop and think a little, interracial dating and marriage has been labeled a lot of things … racism, hating your kind … you know what you say when you see that lovely interracial couple walking hand in hand enjoying their love. If Liu’s considers marrying a white woman as ‘being white’ and Yoshino says that “Racial covering occurs when non-whites “act white” by modulating their behaviors”, does this only apply to non-white people dating whites or does this mean interracial dating and/or marriage (as a whole) is racial covering?
51 responses to "Interracial marriage? Racial covering?"
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katlu8984 says:Posted: 14 Sep 09I do listen to NPR on a daily basis but so does everyone else in my family. I doubt that makes me "covering" for my race. I think it makes me who I am. This is just beyond insulting, but I'm going to take js at his word and say that this has to be taken out of context because I refuse to believe that this person is that ignorant and the fact that I think at times the writers of the blogs found on this site tend to make sensational phooey out of nothing.
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Member says:Posted: 14 Sep 09
I think that "racial covering" is an interesting way to describe not acting your race. Almost like you are one way from birth and no matter how you shape your life post-birth you are covering up what you "truly" are. I think its dumb actually. Where does that leave those of us who are biracial? Are we only allowed to be a certain way half of the time and half the other time? I'm not sure that you can say dating outside of your race has anything to do with with idea of covering who you are. It comes from different places for each person...."racial covering" interesting idea....not something I believe is applicable to interracial dating however.
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homesteader says:Posted: 09 Sep 09
LADIES ; Men sweat and y'all glisten with a mild Sparkle in your Luster of a wet oiled surface Hehe . Meanwhile don't act as I do / Just be yourself and this world will be a Sweeter place .
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homesteader says:Posted: 09 Sep 09
Whurr ; I was raised to believe that wearing white socks was healthier for you because sweat brings out the dyes into your skin . Which may be harmful to you ???? Old man old ideas LOL . A-shirts and Bluejeans are my style , Clean and fresh everyday / Got one three piece suit for Memorial Services . Wear Red Wing steel toe boots and a Black Lambskin Cap , Married a Ladie that I met on this site. My color did knot change / Much to do about Nothing is what I see . And the book talked about remains ; Fiction .
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rarestgold says:Posted: 07 Sep 09
Wow - I love it when an article Ria has posted elicits such thought-provoking comments. It just goes to show we are all more alike than most people care to admit - most people don't like being stereotyped - most people don't like ignorance - most people don't like... (oh, you get it). And even though you don't like a lot of things other people say, I for one would always defend their right to say it. Even Mr. Yoshino.
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WHURR says:Posted: 07 Sep 09I don't think that we have such bad fashion taste over here in the 'States'. But can someone please tell the Brits at Disney....you know the ones who 'live close to paris and Milan'...to stop wearing those goofy multi-colored, tight, soccer outfits, over the knees with black socks. I can't take it anymore!! I will take the 'non-fashionable' khaki Dockers over the painted on, I can tell you aren't circumcized, multi-colored, 'whoa look at me I'm a Brit' soccer outfit anyday. Oh yeah....stop wearing black socks to your kneecaps, with sandels, on my beach!! I will wear khaki Dockers if the corporate lunch is paid for and the contract is in your hand waiting for my signature.
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runner19 says:Posted: 05 Sep 09
To lagbaja61-I think most of us "ham shanks" are in agreement with you. We find the article full of crap as well ;-) For the record, I didn't know the pony & trap term off hand, but I did look it up the old fashioned way- found it in my book on Brit Slang. ( I lived in England for a year some time back).
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lagbaja61 says:Posted: 02 Sep 09The article is a load of pony** Hardly worthy of comment. Khaki dockers? Do people still wear them over there? Living in London with Paris and Milan just a day's return trip away I can tell you they are not high fashion in Europe!!! ** Find out for yourself, I'm not telling you Shermans what it means. Nor what a Sherman is. Google Cockney rhyming slang.
