CURB Workshop: “What It Means To Be White”
On the 23rd August 2012 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm CURB will begin the first of a series of two-hour monthly workshops/dialogues around “what it means to be white and white racial identity.”
A CURB spokesperson said: “The workshops will be based on the work of Dr. Shelly Tochluk, Ph.D. author of Witnessing Whiteness: The Need to Talk About Race and How to Do It. The workshops will involve dialogue and experiential learning environments and are for white folk and those who self-identify as white who wish to build a socially just and equitable society in Bermuda by more fully understanding the social construct of race.
“The workshops will raise awareness of our multiple social identities and explore how these shape our lives and our racial justice work as white people; recognize our personal experiences of oppression while maintaining accountability for our white privilege; and seek to understand the interlocking, interdependent nature of our multiple social identities.
“Participants will develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be white and will examine our relationship to our white identity. The initial workshop will seek to build community amongst attendees and will provide a framework so that participants can more fully understand the terminology used around discussions about race.
“Further workshops will discuss the concept of white assimilation; the social construction of white racial identity; the process of assimilation to Whiteness for European immigrants to Bermuda and their descendants; and help people explore ways we deal with assimilation within ourselves and our families.
“Discussions will explore what it means to have white privilege and how it functions within the larger system; how to identify the ways white privilege operates throughout our individual lives; how white privilege and unconscious systemic racism may manifest in organizations; and how white people consciously and unconsciously act out white privilege; plus share tools and build skills that can help us challenge white privilege.
“Participants will examine how to identify the emotions that arise as part of racial justice work; and how these emotions, although heartfelt, can interfere with white racial justice practice. Guilt is a heartfelt response to raised awareness about racism and the historical legacies of slavery, segregation and discrimination. However, guilt is a place to visit, not a place to live. Guilt and shame limits our ability to be effective and make concrete steps towards both internal and societal change.
“The workshop will provide opportunities through experiential and collective learning to build community and skills for effective racial justice practice with other white folks; and will also discuss how to reach out to people of colour to have meaningful and authentic conversations.
“We hope that these workshops will create an environment for powerful personal discovery, build and sustain authentic relationships and raise awareness of the importance of active individual and group racial justice work.
“For the purposes of this workshop the term “white” is used to describe a socially constructed racial group made up of Europeans and their white descendants who live in Bermuda.
“CURB encourages participants to attend all the workshops, as each workshop will build on the previous. However, they are being offered as separate workshops for those who have difficulty making every workshop.
“CURB will offer Continuing Education Units for these workshops. Please contact the CURB office at 542 2872 or email curb@northrock.bm for further information and to register.”
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l am white and had to work hard for everything l have ever had….white privilege, WTF is that and why do a certain few black members in the PEE L PEE keep bringing these things up!!!????
I have seen nothing but black privilege in Bermuda for the last 14 years and all it has done is created thieves and Liars!
Now go to Jail
+1
you only think you had to work hard M8….I had to work a lot harder to be thought of as ‘just as good’…..that’s the reality of life and I had to accept it…..it’s always gonna be that way.
Boo hoo…
With that much anger and arrogance…thats exactly why you need to go to the program…if that does not work…go to MAWI and get some halperidol!
you don’t get it. he worked for what he has. he had no privilege to get where he’s at. he’s not angry or arrogant. I too had to work for what I have, putting up with much insult and racism on the way. very few “white” ppl do. it’s an illusion.
oh goodness…another patient from MAWI. He is deluded because he does not see the reality that history plainly reveals. He thinks that the odds against him and a black man are the same in a racist society. That is deluded HALDOL!!!!!!!!!
Hey, nice slurs against the disabled and mentally troubled. It’s hilarious that you use them in the same breath as you talk about discrimination based on race, because you’re perpetuating discrimination of a different kind.
Stop being a terrible person.
As a young black bermudian I can safely say that I do see examples of “white privelage” on this island. Whether its their treatment from the Police or just how they are spoken to- there IS a difference. I understand that some may “work hard” for theyre things, but many have family connections and advantages that put them in a more comfortable starting position in life (im not saying ALL but i am saying MANY if not MOST.) Like come on n be real please! Its only because company policies have actually been changed and having minorities in a office place is now a preference to make the workplace more diverse. I completely 100% agree that blacks AND whites need to stop living in the past, but you guys never fully experienced a time where u were talked down to (which is intellectually insulting), and in no doubt, less likely to have certain opportunities because of your colour. That right there alone, is your “White Privelege”. And @Liars, your last statement is so ignorant and mean to say- “all it has done is created theives and liars”…”Now go to Jail” ?????? WTF is your problem and how can u make such a conclusive statement?! THIS IS WHY THEY ARE HAVING THE EFFING WORKSHOPS. FOR PPL LIKE YOU. I THINK YOU SHOULD GO and also look into some other seminars. LIKE : HOW GOVERNEMENTS AND SYSTEMS HAVE CONTROLLED AND INFLUENCED BLACKS AND OTHER MINORITIES FOR THE WORST… azz.
Well Said, I couldn’t have explained it better myself!
you certainly couldn’t have. i finally agree with you on something.
Holy Doo Doo, i can’t beleive you actually typed that. You’ve explained the exact reason for this forum!
That’s the whole point, white people do not believe or do not see/accept that they DO have white privilege. You are a clear example of that.
WOW WOW
SAD DAY IN BERMUDA
Your a nut. It doesn’t mean WHITE culture. It means the culture of GREED. stemming from America, or any other super power which is based around government, agenda’s..and greed. Its not just whites in governement that are greedy and superpowers. Its whites, blacks, Asians, Mexicans…but its a certain KIND of people. Those who worship idols (money) instead of Jah or (Love) Babylon…which stems from the bible. Read about WHO they were, and WHAT they were doing. And Babel iteself, means confusion.
ONE LOVE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pgm0ARFkB4
LISTEN 2 DE LYRICS
It’s “you’re” as in you are a nut. What are you even rambling on about? You are clearly the MAWI patient here. They really need to restrict computer access.
U HIT A HIGH PITCH
AMEN …………………..
Wow!
One ‘white privilege’ i’ve noticed that receive more and more these days is being glared at by black folks like I just urinated on their vegetable patch!
Is that the best you can do…boy! The gene pool is white getting weaker and more desperate…Perhaps not…what we saw as strength all along was unfair advantage of non-white people based upon deception and violence around the world…Can you imagine…they had slaves and made it a law not to teach them to read…
I suggest you check the history books. For the past 8000 years ALL nations had slavery (Not just European ones)! Including Africa (which still practice it in some regions, like Sudan). It doesn’t make it right, but it’s just a fact. Also keep in mind, historically, in the lead up to ending slavery in Britain, it was “white” men who fought for the end of slavery and the educating of all ppl since they are made in to image of God and are not some lower species.
So should I be thanking you for ignorant people finally treating black people with dignity and respect?
No you should thank the many strong black men and women that stood up and proved themselves of more worth than that which was given to them. Read up on the red tails from WW2 for one, you f@cking ignorant tw@t. That was 70 years ago, how are your brothers proving themselves these days? Oh right, with clips of bullets.
white people cant really think that they are simply smarter and work harder….That is racist! THey raped, killed, stole, lied, and now hide with anger guilty and fear…All i can say is read history from the perspective of the latin american indian, african, idian and asian. White people raped them and still benefit from that history
Well you obviously missed my history. Ever wonder why it was called Ireland island? Also if instead of trying to post some argument to what I said and actually looked it up you would see that the red tails actually proved better than their white counter-part pilots. In that day blacks were seen as inferior to whites and couldn’t pilot a plane like them. The red tails proved them wrong then and STRONG black men and women around the world continue to do the same today. Instead you ramble on about history dating back to the crusaders…stop digging for something that isn’t there, let go of the shovel amd live your life free like it was supposed to be.
Nah, Irish History in Bermuda, they don’t know nothing about that. Oliver Cromwell in the 1700′s…. Bermuda’s culture is so one sided.
