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J.R.'s avatar

What a wonderfully-written, honest, and thoughtful essay! One of the best on this subject I’ve read, ever. Although my journey to a better and consequential understanding of the subject of white male privilege is somewhat different, your essay resonated with me and my white, upper-middle-class upbringing; you laid a structure from which we can begin the internal and, later, external discussions.

In brief, I served eight years in the military, including 4 years in a northeast Asia. As a result, my exposure to unfamiliar ethnic backgrounds and experiences became a daily occurrence. In addition, I worked under and with female NCOs and commanders. Given the closeness with which we worked, often in physically demanding situations, camaraderie happened organically. As I matured, I noted how my world broadened; however, my edification crystallized when I moved off-post in an apartment in the local community.

I was trained in the language and customs by the Department of Defense before I was deployed. I loved the country and its culture until I became the Other. As the command of the language increased, nettlesome events occurred that enraged me. It all boiled down to this: no matter how well I spoke the language, behaved, or understood the culture, my status as an alien with differently-colored skin and blue eyes would relegate me to a lesser class of human. Once this fact dawned on me in the fullest sense, my last year in-country was excruciating, every interaction with my hosts burdened by the unfairness of their racism towards me, a well-meaning white guy. I confided in a close friend (who was black) how furious the default assumption of my racial inferiority made me. The epiphany (finally) struck me that he lived his entire life coping with similar situations and ignorance.

The brief experience as Other was utterly transformative, which brings me back to your thoughts on this issue and why it resonated so strongly. My time in the military, as well as being steeped in a very different linguistic and ethnic culture, made me a much more complicated and tolerant white man. At the risk of breaching the too-corny threshold, I think it helps me be a better parent, a better spouse, and a better citizen.

Apologies for the long, inelegant comment; kudos for a fantastic, thought-provoking piece!

Thank You

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Walter Rhein's avatar

That's such a wonderful story! Have you considered developing it a bit more and publishing it as an article? Those are exactly the type of stories the world needs to here right now. Thank you for sharing!

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Linda Tuininga's avatar

Walter, this is the best, most hopeful perspective I’ve read in a long time. The care and thought you applied to describing your process of engaging honest observation and reflective insight is prescriptive, potent, and performative.

You opened your personal experience of connecting with the depth perception of reality that is rarely pursued—and the generosity of sharing the change that was wrought in you is remarkably, humbly and deeply humane. Thank you, you’re one hell of a teacher.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thank you very much, you're so kind :)

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ebyn's avatar

This is why education on subjects is so important! This is why attending public school is important and investing in public education is important. We MUST insist that people learn about differences and not allow people to choose to learn about it when they leave their bubbles. As a white, Queer, disable human who struggles to move beyond the low-income class.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Absolutely!

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Polly Walker Blakemore's avatar

Thank you for such an eloquent and insightful self-assessment that provides a road map for how we can all become more compassionate and connected. It is indeed a process, and it takes commitment, but the rewards are worth it - and very much needed right now.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thank you Polly!

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Fred Johnson's avatar

Excellent. But this is knowledge and reason. That's enlightenment - which is to be silenced as "woke."

Still, your knowledge and reason are helpful as tools in pursuit of the same goals. As usual.

Thanks.

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Yeah, any time we start to make progress, they denounce it by calling it "socialism" or "woke" or some other nonsense. We have to persist!

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Fred Johnson's avatar

They're ideaology is "antisocial - ism.

In the name of the Lord and Ayn Rand.

Like being against anti-fascists is as patriotiic as killing a gray wolf (or a puppy)..

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WTH Is Going On?! Chris Berrie's avatar

Keep up the good work, Walter!

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Norma DeLiberty's avatar

thank you

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Zsolt Kohalmi The Late Harvest's avatar

Walter, good meandering thoughts on a dangerously winding road. During a lifetime, not only racism but meeting different races in the exact location can change. When I was a child in Budapest, we barely saw non-Caucasian people except gipsies. Their ancestors came from India, and they kept wondering, many of them not even having home addresses. And they had to carry a large part of racist exclusion. Their natural talent for music integrated a part of them into the “white” society.

Racism had its terrible extreme when I was born. Out of the then 9 million Hungarian citizens, more than half a million Jewish compatriots fell victim to the holocaust. The strange reaction of the following communist regime to this unbelievable catastrophe was trying to discourage the survivors from identifying with their Jewish identity. Even the word Jewish was better not used. Closing the eyes did not help at all.

Walking to the local restaurant today, I met the kids leaving my old elementary school. Out of fifteen students, one was black, one brown, and two Asian, all speaking perfect Hungarian. Have they been integrated into our society? It is still a long way…

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Walter Rhein's avatar

Thanks for that lovely comment Zsolt! When I lived in Peru I got used to being the only white person around. They embraced me fully and taught me so much. I never encountered any hostility.

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Zsolt Kohalmi The Late Harvest's avatar

Those mountain people are marvellous! I have spent there only a week, but keep their warm and sincere affection. On a bus tour outside of Cusco the local tour guide showed us people harvesting. A Texan tourist asked who's land was it. The young guide responded: it was the land of the ketchua. The Texan asked again: but who owns the land?

For him primitive communism was beyond comprehension. And the ketchua were singing while happily harvesting THEIR grains.

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Bill Lukens's avatar

"Ignorance is curable,

Stupidity is terminal."

Corallary - Ignorance is infinite. We are finite.

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