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Ashamed to be a White Male

Ashamed to be a White Male

I'm a male myself and I have NEVER EVER been sexist or disrespectful or racist to anyone ever. Not now, not EVER!!!! But I feel like what ever I come across in media, it feels like all I hear is "White Males Are Bad". When I watch shows like Charmed and I come across certain scenes where Males are regarded as bad people, it makes me feel uncomfortable. Characters saying white people will never understand the pain. And the thing is I feel enough to know what is happening is horrible and no one should go through it AT ALL. And to hear messages that I will never understand feels like being closed off and told to Go Away!! And nothing can be done to make the situation better or to just even be there for someone. You got shows like the Neighbourhood sitcom that I came across where they cover racism where a black guy gets put in a jail cell for being black which is so NOT fair whatsoever. And the main lead says the police system is working the right way for white guys but not black people or any other culture. And white people will never understand whatsoever the pain other people go through.

I feel like I'm ashamed of all these bad things happening even though I have done NOTHING to do with anything of that bad stuff. But because of the long history I hear of white males doing bad stuff, I feel like I have to be responsible for that or feel as though it's my fault. It may sound silly but I feel like all I hear is White Males are bad and cause problems.

I feel like if I see someone in pain or needs help, I want to be able to help or show support no matter what their colour or background is. We are all still human beings after all and all this dumb bad stuff like racism and sexism shouldn't be around any more. Nor should it have existed in the first place. I hate the fact that bad stuff like this still happens and I feel helpless to see it pop up in media or fiction. I felt ashamed to be a white male so many times and my friend says I shouldn't, all that stuff isn't my fault and I shouldn't take on the responsibility of other people's actions that I don't even know. Focus on my own actions and what I can change. But because all that stuff happens, I feel like I get stuffed into a category where I'm a white male and are automatically the enemy. And no matter how hard I try to help and try to show that not all white males are bad, I feel like I can't make a positive difference. Like I'm powerless to make a positive change so people can see not all white males are bad people, or even white people in general. I want to be able to try and understand what others are going through as well as try to stop bad things from happening. At the end of the day, I accept people no matter what their background and gender are.

15 replies

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In response to: Ashamed to be a White Male

Re: Ashamed to be a White Male

Hi @Eve7,

That's amazing that you got to go the the Memorial. I looked up yesterday the quote chibam posted and saw that Martin Luther King was the one who said that. Respecting people and focusing on their character is how I see people in life. Thank you for reaching out. 🙂 Glad I'm not the only one who has felt this way.

In response to: Ashamed to be a White Male

Re: Ashamed to be a White Male

@EternalFlower @Eden1919

Doing what I can to help isn't what I'm worried about. What I'm concerned about is that no matter what I do or how much I help, the shame and blame of being a white male will still persist. Like I said, I'm never racist or hurtful in anyway and if there is anyway I can help I will. I just feel like the hate is just going to stay forever even though I have nothing to do with those horrible actions in the first place.

In response to: Ashamed to be a White Male

Re: Ashamed to be a White Male

Thanks @Bunniekins. That means a lot. 🙂

In response to: Re: Ashamed to be a White Male

Re: Ashamed to be a White Male

Hey @KFPDW I will echo what others have said here. Shame is a tricky one to wrestle with and in the end, only serves to hurt all those it affects.

I have been working on this myself as a white person, and thought I'd share some resources that I've found helpful:

How to Be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi

White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo

Also, seek out and follow blogs, facebook pages, and other social media content by people of colour. And here's a list of resources from the Australian Multiculutral website too.

Some of it can be a difficult read because they ask us to confront the ways we have been socialised as the dominant culture. In the end though it was extremely helpful in being a better ally for the POC in my life 😊

We all have unconscious biases, and something that helps immensely is to dispel the idea that these automatically make us a bad person.

In response to: Re: Ashamed to be a White Male

Re: Ashamed to be a White Male

Hey Thanks for reaching out and for the links. I'll have a look at them. I'm glad you're finding the tools to help work through everything.
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