Date: Sat, 19 Apr 1997
From: Lawrence V. Conley
Subject: A very saddened heart...

I had thought when I first discovered your site while doing a search for the phrase "Euro American" that I had actually found a non-racist page dedicated to exploring White (Euro-American) American culture.

How wonderful, I thought, to find a page that explored mainstream Euro-American culture without the ever constant stigma of racism which attaches itself to any person of European descent who wishes to openly discuss or express pride in their own culture.

Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Your site is not interested in studying Euro-American culture. It's interested in race politics.

Typically, your site is just another politically correct medium for self-hate and self-degredation seeking to condemn any Euro-American with the audiacity to feel good about themselves or consider their culture special enough to be proud of.

Euro-American culture DOES exist and it has MUCH to be proud of! Euro-American cultural pride and self-respect have NOTHING to do with hatred or xenophobic bias and CAN be examined without raping such noble endeavours with the politics of race.

Ethnicity and culture ARE NOT the same thing.

Euro-American cultural pride should NOT be made synonymous with hatred!

I am proud of who I am and I will say so publicly no matter how badly it disturbs the pundits of political correctness.

Lawrence V. Conley

---------------------------------------------------------
Lawrence V. Conley
lconley@primenet.com
Celts&Saxons Homepage
(Euro-Americans be PROUD of your own cultural heritage!)

Howdy, Jeff! I first heard of your effort to study "white American culture" through a newspaper article in mid-March, and just (tonite) read over your entries in Charles Byrd's website [Interracial Voice]. I'm a multiracial American myself, white/black/American Indian in roughly equal proportions; am married to a white woman of Eastern European ancestry, and have 4 kids, so issues of race and racial mixture have been of lifelong interest to me. I'm also a PhD candidate in American History at Lehigh Univ. It's now nearly midnite, so I apologize for any raggedness in this response. Your letters on Byrd's point/counterpoint page explained the historican expansion of "whiteness" in American very elegantly, I thought; and your concern that whiteness, expressed as disdain for blacks, might expand to include Asians, Hispanics, etc. exactly mirrored a concern I've had lately. So in our interest in preventing continuation of this nation's heritage of racial abuse and factionalism is shared. I do have a general concern with your project to explore and define "white culture." In brief, I think the most hopeful future for our nation lies in the recognition and promotion of a shared single culture, incorporating contributions from the nation's many ethnic groups. You might want to read a work by historian Mechal Sobel entitled "The World they Made Together" to see the roots of what I am proposing. Dr. Sobel notes that in colonial Virginia, white and black cultures mixed in many ways; and that thus, from the beginning, American culture (and white Anglo culture specifically) have contained components in varying proportions from Europe, African, and of course the native Indian peoples.

It would be my hope that Americans might now recognize their nascent cultural unity, as a prelude to a fully integrated future.

I just thought I'd throw out my views on the subject of race relations and see what others thought of them. I'm not a writer by any means and apologize in advance for my writing style. I should give you a brief summary of my background. I've lived in the Midwest all my life. I grew up in Iowa, moved to the suburbs of Chicago after college, and recently moved to Kansas. Throughout my life I have had friends of many different races, and found that race doesn't define a person. Here are some of my observations.

I think a lot of the racist views come from lack of experience. For some people in smaller towns and even in large suburbs, the only contact with other races is through the media. And the media isn't known for it's coverage of everyday people doing nice things. So some people develop stereotypes that they attach to races. I believe the more you hang around people of different races, the more you realize we are all basically the same.

I also don't totally understand the idea of racial-identity. Maybe I should say I don't understand its purpose. I understand that it might give people an identity to attach oneself to, but I don't know how beneficial this is. And how far back do we go to trace our racial-identity? Is there a limit to how many generations you can go back to find your racial-identity? If we go back far enough, wouldn't we find we are all descendants of the same race? At what point do we start considering our race as American (no prefix)?