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Miri2008 says:Posted: 02 Sep 09
Apparently people no longer call certain ethnic groups 'red' or others 'yellow', but we seem to stubbornly stick to 'black' and 'white'... who does not notice that this is fairly arbitrary? Why are 'red' and 'yellow' derogatory, but 'black' and 'white' are not? Who will lose what if we drop the 'black' and 'white'? Who keeps/gains what if we keep them? Who cannot see that these classifications are about power/money/control and/or the lack thereof? How will people define themselves without these stereotypical superclasses? Who will be the figurative child who just comes out and says it? - 'the emperor has no clothes'… Phylum – Hominid Genus – Human Superclass – ‘red’ Superclass – ‘yellow’ Superclass – ‘black’ Superclass – ‘white’ How is this making any rational sense? We all know that it doesn’t, but we’re on this track and it’s like trying to turn the Titanic around to get off it … kind of heading towards the same fate too…
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js says:Posted: 02 Sep 09
Let me quote you a few passages immediately following the list. "There was a time when assimilation did quite strictly mean whitening. In fact, well into the first half of this century, mimicry of the stylized standards of the WASP gentry was the proper, dominant, perhaps even sole method of ensuring that your origins would not be held against you. ... Times have changed, and I suppose you could call it progress that a Chinaman, too, may now aspire to whitness. ... The meaning of "American" has undergone a revolution in the twenty-nine years I have been alive, a revolution of color, class, and culture. Yet the vocabulary of "assimilation" has remained fixed all this time: fixed in whiteness, which is still our metonym for power; and fixed in shame, which is what the colored are expected to feel for embracing power." Clearly it's talking about "whiteness" as a social construct and as an ideology that's tied to assimilation into the highest reaches of social stratus. It's what the mob boss Anthony Soprano meant when he called his corporate high society country club neighbor a "wonder bread wop," as opposed to transitional Italian immigrant values of the La Cosa Nostra. He was made to feel used for someone else's amusement, "like a dancing bear," he said. So as you can see, the admittance to whiteness is mildly conditional for European immigrants and a "Faustian deal" for everybody else. The cost for some is literally their "soul."
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js says:Posted: 01 Sep 09
Well, I'm reading Eric Liu’s "The Accidental Asian" now and I see that "the list" is taken completely out of its original perspective and context. The spotlight should be on the "whiteness" of privileged America. I read the comments and they're mostly complete reactionary rubbish by white people, barring a few. BTW whurr, nobody considers you white.
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NOPLAYER says:Posted: 31 Aug 09
Ms007 - well said! It's rough when people try to put you in a certain bag! rensational - I can trully indentify with your statement: Yoshino is in the legal field, as I was as well, and I know all too well that his suggesting minorities have to “cover” in order to be successful as lawyers/in law school is absolutely correct–one reason I am not practicing law right now. I grew out of trying to fit racial stereotypes; some people never do, though. That’s self-hatred to me, not necessarily just the fact that someone interracially dates/marries in and of itself. But certainly, there are some people who interracially date because of this. I stated in another blog, " as children and teenagers we try to fit in with those in our peer groups and that's normal for that age and stage of one's life but when we become adults, we should have out grown that kind of childish behavior." I have a cousin that was dealing with this drama, he worked in banking and after work he couldn't wait to get to Happy Hour. We talked about this issue in dept and I told him the problem came from him trying to adapt to an invironment and blend into a culture that was diametrically opposed to how we were raised, it wasn't in keeping with the values we grew up with. The "fake it till you make it", "cut-throat culture" and "go along to get along" drama that's played out in corporate America everyday was talking it's told on him slowly but surely. His drinking and laughing at Happy Hour was his way putting the work day behind him or so he thought. I asked why did he stay on that job if he didn't like it and he said it paid damn good money and I remainded him what our granda mama always said, " all money aint good money and if you cant WORK THE JOB without the JOB WOKING YOU, give it up!" When you have to compromise who you are and what you believe to fit in on a job or with a group of people and as a result you have no inner peace, maybe it's time for a check up from the neck up!! Peace
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Enigma64 says:Posted: 31 Aug 09You know, America is a melting pot of cultures, and as such, it has assimilated cultural styles and fashions from the variety of peoples and cultures that have melded here. All cultures, once they accept another one, start to assimilate parts of that culture into their general society. Look at the recent rush of Indian or Middle Eastern styles and music that have come into this country of late. Are we saying that in a few years, someone will take a sarong and claim that wearing it is acting white? For this author to attempt to emulate the author of the "Accidental Asian" (a book I read) to try to say that everything in that list or whatever he perceives this made up list to be, is an indication of "acting white," is just asinine. I'm so sick of everyone equating current fashion or whatever mishmash of cultures has been accepted as the current popular thing, as "being" or "acting white." For instance: "The name Khaki comes from the Persian word khâk (dust/ashes) which came to English from India, specifically via the British Indian Army." So now suddenly, because Americans adopt this into their melting pot of cultures, it's got to be a white thing? This guy needs to get over himself and his obvious attempt to create an issue to write a book about. This country is about having the freedom to make choices from a plethora of available choices, and not having someone choose for you. That is what draws all these people from other countries and cultures here. Why is it then, that the choices that seem to be more popular are always labeled as "white," and those outside that race that make those choices deemed as "trying to act white?" It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Peace and blessings.
