Nigel Biggars book about colonialism would be right up your alley.
Here’s the thing I’m white as can be, my own Germanic and Celtic ancestors were basically wild animals before Christianization. Some cool boats and some cool stories but cultural habits that would turn your hair white. After centuries of hard won progress by Christianity we created basically the world’s dominant culture.
So really it isn’t exactly “racial”. However we are identified that way. The rejection of “whites” is essentially a rejection of the Christian ethos.
It very much is racial. Would you rather live next to a Somalian Christian or an Atheist White American? People and their cultures are not blank slates. I can agree that objectively, Christianity makes all cultures better though.
Well I live next door to Singaporean Christians and they’ve been great to me and mine, but I take your meaning. It depends on the Somali and the Atheist doesn’t it?
What's this? A cucked, deluded, "I don't see color" boomercon live in the wild?! In Year of our Lord 2025?! May Saint Floyd of Fentanyl bless your little heart.
Not entirely sure what Israeli propaganda efforts have to do with this, but yes, one can safely assume the color-blind boomercon post-WW2 consensus-lover type to be drenched, inundated in Israeli feel-good lobbyist talking points.
So fair enough. 10 points for (ironic?) self-awareness!
Singapore is a very intentionally deracinated republic, which in many ways is a sort of globalist cosmopolitan/20th-century take on British Hong Kong in the colonial era. I'm also friendly with few people from Singapore, & they strike as very culturally similar to White people in most situations.
Your friends are basically a mirror to the parts of British Colonialism high-IQ Asians liked & took to heart.
I mean, bingo that’s why it’s not purely racial to me. They’re Chinese but in the case of my neighbors they’re “our” Chinese, Christian, English speaking, common law, very rah rah about the USA and the right wing now that they’re here. And I’m supposed to what? Fail to recognize allies because the white version of the Nation of Islam says I should? Shun their kindness to me when I went through a hard time and it mattered?
I was actually in Hong Kong when it was a Crown Colony and I mostly learned that the free market is real (at the time you could get a full steak dinner for the cost of McDonald’s number 1 back in the UK) and imperialism can be awesome.
Zing! Working on your tight 5? But seriously do you think Obama is an actually dumb guy? Do you think any eminence grise figure behind the scenes is lacking in IQ? Intelligence isn’t the problem, character and spiritual orientation is. Plenty of clever devils the world.
Look at the geographic region. Does the region force you to live life slowly? Forests make the people zealous penny-pinchers. Mountains make people hardy. Winter regions make people behave like territorial wolves and hibernating bears.
Very warm regions, filled with animals and bountiful fruit trees, allow the people to move around and say that they'll do it tomorrow. It'll become crowded, and people will be able to raid their neighbours. And it will be the way to get yours.
Southern Americans are hot-headed, take offence and are trigger-happy. Because you have to. Cowboys' cows and horses can be stolen. American Northerners' farms and deeds of ownership can't be stolen. You can't steal land as you steal grazing cattle. So why wouldn't they be calm when the law in the North knows who lives on which street?
This is just a broad brush encapsulation of cultures over time … it’s fair, I think, without blaming anyone… just basic cause and effect:
Just a theory I have.
Environment seems to have self selected. The Arctic for stoicism in the face of brutal decisions (sending grandma to die on the ice), the temperate for inventiveness(if you don’t build a warm home, stack wood, and store food for winter, you die), and the tropics for entertainment(food constantly grows, so focus on music, entertainment, social skills). Over succeeding generations women selected their mates for success. The result is what we have today…
When people from the tropics move to the temperate regions, they are horrified at the selfishness of people unwilling to give away their food and homes. The temperate peoples cannot understand why people from the tropics take and take without (apparently) doing anything productive, yet enjoy the talent of other peoples … in entertainment.
As for the arctic (and desert, somewhat). They can war. Raid the temperate regions. And the loss of life is just accepted as a part of reality. They have suffered huge losses in wars. Also the more inventive and resourceful a person was, the further north they could go and still survive… but the populations are low because the weather is so brutal and resources are so few.
The thing about the talents of the temperate peoples, is that innovation / inventiveness can “stack” by being taught to successive generations to build on … things like mechanics and architecture … less so for dance and drumbeats. So over time the tools of each region advance at different rates, and recently the inventiveness escalated.. to where other regions want to have the same tools and the same infrastructure/lifestyle as the temperate regions.