Agree the Irish story in Bermuda is not told… but again that’s because for many, many years the Bermuda focus in teaching history was (and still is in many cases predominantly focused on the white (usually elite)colonialist past, with very little focus on the history of those who came here as indentured servants. The story of the Portuguese is not fully told, nor is the story of the hundreds of West Indians the British ‘imported’ to build up the Dockyard in the early 1900s. So making our history more fully inclusive, would also include these stories.
The only important History and Present and Future is the Black History, because the Irish and Portuguese and others are not discriminated against merely because of the color of the black skin, you all need to attend the meeting so that you get a better understanding as to why black people are fed up with being told who they are and how to act!!!!Black people everywhere are discriminated against simply because of the darker hue!!!this is incredible even for me to speak it, but I also know it as well and I am constantly being judged on my skin tone..please I did’t say paranoid.. He who feels it knows it..
Firstly come correct,
I know who the red tails are, so what is your point. I know what they done, so what is your resaoning for bringing them up? Are you assuming I carry clips and bullets? So easy to put every black men in that box you love to put us in. lol
You ask the point when I clearly stated it above, not everyones favorite color is bright, and if you hadn’t noticed yet black men are putting each other in boxes, why don’t you take a stand and tell them to stop rubbing the name of good black people through the dirt.
For the past 8000, NO other enslaved people were , by LAW, 3/5ths of a human being, and their children’s children also down through the generations were to be slaves, never to be free! And if by chance they should be freed, just by the nature of their skin colour, they always ran the risk of being re-enslaved. Any other culture or race could blend in, but not people of colour.
Nor was any other enslave race or culture treated with the systemic brutality that many black slaves were, denied an education, denied the facility of speaking their own languages, denied the right to family life, always at risk of being sold away from their loved ones like cattle, I could go on and on and on. These things arouse emotions that don’t just disappear because people were forced by law to stop enslavement. That didn’t change internal attitudes and beliefs on both sides.
So slavery is worldwide! Africans sold others into slavery much like people come to Bermuda to work on permits..However, Africans did not sell their people to be discriminated against because of the color of their skins!!!!!Only Black people have been subjected to having their name taken away and replaced by the slavemasters or his choice, also Black people were discriminated against way after slavery was abolished because all Africans were slaves and all Africans were black we were so visible as the minority even though there were other people enslaved previously.Slavery is one thing!!Being black is ANOTHER!!!!especially when white people and others have always looked down on us instead of up to for our infinite wisdom, beautiful skin,abilities beyond a book, and our diversity!! All people of color do not think the same but are still categorised by white priviledge.. I have read about rappers who have gone into malls and have been followed as though they may steal something, when in actual fact they can afford to buy the whole shop!!!!But because of certain minds that have been set it is hard to explain to people that you are far more than your color might suggest from preconditioning, but please don’t underestimate.White people need to attend this forum suggested because if not they might have to wear some other shoes!!
“However, Africans did not sell their people to be discriminated against because of the color of their skins!!”
Sorry but this happens in Africa even in this day. They only do it as you are from another tribe. There was even a recent genocide in a country due to this simple divide. Hmm Rwanda anyone.
@Ph—what happens everyday in Africa? slavery or discrimination due to skin colour..
Disappointed,
Am I suppose to feel sorry for you. We been treated like that and worse for years. I have been looked at weird, or asked to leave neighborhoods like point shares, and ferry lands, because I was black. All I did was ride a bike in their area, and I was seen as a problem. I was also seen as a problem by shop owners who use to follow me around in the store. I am only 33, so we are talking about less than 20 years ago!!!
Kevin,
Purely an observation, no sympathy necessary or required, thanks! Interestingly, though, I can relate to similar experiences as you of feeling out of place in certain areas, followed around stores and generally mistrusted, although my ‘perception’ of those experiences were related to being a teenager (and maybe having no other attribute to hang it on)….are you sure your experiences were because of skin colour?
Yes, I am 100% sure!
wait – some idiot told you to leave an area because you are black and you did it? and then someone followed you around a store because you are black? i am sensing that in actuality you are paranoid. i think the one who has the biggest problem with you being black is YOU, kevin. unless only white people are allowed in point shares and fairylands (note it is not ‘ferry’) …… do the black people who live in those neighbourhoods KNOW about this? why are they allowed to be there and you aren’t?
Black people live in Fairylands???
Ferrylands.
It’s a totally different place.
Listen Bermudian,
Just because you live in a little box, and don’t believe things like this happen doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. You are talking about you can’t have a descent conversation with me, your head so far up your a** you can’t hear anything people are saying. I know what I experienced, and I have no reason to lie on here.
When was the last time you were out fairylands, aint many people of color out there unless they working.
I really wonder what world you live in, cause your head is up in the clouds. lol
@ bermudian through and through: Believe it, these things happened here and it was SOLELY because we were black. There was a time when black people were made to feel extremely uncomfortable if they entered Trimingham’s and Smiths at least in part because the staff didn’t believe black people could afford to shop there – and that went for rich black tourists too.
There was a time not that long ago, when there were NO black people living in Fairylands. I moved there in 1972 to live with my English boyfriend and his neighbours tried every which way to force him out of the area. People (white people) stared at me with hate and suspicion in their eyes when I walked through the area because they felt I didn’t belong there.
The guard at the gate in Tucker’s Town refused me entrance to that area because I was black and they couldn’t believe I had a legitimate purpose for being there. And I am talking less that 35 years ago.
And have you had any of these experiences RECENTLY?? I am white and have also been turned away from tuckers town…that is why there is a guard there…for security. I think many black Bermudians feel upset, and rightly so, for injustices of the past…but I also think that many are so upset that they do not want to see that times have moved on. I don’t think some people can tell the difference between white privilege and events that may have occurred anyway if that never existed. Whites can’t get ahead at all without it being called privilege, which is hardly fair either.
No, but turnabout isn’t fair play. It only makes the new aggressor/oppressor just as bad as the old one. I would hope that, as Bermudians, we would want to improve our lot rather than just get even with whites. So, no. Don’t feel sorry for Disappointed, but grieve for the state of our society that so many think that the way Dis was treated is okay. It’s not. Dignity for all of us, not just some. That’s what I want to see, how bout you?
Yes, I would like for all to be treated equally, but if the other group doesn’t believe that there is a difference in treatment, how will they treat me differently?
The other group? Like collectively on a whole? I speak for no group, I am only me, to break it down and seperate me into a class of whites and you to blacks is just wrong. Society seems to dictate that we all look and act a certain way…we are INDIVIDUALS and should be addressed in that way, I speak for no one but myself and no one will ever speak for me, the color of your skin or even your upbringing means shit to me, I will judge you on an individual basis on things like your morals, integrity and judgement. Governments seperate people into classes to divide them and thus conquer them. I WILL NOT BE PUT IN A CLASS, I WILL NOT BE CONQUORED, I AM JUST AS HUMAN as the man or woman next to me. CURE? Looking at this article your medicine is feeding the disease.
Come correct,
In a perfect world I would agree with you. Sadly, I live in the real world.
Seems to me you live in the confines of your own mindset.
Nope, I live in the real world.
And I can speak from a person who has lived overseas, and Bda.
And I’ve been all over the world, what’s your point?
@ Come Correct: You have the luxury of speaking for yourself. For many of us, we are judged on the behaviour of a few. Don’t believe me, just look at how black men are portrayed in the popular media and notice how many folks have automatically become fearful of black men in groups of more than one (sometimes, it can be just one innocently walking down the street, and women will move their handbags to the other side, even cross the street to avoid them).
Statistically, in the US, there are far more violent, criminally-behaved white males, but people don’t automatically become wary of every white male they see.
The more you protest that there is no white privilege, that you judge people on their merits and that those who experience prejudice are creating the scenario in their own minds, the more obvious it is to the rest of us that you and others like you NEED to attend CURE’s lecture series.
@ Pastor Hayward, I’ve seen a lot of your previous posts and I actually have quite a bit of respect for you without knowing you. The only privaledge I’ve ever had was the ability to speak for myself. Honestly I can’t really dispute much of what you said but at the same time, when you have 4 young black…won’t call them men, kick the crap out of an older gentlemen in front of his kids, what chance dp you think a woman stands no matter her color. Malcolm X even said there will never be unity between races until they unite with themselves, and you think race is our biggest problem? Where are the parents that care about having the name of good, strong, black people dragged through the dirt because of a select few? If one of them was my son he would hit every wall in my house before he even stepped foot in court, he may even be just about capable of drooling by that time because I hold myself to an entirely different standard than that, and if you wish to drag my name through the dirt you will pay… Where is the accountability?