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whurr says:Posted: 30 Aug 09
NOPLAYER..LOL.. yeah... Bed Stuy to East New York to Bushwick....to some dayum common sense....FLORIDA
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TheAmazon84 says:Posted: 29 Aug 09The hilarious thing about that article, the one thing that is wholy true about me: I subscribe to Foreign Affairs!!1 lmao
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NOPLAYER says:Posted: 28 Aug 09
@ WHURR - IS BROOKLYN IN DA HOUSE??????????????? Damn it, no more Mozart for me!
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Melanie says:Posted: 28 Aug 09
This type of thinking is stereotypical when the writer refers to race. However, it is more appropriate when generally applied to the tastes middle/upper middle class people. I grew up among people of color who enjoyed/did the many of the things listed above and were very well adjusted and aware. I have also seen working class/working poor whites who would not relate to the list above. Again these can apply to every race...or not apply to every race. It is all about experiences in life and acquired tastes picked up along the way.
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WHURR says:Posted: 27 Aug 09
NOPLAYER...it was a joke dude... MC Hammer = black people .... cmon man...I posted one serious blog this whole decade. I thought what you typed was funny! I come from Brooklyn. The only time I skied was when I fell down the cement stairs on my stoop. The only time I went white water rafting was when it was GI JOE (circa Eddie Murphy's bit from RAW). The only time I listened to classical music was 'Music Appreciation' in college. Because to me, any group with initials is classical ...BDP...UTFO....EPMD So I was busting your azz for your comment. I thought it was funny!
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rensational says:Posted: 27 Aug 09
I also want to address your question about whites covering. Covering or "acting black"/failure to act white doesn't work the same for whites as it does for others. For racial minorities, failing to "act white" is a bad thing while failing to "act black" or "act Asian" or "act Latino" might be a bad thing among some people of your own race if you're black, Asian or Latino but it's not a bad thing as far as getting ahead in society as a whole. This is, perhaps, the biggest reasons why racial minorities bother with covering and trying to force themselves to fit white stereotypes. I'm pretty sure that a white person who goes into a job interview and expresses "black" interests/characteristics is not going to be denied a job because of it. And it's not going to result in your getting harassed by police, in general. People look at whites who "fail at being white" as oddities, but it doesn't really hurt their beneficial standing in society as white people, nor does it bestow societal benefits on them--i.e. it doesn't really change anything for whites. But with racial minorities, the more [white] people perceive you as acting white, the more doors open--the less you're perceived as "white," the more doors close. I addressed what you were saying about relationships more in my other comment because that's what you seem to be more interested in, i.e. how covering affects interracial dating and being perceived as white/black/Asian. But it occurred to me that by asking about whether you're covering, it suggested maybe you failed to realize that there are benefits for minorities whom people consider to "act white" simply because our society considers being white to be preferential to being any other race. Covering goes hand and hand with those racial benefits, which whites get regardless of how they "act." Dating/marrying blacks will get you looked at funny and negative comments, but you're still white with everything being white has to offer. I also wanted to point out Yoshino is gay, so as much as race and more than interracial dating, his book is about having to pretend to be straight or act in such a way so as to be perceived as heterosexual just to get ahead in society.