No, my white ancestors disrespected the one true God with human sacrifice, ritual bestiality(!), worshipping stones, and a culture based on murder and looting by boat. Then my other white ancestors built a civilization that made it easy for me to become a Christian. Those I honor.
I know what we were like before and after, you can’t con me I see it with my own eyeballs. It’s the difference between Sutton Hoo and the city of London in 1900.
EDIT: on reflection I’m grateful to all who made me possible. However my pagan ancestors ought to be pitied for how harsh they made their own lives by falling for terrible deceptions.
Human sacrifice back then was capital punishment. Also, the Israelites did human sacrifice often, even under gods commands after war. Ritual beastiality is in reference to that one ritual with the Irish king and the horse? Not corroborated anywhere else, and a clear Christian rewrite. We have coronation rituals recorded elsewhere which don't mention ritual beastiality. The only other similar Indo European ritual is in India, and that has totally different connotations and motifs. So it's not a bona fide practice that can be proven to have existed.
I totally understand this, I grew up in the streets of Houston and me and my little brother were the only white boys in the neighborhood I fought everyday
Such a fascinating difference from Mexican culture (my wife’s family). There may be a strain of anti-Americanism from the historical bad blood, but most Mexicans try their best to be white. If not culturally, for sure color wise. Loooot of folks avoiding the sun, bleaching hair blonde, getting colored contacts. Dark skin is still lightly (and sometimes not so lightly) mocked, called “Indio” or “negro”. And there’s quite a lot of racism against actual blacks (similar to what one would expect from a white suburban soccer mom, not so much from a redneck good ol boy)
Probably to do with the old casta system which was based not only on color, but birth location. More European blood = better. My wife marrying me (blonde English/German) was met with admiration from many old ladies. “Mejor la raza!”, she was told.
Really white Dominicana here, I hear ya sister! SAME EXACT THING with me. My own sister is really 'white" (blond, blue eyed, but has 85IQ and black as hell in her nose and in her behavior) and she hates white people and me because I try to be logical.
Your comment about this shift in the 2000s reminds me of a conversation I had with a Afro-Caribbean guy that grew up in the UK.
His dad was a straight up Marxist, but race was never a thing growing up there in the 90s. He came to the States for university and work for a decade or so. He remarked at how blacks in America seemed to have this permanent chip on their shoulder about whites.
But when he returned to the UK, he found the Caribbean neighborhood he grew up in had radically changed to have more American racial attitudes. Same talking points on race that he first heard in America was being repeating in London as a bunch of anti-white hatred.
Wow! That is a profound article. Thank you for sharing your perspective. As a father of five daughters it breaks my heart to think of a wide culture where sexual assault on children is common. I understand how growing up with that cultural experience would make you reject God and live immorally. Very sad.
From your experience what percentage of girls in that culture were molested? Was there a cultural norm that the perpetrators were not held accountable in any way? Why do you think this behavior was covered up?
Concerning Puerto Ricans I think it’s because the island is small and the terrain can be difficult. If the only women accessible to a man are family, well…
That high rate of albinism is ON THE ISLAND for clarification. I truly think it’s a geographical isolation issue that eventually got accepted as a distasteful cultural norm.
I can’t put a figure to a percentage of women, but it’s a common experience. I wish I could tell you more but the gene pool is the most informative data.
And I’m not saying this is something that was established in the last generation on the island. I’m saying for several generations before on the island, people were isolated and fairly primitive IMO and men took the women they had access to. This is likely common on all Caribbean islands. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear similar of the Dominican Republic or Haiti—in fact I know that was common in Haiti and still may be today.
"you will hear high-brow intellectual theories thrown around like neo-Marxism as the cause of anti-whitism"
Not to disagree - I've echoed similar sentiment (see Lindsay's approach to politics lol) - but I don't think it's either/or, the former (rad lib ideology) reinforces the latter (general sentiment among people). A good, historical equivalent to this would be w/ witchcraft in middle ages, since most people didn't really see witchcraft/sorcery as diabolical & didn't believe in theology - but through some churches & sermons, the sentiment towards "witches" and those engaging in such behavior got amplified, eventually leading to "witch-hunts," which ended up mostly being average people going after others like them (with exceptions).
Its kind of a surreal experience when you start seeing the programming in real time. When I was younger, I was occassionally mocked in online gaming sessions for sounding white, recall hearing people in my family say wet whites smell like dogs etc. The switch flipped ehen I was watching a buzzfeed video about whites and thought "this would be pretty fucked if it was about any other race". It's nice being "awake" but pretty alienating, at least for med because I cant vibe with or approve of the culture. All that to say, good essay
It's just as bad if you're White and don't hate yourself. Same alienation. "How could you possibly not apologize for your existence on a daily basis?" Politics of envy and self-loathing.
