disturbing the comfortable

[sophiaserpentia]

Stuff White People Like

Oh, this new blog ruffles the feathers in all kinds of ways. It's brilliant. The comments on each post are proof that it's working. Yes, the criticism that this really mainly applies to yuppies is true, but since they are dominating a lot of the urban cultural dialogue it's still funny and informative to observe the squirming.

Recycling is a part of a larger theme of stuff white people like: saving the earth without having to do that much.

Recycling is fantastic! You can still buy all the stuff you like (bottled water, beer, wine, organic iced tea, and cans of all varieties) and then when you’re done you just put it in a DIFFERENT bin than where you would throw your other garbage. And boom! Environment saved! Everyone feels great, it’s so easy!

... If you are in a situation where a white person produces an empty bottle, watch their actions. They will first say “where’s the recycling?” If you say “we don’t recycle,” prepare for some awkwardness. They will make a move to throw the bottle away, they will hesitate, and then ultimately throw the bottle away. But after they return look in their eyes. All they can see is the bottle lasting forever in a landfill, trapping small animals. It will eat at them for days.

Comments

Re: *snickers*

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

Hee hee :)

Of course a larger point to be made in all of this is that of course such racial stereotyping is bound to be inaccurate when taken to cases. It is maybe more to the point that white people don't think of themselves, typically, as a "race" - they think of themselves as the norm, and being labeled as a race with a culture - just as white people typically do to every non-white person - makes them really uncomfortable. It's a tiny taste of what we do to others.

Re: *snickers*

[stacymckenna.livejournal.com]

Yup. I actually started labeling myself as Swedish (despite being born a Mc) when I started recognizing distinct cultural distinctions between myself and non-Scandanavian whites around me. I was so stereotypically Swedish-American that it would have been ridiculous not to. But that's a hugely different thing than having outsiders note a trait and then jump to "you must do these other things, too".

Re: *snickers*

[stacymckenna.livejournal.com]

hahahahaha!!!

I'm an engineer, who used to work for an Oil Company. According to item #47 I've officially "los[t] white person status (and can only be regained by working at a non-profit)".

That explains everything... ;)