My personal belief is that Society wants us to think of ourselves as individuals. The natural state of man is to act as a community. If we act as individuals we take no responsibility for others. If we act as individuals we wil be divided and not rise up to challenge those things we see as wrong.
There is a rationale for having separate discussions for blacks and whites. We all have ‘dirty laundry’ and no-one likes to air that in front of others. We need to have these dialogues separately but then most importantly come together to take the discussions further and move towards creating relationships based on trust.
Right now for some on this blog there is no option but to rail with anger and frustration against each other. This is not the way to bring about any kind of resolution or understanding. I believe there are many more out there who wish to move our society forward in a positive direction… this can be achieved but we need to do the work necessary to create the society we want.
Turn the resentment into question, why?
I have the answer! It means absolutely nothing.
To a Racist who wants to hide…you are correct!
coward
YEs indeed racist are cowards…they are the ones who say that white privilege means nothing
I was answering the main title which said what it means to be white, not privileged. The problem is your thoughts on being white is most likely way different than my thoughts on being white so the best possible solution is to have nothing, nadda, then all this racial debate can go away. Also calling someone a racist that you don’t even know through a forum is the most cowardly act. If you want to we can arrange for you to come and say it to my face. I know about racism outside of Bermuda. I’ve seen hate and anger on a violent level and believe me you don’t want to live it mate! It’s time to move on, I am all for education but this back and forth has got to stop. Live life, don’t hate it.
I would be happy to meet with you.
And if I feel that you are a racist from our conversation, I will call you one TO YOUR FACE.
You think you are the only one who has experienced racism outside of BDA? lol man please
I think you just like calling people racist. If that makes you feel like your making a difference keep it going, or maybe you don’t want things different, who knows. At least I honestly can say I am no racist but again to you nothing matters.
Lol
and another,
I never called you a racist. Black Boy & dude might have, but I didn’t, so please stop putting words in my mouth.
And like I said before, if you want to meet and have a discussion, I would be happy too. Again, if I hear racial comments out of your mouth, I will call you a racist to your face.
“You think you are the only one who has experienced racism outside of BDA? lol man please”
I believe you just put words in his/her mouth.
Well lets arrange for me to say it to your face. what willl that prove tough guy?
It will not go away until the truth is understood by those who insist on denying it.
I am not denying anything. I know for a fact no generation of my family ever owned a slave and the mere fact of just being white sets me up for life is pure bull. I will not be told how I should feel towards any person. I am an individual and I see things how I want not how some person tells me I should. And Mohawk were are you coming from sounds like you want a fight, that’s not where I was going. I’m not trying to be no tough guy, take a chill pill.
and another one says—-And there in lies the reason why you should atend the forum, because you do not want anyone telling you how you should feel.. Black people had no CHOICE they were told what to say,think, feel and who they were!!!!and what to do!!!!CONSTANTLY!!!!The Laws were not even made by black people I don’t wanna chillpill either,stop telling people what to take!!!You do not even know all your family members and will never know..oops maybe only BLACK PEOPLE don’t know all their family members I WONDER WHY????!!!!!
@atru! I know about discrimination. I have family that were discriminated against because of their religion. They didn’t have choices, they couldn’t vote or get jobs or even walk to school sometimes, but guess what, instead of just talking about how the “others” kept them down my parents decided to make a difference by being strong and worked hard to make things better. I am not saying that there should be no forum but I think it is arrogant to think that I don’t know nor care about other races struggles and you are right I don’t know all my family members.
@another one says: thanks for responding. People choose to be part of a religion,and you are right some don’t, however, living vicariously through someone elses experience is not the same..No one chose to be born Black but guarenteed they were still discriminated against, you can never know what that feels like until it actually happens to you, especially in the 21st century! I have never experienced a broken leg, but I see how debilitating a person can get and will reach out to help, but can you imagined being labeled before you even get a chance to explain yourself, being judged, being made to work longer and harder knowing that no matter how good you are, even if you are better looking,brighter,nicer…the fact is the color of your skin determines how you are treated!!!Now that is the ipitome and height of arrogance!!
Rich privilege maybe, but white privilege? On this island, are you kidding???
Go to the workshop and learn what the term means. It may surprise you.
This has got to be a joke! This race crap has to stop. I’m a young black male and find this distasteful. Its so apparent that you cannot change ones mindset. There will always be pro black people and pro white people, but here in bermuda, we make everything about race and color and the past. At what point do we say, lets move on. Black people are not the only ones who have had bad things happen to them. This is an old mans war that has no place in this era, a political bitter game, which is destroying my country and corrupting the mind of the weak.
Instead of black bermudians or white bermudians, lets just be bermudians!
Agreed 1000%!
Can I vote for YOU???
+1..are you running?
Yes, please can I vote for you!!!
LOVE x Infinity!!!!!!@Angry Tax Payer
I live in Canada and have for 13 years. This country in comparisn to Bermuda has made me realize how racially divided and the focused OLDER Bermudians put on the colour of skin.
My husband and I are an inter racial couple, here in Toronto it is normal. In Bermuda we get looks like it is the 50′s( Sorry went off topic)… 2012 people lets make some changes Bermuda!!!
That’s because the city (Toronto) is made up of diversed cultures – try going outside of the city into the suburbs, many before you can surely tell you what it’s like, oh wait, you will experience it for yourselves…
Good morning,
I don’t agree with you Angry Tax Payer. Yes, I can agree some black people try to use race when it’s not warrented, however for me to believe that this is an old argument, and you have white people today living off the their families gains through the colonial system, you are kidding yourself.
For you white people who do not believe in white privelage, again, you are kidding yourself. No one is saying that some of you didn’t struggle, but please do not campare it to the black man’s struggle. Being poor and working for what you have is one thing, but being disenfranchised as a people is something totally different. If you don’t believe me, check the history.
Yes, there has been a black government in power for 14 years, but the same 40 thieves and their familes still have the wealth and the land. I can honestly say that I do not support alot of what the PLP Government does, but that doesn’t mean I will move towards a party that has inherited the same people who were part of the UBP. I swear down at one point, some of these same people were accusing each other of deserting the party, and they all friends again at the OBA. lmao
And to your last sentence, please be realistic and know that there is a difference between a black bermudian and white bermudian. History tells us that we are different. If you don’t believe me, ask some of your older relatives if there is a difference.
Again to you Tax Payer, if you think race isn’t a factor in this Country, you are wet behind the ears, and probably need to study some more history. Race is alive and well, and aint going anywhere. Just because a group of people decide to highlight real problens within society, doesn’t give you a right to say the argument is distasteful.
yup, racism isn’t going ANYWHERE, because of people exactly like you.
shame on you for being on of those who walks backwards, can’t see the future because you’re only interested in looking at the past….. i notice you recommend asking OLDER relatives if there is a difference between black bermudians and white bermudians…. that’s because OUR generation is trying to get BEYOND that stupid mentality and doesn’t support your archaic thinking.
what’s your solution? put all the land etc back in the pot and everyone come with the same sized bowl and have a spoonful? get an education, kevin smith – it doesn’t work that way anywhere.
Bermudian through and through,
No, racism exist because it exist fool. I never said I had the solution, but I highlighted the fact that this is the reality of Bermuda, and the world. Further more, who says your solution is the right one?
IF your one of those people who only like to speak of Bermuda’s good history, than that’s on you. I like to know history, the good, the bad, and the ugly, so I know exactly what and who I am dealing with.
I am educated if you want to know. Educated in the sense of school, as well as life. If you think I as a black men will sit here and say ok, I am just going to forgot everything from the past, and start a clean slate, you are a damn fool. A convict can not do a crime for 10- 20 years, but does that mean we forgot what he has done?