I read all this as just another 'shade', so to speak, of the human tendency to refuse to take responsibility for one's own actions and decisions. Every color, every culture, every race - the blame game keeps the fragile human ego intact, and the victim in a perpetual state of mental and emotional slavery. In their minds, "it" is always someone else's fault. Their mind is a prison of self destructive delusion. Tale as old as time. Always a victim, never a victor. Humility; one of whose traits is the ability to ask oneself "how did MY behavior, attitude and choices contribute to this situation?" and answer it honestly, is a much needed and horrifically overlooked character trait. People have made "humble" synonymous with "weak". It is just so much easier to stubbornly stay a mental slave than to do the hard work of being honest with oneself, owning our faults and mistakes and changing. We will never get beyond our human nature - unless we grab with both hands the saving grace offered by Jesus Christ. He is the only one who offers and can deliver a true change of heart and mind. A true follower He would never leave in this hellacious mental prison. ❤️
I was sexually, emotionally and mentally abused beginning as a toddler in an alcohol and drug fueled madhouse. If I can overcome, anyone can. I have little sympathy for perpetual victims. Thank YOU for posting!
I understand that reaction. I have a different perspective on things; these things did not happen to me, they happened FOR me. One of my favorite verses: Romans 8:28 "And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose." God has given me much more than the trauma ever took away.
I’m big on agentic thinking. “My life is defined by what others do to me” produces helplessness & resentment and makes a person very easy to manipulate. “My life is defined by how I choose to act in whatever situation I find myself” produces healthier outcomes
Bringing God’s perspective into the mix adds another layer. In one sense it is anti-agentic: I am ultimately at the mercy of God’s plans and purposes. But from another it supremely liberating: your life is first and foremost an interaction between you & God and he ultimately acts for your good. Thus in every situation you are free to act for good, even if it’s just “hey God, I don’t see any options here, so I’m gonna focus on praying & surviving until something changes”
At the risk of psychoanalysing grace (sorry!), I saw an interesting video talking about how the fear / fight /flight response paralyses our thinking. Moving our thoughts away from ourselves and onto God brings calm, which gives us the ability to see possibilities that he has provided us that we cannot see when we are self-focused
I worked in women's prison ministry. More than 80% had been sexually molested or assaulted. My experience gave me the opportunity to reach them in very emotionally and spiritually intimate ways. If I had not faced the same pains and scars, I would not have been so effective. Just one example of how God uses ALL things . But more to your point, knowing God is not just an intellectual experience. Knowing scripture can, as you said, be very comforting when facing tough life challenges. BUT: When the Holy Spirit moves in, when you have truly repented; you KNOW it. Things within are just not the same anymore.
The network effect may be somewhat real if a bit overstated, but is also the sort of thing a white person like me is browbeaten into not acknowledging less they sound 'racist,' similar to pointing out that fatherlessness, abuse, and selfish nasty "gimme more, gimme mine" attitudes are what hold many communities down.
I've seen the same kind of thing in some white people as well, except they tend to just blame everyone who didn't acquiesce to their desires and the world in general, instead of a specific race. It's always someone else's fault and they can't keep a friend for long. If they do point to a group to blame, it'll usually be "conservatives," "Republicans," or the "far right" (who were yesterday's left-liberals) because the TV told them to.
I’m gonna be totally honest, I think I’ve had such positive experiences with white Americans because I haven’t really socialized with significantly low status ones. So I am probably super biased in their favor. 😂
Ah I am a bit odd as I grew up in a trailer but became a professional. My ancestors were mostly working class blue collar types (except for some of the women who did part time teaching/secretary work) but I went into a professional office jobs. Plus I've fostered previously and one of the bio moms *really* took the cake when it came to being the white version of the culture you described. I also know what real racism (as opposed to the fake Nazi / bigot / etc. slurs always tossed about today) sounds like from growing up in the 80s and 90s because their stuff was everywhere where I lived (even from a couple family members). When I overheard one slur in first grade that I won't repeat (it rhymes with Earth's largest satellite), I thought one uncle was just really upset about trash pandas, until I got older and learned what he meant.
I am white and grew up in the 60s-70s in a working class white neighborhood. There were a few black families. One of our best family friends was the black neighbor kid. We all did everything together. In highschool inner city black kids were bussed in to my school. We ran track together. It was fun. We were colorblind. We loved each other. Absolutely colorblind. It's so different now.
