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

[stacymckenna.livejournal.com]

As an adult, I started seeing my "white culture" in the terms of hearing my non-Scandanavian heritage pastor discuss the foibles of the largely-Scandanavian descent congregation she was serving (I'm 1/4 Swede). I saw my self/family in everything she said. It was all done lovingly, and sometimes jokingly, but she also pointed to the potentially self-damaging trends of martyrdom and silence in my cultural background - especially when living in a society where other people don't share the unspoken assumptions about obligation/responsibility. It's an eye-opening experience realizing that other people from only the most slightly different backgrounds often have VERY different perspectives on how the world should work, what's good/bad, right/wrong.

It's also eye-opening to see how differently things are interpreted when using ostensibly the same language - what is an obvious cry for help in the stoic Scandanavian background I find familiar, for others is only a mild request for assistance. If such apparently similar populations have such huge gaps in understanding/communication, what are the differences between very obviously different backgrounds like?