Racist Liberals

I love group therapy. The women in it are cool, smart, wise, honest, and funny. We come from all ages and colors, but we can relate to each other on so many levels. The discussions can be almost like salons where we talk about not just the usual mental health issues, but about what’s going on in the world.

Today was especially good because we had a pretty decent turnout in spite of the rainy weather. We started talking about racism on the part of so-called enlightened liberals who treat people of color differently because they think they’re being culturally hip. Monica, who is of mixed Mexican and Scottish descent, has had the tedious experience of having to explain to (usually white) liberals that: 1) No, she doesn’t speak Spanish at all (to which they invariably reply, “Why not? Don’t you want to learn about your culture?); 2) No, she’s never been to Mexico (to which they invariably reply, “Why not? Don’t you want to learn about your culture?”); and 3) She doesn’t really eat or know how to cook Mexican food (“Why not? Don’t you want to learn about your culture?”).

These comments are typically followed by not-so-subtle insinuations that perhaps she is ashamed of her so-called cultural heritage. The subtext here is that, because she looks Mexican (dark hair and dark eyes), she is somehow obligated to be “ethnic” in ways we would never expect of white people (or, more specifically, European-Americans). Nobody ever says to white people, “How come you don’t speak German? And why have you never been to Berlin? And you don’t eat frankfurters? What’s wrong with you? Are you ashamed of your heritage?” Interestingly, when she informs them that she is also part Scottish, they shut up. They never expect her to identify her European roots. After all, they never do.

Monica is very smart. She said, “I think European Americans (because that is what white Americans should be called) are conflicted about being white. They never bother to learn about their own heritage and ancestors, but expect people of color to. As if, somehow, people of color can never be completely American, as if we are destined to somehow straddle two cultures. I was born and raised in the United States. I shouldn’t have to explain this to anyone.”

It’s racism, pure and simple. And it comes from liberals who think they’re “multicultural” and “worldly.” But a lot of those liberals have serious issues with their own American culture (which they refuse to acknowledge) and project a romantic notion on to other cultures. They cannot fathom that there are people of color who do not have issues with their own American identity. They do not see themselves as Mexican-Americans, Chinese-Americans, or African-Americans. They are simply “Americans.” Just like European Americans are simply “Americans.”

I know a lot of those liberals. I went to college with them. They were always so politically correct, always pointing out how progressive they were. Nobody could stand them. They could talk forever about poverty in the ghettos and infant mortality rates in the black community, but if you ever tried to get them to talk about poor white people, they could care less. Which is pretty racist.

And classist. Liberals hate to talk about class, lest it come to light just how privileged they are in comparison to their neer-do-well cousins living in trailers. They never want to admit that classism breeds racism, that racism is the product of classism – never the other way around. Suddenly, when it comes to this point, they become suspiciously un-intellectual. They won’t go there. It’s much more comforting to feel superior to the Ku Klux Klan and the Nazi Party while simultaneously being just a racist in their expectations and assumptions of what people of color are supposed to be.