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rensational says:Posted: 27 Aug 09
Ria, this post caught my eye because I've actually considered reading both of these books in the past. When I examined Liu's book, I did conclude that he is what a lot of people would consider "self-hating," and I found other books written by Asian Americans instead to read (I was specifically looking for books written about the Asian American experience in the US). Yoshino's book is still on my to-read list. I am not on this site often, but I'm here often enough to know the average person here doesn't really view race the way I do...so, not quite sure what utility replying is, but, like I said...the books you're mentioning and the questions you raise interest me. I feel like the things Liu lists are not so much his perception of what is white as it is his perception of what OTHERS use to stereotype people as "acting white." And you must admit, those stereotypes are out there, whether people here subscribe to them or not. People do say, "Oh, NPR is for white people and blacks like rap music." I think, in our society, people like Liu just accept those stereotypes and then spend years trying to mold themselves to fit them--in Asians, I've observed that a lot of the time this is to feel more "American"/more accepted in the US. And what FLClassic says is pretty accurate, as well. I do think this way of thinking/being is ignorant. But I also know there's a difference between trying to be what you believe everyone considers white in order to improve your image/self-esteem in the world and then just naturally having personality characteristics or interests that some people consider "white" or "black." Apparently, a lot of people here would say they just naturally are a certain way and some people see that as white or black or not. As a black woman, I've certainly been through being judged as "not black enough"--most blacks consider me not black enough, and whites have told me that I don't "act like other black women" as well. At this point in my life, that's just me being me. When I was a kid and then a teenager, I can't say that--I was in predominantly white environments, and I was trying to fit in with stereotypes of being white (i.e. liking certain kinds of music, dressing a certain way, chasing only white guys, having predominantly white friends and ignoring black students, etc) while distancing myself from blacks and stereotypes associated with blacks. I believe Yoshino's book discusses the latter type of people, i.e. the people who do purposely try to mold themselves to fit certain racial stereotypes while distancing themselves from others and people they view as fitting those stereotypes. It's not ignorant to raise that idea--tons of people do "cover," and it's sad that they do. Yoshino's book is just openly discussing and, in my opinion, condemning it. Yoshino is in the legal field, as I was as well, and I know all too well that his suggesting minorities have to "cover" in order to be successful as lawyers/in law school is absolutely correct--one reason I am not practicing law right now. I grew out of trying to fit racial stereotypes; some people never do, though. That's self-hatred to me, not necessarily just the fact that someone interracially dates/marries in and of itself. But certainly, there are some people who interracially date because of this.
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NOPLAYER says:Posted: 25 Aug 09
@ whurr - Man I sorry if you took my post in that manner because I didn't mean it that way. I only listed those activities as an example and I know not all white people participate in these activities. I made that point to say, you can't put someone in a certain bag because people's interest vary. No matter where a person is from, their educational background or their income level, thanks to the internet the world is placed right in front of them. Without leaving their home they can see different parts of the world, learn a foreign language or meet someone from a different country. People are EXPOSED to different things and as a result they're willing to learn diffrent things, meet different people and try different activities. I don't veiw this as something that negative, I feel that a person can experience all the world has to offer without loosing themselves culturally. Once again, only the person will trully know if they're "covering" or not, while those on the outside looking in can only speculate, so why not leave folks alone to live their lives! @ laugh_sailor - I don't ski but thanks for the info, I've tried it a few times but I'll stick to snow boarding. LOL
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Leavitobeavr says:Posted: 25 Aug 09I believe someone have a hidden agenda.I know a lot of things with color such as watermelon,fried greasy chicken,and combat boots. Its sad to say the items this "RightWing Nuthouse" person is sharing is his grocery list. Damn it, i went to the store i forgot everything that had color such as my watermelon,fried chicken, combat boots, and wife. Maybe if i speak with flawless unaccented english everybody won't know that i'm a dork!
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whurr says:Posted: 24 Aug 09
NOPLAYER.....I SEEEEE "As a BM, what if I enjoy classical music, snow boarding, hiking in the mountains and white water rafting, does that mean I’m “covering”?" What you trying to say...all white people listen to classical music and snow board in Colorado??? You make me so pissed....gonna break this dayum Mozart CD and cancel my Aspen trip...boycott it all cuz u making sterotypical borderline racist comments. See if I ever listen to Barry Manilow ever again...I'm going to listen to REAl black music now...going to find me some MC Hammer...two can play that game!
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Ms007 says:Posted: 23 Aug 09Wow...I see ignorance is still alive and kicking! Reading this book really gave me a momentary snap shot into the small minds of a few pseudo-intellectuals in society! As a little girl people often told me, "You sound white." In turn I always asked, what does white sound like???? And when they were too shocked to answer me, I then said, "You meant I sound right." Recently, a supervisor in the presence of a multi-racial group of co-workers said, "You are the whitest black person I know." I quickly corrected him, by saying, "Don’t get it twisted; I am probably the right-est, person your know, because learning the labor laws of this state is my hobby and I can recite them standing on my head, while submerged under water and holding my breath!" Meaning, I know what is right and what is wrong to say in the workplace! Needless to say, that ended the conversation rather quickly. Too often educated, culturally diverse non-whites, as well as, whites who live and associate in more ethnic environments are labeled as "another” race, when they don't fit into the "stereotypes” of their own race! Every person is a complex product of their genetic architecture and environmental experiences. As a result, they often assimilate that which has the strongest influence and they are most familiar. I have always been well spoken, not because of modulating my behavior, but because my mother corrected my grammar as a child and my father was intolerant of ignorance, even in the smallest form and I had great teachers! We who date and marry outside our race do so because we embrace diversity, respect differences and we refuse to be defined by the words or worlds of others. That does not make me any less black or anyone else any less Asian, any less White or any less Latino… We just like what we like! Nor do we dislike ourselves or those who are color copies of us. We are bold and courageous enough to blaze our own trail, rather that just following or even settling for the path of least resistance!