Excellent article, Aly. You have crystallized the root of the issue. Let me comment as an older participant on Substack: in the 70s and 80s in suburban California, society was colorblind. Movies were made with black and white comedians making jokes about their differences and everybody laughed. The anti-white mentality has been elevated recently and legitimized, undermining the colorblind blind society that we had.
One thing I don't understand about the "machismo" in what's now called the "global south" cultures is that emotional incontinence, an inability to be still and stoic in the face of a challenger, excuse-making, and a lack of moral agency, is not considered shameful, unmanly behavior (not to mention abandoning your children).
Really interesting article, thank you for writing it and that you found a better path.
I am wondering if these self defeating behaviours and social dysfunction are more common in lower class backgrounds of all kinds? I have observed this also in other countries in communities with inter generational poverty.
In my own case, as we are white, the wealthy were blamed. I see many similarities in mindset on one side of my family which is working class northern English, and I think it is a cultural attitude that is passed on within families/communities. Maybe some project onto an external enemy and some lean inward into powerlessness which then defines them?
For example, that side of my family none of the aunt/uncle generation have moved out of the class, it was actively discouraged by my grandfather (you were called a class traitor and threatened with family expulsion). Most of the cousins the same - they were not encouraged to try to better themselves because that would mean you thought you were better than the others. My family was different due to one parent not having that attitude. That side of the family, while from the same class, had opposite views. All those aunts, uncles, cousins have done well in their lives.
Some aspects of what I wrote will translate to other low SES cultures, yes. But it doesn’t negate the fact that lower-class minorities, on average, have very extreme racial views while touting being victims of racism and championing “equity.” It’s a power play.
Yeah that was certainly interesting to read about, I didn’t realise how strong that hostility was I just assumed it was a small fraction of people who thought that way.
" so it is my responsibility as their mother to be up-to-date on anti-whitism in the nation for their safety and well-being."
I wish white parents could understand this. Unfortunately, most have been brainwashed into believing that Whites are uniquely racist and racism is the worst of all sins. That is why when a white child is killed by a black or brown, the parents are angrier about white people commenting on black and brown violence against whites than they are the death of their child.
The most recent example is Jeff Metcalf. He immediately forgave the black kid even though the black felt no sorrow. He didn't forgive the whites who commented. See, Jeff Metcalf doesn't see color. The black who killed his kid and the blacks who supported the killer do see color.
Great piece! I think you're right about this 100%.
There was an interesting study done years ago in Louisiana. The purpose of the study was to find out how the Vietnamese immigrants were able to build wealth after just one generation, while the indigenous [black] people couldn't, after multiple generations.
The study reviewed education, family situation, available assistance, and pretty much every difference that one could reasonably account for.
The author of the study was a black man. He drilled down all of the stats, interviewed dozens of people, and came to a simple conclusion.
There was a reason that the Vietnamese immigrants did much better than the black people already living in the state. The reason was that the Vietnamese immigrants *knew* that nobody was going to help them, and that they were going to have to work hard if they were going to make it.
The study found that most black residents felt that they were owed something, so they were complacent, waiting on help that was never going to come. Fixing their economic issues was the job of someone else.
The real difference was one of mindset. One group thought that they were screwed over, and that working hard would never get them anywhere. While the other group worked hard and never "accepted" their fate.
The results of the study were scrutinized by the race hustlers at the time of its publication.
To find that study now would take hours. But, I remember it well because it was honest, and angered a lot of politicians at the time. It broke the idea that government was going to "fix" the problem(s) within the black community.
But it all stands to reason. A culture that perpetuates failure -- will just keep failing. After all, you can't do what those racist white people are doing. 😆😄😂
Nigel Biggars book about colonialism would be right up your alley.
Here’s the thing I’m white as can be, my own Germanic and Celtic ancestors were basically wild animals before Christianization. Some cool boats and some cool stories but cultural habits that would turn your hair white. After centuries of hard won progress by Christianity we created basically the world’s dominant culture.
So really it isn’t exactly “racial”. However we are identified that way. The rejection of “whites” is essentially a rejection of the Christian ethos.
It very much is racial. Would you rather live next to a Somalian Christian or an Atheist White American? People and their cultures are not blank slates. I can agree that objectively, Christianity makes all cultures better though.
Well I live next door to Singaporean Christians and they’ve been great to me and mine, but I take your meaning. It depends on the Somali and the Atheist doesn’t it?