You ask whats the answer, I honestly feel their is not enough discussion. Many black Bermudians feel that this issue was never confronted, but rather swept under the rug. That’s why there will always be a difference in opinion.
as i thought, barely educated. only enough to spout rubbish and stir the pot. i hope you aren’t teaching your children this rot – we need future-minded people here in our tiny country, people offering ideas, constructive discussion and ways to move ahead in a cohesive, peaceful, respectful manner. calm down, look at what you REALLY want, and be clear about it. right now you contribute nothing. (it is clear from your other postings that what you want is to be handed something because you feel cheated somehow…..but you aren’t able to come out and say it. probably because you know it is ridiculous.)
bermudian through and through,
So through my post, you know I am barely educated? I would get rude, but you don’t know any better, so I won’t get into it.
I will put it like this, you want all people of color to forget the past, and just say all is forgiven, and I trust you have my best interested at heart. lol
Once bitten, twice shy fool!! I will question any and everybody’s motives I come into contact with. To many lies and stories have been told to shape the perception of the past, I cannot believe the people who wrote them.
Cause I speak my mind, I am not productive? I work, pay my taxes just like you, so who are you to say how productive or unproductive I am? You know nothing about me, and you are a fool for thinking you know me.
Let’s get this clear, I don’t want a handout from anyone. I would like people to own up to the truths that lie in our history, istead of telling me it’s old news, or get over it.
That is the whole problem, you have not accepted the truths of what your ancestors have done. Instead you sit there and try to down play the relevance of the point, but people know the truth. So you can say what you like.
kevin smith,
SHUT UP!!!!!!!
couldn’t agree more….
LOL…KEvin is killing you by exposing your true history and what you think about and feel…your cheesy candida foul .butt!!!!! YOu walked around looking down on stronger men and women now to have to deal with your gross history which you dont know much about hurts…Nobody likes your racist ways…nobody…You want to be worshiped and loved and remain in control…that is a mind of the privileged…so the best you can do is say shut up…LOL!!!!!
He hurt you!!!!!
@jojo—–You Shut UP!!!!!ZIp IT! QUIT IT!—–Kevin please continue I am enjoying very much!!!!
bla bla bla – it’s like talking to a wall…. you think you are starting some sort of movement – dude, wake up and smell the coffee…..this train left the station a LOOOONG time ago. absolutely, question as much as you can, always, but try not to do it only based on the colour of one’s skin – meaning, you can question the motives of blacks AND whites, if questioning truth is what you are really about. but it’s not. you just hate white people. evolve, buddy, evolve. it’s time.
I question black people too fool. Did you read what I said?
I find your use of the word “fool” disrespectful and unnecessary… it weakens any credibility you may think that you have.
“So through my post, you know I am barely educated?”
Your appalling spelling and grammar give you away.
+1 lol
Holy shit! I want to argue everything you say but I just had a brain fart. I used to work with a Kevin Smith, the odds of you being him is like 1000 to 1 but if it is you, well it all makes sense and exactly why I used to work with you. Won’t get into details aboit how “kevin smith” was FIRED.
YOU need to read…!
I’m a BERMUDIAN and I agree 100% with your statement and I would also vote for you if you were running!!
That is not new! You vote for any uncle Tom
You said it all!
We would have moved on long ago if the problem was properly addressed. Let’s deal with it now so that we can move on without having to go back and pick up where it was dropped.
@ angry tax payer: the race crap, as you call it, has been around far longer than political parties. it will not go away until it has been dealt with, instead of swept under the carpet where it was for so long. Reading these posts must help you realize that there are strong feelings on both sides. I hope white people will attend these workshops to gain a better understanding of the meaning of “white privilege” before they dismiss it.
A short story to maybe illustrate: while engaged in studying for my second post-grad degree, I was assigned to debate women’s issues with a male. Part of his argument was that there was undue attention paid to this topic, that there was a whole section of the library devoted to “women’s issues” and where was the section on “men’s issues” to be found. My answer was, “the rest of the library.” We could have been debating “black issues” vs “white issues” and my answer would have been the same.
History is written by those in charge, the victors, if you will. Hence, our history, or rather the history we study, has been written from a white, Anglo-Saxon, male world-view. The contributions of a multitude of other cultures, races, even sexes, has been largely ignored. This cannot fail to impact a) those who resemble the history writers, and b) those who don’t.
have an open mind. At the least, check it out just to see whether there might be something to gain from your participation.
Personally, I have said for a long while, the best way white folks and/or men can help the cause of racial and/or sexual equity is for them to reach and teach each other. As a general rule, white folks struggle to really hear, understand and learn from black folks and males are the same about hearing, understanding and learning from women (I could probably include openly gay males with women – there seems to be an almost automatic disconnect and shut-down on the part of heterosexual males when dealing with an ‘other’). Not all, but a good majority.
Much Props ATP !!!!!!
What it means to be white: As a white Bermudian from a modest 3 kid family (one income, father was a teacher) I have had to work for everything I ever had. I am almost sixty and have never, nor will I ever, inherit any white wealth.
My parents were unable to sent me away to school – so I went to the Bermuda College.
Whenever I failed I could not blame my colour, I had to get up and start again.
Today I have a beautiful house that is admired by many and is paid off.
I have been called ‘lucky’ by quite a few people – to live where I live and not have to worry about rent.
I say to them that, instead of big trips, BMWs, weed, fancy wheels for my car and all that – I paid my mortgage.
If that is luck – then I made it myself.
In addition: I am constantly made to feel by blacks – that I got it all for free.
Disappointed said it best – I get glared at too. F*** em all I say. I’m certainly fed up with being treated like that.
Well said Cedar Beams (original)! My husband and I are white, in our mid 60′s and have worked and paid for everything we own. We worked hard so we could own (and pay for) our house, SMALL car and SMALL boat. We do not own these items because we are white and they were handed to us on a silver platter we own them because we worked hard for them. We enjoy them because we still work and intend working for the foreseeable future.
White privilege!! BS!!
Small! Huh! You then haven’t seen big states like Texas! I’ve also seen and know of whites (young and old) in Bermuda with big BMW’s, Mercedes, SUV, station wagons etc…So what! Big homes and boat that could have its own zip code, and private islands, so please don’t try to attribute small with white and hard working, and big with others who don’t, people of all races own these items, and if you can afford it, I say enjoy it! You ever try telling an American (or other country) they shouldn’t have a 5,000sf home, 150 ft boat, 4 luxury cars in the driveway (that they change every 4 years) and travel every chance they get! Please! We’ve all worked hard, some just choose to show it in different ways, no matter what color.
The very fact that you describe the others as weed smokers, BMW drivers and BLING BLING BOYS suggest to me that all of us who are hard working blacks are totally invisible to you…The ones you describe are not complaining…they dont care… Those of us who are silent sufferers are the ones who are finding our voice…You have privilege over the entire planet and if all you could amass is a house that is a reflection of what you did with your privilege it does not deny it.
Blackboy. If a person graduates from high school, gets and keeps a job for 5 years after leaving school, stays out of jail, and avoids having children before getting married, that person will do very well in life.
Oh please, I know of a white guy that was like the furniture of a community college – he was there so long people thought he had a PHD, and he even said he doesn’t care to work, doesn’t have to either, but if he needs to, there’s the family businesses, cause whatever he wants, he gets it from parents/grandparents – I guess that why he’s driving around in a luxury car and going around like you people say our black males look…
Your story is irrelevent to what I’m saying.
Did you misunderstand what I said, or are you changing the subject?
I have done all of that and more…except for the fact that I have a daughter and i am not married but I am very much in her life. I earn 6 figures and am respectable…I still dont see things like most whites do…
True Zombie, but unfortunately statistics show that for Black folks they don’t do as well as white folks. A reason we need to talk about that and understand why.
Ah yes assume that black Bermudians spend their money on big cars, rims and weed instead of “investing” in their future by buying a house. If that’s not straight up ignorance and racism then I don’t know what is.
So you think it is all about hard work and black people who are perceived as the BMW owners do not? Go to the workshop. Learn more.
