An email I received

Someone forwarded the email seen below to me the other day. Usually I ignore most of these forwarded emails, but, having met recently with the principal of our middle school, who happens to be African American, I decided to reply to this one.

The principal told us that "Minnesota Nice" is part of what makes it harder to combat racism than in the south. He said if people hear something they disagree with, they will often not say anything, or leave the room. He said we need to do more than that.

Here's the email:

Proud To Be White

Someone finally said it.
How many are actually paying attention to this?

There are African Americans,
Mexican Americans,
Asian Americans,
Arab Americans,
Native Americans, etc.
.....And then there are just -
Americans.

You pass me on the street
and sneer in my direction.
You Call me 'White boy,'
'Cracker,' 'Honkey,'
'Whitey,' 'Caveman,'
.....And that's OK.

But when I call you Nigger,
Kike, Towel head,
Sand-nigger, Camel Jockey,
Beaner, Gook, or Chink,
.....You call me a racist.

You say that whites commit a lot
of violence against you,
so why are the ghettos the most
dangerous places to live?

You have the United Negro College Fund.
You have Hispanic History Month.
You have Martin Luther King Day.
You have Asian History Month.
You have Black History Month.
You have Cesar Chavez Day.
You have Ma'uled Al-Nabi.
You have Yom Hashoah.
You have Kawanza.
You have the NAACP.
And you have BET.

If we had WET
(White Entertainment Television)
.....We'd be racists.

If we had a White Pride Day
.....You would call us racists.

If we had White History Month
.....We'd be racists.
If we had any organization for only whites
to 'advance' OUR lives,
.....We'd be racists.

We have a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce,
a Black Chamber of Commerce,
and then we just have the plain
Chamber of Commerce.
Wonder who pays for that?

If we had a college fund that only gave
white students scholarships
.....You know we'd be racists.

There are over 60 openly-proclaimed
Black-only Colleges in the US,
yet if there were 'White-only Colleges'
.....THAT would be a racist college.

In the Million-Man March,
you believed that you were
marching for your race and rights.
If we marched for our race and rights,
.....You would call us racists.

You are proud to be black,
brown, yellow and red,
and you're not afraid to announce it.
But when we announce our white pride
.....You call us racists.

You rob us,
carjack us,
and shoot at us.
But, when a white police officer
shoots a black gang member
or beats up a black drug-dealer
who is running from the LAW and
posing a threat to ALL of society
.....You call him a racist.

I am proud.
.....But, you call me a racist.

Why is it that only
whites
can be racists?
There is nothing improper about this e-mail.
Let's see which of you
are proud enough to send it on...

Here are some of the things I said:

I know you didn't write the email you forwarded to me, but I will tell you that I AM proud of my background and heritage, not simply "white" but Scandinavian-American. And my parents belong to the Swedish Institute and there is nothing racist about that. I know that my Swedish grandmother was ashamed that the Swedes, to remain neutral, sold arms to Hitler during World War II, but I told her I was proud that Sweden took in Jewish people when so many other countries were killing them. But of course, it is up to me, as an individual, to live up to the high ideals that I am proud of.

But then, I am usually judged as an individual, not primarily as a member of my race. I have never heard anyone say, "A white man cheated me, or robbed me, or held me up, so not I don't trust white men." If one white man (or white woman) does something shameful, we do not judge all white people on that, do we? That is the kind of society I want to work for.

Martin Luther King had a dream that we would one day be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. I don't believe that is still the case.

I also wrote:

Also, while I am proud to call myself an American, I am prouder still to call myself a "child of God," which is something I did nothing to earn and has nothing to do with my race or ethnicity, the color of my skin or my class.

Though all of us can be prejudiced (blacks can be prejudiced against asians or whites or whoever), usually those of us who are white are judged as individuals -- not our race or culture. Unfortunately, that hasn't always been the case with people of color.

I do understand how it feels to be in the minority from when I lived in Japan. There is something about sticking out and knowing people see you and are watching you all the time that perhaps makes you want to band together with people like yourself sometimes. I assume that is where some of the ethnic groups' organizations came from.

Also, just as the "ladies aids" came from a time in our church history when women couldn't vote or have any power in the church, so some of the organizations for minorities (and the historic black colleges) came from a time when black people didn't have power in the wider society.

I realize that there were many parts of the email I didn't address, especially the part that begins "You rob us...." which implies that victims of crime are mostly white, and that perpetrators are mostly people of color. (in reality, victims of crime are disproportionately people of color.)

Anyway, I'm glad I responded, but I'm not entirely happy with what I wrote. What would you have said?