I come from European Stock. English, German, Swedish mainly. My grandparents came to this country as immigrants. That. is the only difference in the early history of the American States that may differ from yours unless you are one of the few wealthy families from the start. They worked, they were working class immigrants. Most of the country’s immigrants were also. They were not part of city life but being from cooler areas of Europe landed in similar climates in the new land. My parents were born here and stayed, more-or-less, in those same areas. Even when towns and cities formed, ethnic areas composed these because immigrants tended to settle with like family units; ie.English on the north side, Swedish on the southeast, etc.; for support and protection. After all the immigrants did displace the Indians who already here.

The people that I grew up with were also this type but based on Italian, Polish, Irish, Scottish, . . . There were not many African, Caribbean, Chinese, Mexican, Islanders, etc. immigrants because their paths did not came to or through what I call our area. And my ancestors had yet to fight the ‘Civil War’ to free the slaves in the south. We were not rich and I did not know we were poor. We controlled and helped our families. Our families were large and that was as close as we came to having slaves. We could never afford to take care of slaves because we were busy caring for our families. I remember being told very young, “Don’t give your word easily, but when you do, keep it”. Given this history I am sure you can see why I resent anyone implying that I owe someone from my past. This also makes it easier for me to feel ‘bad’ when someone implies I did not honor my responsibilities.

The first time this questioning came around in the 50’s and 60’s I was confused because I did not understand that ‘White’ referred to me. I did not know where ‘White’ was. ‘Redneck’ referred to my friends on the farm because they were not allowed to go shirtless. I was pretty dark at the end of summer. Even a few years ago I was ask ‘How much African-American I had in me?’ I had to say ‘None. It is Swedish.’ Lately I came to understand that that term referred to me and others as a majority term. I had turned ‘White’ when I wasn’t looking! I had always thought of myself as a ‘minority of one’, and fought for myself against friend and foe alike.

White people

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

White people is a racial classification and skin color specifier, used mostly and often exclusively for people of European descent; depending on context, nationality, and point of view. The term has at times been expanded to encompass persons of Middle Eastern and North African descent (for example, in the US Census definition), persons who are often considered non-white in other contexts. The usage of “white people” or a “white race” for a large group of mainly or exclusively European populations, defined by their light skin, among other physical characteristics, and contrasting with “black people“, Amerindians, and other “colored” people or “persons of color“, originated in the 17th century. It was only during the 19th century that this vague category was transformed in a quasi-scientific system of race and skin color relations. Prior to the modern age, no European peoples regarded themselves as “white”, but rather defined their race, ancestry, or ethnicity in terms of their nationality. Moreover, there is no accepted standard for determining the geographic barrier between white and non-white people. Contemporary anthropologists and other scientists, while recognizing the reality of biological variation between different human populations, regard the concept of a unified, distinguishable “white race” as socially constructed. As a group with several different potential boundaries, it is an example of a fuzzy concept. 

Various social constructions of whiteness have been significant to national identity, public policy, religion, population statistics, racial segregation, affirmative action, white privilege, eugenics, racial marginalization, and racial quotas.  The concept of whiteness has particular resonance in the Anglosphere: e.g., in the United States (White Americans), Canada (white Canadians), Australia (white Australians), New Zealand (white New Zealanders), the United Kingdom (white British), and South Africa (white South Africans). In much of the rest of Europe, the distinction between race and nationality is more blurred; when people are asked to describe their race or ancestry, they often describe it in terms of their nationality.

WOW. Prior to the modern age, no European peoples regarded themselves as “white”. Sooo, NOW they do? What happened to defining their race, ancestry, or ethnicity in terms of their nationality? Why would European peoples regarded themselves as “white”? Who designated “European Peoples” as “White” and designated “enslaved indigenous peoples” as “Black” then “negroes” then “Afro-American” then “Colored People” then “People of Color” then …? The people who would do such a thing are the same group of “??????? People” that benefit from the division; The same group that fears the power of the resulting combined group of “Victims”. Is it the same group that claims “No Responsibility” for anything? 

And finally as I see it: The term “white race” or “white people” entered the major European languages in the later 17th century, originating with the racialization of slavery at the time. The term “black people” came with it as an opposing term. These terms have no scientific standing. They are Social terms. As social terms their origins are slavery. “black people” understood this at a deeper level. For many individuals, communities and countries, “black” is perceived as a derogatory, outdated, reductive or otherwise unrepresentative label and it has been rejected in favor of “person of color”. Both of these terms, “white or  black”, perpetuate Slavery by their use.