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laugh_sailor says:Posted: 23 Aug 09noplayer - One of the more influential skiing organizations is The National Brotherhood of Skiers (http://www.nbs.org). It's a sport that is a lot more integrated than its reputation suggests.
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NOPLAYER says:Posted: 22 Aug 09
I said I'd avoid this subject because I feared that things would easily get heated but I think we can get something positive out of this. When I looked up the word "COVER" in the dictionary, I came across "pretended identity" out of about 13 other definitions. Who knows what a person's motivation is for doing what they do. We have to keep in mind that Am/Europeans don't have a monopoly on all of the things that the author listed. As a BM, what if I enjoy classical music, snow boarding, hiking in the mountains and white water rafting, does that mean I'm "covering"? No, it only means I enjoy activities that are not typically associated with most 37 y/o blk men from Urban America, nothing more or less. Now, if I've rejected and divorced myself from my own culture and I engage in these activities as a way of trying to assimilate into another ethnic group and I perceive these activities as being typical of that ethnic group, then I you could say I'm "covering", according the the dictionary's definition of the word. Unless you trully know the person, you cant say for sure if they're "covering" (trying to be other than themselves!) I guess it's easier to live and let live!
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miri2008 says:Posted: 22 Aug 09
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(classification_of_human_beings) The above link provides a good point of reference for anyone wishing to spend a moment of serious personal reflection on the history, nature, and evolution of attempts to classify human beings. Like everyone else alive today, I was born into this forced superimposition of what I consider to be a completely fallacious taxonomy. All of us have been taught our designated classification from our earliest understanding. As such, this becomes part of our psyche and self definition, and it is profoundly difficult to truly divest ourselves of the internalized implications ascribed to an imposed designated classification. We find ourselves consciously or sub-consciously, overtly or covertly, agitating to either prove or disprove the characterizations and/or implications ascribed to our designated classification – case in point, this and other blogs on this site. I myself have neither witnessed nor experienced anything helpful, positive, altruistic, enlightening or authentic in imposing such classifications on myself or on others, and I consciously reject the classification of people into different races. However, early conditioning and constant encounters with social structures as well as a daily deluge of propaganda meant to validate and enforce the fallacious taxonomy, constitute challenges requiring constant efforts to overcome. Our eventual release from this most destructive engagement will only come from a categorical rejection of the classifications themselves.
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Glock says:Posted: 22 Aug 09
LOL, hey if he wants a real interesting list, why don't he get with Jeff Foxworthy and make a list of how white act? Now that would really be entertaining!
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whurr says:Posted: 22 Aug 09
FLClassic..I answered it...sarcastic as usual...but I answered it. It asked if my past interracial marriage was a cover, I said 'I FLUNKED' at being white!
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fkoi says:Posted: 21 Aug 09Wow! A blog where Laugh, Whurr, Fearless and I are all on the same page agreeing that what we read is moronic and generally without value (and not what we read from each other)? There really is hope for us all to live in peace and harmony! LOL
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Shotgun007 says:Posted: 21 Aug 09
"Dumb" Article filled with stereotypes...and yet again offered no substance to encourage healthy dialogue amongst adults.
