Maine is unique in that it is the "whitest" state in the nation. Most people in Maine will be born, live, and die, without seeing another person of color, except on T.V. and on the movie screen. It is from here that they will "learn" who these people are, when all they are learning are the stereotypes that get reproduced and never challenged. The racial make-up, and biased media, affects how residents of this state see, and interact with, themselves and others of different races. Even though this is a reality for most of the "white" population in Maine, I believe Maine can be an example of where healthy racial relationships can be the norm and racism be challenged and eliminated.
For this to happen, Maine's "white" population will need to embrace the task of looking at race and racism head on, without fear or reservation. Most white people are afraid to talk about race in any way for fear of not knowing what to say, or being seen as a bigot when they do say something. I can only encourage the white residents of Maine to look at how "white-American culture" has influenced your lives and see how it perpetuates racism in our daily lives without us ever questioning it.
For racism to truly end, it has to be white people to stand up and challenge it at every level within our society. All other people of color: black, red, brown, and yellow, have done all they can to stop racism. They have done a lot but they can go no further. That is because white people are still holding the power when it comes to keeping racism alive in the United States. Therefore, it is white people who are the only ones that can stop it.
As a white person who was born, raised, and still lives in Maine, I am challenging the socially prescribed racism I was taught in my everyday life, and I will be doing this for the rest of my life. I can see apprehension and frustrations on the faces of many Mainers when they interact with people of other colors. It doesn't have to be this way. For it to change, it will take a conscious choice of looking deep down inside within ourselves and face the ugliness that is our racist past, and what this past has done to us and to other races in our country.
It won't be easy. I'm not going to lie to you. I want you to go into this with your eyes open, wanting to do this, learning from the experience, and making it part of your life. I would like to live a life where I can look back upon it on my finals days and know that this State of Maine did all it could to making racism a relic of the past.
This is all I, and other people of color, are asking us to do and we need to do it.
For this to happen, Maine's "white" population will need to embrace the task of looking at race and racism head on, without fear or reservation. Most white people are afraid to talk about race in any way for fear of not knowing what to say, or being seen as a bigot when they do say something. I can only encourage the white residents of Maine to look at how "white-American culture" has influenced your lives and see how it perpetuates racism in our daily lives without us ever questioning it.
For racism to truly end, it has to be white people to stand up and challenge it at every level within our society. All other people of color: black, red, brown, and yellow, have done all they can to stop racism. They have done a lot but they can go no further. That is because white people are still holding the power when it comes to keeping racism alive in the United States. Therefore, it is white people who are the only ones that can stop it.
As a white person who was born, raised, and still lives in Maine, I am challenging the socially prescribed racism I was taught in my everyday life, and I will be doing this for the rest of my life. I can see apprehension and frustrations on the faces of many Mainers when they interact with people of other colors. It doesn't have to be this way. For it to change, it will take a conscious choice of looking deep down inside within ourselves and face the ugliness that is our racist past, and what this past has done to us and to other races in our country.
It won't be easy. I'm not going to lie to you. I want you to go into this with your eyes open, wanting to do this, learning from the experience, and making it part of your life. I would like to live a life where I can look back upon it on my finals days and know that this State of Maine did all it could to making racism a relic of the past.
This is all I, and other people of color, are asking us to do and we need to do it.
6 comments:
sorry, but i think you are living in the wrong country... i lived in the usa for some time, and i now it is impossible to stop racism there. in big cities it is of course better, but on the country... no way. and as long as you have the conservatives running your country, it just will not happen that racism will die. there are too many small minded people...
I wish to make two comments about your post.
The first is that I am not trying to stop racism in the United States. I am trying to stop racism in the state that I live in, Maine. The title of the post says, Making Racism In Maine A Thing Of The Past, not in the United States.
Second, whether racism can be stopped by White people or not has never been tried. I do not take a pessimistic attitude when it comes to stopping racism, whether in Maine or the United States.
I agree that the racism in the United States is more ingrained within our culture, but that doesn't mean that it can't be stopped. Very few White people in the United States has ever tried to stop it and until White people do try, we will never know if it can be accomplished.
You can say I'm living in a dream world. At least I have the willingness to dream.
Mark: I live in Puerto Rico. An Island in the Carebbean. My skin is white but i'm sure some people in the States will see me as "diferent". That is sad. I've learned the strong advantage we have as human beings is diversity and the ability to share our strenghs to conform a stronger group. Racism and other forms of prejudice weaken our Nation a negate our nature as human beings. Keep the dreaming. Keep acting.
"Most people in Maine will be born, live, and die, without seeing another person of color, except on T.V. and on the movie screen."
Where in Maine do you live? That is a very broad statement. Maybe way up north that is true, but people up north certainly do not account for most of Maine's population. I have lived in Maine my whole life and I have seen PLENTY of people of other colors. Yes, we are 99% white, but that means one out of every hundred people is of a different color. You mean to tell me that most people in Maine will be born, live, and die, without seeing more than 99 people?
Also, the fact that we are 99% white doesn't mean we are racist. I'm from the sticks, yet I can think of very few people I know from Maine who even have a hint of racism in their attitudes.
"Most people in Maine will be born, live, and die, without seeing another person of color, except on T.V. and on the movie screen."
What Maine did you grow up in? We are 99% white. That means 1 out of every 100 people is of a different color. You mean to tell me that most people in Maine will be born, live, and die, without seeing more than 99 people?
Also the fact that we are mostly white doesn't make us mostly racist.
I am a conservative, and I am not a racist. Kenospunkt implied that conservatives are bigots. That is not true, and I am offended by what kenospunkt, or whatever his name is implied.
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