Cedr beams original——i.e. Your white priviledge lies within the fact that you got a job, and was able to pay your mortgage and have a car..Being black meant I got paid less than my white counterparts even though I did a better job.. As a responsible,talented black person I have not been afforded the opportunity of equal pay and back in day couldn’t get a loan.. Such simple things tken for granted…My mother couldn’t be a cashier at one point, she wasn’t ALLOWED!! So even today my pay does not equate with whites!!!hence the priviledge you so deny because it was so natural for you to expect to have a job for any length of time, so F***U2
I am white and struggled and continue to do so probably all my my life dont blame anyone but myself I try harder every day in small ways to be better ,I have black friends who are in the same boat and I know poorer white folks and black to use the phrase,
WHite privilege does not mean that you dont have to work hard…IT simply means that the environment that you work hard in is amenable to your success…IT also intimates the that they psychological advantages of whiteness in a white dominated planet are huge. Explain why most of the non white world is not as wealthy and the whte world…
So powerful, Blackboy. I notice that no one has responded. Its true though. People are really slow, it seems. “I had to work hard for what I had”. And, what? What else was there in place to assist your hard work that would still prevent a black person from owning a home on, say Pitt’s Bay Road, or any other beautiful area. Yes, times are changing, and things are getting better, BUT that does not mean that white privilege is not a real thing.
I see. Anytime a white person works a lifetime and ends up doing well, it must be because of white privilege. And if a white person never owns anything, it’s due to that person’s personal failure despite their white privilege. If a black person works hard, it’s all solely due to their hard work, and despite all the white privilege going on. And if a black person doesn’t do well, it’s all because they were held back by (you guessed it) white privilege.
Did I sum it up ok?
Pretty much.. Now where’s that frontal lobotomy kit? Oh yeah – you get one free at this session on the 23rd.
I move that we dedicate August 23rd as National Frontal-Lobotomy Day!
No
Blakboy,
The reason why “most of the non white world” as you term it, is not as wealthy is because of greedy, dishonest and corrupt officials in some of those countries who have raped the land from under their own countrymen. There are numerous cases of black dictators who have inflicted cruel acts and poverty on their OWN people after independence. This had nothing to do with white people. Read some modern history.
I guess you havent been keeping up to date with the business channels and media of who are (and what do they look like) those behind the current global economic crisis….
Like Brown? He’s famous now…and about my complection too lol (I tan exceptionally well) or maybe you mean ya boy bush in the cayman, no? Misic? I believe there’s people of all colors and shapes responsible for the implosion of multiple economys across the globe or maybe you just turn a blind eye to it (and what do THEY look like), STFD.
Portia are you saying that the white world is succesful because the non white world are full of corrupt leaders. THus the white world not only is smarter, richer, they are more moral too?
Read and see that the recent global crisis had no black or brown faces….all white….the big scandals on wall street, madoff and all of teh WHITE COLLAR crimes are called white color for a reason. How did the portuguese come to control angola and brazil, how did the french come to control cameroon and haiti, how did the british come to control india and the west in indies….not by being nice….IT WAS CRUEL BRUTALITY and it still has its aftermath
so listening to what you are saying so how can that be fixed
“Explain why most of the non white world is not as wealthy and the whte world…”
All you have to do is look at the PLP to figure that one out.
Say it.
‘What it means to be white?’ ?!!? As a young white female Bermudian, I have never ever felt privileged or overcompensated for my race, in fact, often I feel as though I’m being punished for being white, as if I were the one responsible for the atrocities that took place in the past. Nevertheless I acknowledge that racism is present all around the world, and I applaud the efforts to confront it, however having a workshop addressing ‘what it means to be white’ is absolutely out of line, and only adding gas to the fire.
IT is not about what you feel…it is what you experience and are unconcious of…to ignore the racist construct in the socety is the real way to add fuel to the fire.
Offended, that your “white womans burden”.
Unfortunately this woman isn’t around to carry her burden but I seem to recall something about fornicating in the bushes…and now WE reap the burden of children that weren’t cared for by the children that gave them life…got your votes though…at the expense of a nation. F@ck throwing stones, I’ll put C4 around your glass house. Racism is simply the ignorance of an uneducated mind unable to comprehend the true issue of an individual thus placing the blame on a “class”. Ironic how jenifer smith, a known member of the black beret cadre, is minister of education…as former premier (pretty paycheck $$$) ask her where she resides. Just glad she isn’t the one in check of our finances or DEBy wouldn’t have a retirement fund at the taxpayers expense.
Offended; if as white people we move in the world without knowing what we carry with us, we do great damage. Understanding how white racial identity has historically been socially constructed, and plays out today with unconscious awareness, is an important part of racial justice work. As whites we should not presume to tell black folks what to do, unfortunately in Bermuda our history is full of those kind of actions. Black folks know they have work to do within their own community to fix and heal the many issues that they face today. However, as white folks we also need to do work amongst ourselves before we can be part of the trust building that needs to occur in our community.
Go to the workshop with an open mind and heart. Some of us do not realize how closed our minds and hearts are to knowing something radically different from what we honestly believe is so. Dare yourself to take the challenge to expand.
CURB , CURE whoever it is must be hellbent on keeping blacks as angry as possible . Everytime you look they’re trotting out this ‘white privilege’ bs.
A simple weapon to keep blacks angry at whites. Simply keep telling them that (all) white people have what they do and achieved what they did simply because they happen to be white.
Real nice .. one big broad brush tars all of us.
How many old Bermudian families exist today with the wealth that came from 300 years ago ? How many wealthy blacks are there here anyway ? More black millionaires here per capita than anywhere else I bet.
If white privilege is automatically bestowed on every white person then where’s my own business ? Where’s my house ? Where’s my big car and mulitple holidays off island every year ? How come I’ve been denied loans and job applications ?
They’ll never get me to any of these BS meetings and I’d love to get inside the heads of anyone who does in fact attend to understand why they so easily succumb to the guilt trip laid on them by others .
Regular ol white guy,
White Priviledge is not B.S. You are trying to B.S by saying it doesn’t exist.
Many old Bermudian families still have their wealth and land from 300 years. It’s not by mistake these familes own what they own, so please save your B.S for uneducated people.
I can believe their are more black millionaires in this island that anywhere else, I mean the country is predominately black. So is that your justification that blacks weren’t and are treated differently. Sorry, wrong again.
I haven’t seen anyone say all white people automatically recieve white priviledge, but can’t you deny that many of them have a still do recieve priviledge.
You probably weren’t given a loan because you didnt qualify (go complain to the bank), and you didn’t receive the job because their might have been a better applicant than you.
And to your last comment, I haven’t decided to go to the meeting, but I am open to the suggestion. It doesn’t make sense you trying to get in anyone’s head who would attend, because you have cast judgement already by calling the meetings B.S.
so again, what’s your SOLUTION??? what do you WANT???? you’re clearly angry and feel like white people have something YOU should have. so what is it?
I want an even playing field. And to my knowledge, this has not be the case for many years. Believe what you want, it’s your opinion, but understand others have their own opinion through their own experiences.
so how does the ‘playing field’ become level?
and how do you ensure everyone works to the same level??
just saying ‘level the playing field’ is too broad – what specifically do you propose doing?? you can’t just say the words….. that’s too amorphous (look it up) of a statement. if you are truly interested in this, you will start thinking of how YOU can contribute to the PROCESS, instead of just mouthing off about injustices etc…. go get an advanced education and be part of it. you don’t just get handed ANYthing because you feel history hasn’t worked the way you like…. NONE of us like what has happened in the past, but WE cannot control THAT. we CAN play an effective role in the PRESENT and the future. why don’t you look for a seat on THAT bus? seriously. think about that.
I haven’t seen anyone say all white people automatically recieve white priviledge, but can’t you deny that many of them have a still do recieve priviledge.
SO THEN how is it correct to say white privaledge if not all whites get it??? why dont we call it “rich parents privaledge”
Listen Bermudian through and through,
You keep telling me to get educated, and again, you still know nothing about me fool.
So tell me, if I go back to school and get my PHD, then I can speak on your level? Thats the whole problem, you are talking down to me, and you have no right too. But I understand, it”s your history, so you can’t help yourself.
I’m not sure if you notice, but in history anyone who spoke against the status quo was seen as crazy, or ignorant fools starting trouble.
If I was ignorant, I would listen and take your word. But I can think for myself, so I will challenge or questions anybody or anthing I choose.