I've never traced my family's history, so I'm not even sure of my ancestry. And I don't feel lost without it. I will admit that since I am Caucasian, maybe it's easier for me to identify myself with being just an American since the stereotypical American is a blonde-haired blue-eyed Caucasian. But at some point, shouldn't we all consider ourselves Americans, with no prefixes relating us to other countries? (When we think of an American, we shouldn't think of one color of skin.) For instance, do all people with black skin need or want to consider themselves African-Americans? What race are white-separatist or white-supremacists associating themselves with? Again, aren't we all the descendants of an original race? Since we are living in America, what's wrong with calling ourselves American? Maybe people in general don't feel like they can identify with being American, but doesn't identifying oneself with another country only make it harder to feel like you have something in common (a bond) with other people living in America? People in general try to be their own individual and be different, but people also use any kind of differentiation to separate and discriminate against people not like them. People use religion, height, weight, gender, etc. I'm not saying people should have no identity, but I think this identity should come from people's beliefs and values, and you have to get to know the person in order to know what their identity is. I also think that racial-identity can actually have a side-effect. What good can come out of one race pointing to another race and saying that their ancestors did this and that? It disturbs me to think that some African-Americans look at me and associate me with Americans who accepted slavery. And it disturbs me to think that there are Caucasian-Americans who look at Americans of other races and associate the individual with the history and actions of the country from which they think their ancestors are from. Shouldn't we just accept each other as Americans and not associate an individual with their ancestors?

I don't claim that my views are right, and I welcome others' to share their opinions. After all, isn't the sharing of knowledge and insight most important in trying to understand something?

TW
werner@sbl.com

My question is why are some whites afraid to go into South Central alone. Just in case you do not know where South Central is it is in Los Angeles,California. I am a college student at USC. I know that the area is not all that great but I wonder why some of my white friends are afraid to go anywhere alone even though they have never had a bad experience. I am half black and so I am very light and most people do not even think that I am black. So if it is about skin color than I would be in danger to since I am light. I think that you should be on guard no matter where you are. I think it is offensive to suggest that just because you are in an area that is predominately black and Hispanic you need some sort of buddy system to go anywhere. Perhaps my intrepretation in wrong on why some whites are afraid to go alone. I am just curious as to why this is.

Mr. Hitchcock:

William Javier Nelson's letter of March 30 should be required reading for all self-styled white "race traitors" who are awash in senseless guilt over "whiteness" but have no idea how to challenge the racial myth of whiteness as the "ideal" human condition. Drop the whining and guilt and follow these suggestions:

1) Challenge blacks and liberals who promote the "one drop" myth by citing the black ancestry of Latinos.

2) Defend whites who are accused of "passing" because they are "impure" or "tarbrushed." Start with Anatole Broyard.

3) Demand that Latinos challenge the "one drop" hypodescent myth or stop demanding affirmative action rights as a poor, oppressed "racial" minority. As Javier pointed out, Latinos could destroy the "one drop" myth in this society (which is perpetuated mainly by black elites) with even a mild challenge. It is cowardly and hypocritical of Latino militants to constantly denounce the alleged "racism" of "The White Man" or "The Anglo" while at the same time trying to become darker varieties of "white."

A.D. Powell

Though confined by my chains of whiteness & a Ph.D. in economics, how about less fluff, soul-searching, and whining and more academic content? If you want to create a new field, go for it, but create knowledge. I have a simple question for you: why does black culture value the grandstanding "showoff" in sports and why do white people define it as such? Why is humility, modesty & teamwork "good" in white culture, something we demand of our children, while self-centeredness, showmanship, & disrespect for the opponent "good" in black culture?

Finally I will be able to point to this web site as an expression of a racist non-white establishment. Thank you for proving my point to the children of my elementary school classes.

I am hoping that if this continues it will cause a backlash in the next generation.

Keith C. Parsels

Racism isn't just a white thing

Editor's Note: The Center for the Study of White American Culture is a multiracial organization. Both white Americans and Americans of color are involved in the Center as decision-makers, as consumers of our services, and as financial sponsors.

To the Editor:

As a white, middle-class, middle-aged American, I suppose I qualify in your book as a prime example of "White Culture".

Having read many of the articles on your website, I retain the opinion that I had from the beginning: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS WHITE CULTURE! There is "Western Culture" (for lack of a better term), which is the political, economic, and social heritage on which this country was founded and which is held up as an ideal of virtually the entire world. Reading today's newspaper, I see stories coming out of Indonesia, Congo/Zaire, China, and Palestine in which (non-European) people of good will are struggling to attain a society that corresponds to the basic tenets of western culture.

In America, most people agree with these tenets of culture without attaching racial labels to them. It is primarily the African American academic community (and the self-flaggelating white academics who dominate this website) who are stressing the need for increased, rather than decreased, racial awareness and solidarity. It is the "black culture" that equates striving for success with "acting white" that is holding many blacks in poverty. Having grown up in the 60s as an admirer of Martin Luther King, I find it disheartening to witness increasing racial polarization on the part of many black Americans. This comes at a time when most white Americans are far more accepting of a non-racial vision of society you give them credit for.