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FLclassic says:Posted: 21 Aug 09
Hmmm...since no one is going to actually answer Ria's question. I guess I will. I'm not sure if your answer necessarily applies today, but for many years non-whites dated/married whites to be accepted or "cover". And if you all don't agree with me then go back and open up past issues of your Ebony/Jet magazines and take a look at the significant others of professional atheletes, popular musicians, and actors. And as you can guess the majority of them were married to someone other than what they saw reflected in their bathroom mirrors. Of course many of these relationships could have developed from true love, but personally I think many of them were formed so that they could either fit in better. But now 25 years later, when so many barriers have been broken and non-whites are now finally being accepted for what they have between their ears rather than who they have on their arm, it seems rather ironic the prevalance of interracial marriages/dating amongst our athletic heroes or celebrities doesn't seem as prevalant as it was in the past. As for myself, I've always had both non-white friends and white friends and my own paternal grandparents are both of mixed race, but I didn't date interracially until my early 30s mainly due to lack of interest on my part. But now that I've found it hard to find a professional single man of color in my home town, I found I needed to widen my personal preferences.
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FLclassic says:Posted: 21 Aug 09
Is anyone going to actually answer Ria' question? She's not asking do you believe in Liu's discourse but if you believed that there are non-whites who date/marry interracially in order to be accepted or distance themselves from their racial/ethnic identity. My answer is a resounding YES. And if you don't agree with me look back at all the professional atheletes and those in entertainment who married someone other than what they saw in the mirror. You couldn't throw a stick on a NBA court or a recording studio without hitting someone of color who wasn't married to a caucasian. But in the past 20 years you now see a back pedalling in this trend which seems to coincide with so many barriers being broken or people not caring about being accepted by the mainstream. As for myself, I started dating interracially because of the lack of professional single men of color where I live. And no, I never considered it before. I'm from the South and even though I was born several years after the signing of the Civil Rights Act there were still places we weren't allowed or welcomed to eat.Even now non-whites rarely if ever attend clubs or festivals hosted or thrown by whites. If you think about it, you don't have to be in the South to see that. The only true intergrated social scene I've ever witnessed was in London.
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Morninflower says:Posted: 21 Aug 09
Well this ties into an earlier discussion back in 2008 that highlighted this same type of foolish thinking i.e. the sterotypes that our black men have to face (deadbeat, thuggish, in jail..) you get my drift - and ofcourse we black women are goldgiggers etc; and there was also another topic on "white people acting black" and "black acting white" THIS WHOLE CRAP REALLY ANNOYS THE HELL OUT OF ME! What does it even mean that now that he is married to a white woman he is now "white"? I will be sure to send this idiot a sweet little note via his website and publisher.
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runner19 says:Posted: 21 Aug 09
Once again, I find myself in agreement with the replies that have been written before mine. Unfortunately, the only thing revealing about this is seemingly the author's discomfort with his own skin and how he perceives his ethnicity is viewed by the world around him. Worse yet, he's put it in a context that seems to want to project that insecurity onto society as a whole. Continuing to assign obscure trends or characteristics onto a specific group of people, in my mind, only serves to perpetuate the very thing he seems to object to. Another timeless quote that transcends any stereotype, bias or culture: "Become the change you seek in the world." M.K.Ghandi.
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laugh_sailor says:Posted: 20 Aug 09
Right on Whurr & Fearless Crusader! I guess some people are desperate for book-writing subject matter. "I expect my voice to be heard..." Wouldn't that quote be worthy of any civil rights leader and something we all ought to live by, not out of entitlement but out of well-deserved pride in living a worthwhile life? I call BS on this. Harrumph!
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takinitall says:Posted: 20 Aug 09Interesting post! Regardless of what that person still looks in the mirror and can see what color they are. Why should they be considered as trying to be white, because they have common interests and choose their friends and activities accordingly? Don't get me wrong, their are some people who are under the illusion of inclusion such as "Jose Garcia" who considers himself white (will even say he's white), even though he is a direct decendent of Mexican immigrants and his name is a dead give away. But the examples the article lists to justify covering are rediculous.
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gingerlily16 says:Posted: 20 Aug 09
This sounds as though you are stereotyping all caucasian people into one category. Caucasians are just as diverse as any other culture. There is actually no such thing as a white person. I have never met someone with titanium skin color anywhere except for Michael Jackson who had bleached his skin an unnatural shade of ghostly white. Caucasian skin varies in tone like any other culture but I would say it varies in tones of olive, light peach, ruddy pale pink, very light beige or tan and yes some ivory . I think the use of terms to describe people in terms of skin color like calling someone white or black is making an attempt to divide and keep people separated which is a negative thing in some cases. I really think we need to update how we decribe each other in terms of race or culture. We are in a new age of consciousness now and this change is very vital if we are to move forward in a positive way
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C-man says:Posted: 20 Aug 09
Kenji Yoshino = idiot!! Some where this guy lost himself after getting up from the floor with this nonsense!