I think a high school diploma would be quite sufficient. Hopefully you’d then be able to differentiate between ‘to’ ‘too’ ‘their’ ‘there’ ‘they’re’ etc etc. You can’t claim to be intelligent when your intellect only barely rivals a forth grader.
You can’t expect someone to take you seriously if you keep on calling them a fool – and until you grasp the concept of convergence, people will continue to speak down to you ..at least, for as long as you continue to act as though you’re beneath them.
“You can’t claim to be intelligent when your intellect only barely rivals a forth* grader.”
*should be “fourth”
(Plus if we’re getting really technical it should be “intellect only barely rivals THAT OF a fourth grader’s)
@ am: please do not equate intelligence with education. Getting caught up in grammar without addressing the content is just another way to shoot the messenger, and avoid the issue. I don’t agree with everything that has been said, but that’s because, as an female older individual, my experience hasn’t been exactly the same. I respect the experience of each person who has shared on this incredibly long thread. What is very clear is that we have a LOT of talking to do. As someone earlier in this thread quoted Malcolm X as saying something along the lines of racial unity won’t be obtained until we each talk amongst and understand ourselves first.
i LOVE this comment…should be pasted in every time someone critiques spelling/grammar/bda-slang instead of the argument’s content. as someone with a couple of degrees who still feels lost as hell, i can only shake my head at responses denigrating others’ educations. you people need to stop being so high and mighty and start checking what is actually being said in these comments that you run down on account of how they’re written.
is ur period on SERIUOS
Bermudian; you say that “none of us like what has happened in the past, but we cannot control that. We can play an effective role in the present and the future.”
I agree and would add one more thing. That as Bermudians (both long-time descendants and comparatively recent status Bermudians) we all have a responsibility to rectify the injustices of that past (because we have all benefited); and I include both whites and blacks in that statement. Many Bermudians (note I said many not all) live today in a way that is a direct result of that past. That is not to blame them for that; or make them feel guilty. Instead there is a need to raise awareness that there needs to be recognition and action to create greater racial equity today. Being part of a conversation to create relationships which will lead us to greater trust is one of the ways we can do this.
@ BERMUDIAN THROUGH AND THROUGH—When you grow up a lil you will realize how the playing field kept changing the more black people got educated.. You will also understand that no matter how much education we get, it is not our own education it is designed for us to know enough to need to learn more..Blacks did not design the sytem we had systematic control which was given to us right after our names were taken away and replaced with english/american/west indies/ect. when you realize that we were literally disenfranchised and continue to be today because even in Bermuda our families who didn’t own land were unable to vote, and women weren’t able to vote either.. Blacks were given land and then it was literally taken away!!and you say hey thats okay… I call for a level playing field and yes why not all blacks be compensated for merely being disenfranchised through law!!!!It is abominable to think a group of people have been downgraded constantly because of their skin color, this should be as outrageous as any crime committed.. check out the latest statistics in the past ten, twenty, thirty., fourty, years still the same Blacks make less pay!!! do you get it yet?!!
Tell us, what is it that you have that blacks might want?
Why are you so angry bud!
Ask yourself “what is it that I am afraid of”. Really, fear is the thing.
*sniffs the air and gives a sly wink*
Election’s on its way
In several places in this blog reference has been made to the PLP and the election, as if CURB is in cohoots with one group. For the past almost 7 years CURB has worked very hard to ensure that we remain independent, as we understand the very real division that is caused by Politics in our community. Our funding comes from a local foundation and enables us to present many of our workshops, presentations, forums for free.
Recently in the House all three parties commended CURB for the work they were doing in the community. All political groups understand there is a core need for social justice work around race.
WTF is wrong with this island. I’m “WHITE” went to public school don’t have a f***ing pot to piss in. So whats so privleaged about that? Ive had to work hard for everything i own which isn’t much. This island is so screwed. SMFH
NO…You are Screwed…you thought that you could get by with JUST being white…and now you see that your ancestors worked hard at deception and violence and then harder to keep it by destroying the competition…You are just a weak bred poor white boy who would have made it in colonial times but are not as good as the other white guy…it does not mean there are no privileges…GET TO WORK!
Blackboy,
I could not agree with you more!!!!!
Are you seriously kidding me! Wow that’s sad that you agree with him…. There is no such thing as white privilage and there is no such thing as black privilage. Some black families are more well off than white families and that is just how to cookie crumbles! Honestly this BS needs to stop cause I am disgusted about the way that some of the people on this island view race. Who gives a crap whether your purple or blue! If you work hard you will achieve your goals. If you keep complaining and not do anything…well then you won’t go anywhere. White people are almost dispised by some of the older black people in the community and vice versa. The younger generation should not be fighting over this stuff..we should be eliminating it and treat each other as if we are the same people…we r all Bermudians and deserve to be treated with respect
“White people are almost dispised by some of the older black people in the community and vice versa.”
But why is that? It comes from somewhere and white privilege does exist.
Really? I’m part Irish and black and I don’t even use the word hate or despise to referre to anyone. I guess I just got the f@ck over it.
It was a quote from someone else. I didn’t use the word, even still-so what?
You used it as a reference point. So what? So if I can look over the past because I never whipped anyone or felt the whip then so can everyone else, there are people from all different races and cultures that get privaledge, its not singled down to one “class”, you pissing into the wind buddy.
Hey Wow, are you serious. THe more I read this stuff the more I realize how far off white people genuinely are about race. Older black people have a right to despise whites because of wiping butts, opening doors, cleaning shoes and smiling with a fear that they may not get a mortgage or it may get pulled. Dont get on this website with selective amnesia and moral uprightness after the fact. You dont respect our older black folks who cant read and write you think that is their natural existence. You dont realize they were denied access to basic human rights and now you want them to love you and your ancestors…Well no one says that to the JEWS who have justifiable moral outrage…still live it…my grandfather lived it…it is real and present not illisionary and out dated!
“Dont get on this website with selective amnesia and moral uprightness after the fact. You dont respect our older black folks who cant read and write you think that is their natural existence.”
BANG! Is the sound of you shooting yourself in the foot since our famous Dr. Brown passed legislation for manditory GPS in taxis, that you have to read (mainly driven by our older generation, many of which as you say can’t read). My “white” “literate” father argued this very point that fell on deaf ears despite the fact our island doesn’t even fill one grid square on a GPS (call in somerset, closest available taxin in spanish point…did we build a bridge?). Its cool though, he’s a doctor, so when “this is the message your taxi driving father was reading before he crashed and became a vegetable” he’s got some nice generic drugs linked up for us from like, india or brazil or some other 3rd world country, IDFK amymore…
My mother used to say to me when I was little that “you children will solve the problems between people.” I’m now almost 63 and we haven’t done so well. We cannot keep expecting the young to solve problems… we need to stop passing the buck and realise the start to healing begins with all of us.
f*** you you f***in peice of sh*t. blacks were not the only slaves. and im european who also get treated like sh*t and always have. so dont come at me with no bs. My family has always been poor datig back as far as u dumb F**ks
YOu are from the weak White Gene Pool…Dont blame me!
WTF, please calm down, this is a much needed discussion since it was raised by the organizers, and can be debated without the expletives. No need to be angry, Kevin and Black Boy and others are participating with excellent points that we can all learn from, so take it easy, you just might get educated….
Go the the workshop WTF, what is there to lose?
The entire issue of minority rights in Bermuda is well overdue serious discussion. Bermudian whites are a bit like Jews elsewhere – they tend to punch well above their weight making a huge, mostly silent contribution to the country both economically and culturally but always seem to be the ones the majority’s leaders try to blame when things go wrong. I pray that this issue of treating minorities as “Easy Targets” by the likes of leaders such as Ewart Brown, Rolfe Commissiong, Derek Burgess, et al will be examined – because it is wrong, appalling and disgusting!
Yes, I agree, many white people are punching above their weight class as you put it. Probably because their have and still are gaining from this country. I would say I expect many white people to be in a position to give, because they controlled the country for many years. When you as a people are treated as a 2nd class citizen, how are you suppose to be punching above your weight. And to be clear, many of those jews you speak of recieved restitution, so do you want to start that discussion?