I challenge you to find any group of people, anywhere in the world, that is not prejudiced against "different" groups with whom they come in contact. Color is but one of many criteria, with religion, national identification, and economic status being only the most obvious others. White people of my socio-economic status are apt to be far more prejudiced against identifiably "poor white" people than against middle-class blacks. Whites as a whole are apt to be accepting of individuals of Asian ancestry (including, I hasten to mention "black" people of South Asian descent), because the image of those groups of Americans is that they strongly support the tenets of the common ("western") culture. Asian Americans get the benefit of the doubt that they are "good people". Unfortunately, the image that most people (of ALL races) have of black Americans is so negative (and actively reinforced by actual observation) that the the reverse is true. Many people will anticipate hostility or even violence from an unknown black person until that person exhibits an abscence of those traits. Certainly this is unfair to the majority black people, but it is basic human nature, not some white-American disease.

I know several immigrants from Africa who are disgusted with the urban "black culture". They came here to be a part of western culture, just as people from all other parts of the world have done in the past and continue in increasing numbers to desire to do. If the common culture of the United States is so evil, so (gasp!) WHITE, why do so many non-white people desire to become part of it, either by moving here or by making their own countries more like it?

In closing, I'll say the usual piece about how I'm sorry that black Americans have gotten a raw deal in America, but we're talking about the America of couple of generations ago. A present-day black American who makes an effort to integrate into western cultural norms of speech, attitude, and ambition is going to find that he or she is in a PRIVILEGED position in this country. Academia, government, and business will try harder to help such a person succeed that they will help a person of any other racial group.

So let's give up on the idea of white people "getting in touch with their whiteness". The only people who do that for reasons other than wallowing in guilt are the fringe groups of white supremecists. The predominent culture in this country, respected and adhered to by most members of each of the various groups that live here, is pretty damn good in spite of its flaws; perhaps the best the world has ever seen in any country this large and this diverse. Its origins are with white people who came from Europe; so what; get over it.

B. Somerville 5/30/97

What is going on here? Just because you have information on white America you have to apologize right from the start "This is not a white organization." Why do we live in a country where you cannot express the fact that your white and proud to be so. I am just your average frustrated white male who is sick of being bombarded with the feeling that everything wrong is my fault. I am where I am today with no help or free rides from anyone. It reminds me of the days of McCarthyism, where anyone who spoke their opinion was called a communist. I truly believe that racism still exists today because the minorities want to keep it alive so they can maintain their safety net. And oh how the american public caters to this in every way. If you want to publish material on whites, dont be ashamed, on the other hand dont tell Farrakann about it. Thank you for your time.

One of the negative effects of "blackness" over the years is the unspoken, subliminal message that the children (black) receive. These messages set the stage that teaches our youngsters that being black is second tier. The true effects of this concept is difficult to measure, but is surely at the root of many of our prblems. The same subliminal messages have permeated the white children as well., in the opposite direction. The point of all this is that as we embark on the study of "whiteness" we must remember that we as adults can rationalize much better than the children, and as adults must understand these subliminal messages will occur. Therefore it is our responsiblity as the adults (leaders) to guard against the negative effects that our children will be exposed to - so there are many segments to the study of "whiteness".

As a "white" person, I believe that there is much to learn from the study of "whiteness" and am glad to see that the study is in progress. I came upon this study via a newspaper article, which included your internet address. I will reading more of your website and wish us all Godspeed in bringing our races together.

......................................................................Dennis

From your quotation page...

>There are few resources that focus on the need for white men to learn >about their own identity. History books do not tell about the effects of >slavery on the slave owners.

My identity as a white man is associated primarily with slavery? Well F you, too.

>They do not suggest that white people’s fears when they see two or more >black men walk or drive through white neighborhoods may be the same fears >that haunted white Southerners after slave-uprisings such as Denmark Vesey’s >plot in 1822 and Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831.

Or maybe it's a consequence of our understanding of the laws of probability.

>Nor do they describe how being part of the race that has dominated and >oppressed Mexicans, Chinese, Japanese, Native Americans, and other people >of color on this continent affects individual members of that race.

As it turns out, my white ancestors were oppressed by Vikings. So now I go around educating tall blonde people about their Viking identities.

BTW...

This whole page reads like some brilliant and subtle satire, I kid you not.

Tim.