Ambiguity in Whiteness and Americanness

Dear Philip J. Deloria,

In the opening pages of Playing Indian you state that whiteness is defined by what it is not. Similarly, you describe the American consciousness as “unfinished” and “incomplete”, defined by inexactness and contradiction. Since the colonizers rejected the “European consciousness” and defined their identity as not British, they also took on the identity of ambiguity. Americanness and whiteness, though already synonymous in some ways, share the quality of both being defined in the negative. As a person who identifies as both white and American, I’m not sure where that leaves me. Historically, when people have identified positively with their whiteness, it has been called upon as a tool of oppression (as with the colonists). At one point, both sides of my family were immigrants and the American identity was adopted - I have no tie to the colonists. Though the intersectionality of being a white American ties me to this painful history. The privileges I enjoy today are in direct relation to actions of the past. I can’t identify as what I’m not, but I don’t know how to find a positive connection to my history, and I don’t want to ignore my implication/historical self. What are your thoughts?

Sincerely,

Sophie Devincenti

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Discern a Race Issue?

Dear Claudia Rankine, I found your writing about Serena Williams to be particularly fascinating and it brings up a lot of questions about the current state of race in corporate America. I would be curious to hear your thoughts on a few things. I'm not sure if the officials in these games were confirmed to be racist in that sense, but if so that would affect the interpretation. If, for example, they have no known racist background, how do you tell if such an incident is inherently about race? You say that the ref didn't like seeing the black body on her court, but without evidence how can you in fact confirm such a thing? Not that I am questioning your assertions directly, but in what situations can you discern that actions are definitely a race issue? I know that there are plenty of situations in which refs have screwed over white men in sports, so I wonder as to how you can tell. Thanks, Vaughan Siker
Read more
Dear Willow S. Lung-Amam, I really loved your piece on the minority myth mostly due to my own experiences with this myth. Yes, we are expected to get amazing grades, be perfect in class, and do all things perfectly, and those expectations are good to some extent. But when these expectations become stereotypes and not parents' projected wishes upon their children, it becomes detrimental to all Asian Americans. I had to force myself to be the best in everything to further the stereotype of academic exceptionalism. This is exactly why I understand this notion is a myth because Asian Americans do receive privileges that other minority groups may not and and I enjoy certain benefits from being a "model minority," it's definitely detrimental in certain aspects for kids, not only a positive thing. In an ideal world, projecting no stereotypes onto a minority group is the best because less external pressures will affect development of the members of these races.
Read more
Dear Claudia Rankine, I love your book Citizen , from your language style to the way you described the experiences of black people. Using your own experience coupled with those of your friends and celebrities, you build images of everyday racist encounters that shocked me. "The past is a life sentence, a blunt instrument aimed at tomorrow." When reading your book, the idea that racism is still rampant in nowadays struck me so hard. Chapter two impressed me most. I am a tennis lover and I have watched a lot of Serena Williams' games. However, I never thought of the hardship she suffered as a black people in such a white dominated sport. The sufferings did not always come from punishments like probationary periods, but from "every look, every comment, every bad call blossom". She tried to fight back once, "reacting immediately to be thrown against a sharp white background", which resulting in loss, fine and probationary period. Later, she learnt t...
Read more