What does it mean to be white?

[tojo]

I'm very Anglo-Caucasian. About half English and the rest roughly equal portions of Irsh, Scottish, German, and Dutch, I think.

[Philippe]

being white means you've never hardship... at least thast what they tell you when you white

bs if u ask me

[photosynthesis]

Not all Blacks are African-American. Not all Whites are European-American. African-American and European-American are words people say to be politically correct. People invent these PC euphemisms to beat around the bush and avoid dialogue about race.

It seems to me that in the Church, people either avoid talking about race altogether, or insist on a colorblind mentality. Often people say, "Race doesn't matter," "We're all the same," "Jesus doesn't care about race."

I am not arguing that one race is better than another. God loves us, no matter what one's race or ethnicity is. However, God is not colorblind. We might not know why there are differences, but obviously they occur in nature. If you are Asian, God loves the fact that you are Asian. He thinks it's great! If you are White, God loves the fact that you are white. If you are Black, God loves the fact that you're black. Etc, etc, etc. We are equal in God's eyes, but that doesn't mean we have to be the same.

One of my favorite things about being Catholic is the fact that we have true diversity and true unity. We are the only Church that is truly everywhere. No matter what country you're in, or what language you're speaking, the Faith is the same. The sacraments are the same. God truly makes us all one in the Eucharist, so that we may one day worship Him together in heaven!

[quote name='Revelation 7:9-17']After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb."  All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped God, and exclaimed: "Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, "Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?"  I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows."  He said to me, "These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  "For this reason they stand before God's throne and worship him day and night in his temple. The one who sits on the throne will shelter them.  They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them.  For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." [/quote]

[quote name='toledo_jesus' date='Oct 25 2005, 06:37 PM']race is a social construction.  We're all humans.
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Race is different than ethnicity. Race is genetic, something you were born with. Society constructs stereotypes about race, but race itself is not socially constructed. Ethnicity, on the other hand, is not inherent in the person. An black person who's lived all their life in the U.S. is going to have a different cultural identity than a black person who has lived in Ethiopia all their life. Ethnicity is what makes one person culturally different from another person based on race OR language, history or religion...usually it's a combination of many of these factors.

We are all humans, but it is a fact that humans don't all look the same, talk the same, and have the same customs. But in the Eucharist we are one!

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='Oct 25 2005, 07:11 PM']Me. I'm just [color=green]irish. [/color]
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While it is true that many whites don't recognize their race as a major identity characteristic, your DNA would beg to differ. We all have racial identity, whether we like it or not. Ethnically, I'm Irish/Polish-Catholic and American. Racially, I am white. It's in my DNA.

When I was in high school, we were given an assignment to list 10 words or phrases that described ourselves, in order of importance. None of the white students put "white" on their list. However, most minority students included their race as part of their identity.

[Anastasia13]

[quote name='Philippe' date='Oct 25 2005, 10:42 PM']being white means you've never hardship... at least thast what they tell you when you white

bs if u ask me
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I would agree with your view of that, but there is a certain amount of things that whites can do that other races cannot, like bandaids that don't horribly contrast their skin color or greeting cards that look like them.

[theculturewarrior]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Oct 25 2005, 04:44 PM']What am I? 
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I dated a biracial woman for a while, and she had similar feelings. She didn't really feel like she was at home among her Mexican or her white friends.

The answer? You're an American! :

[theculturewarrior]

In Texas they say "Anglo." Like we're all from England. That's the PC word here. To me it's like calling someone from Honduras a Mexican. It's rude!

[cmotherofpirl]

Looking at someone and deciding what they must be like based on their skin color is laziness. You are looking at the cover and not the story inside.

CS Lewis {GBH} reminds us when we are looking at a person, they are souls that will live forever.

[MC Just]

well according to the 5 percenters and Nation of Islam, white people were grafted from the black man, white people are a "germ" and "the devil".

lol

[theculturewarrior]

[quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='Oct 26 2005, 08:31 AM']Looking at someone and deciding what they must be like based on their skin color is laziness. You are looking at the cover and not the story inside.

CS Lewis {GBH} reminds us when we are looking at a person,  they are souls that will live forever.
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Pope Pius XII, the so-called "Hitler's Pope," condemned racism and anti-semitism in his first encyclical, Summi Ponticatus (para. 35).

[zabbazooey]

Why was he called "hitler's pope"?

[1337 k4th0l1x0r]

It's a shame that so many African-Americans in the world have never even been to America. Especially those in Africa.

[zabbazooey]

Why would they be African Americans if they don't reside in America?

[theculturewarrior]

Being white means it's really awkward when people talk about race.

[tojo]

[quote name='theculturewarrior' date='Oct 26 2005, 11:03 AM']Being white means it's really awkward when people talk about race.
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Yeah, it does.

[zabbazooey]

[quote name='theculturewarrior' date='Oct 26 2005, 10:03 AM']Being white means it's really awkward when people talk about race.
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Exactly!