Confessions of an Old White Man

[JimG]

Confessions of an Old White Man - Crisis Magazine

 

[JimG]

I didn’t know that there were comments. But I do agree with the writer that identity politics which categorizes everyone by race or skin color is objectionable.

 

[Hawkmaid7]

I’m with @JimG, speaking as a college student who sees this daily. It’s one thing to acknowledge races for deep reasons - why someone has a tradition or an accent or a habit, or what have you. It’s another to chose skin color as a divider mark between two humans. The “racial industry”, as he puts it, is a terrible fiend to humanity. If I’m going to dislike someone, let alone hate them, I can guarantee that it won’t be based on skin color.

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

And highly offensive when you see real racism played out in the world. This author should be ashamed.

 

[ATraveller]

Like racists of the past, some of the woke folks seem to act as if there are certain traits that are inherent in white people.
Brian Sims is representative of their polemic style. He has no ability to use facts or reason so he goes right to an ad hominem. One that’s built one erroneous assumptions. Only old people oppose abortions? Only white people oppose abortions? Please use those neurons.

 

[Londoner]

I’m not sure that anything that Mr Ruse says here is wrong as such. It’s more that it didn’t really need to be said. In principle, I suppose that I would agree that attacking somebody’s opinions by resorting to stating the person’s age, ethnic origin, and sex is not a valid method of debate and can be offensive.

However, a little context is needed. First, we should face the reality that old white men are not a disadvantaged or oppressed group. Consider the following: “Some black girl was bleating on about Black Lives Matter.” “I am just sick of old Japanese people whinging about internment during the war.” “I had to listen to an old white man complaining about metric again.” It is clear that the first two are intentionally racist, while the last merely reflects an impression that old white men are disproportionately inclined to complain about metric.

Secondly, Mr Ruse himself is hardly averse to causing offence to groups of people based on inaccurate stereotypes. When somebody says, “Hobby Lobby’s only line of defense would be to trot out the transsexuals. They don’t even have to know how to type as long as they have lopped off their penises or at least wear dresses”, I do begin to wonder whether he has perhaps lost the right to be offended by people who call him an old white man.

 

[adamhovey1988]

I just want to point out that some people in my family were forced to go to Indian School, and I like to make it very clear to people, that being American Indian isn’t just about having Indian blood, there are millions of people that have Indian blood that are not Indian. It isn’t about blood Quantum either, mine’s not particularly High. Being Indian means something to me, it’s not only who I am but what I am , but that being said, I know that God created people of all kinds of different colours, and all kinds of different ways, and all kinds of speaking different languages. Seriously, how many people do you know that know that Hispanics are not a race? Or that a lot of American Indians actually hate the term Native American? Or the the US Census Bureau considers Middle Eastern people white? So yeah, your ancestry is important, the language your parents speak is important, but honestly I don’t think that should be how we Define ourselves, and yes I make a point of including my Indian Heritage, because it is something that has affected me, but the truth is, that at the end of the day, the colour of your skin is probably the least important thing about you, and I stick to that belief. I am Catholic, I belong to a Church that is for all nations, but of no Nation. I talked to a newly ordained priest on Sunday, from Nigeria. Maybe if we didn’t keep obsessing with race and ethnicity, racism would actually end. I eagerly await that day.

 

[Regular_Atheist]

Yeah, we know. You’ve told us already.

 

[meltzerboy2]

It’s not objectionable to those who have been targets of discrimination, or whose parents or grandparents have been. Many have been identified according to their race, color, gender, religion, sexuality, and have experienced the pain and humiliation first-hand or second-hand. The problem with BOTH conservatives and the current crop of progressives is that they are constantly preaching to the choir without listening to the other side. They begin with a philosophy or worldview and find examples to support it while ignoring examples that contradict it. This is a common way in which most humans think and reason, and it is ultimately faulty.