What's this? A cucked, deluded, "I don't see color" boomercon live in the wild?! In Year of our Lord 2025?! May Saint Floyd of Fentanyl bless your little heart.
You missed hasbara.
Not entirely sure what Israeli propaganda efforts have to do with this, but yes, one can safely assume the color-blind boomercon post-WW2 consensus-lover type to be drenched, inundated in Israeli feel-good lobbyist talking points.
So fair enough. 10 points for (ironic?) self-awareness!
You are hilarious
Singapore is a very intentionally deracinated republic, which in many ways is a sort of globalist cosmopolitan/20th-century take on British Hong Kong in the colonial era. I'm also friendly with few people from Singapore, & they strike as very culturally similar to White people in most situations.
Your friends are basically a mirror to the parts of British Colonialism high-IQ Asians liked & took to heart.
I mean, bingo that’s why it’s not purely racial to me. They’re Chinese but in the case of my neighbors they’re “our” Chinese, Christian, English speaking, common law, very rah rah about the USA and the right wing now that they’re here. And I’m supposed to what? Fail to recognize allies because the white version of the Nation of Islam says I should? Shun their kindness to me when I went through a hard time and it mattered?
I was actually in Hong Kong when it was a Crown Colony and I mostly learned that the free market is real (at the time you could get a full steak dinner for the cost of McDonald’s number 1 back in the UK) and imperialism can be awesome.
Singapore ain't Somalia. Look at the national IQ stats. Almost all of this stuff comes down to IQ.
Yep, our current rulers have higher IQs than normal and we’re doing great…
You think they have high IQs? Maybe compared to yours...
Zing! Working on your tight 5? But seriously do you think Obama is an actually dumb guy? Do you think any eminence grise figure behind the scenes is lacking in IQ? Intelligence isn’t the problem, character and spiritual orientation is. Plenty of clever devils the world.
Look at the geographic region. Does the region force you to live life slowly? Forests make the people zealous penny-pinchers. Mountains make people hardy. Winter regions make people behave like territorial wolves and hibernating bears.
Very warm regions, filled with animals and bountiful fruit trees, allow the people to move around and say that they'll do it tomorrow. It'll become crowded, and people will be able to raid their neighbours. And it will be the way to get yours.
Southern Americans are hot-headed, take offence and are trigger-happy. Because you have to. Cowboys' cows and horses can be stolen. American Northerners' farms and deeds of ownership can't be stolen. You can't steal land as you steal grazing cattle. So why wouldn't they be calm when the law in the North knows who lives on which street?
This is just a broad brush encapsulation of cultures over time … it’s fair, I think, without blaming anyone… just basic cause and effect:
Just a theory I have.
Environment seems to have self selected. The Arctic for stoicism in the face of brutal decisions (sending grandma to die on the ice), the temperate for inventiveness(if you don’t build a warm home, stack wood, and store food for winter, you die), and the tropics for entertainment(food constantly grows, so focus on music, entertainment, social skills). Over succeeding generations women selected their mates for success. The result is what we have today…
When people from the tropics move to the temperate regions, they are horrified at the selfishness of people unwilling to give away their food and homes. The temperate peoples cannot understand why people from the tropics take and take without (apparently) doing anything productive, yet enjoy the talent of other peoples … in entertainment.
As for the arctic (and desert, somewhat). They can war. Raid the temperate regions. And the loss of life is just accepted as a part of reality. They have suffered huge losses in wars. Also the more inventive and resourceful a person was, the further north they could go and still survive… but the populations are low because the weather is so brutal and resources are so few.
The thing about the talents of the temperate peoples, is that innovation / inventiveness can “stack” by being taught to successive generations to build on … things like mechanics and architecture … less so for dance and drumbeats. So over time the tools of each region advance at different rates, and recently the inventiveness escalated.. to where other regions want to have the same tools and the same infrastructure/lifestyle as the temperate regions.
I'm pagan Scots-Irish, from heritage Americans, this is my country. And I'd rather it be Christian than non-White.
You disrespect your White ancestors when you toady to 'christianity'.
No, my white ancestors disrespected the one true God with human sacrifice, ritual bestiality(!), worshipping stones, and a culture based on murder and looting by boat. Then my other white ancestors built a civilization that made it easy for me to become a Christian. Those I honor.
I know what we were like before and after, you can’t con me I see it with my own eyeballs. It’s the difference between Sutton Hoo and the city of London in 1900.