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pedro says:Posted: 20 Aug 09didn't think you'd have the guts to publish me, you brainless pathetic twit. your race-baiting is a sorry excuse for intellectual discourse. get help rev. sharpton, we know its you posting this filth and no one is buying your tripe, silly floppy twat. so crawl back in your 'i heart obama' commode and burn your incense and patchouli oil with the rest of your elitist academics mocking the ignorant masses. mental defect.
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NOPLAYER says:Posted: 19 Aug 09
I'm not touching this one with a 10ft pole! I'll avoid this one like a cheating husband would avoid pot of hot oatmeal! Thank you but no thank you! Peace!
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homesteader says:Posted: 19 Aug 09
Ria ; Is this book that you read , Fiction ? " Tom Sawyer " you will probably understand better . Let's go down bye the river . How does one / Act White ? " Wisemen make proverbs , But fools repeat them ." Samuel Palmer
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whiteanproud says:Posted: 19 Aug 09
Asians have always been intelligent and competitive race to a fault, but now some of them are apparently trying to redefine what White is? It is racists and offensive which only brings out the "militants in their race and of course this will all be White people fault in the end. And course we must not say anything or we are being racists and not the people with this their own identity issues. This type of rhetoric only keeps bigotry and stereotypes going. What is laugable is the statement "I am the producer of culture", what is that the culture that is Asian and your specifically yours or the culture you feel you have to infilitrate and redefine by your own twisted logic.
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FearlessCrusader says:Posted: 19 Aug 09
This is baloney. Who says those things are white? They don't even have any color to them. Those are racist comments. I like fried chicken and watermelon, but I'm not trying to be black; I've just liked those foods since before I even knew people came in different colored skins. There is more wisdom in a single French proverb than in that whole book: "There is no accounting for tastes."
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whurr says:Posted: 19 Aug 09
OK...'being white' means you are supposed to agree with what he said he does to 'be white'...hmmmm I DON'T listen to National Public Radio. I DON'T wear khaki Dockers. I DON'T own brown suede bucks. I DON'T eat gourmet greens. I have MOSTLY close friends “of color.” I married a BLACK woman… I am a child of MEDGAR EVERS PROJECTS in BED-STUY NY. I furnish my condo WITH STUFF. I vacation ....A VACATION??? I HAVE MORE THAN once been the victim of blatant discrimination, refused service in BED-STUY. I am NOT a member of several exclusive institutions, unless the BROKE HOUSE is exclusive. I have been in the inner sanctums of political power...that sounds sexual. I have never been a congressional page. I have been there as something other than an attendant...read above. I have the ambition to return....HUH? I am a producer of the culture....HUH? I ALWAYS expect my voice to be heard...HELL YEAH! I speak flawless, unaccented English. NEW YORK IS NOT AN ACCENT. YOU ALL HAVE ACCENTS! I DON'T subscribe to Foreign Affairs....I never even had an affair!!! I do not mind when editorialists write in the first person plural...I'm guilty! See? I DON'T MIND how white television casts are...because I don't watch much television. I am WAY too ethnic. I am wary of minority militants. YES, white is a minority and the KKK scare the HELL out of me. I consider myself neither in exile nor in opposition. I'D LOVE TO BE IN EXILE, IN HAWAII! I am considered a “credit to my race.” IF CHARGING CRAP = A CREDIT.. I'M A CREDIT TIMES ABOUT 25,000. Am I white? I FLUNKED....I'm going to get a bloodtest and see if there is some Amer. Indian blood in me so I can end this nonsense!
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I'm reading "Covering: The Hidden Assault On Our Civil Rights" by Kenji Yoshino now, and one again it's misrepresented... Go read the Amazon reviews on Covering. Quoting one reviewer: "In this extraordinary and beautiful book, Kenji Yoshino contends that covering (the term is borrowed from Erving Goffman) is the civil rights issue of our age. Drawing on actual cases, he persuasively illustrates that the courts fail to protect men and women who refuse to "cover," mute, or conceal those aspects of their identities that are socially stigmatized (i.e. their gayness, their status as mothers, their racial identities). If this were all the book did, it would be significant enough. But Yoshino combines his legal and historical arguments with a memoir in which he "uncovers" his various selves--his lawyer self, his gay self, his Asian American self, and his poetic self. In doing so, he empowers his readers to do the same and to think about the connection between living one's own life honestly and the larger project of human emancipation."