AHA!!!! i KNEW it!!!! you want to be handed something because you can’t get ahead on your own merit, and are casting around history books in search of who is to blame, because it can’t possibly be you…. so ‘restitution’ is your goal…. you cannot compare black bermudians to jews stripped of everything in the holocaust. good heavens. did you even go to school????? wow.
LOL,
No, I never asked for restitution. You brang up Jews, so I just wanted to make that point.
So let me get this str8, you feel black peoples struggle in BDA does not compare to the Jews and the holocaust?
So I must ask you this, do you feel most black people of the world struggle is no comparison to the Jewish people?
This would explain why we would never see eye to eye. Through history you would know that a good bit of the holocaust was documented.
The problem with black people’s history is that it was not written about enough. Lord knows how many people were treated in the same manner as the Jews, so save your interpretation of history.
I’m going off subject, but I have to say this. As a child I was taught Christopher Columbus discovered America. Yet we know today that you cannot discover something that is already inhabited by a people (American Indians). The funny part about this is that they still teach this, knowing that there is a different history to be told.
now you will tell me bermuda was inhabited when sir george somers arrived…. but it looks like you have identified a good project for yourself: why don’t you write a history of all black people? should take someone with your clear intellectual curiosity about, oh, 10 minutes or so. there is no having any discussion with you. you can’t spell, you can’t formulate a concise thought let alone a sentence, so i think we will leave it here. you do not WANT to see eye to eye with anyone – you just want to stand on your soap box and spout off. maybe you should consider the ministry.
by the way, i didn’t bring up jews — try to follow the bouncing ball kevin.
and the word is ‘brought’ not ‘brang’.
Bermudian through and through,
Well for someone who can’t carry a conversation, you continue to conversate with me lol, so where does that place you Mr. Educated?
Again, your saying things I never said. Find in my post where I said Bda was inhabited by other?
You really sound like the republican’s I see on TV, talk alot of BS, smokescreen’s so people stay distracted from whats really going on.
It’s simple Bermudian, white people trust cards with people of color have ran out. We don’t trust white people’s motives like some did in the past.
Sorry if you weren’t the person who mentioned Jews, and sorry for not spelling brought, instead of brang lmao.
And being we are on the topic of correcting people, I have to ask you. If your such a Bermudian through and through, why don’t you spell your name with a capital B, I believe that is correct grammer?
it’s ‘grammar’ with an ‘a’. i wasn’t going to bother, but you are seriously making me laugh now!! and where on earth did you get the word ‘conversate’? hiLARious!!! conversate indeed….. tooo funny…… have a great weekend!!
KEVIN SMITH PLEASE GO F… UR SELF
U SOUND LIKE A LITTLE CHILD WIT SYDROME
U LACK ATTETION HUH
U HAVE SO MUCH HATE IN U ITS A SHAME
AND I HAVE NO ISSUES TALKIN 2 U FACE 2 FACE SEEMS U HAVE ALOT OF MOUTH
“I’m going off subject, but I have to say this. As a child I was taught Christopher Columbus discovered America. Yet we know today that you cannot discover something that is already inhabited by a people (American Indians). The funny part about this is that they still teach this, knowing that there is a different history to be told.”
And God created the earth.
..right?
@ am. & bermudian through and through, you guys just killed me…might have pee’d a little…
Say what you like, but we all know your history. One quality I see the three musketeers did recieve is arrogance.
I’m glad you have a place where you can talk so openly, cause I know you wouldn’t say it to my face. lol
And you talk about other people not knowing you lol nice comeback too did you finally run out of arguments?
Come Correct,
If I were in my younger years, I would be itching to get my hands on you, but I have grown.
Like many other people, you sit behind your computer and say things you would not dare to say in public.
I am not afraid to say exactly what I have said on here in public.
Can I say the same for you?
Kevin smith
I’m in my younger years and in my prime, and also don’t need to grow to know not to put my hands on other people, looks like I touched a nerve. If you put a finger on me I’d ——. You do not know me, you do not know where I habe been, what I have learned, or whay I wpuld or would not say to you ANYWHERE. You attack someone for judging you without knowing you yet pass the same judgment on me…keep making yourself look stupid buddy I’m here all day.
LOL
Seriously bernews? He can itch to have his hands on me but what I said was any different? Well kevin, if you tried to put a finger on me you should pre-order an electric scooter before hand, and no, not the one the privaledged drunk white boy was riding.
Know that some schools are mechanisms for denying truth.
Clearly you need to be on another website…BLACKS ARE NOT MINORITIES>
Certainly not in Bermuda.
Per the comments above, attempting to educate whites on the white privilege they unwittingly enjoy is a useless exercise. Let them be and move on.
Maybe if you explained to them what this “priviledge” is, in real terms and not some eternally ethereal gobblygook, maybe they’d understand. OR, you could simply take what is said above on face value and realize that “white priviledge” is a false term created to give some people a reason to irrationally hate someone else and feel justified in doing so…
This.
Privilege has nothing to do with hate. Hate is always an irrational response. Examples of priviledge that all whites unwittingly enjoy:
- over-representation in the news media, worldwide including:
- being paraded in tv shows, documentaries, movies to no end as the standard bearers of beauty, intelligence
- I struggle to find library books suitable for a black child re: imagery. Not even a thought for whites.
- school curriculums: who “discovered” America and all manner of Eurocentric propaganda that continues full force in 2012
The point is, no individual white person is in anyway responsible for these kinds of things yet they do, psychologically and otherwise, benefit from them. It is not a personal issue and that is he nature of a unearned and subtle benefit: few whites are even aware of it yet they benefit!
What is the proper response? For whites: absolutely nothing. For blacks: get your act together. No hate required and I certainly can’t see the organizers of this event as promoting it. Will whites be better off being aware of their unearned privileges? Probably not.
You lost me mate. DO you know how much a professional athlete makes nowadays. Kevin Garnett will have made 320 million dollars by the end of his career, that’s almost a fifth of this countries National Debit. The most powerful man in the world is Barack Obama, I can’t turn on the radio without hearing Drake and all I see on the news is WAR. This does not constitute a definition. To me privileged just means rich.
Take notice of all the comments without a response from the black beret cadre youth league, they forget there’s always 3 sides to a story.
Future, yes, this needs to be emphasized
“no individual white person is in anyway responsible for these kinds of things yet they do, psychologically and otherwise, benefit from them. It is not a personal issue and that is he nature of a unearned and subtle benefit: few whites are even aware of it yet they benefit!”
Don’t take this discussion about race personally (unless you want to) as it is a collective syndrome deeply imbedded and not easy to ferret out, so patience and fortitude is required.
Yes, how is being imbedded?
Future, you may be right. It is a truth that those who enjoy a superior position in society do not want to have it identified as there is no intention of letting it go. But go it must eventually.
Keep blacks angry and keep them hating whites – that’s what the CURE/CURB is all about.
CURE: Committee to Unravel and Ruin the Economy.
CURB: Committee to Unravel and Ruin Bermuda
Either way it is foul – but there’s an election coming up – expect more disgusting race tactics – its the only thing PLP has got.
Carse, what many people describe as hate is only the label they use to try to make persons who talk about race feel guilty. I personally see very few people who talk about race actually hate anyone, on the contrary, they have a great deal of compassion for all of humanity.
Election BS.
I am a white Bermudian who has come back to Bermuda to live and work. No matter where I go, I get treated like an expat. I get asked, where are you originally from by taxi drivers, locals and neighbors. Just because I am white does not mean I am not Bermudian so anyone making that assumption is wrong! I also get an attitude and get glared at for simply asking a question or for walking down the street. People need to understand that just because I am white does not mean I am a hater, nor does it mean that I have not worked my a** off for what I have earned. I had student loans to get through university (which I had to pay off on my own)…no nice Bermuda scholarship here…I have been made redundant and have even worked in very low paying jobs just to make ends meet. I am where I am today because of my WORK ETHIC, not because of the fact that I am white! If you want something bad enough get out there and work for it and stop waiting for the silver plater…
OH stop it…Stop it! GEt back on the plane and go where you came from or put your shoulder to the wheel and help…stop it!
What a productive and useful rebuttal. Is this misplaced hostility typical of what can be expected at the upcoming CURB workshop if someone chooses to share their thoughts? If so, don’t be surprised at a low turnout.