EDIT: on reflection I’m grateful to all who made me possible. However my pagan ancestors ought to be pitied for how harsh they made their own lives by falling for terrible deceptions.
Human sacrifice back then was capital punishment. Also, the Israelites did human sacrifice often, even under gods commands after war. Ritual beastiality is in reference to that one ritual with the Irish king and the horse? Not corroborated anywhere else, and a clear Christian rewrite. We have coronation rituals recorded elsewhere which don't mention ritual beastiality. The only other similar Indo European ritual is in India, and that has totally different connotations and motifs. So it's not a bona fide practice that can be proven to have existed.
You are a race traitor. Simple as.
Is that author name real?
Our ancestors weren't wild animals, don't be so weak
I totally understand this, I grew up in the streets of Houston and me and my little brother were the only white boys in the neighborhood I fought everyday
Such a fascinating difference from Mexican culture (my wife’s family). There may be a strain of anti-Americanism from the historical bad blood, but most Mexicans try their best to be white. If not culturally, for sure color wise. Loooot of folks avoiding the sun, bleaching hair blonde, getting colored contacts. Dark skin is still lightly (and sometimes not so lightly) mocked, called “Indio” or “negro”. And there’s quite a lot of racism against actual blacks (similar to what one would expect from a white suburban soccer mom, not so much from a redneck good ol boy)
Probably to do with the old casta system which was based not only on color, but birth location. More European blood = better. My wife marrying me (blonde English/German) was met with admiration from many old ladies. “Mejor la raza!”, she was told.
It's crazy how all you hedge Whites really want to be white.
Just make your people better. Stop trying to become us. Just use our ideas in your own places. Fuckn fetishists.
lol I'm white
Really white Dominicana here, I hear ya sister! SAME EXACT THING with me. My own sister is really 'white" (blond, blue eyed, but has 85IQ and black as hell in her nose and in her behavior) and she hates white people and me because I try to be logical.
I love Substack because I can read comments like this without worrying about a hate mob freakout. Thanks, Milvia. You cracked me up.
Your comment about this shift in the 2000s reminds me of a conversation I had with a Afro-Caribbean guy that grew up in the UK.
His dad was a straight up Marxist, but race was never a thing growing up there in the 90s. He came to the States for university and work for a decade or so. He remarked at how blacks in America seemed to have this permanent chip on their shoulder about whites.
But when he returned to the UK, he found the Caribbean neighborhood he grew up in had radically changed to have more American racial attitudes. Same talking points on race that he first heard in America was being repeating in London as a bunch of anti-white hatred.
This! I swear the UK managed to import racial tension from US universities “recently”.
Not saying there was nothing, but I remember nothing like I hear about now.
Wow! That is a profound article. Thank you for sharing your perspective. As a father of five daughters it breaks my heart to think of a wide culture where sexual assault on children is common. I understand how growing up with that cultural experience would make you reject God and live immorally. Very sad.
From your experience what percentage of girls in that culture were molested? Was there a cultural norm that the perpetrators were not held accountable in any way? Why do you think this behavior was covered up?
Concerning Puerto Ricans I think it’s because the island is small and the terrain can be difficult. If the only women accessible to a man are family, well…
That high rate of albinism is ON THE ISLAND for clarification. I truly think it’s a geographical isolation issue that eventually got accepted as a distasteful cultural norm.
I can’t put a figure to a percentage of women, but it’s a common experience. I wish I could tell you more but the gene pool is the most informative data.
And I’m not saying this is something that was established in the last generation on the island. I’m saying for several generations before on the island, people were isolated and fairly primitive IMO and men took the women they had access to. This is likely common on all Caribbean islands. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear similar of the Dominican Republic or Haiti—in fact I know that was common in Haiti and still may be today.
Sexual assault is widespread in our culture brought on by foreigners. Imagine having White daughters in New York, or Birmingham, or Dublin.
Good article, thanks for sharing.
"you will hear high-brow intellectual theories thrown around like neo-Marxism as the cause of anti-whitism"
Not to disagree - I've echoed similar sentiment (see Lindsay's approach to politics lol) - but I don't think it's either/or, the former (rad lib ideology) reinforces the latter (general sentiment among people). A good, historical equivalent to this would be w/ witchcraft in middle ages, since most people didn't really see witchcraft/sorcery as diabolical & didn't believe in theology - but through some churches & sermons, the sentiment towards "witches" and those engaging in such behavior got amplified, eventually leading to "witch-hunts," which ended up mostly being average people going after others like them (with exceptions).
