As modern and open minded as the world has become in many broad issues that touch us all on a daily basis, and in many narrower issues that only affect a small group, you’d think that race would, by now, be lower on the list of things to go up in arms over. Of course, racism is a fact of current life internationally, and unfortunately, it will not be going away any century soon.
But I would think that with the higher rate of interracial relationships and the resulting higher rate of bi-racial and multiracial children being born from those relationships, that folks would finally begin to see the world in shades of grey instead of black and white. Instead, a new form of racism has emerged, and this time, it’s not White folks hating on other races. It’s other races hating on White folks, or at least White genes, openly, and unabashedly.
I guess you could say it all started with the old, back in the day ‘one drop’ rule, the rule that if you were born part White and part another race, no matter how few drops of the other race were in your blood, and no matter how White your features appeared to be, you would only be classified as that other race , and had better never be caught telling anyone that you were anything but…or else. It was a (kind of) PC way of saying “Don’t you mixed mutts dare diminish the pure unadulterated shine of the white man with ya’lls muddied down colored blood.” *whip snaps*
Wouldn’t they roll over in their graves to know that today, many mixed people will bond with their Other blood before they’ll even think about claiming their White blood. Being classified as White meant (and many cases still means) having a multitude of opportunities, in most cases financial stability, and no matter how trashy you were, you’d never be lower in status than a person of color. Today, Whites are stereotyped as, boring, dull, tasteless, and plainer than a slice of Granny Smith’s apple pie. In a sentence: It’s not ‘cool’ to be White.
I recently read an interview of Paula Patton in Women’s Health magazine in which she expressed her feelings on the word ‘bi racial’. Here’s the quote and link to the site:
Paula knows what it’s like to be misunderstood. Growing up in L.A., the daughter of a white teacher and an African-American defense attorney, it wasn’t easy to fit in. “People judged me because I was light-skinned. [They’d assume] I didn’t want to be part of the black race,” she says. In fact, Paula, who has been referred to as biracial, says it’s a word she doesn’t care for. “I find it offensive. It’s a way for people to separate themselves from African-Americans…a way of saying ‘I’m better than that.’ I’m black because that’s the way the world sees me. People aren’t calling Barack Obama biracial. Most people think there’s a black president.”
Is it just me or did she just inadvertently diss her mother because of her mother’s race? Not to mention the fact that as soon as she tells the interviewer how she was picked on for her having light skin and labeled ‘not wanting to be Black’, she then validates those bullies by reiterating their idea that light skin, or professing one’s self as bi racial, is a way for folks to distance themselves from being Black. WTF, Paula??
She then states that she’s Black because “that’s the way the world sees me.” Wow. Just wow. Fatuitous thinking, Paula. The world sees me as Black as well, but I’m not and I don’t claim to be. I am Dominican. I come from an island, not a continent, my first language was Spanish, not English, and I celebrate Hispanic Heritage month instead of Black History month. Just because you
look like something, doesn’t mean you
are that something. Sofia Vergara may have white skin and natural blonde hair but she would die a heinous death before she spit on her Colombian heritage to say she was White, although by appearance, she could definitely get away with it…until she talked.
Speaking of looks, Paula Patton’s new son with husband Robin Thicke (who is White) is light skinned with blonde hair. I wonder how Paula would feel if her son grows up to call himself White, just White, not part Black, because “that’s how the world sees him”. I still can’t believe something so stupid and ignorant came out of the mouth of a bi racial women in an interracial marriage with a bi racial son.
Then there’s the flat out ignorance she displays to begin with, by claiming to be offended by the word ‘bi racial’. That’s stupid. Bi racial, by definition, means ‘having biological parents of two races’. She’s offended by a word. Not a slur, not an offensive phrase. She’s offended by a word, a describing word, a word that by definition describes her exactly the way she was born – half white and half black – having biological parents of two races. Why is being two races offensive, Paula? Oh, yes, it’s not that being two races is offensive, it’s claiming the White part that is, right?
I like Paula Patton a lot…at least I did. She’s a great actress with the ability to convey depth and feeling in her roles and in viewing her video interviews you can tell that she’s sincerely a sweet person with no ulterior motives, so I can only assume that she inadvertently had her head up her butt when she said what she said. Although, it does seem that she had stewed over and cemented her ideas on the subject many years back growing up.
All in all, she basically just set an example that half White/half Other people should feel ashamed for being proud of their White part because that just means that they are trying to “separate themselves” from their other race. Hmmm. So, how does this ‘Patton Thinking’ apply to those who are half Black/half Other? Should they be proud of their Black half by denying their Asian half? Or their Middle Eastern half? Or their Indian half? Or their Hispanic half? Really, Paula, where does your line end and begin on the subject of shame in one’s heritage? Is it just the White part that should be dismissed? Or does this apply to all races that cannot be detected beneath the features of the other race’s genes?
From the looks of that quote it sounds like that’s exactly what she meant, in PC format of course. And what is up with comparing herself to the President? Does she have some sort of insider information that none of us knows about, of some secret ‘I hate my Whitey heritage!’ ramblings of our Commander in Chief?
Pride in ones self and where one came from is so important in learning to love yourself as you are. That means being proud of ALL the races that make up your DNA, whether it’s two races or four. Shaming any part of yourself is what continues this cycle of racism and reverse racism. Being proud of being part White in no way diminishes the pride you have in being Black, or any other race.
Other full blooded races should not hate on someone who claims the White part of their heritage in the midst of the other race, and full blooded Whites should not hate on a mixed person for claiming that White part. It’s ridiculous. You are who you are, you’re born what you’re born. Wave your country(s) flag and take pride in it, but know that there is not a drop of shame in being proud of being part White, too, regardless of what Ms. Patton or any other ignoramus, says.
Other full blooded races should not hate on someone who claims the White part of their heritage in the midst of the other race, and full blooded Whites should not hate on a mixed person for claiming that White part. It’s ridiculous. You are who you are, you’re born what you’re born. Wave your country(s) flag and take pride in it, but know that there is not a drop of shame in being proud of being part White, too, regardless of what Ms. Patton or any other ignoramus, says.
ninelivesmc2 
Leave a comment