Its kind of a surreal experience when you start seeing the programming in real time. When I was younger, I was occassionally mocked in online gaming sessions for sounding white, recall hearing people in my family say wet whites smell like dogs etc. The switch flipped ehen I was watching a buzzfeed video about whites and thought "this would be pretty fucked if it was about any other race". It's nice being "awake" but pretty alienating, at least for med because I cant vibe with or approve of the culture. All that to say, good essay
It's just as bad if you're White and don't hate yourself. Same alienation. "How could you possibly not apologize for your existence on a daily basis?" Politics of envy and self-loathing.
I read all this as just another 'shade', so to speak, of the human tendency to refuse to take responsibility for one's own actions and decisions. Every color, every culture, every race - the blame game keeps the fragile human ego intact, and the victim in a perpetual state of mental and emotional slavery. In their minds, "it" is always someone else's fault. Their mind is a prison of self destructive delusion. Tale as old as time. Always a victim, never a victor. Humility; one of whose traits is the ability to ask oneself "how did MY behavior, attitude and choices contribute to this situation?" and answer it honestly, is a much needed and horrifically overlooked character trait. People have made "humble" synonymous with "weak". It is just so much easier to stubbornly stay a mental slave than to do the hard work of being honest with oneself, owning our faults and mistakes and changing. We will never get beyond our human nature - unless we grab with both hands the saving grace offered by Jesus Christ. He is the only one who offers and can deliver a true change of heart and mind. A true follower He would never leave in this hellacious mental prison. ❤️
True. Many people have an idol they use as an excuse for their failures. A common one is "hard childhoods."
Thank you for commenting!
I was sexually, emotionally and mentally abused beginning as a toddler in an alcohol and drug fueled madhouse. If I can overcome, anyone can. I have little sympathy for perpetual victims. Thank YOU for posting!
I read this and simultaneously think “that’s terrible” & “win!”
Thanks also Aly for sharing her journey
I understand that reaction. I have a different perspective on things; these things did not happen to me, they happened FOR me. One of my favorite verses: Romans 8:28 "And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose." God has given me much more than the trauma ever took away.
Wise words, Michelle! Thank you
I’m big on agentic thinking. “My life is defined by what others do to me” produces helplessness & resentment and makes a person very easy to manipulate. “My life is defined by how I choose to act in whatever situation I find myself” produces healthier outcomes
Bringing God’s perspective into the mix adds another layer. In one sense it is anti-agentic: I am ultimately at the mercy of God’s plans and purposes. But from another it supremely liberating: your life is first and foremost an interaction between you & God and he ultimately acts for your good. Thus in every situation you are free to act for good, even if it’s just “hey God, I don’t see any options here, so I’m gonna focus on praying & surviving until something changes”
At the risk of psychoanalysing grace (sorry!), I saw an interesting video talking about how the fear / fight /flight response paralyses our thinking. Moving our thoughts away from ourselves and onto God brings calm, which gives us the ability to see possibilities that he has provided us that we cannot see when we are self-focused
I worked in women's prison ministry. More than 80% had been sexually molested or assaulted. My experience gave me the opportunity to reach them in very emotionally and spiritually intimate ways. If I had not faced the same pains and scars, I would not have been so effective. Just one example of how God uses ALL things . But more to your point, knowing God is not just an intellectual experience. Knowing scripture can, as you said, be very comforting when facing tough life challenges. BUT: When the Holy Spirit moves in, when you have truly repented; you KNOW it. Things within are just not the same anymore.
The network effect may be somewhat real if a bit overstated, but is also the sort of thing a white person like me is browbeaten into not acknowledging less they sound 'racist,' similar to pointing out that fatherlessness, abuse, and selfish nasty "gimme more, gimme mine" attitudes are what hold many communities down.
I've seen the same kind of thing in some white people as well, except they tend to just blame everyone who didn't acquiesce to their desires and the world in general, instead of a specific race. It's always someone else's fault and they can't keep a friend for long. If they do point to a group to blame, it'll usually be "conservatives," "Republicans," or the "far right" (who were yesterday's left-liberals) because the TV told them to.
I’m gonna be totally honest, I think I’ve had such positive experiences with white Americans because I haven’t really socialized with significantly low status ones. So I am probably super biased in their favor. 😂
Ah I am a bit odd as I grew up in a trailer but became a professional. My ancestors were mostly working class blue collar types (except for some of the women who did part time teaching/secretary work) but I went into a professional office jobs. Plus I've fostered previously and one of the bio moms *really* took the cake when it came to being the white version of the culture you described. I also know what real racism (as opposed to the fake Nazi / bigot / etc. slurs always tossed about today) sounds like from growing up in the 80s and 90s because their stuff was everywhere where I lived (even from a couple family members). When I overheard one slur in first grade that I won't repeat (it rhymes with Earth's largest satellite), I thought one uncle was just really upset about trash pandas, until I got older and learned what he meant.
I am white and grew up in the 60s-70s in a working class white neighborhood. There were a few black families. One of our best family friends was the black neighbor kid. We all did everything together. In highschool inner city black kids were bussed in to my school. We ran track together. It was fun. We were colorblind. We loved each other. Absolutely colorblind. It's so different now.
We have a very sensitive culture today. People take severe offense to racism when it truly can be laughed off most of the time.
Excellent article, Aly. You have crystallized the root of the issue. Let me comment as an older participant on Substack: in the 70s and 80s in suburban California, society was colorblind. Movies were made with black and white comedians making jokes about their differences and everybody laughed. The anti-white mentality has been elevated recently and legitimized, undermining the colorblind blind society that we had.
One thing I don't understand about the "machismo" in what's now called the "global south" cultures is that emotional incontinence, an inability to be still and stoic in the face of a challenger, excuse-making, and a lack of moral agency, is not considered shameful, unmanly behavior (not to mention abandoning your children).
Always felt it indicated a certain degree of immaturity.
Really interesting article, thank you for writing it and that you found a better path.
I am wondering if these self defeating behaviours and social dysfunction are more common in lower class backgrounds of all kinds? I have observed this also in other countries in communities with inter generational poverty.
In my own case, as we are white, the wealthy were blamed. I see many similarities in mindset on one side of my family which is working class northern English, and I think it is a cultural attitude that is passed on within families/communities. Maybe some project onto an external enemy and some lean inward into powerlessness which then defines them?
For example, that side of my family none of the aunt/uncle generation have moved out of the class, it was actively discouraged by my grandfather (you were called a class traitor and threatened with family expulsion). Most of the cousins the same - they were not encouraged to try to better themselves because that would mean you thought you were better than the others. My family was different due to one parent not having that attitude. That side of the family, while from the same class, had opposite views. All those aunts, uncles, cousins have done well in their lives.
Some aspects of what I wrote will translate to other low SES cultures, yes. But it doesn’t negate the fact that lower-class minorities, on average, have very extreme racial views while touting being victims of racism and championing “equity.” It’s a power play.
Yeah that was certainly interesting to read about, I didn’t realise how strong that hostility was I just assumed it was a small fraction of people who thought that way.
" so it is my responsibility as their mother to be up-to-date on anti-whitism in the nation for their safety and well-being."
I wish white parents could understand this. Unfortunately, most have been brainwashed into believing that Whites are uniquely racist and racism is the worst of all sins. That is why when a white child is killed by a black or brown, the parents are angrier about white people commenting on black and brown violence against whites than they are the death of their child.
The most recent example is Jeff Metcalf. He immediately forgave the black kid even though the black felt no sorrow. He didn't forgive the whites who commented. See, Jeff Metcalf doesn't see color. The black who killed his kid and the blacks who supported the killer do see color.
Great piece! I think you're right about this 100%.
There was an interesting study done years ago in Louisiana. The purpose of the study was to find out how the Vietnamese immigrants were able to build wealth after just one generation, while the indigenous [black] people couldn't, after multiple generations.
The study reviewed education, family situation, available assistance, and pretty much every difference that one could reasonably account for.
The author of the study was a black man. He drilled down all of the stats, interviewed dozens of people, and came to a simple conclusion.
There was a reason that the Vietnamese immigrants did much better than the black people already living in the state. The reason was that the Vietnamese immigrants *knew* that nobody was going to help them, and that they were going to have to work hard if they were going to make it.
The study found that most black residents felt that they were owed something, so they were complacent, waiting on help that was never going to come. Fixing their economic issues was the job of someone else.
The real difference was one of mindset. One group thought that they were screwed over, and that working hard would never get them anywhere. While the other group worked hard and never "accepted" their fate.
The results of the study were scrutinized by the race hustlers at the time of its publication.
To find that study now would take hours. But, I remember it well because it was honest, and angered a lot of politicians at the time. It broke the idea that government was going to "fix" the problem(s) within the black community.
But it all stands to reason. A culture that perpetuates failure -- will just keep failing. After all, you can't do what those racist white people are doing. 😆😄😂