TO be quite frank this is the longest chat that we have seen in a while. This means that we have a long way to go. YEt it also means we are desirous of going there on both sides. It also probaly suggests why the CURB group may have something to offer to both sides. IT is humbling for whites to go to a lecture on racism because it makes them feel like someone is blaming them. Humility is needed by everyone…even the unprivileged white man!
Blackboy, it is completely evident that you are a screaming racist pig.
LOL…you dont even know the definition of the word Racist…I have no power over another race…SO how can i be a racist…come on…get caught up on the basics if you want to get into a constructive dialogue…It gets old hearing white people whine about the great protestant work ethic, who worked harder than the black women who cleaned the toilets and the black men who cleaned the shoes. Who worked harder than the blacks who built the society for no pay. Stop the high minded rubbish about hard work. stop using blacks who have failed as your excuse not to be accountable for the society which you have inherited. IT is as plain as reading to see the conquest of the western world over the planet. with that comes benefits to the progeny. It is not rocket science. I dont want your money. I dont want an intimate relationship with you…Yet I do have to share an island with you and knowledge of our shared history and honesty about the legacy and the lineage which we share will make this island better. As long as white people deny their history and the fallout we will always be at odds…
Well I have history here too which most people seem to ignore, who should I beat with a Shillelagh (and I do own one lol) first?
Yes we have to SHARE an island, and no I don’t condone anything that happened to our people (over 100 years ago) but what I find ironic is that Malcolm X seemed to think the races would never see eye to eye and blacks should be sent back to africa on the white man expense, yet Muhamed Ali said I’m glad my grandaddy was on that boat as he was leaving africa. Would you like to go back or can we pretend we are civilized men in a civilized civilisation and just get the f@ck along despite what our a$$ hole ancestors did?
we would get along if you did not ignore the benefits that you are currently experiencing and accept the history that gave it to you
Keep ignoring MY side. Its a 2 way street buddy.
I know I’m a little late in this conversation … But could someone please tell what benefits I get just because I white? Please all I’m asking is to be educated, cause ever day in my life a struggle and I’m white… Hmmmm
@Bermudalove—really cute.. now let me tell you all of your priviledges…. 1)you are not black–you have more dating power,higher possibility of getting a job before a person of any color(don’t give up), your hairdo is great for any occassion(the priviledge of acceptance, anywhere!),you just have to apply yourself and already you increase your percentage of being selected)try it..What exactly are you struggling with anyway?! I just can’t imagine!!Then again most wealthy kids are not perfect,and never realize how lucky they are because being born into a situation means that it has become second nature…I hope you will attend the meeting and maybe someone there can hel with your struggles…there.there.now….I hope you have gained some education..
@Blackboy……I came from Bermuda!
For Real? Please don’t worry about Blackboy. Whatever his colour he is clearly an i-d-i-o-t.
Maybe you have an accent and that’s why people ask where you are from? My father is a white Bermudian and has never, ever, ever been asked by any Bermudians-black or white where he is originally from simply because he is white. Nor is he ever glared at or gets attitude from random people. I’m sure the white people on here leaving comments like that are lying and trying to incite people and make their case sound better. I have never witnessed such a thing either. White Bermudians have always existed so why would Bermudians attack you because you are white and assume you are an expat? I do not believe that happens.
Unfortunately I’m mixed and have seen my sister be called “white girl”(she is pale) and been told to go back home. I wish it was a joke but it’s not.
@Onion I am mixed but look “pale” in color and was called names as a child but I chalk that up to children being dumb and rude. As an adult I’m not treated differently, mostly I just get asked what I am. Yes I’m the same user as “amen”.
Unfortunately in the cases i’ve witnessed these were adults. I’m not saying i see this everyday but this definitely happens. I’ve also had someone jump into a conversation my sister was having with someone about their child, who went to a school my mother taught at, and tell my sister the only reason his son got in trouble at the school was because his son was black and her mother was white. My sister just blinked and pointed to me informing him that i was her brother. I’m darker than my sister so that conversatiin died on the spot.
Are you for real? Do you really think I would come on here and tell lies out of spite and to “incite people”. I am not trying to make my case “sound better” either. BTW I never said people attacked me, I was simply pointing out my experience of “what it means to be white” in Bermuda in 2012. I am telling you like it is, plain and simple. Point is, regardless of the color of my skin, or your skin, we all get judged and perhaps we should all stop judging each other and move forward for the better of OUR country?!
Um yes I am. What I said is that I do not believe black Bermudians harass white people simply because they are white. You did not answer my question. You said you were overseas and returned to work. I asked did you have an accent and that maybe, possibly, Bermudians would think you aren’t Bermudian because of it, not because you are white. Do you not realize that’s a silly thing to say because most people(adults) know white Bermudians exist? I still do not see how asking or assuming if you are an expat is a rude thing to ask. If you aren’t being attacked – what are you complaining about? Either people treat you bad or they don’t. Again maybe they look at you funny when you ask a question because you sound weird to them? Who knows? You aren’t giving the full story so it’s hard to tell.
As I stated I’m biracial and foreigners in Bermuda ask me all the time if I’m from another country because I do not look “Bermudian”. I do not take it offensively and neither am I treated differently as an adult and yes I’m biracial but I look “white”.
My husband is white and he has never been treated badly, either. To me, black and white Bermudians sound a lot alike. I mean, I can tell when a white person is speaking as opposed to a black person but we use a lot of the same lingo and have a similar dialect. I was at the beach and there was a white guy there and at first I thought he was a tourist, but then he opened his mouth and it was pure Bermudian-especially when he called someone ‘bie’. We interact a lot more than we think so we have the same speech patterns, slang, etc.
Every now and then I’ll encounter a white person who I think is an ex-pat until I get to know them. There are some white Bermudians who sound British, for example. I don’t know why random people would just treat white people badly, though. That sounds a bit far-fetched to me.
What bugs me is when black Bermudians tell me that I ‘talk like a white person.’ Just because I speak properly, I don’t know how that is considered talking like a white person…that comment is so annoying to me-especially since they make it sound like an insult.
I empathize, For Real. I too am Bermudian and been back from school for over 30 years and because I look whitish I get the same treatment from some Balck run institutions. But before going away I was treated by white people the same. So, I look deeper at the problem and ask why this is happening. Two wrongs do not make a right but do we expect blacks to be enlightened if they have been brainwashed with the same belief system that privilege demands? WE are in transition and the more we dig within ourselves to find where we are a part of the problem the more we can change that. Let’s take our share of the fallout.
20th century Bermuda is gone, forget it. It’s 21st century Bermuda and it’s time to move, don’t get left behind.
Agreed!!!@and another one
I think we need to put an end to this BS! BOYCOT this event!!! Changes need to happen in Bermuda & ASAP the island is going down the sh!tter and this HUGE racial divide is one of the biggest reasons.
There is no white privilege! It is call social divide, Rich vs. Middle class. If you have money, you know people in the right places which will take you faster to where you want to be. If you are middle class you have to work your butt of for anything and everything!
Remember->united we stand divided we fall
Where were we ever together? I have heard this before, and I don’t buy it. To some people, we were TOGETHER when black people knew their place and role. Now that some have started to question the status quo, we are divided. Wake up fool, be been divided. Trust me, if I had not seen it with my own eye, I would not speak it. There is the Bermuda that black and poor people live in, and then there is the Bermuda that the priviledge live in.
” There is the Bermuda that black and poor people live in, and then there is the Bermuda that the priviledge live in.”
(privilege has no ‘d’ in it. by the way.)
SO, after reading your sentence, i have a few questions:
1) are you unaware that every country in the known universe has poor people and wealthy people?
2) where do the poor white people live? am curious…….
3) do you think that everyone that has more than you do cheated you somehow?
do you actually consider yourself to be someone who is ‘questioning the status quo’?
you don’t even know what that means!! everyone who has made positive commentary here should DELIGHT you, but nooooo – you WANT to remain mired in some past where a black man couldn’t get a loan etc (ancient history now – did you miss the memo?) so that you have someone to blame for your lack of anything…. snap out of it…. your thoughts are outdated and unhelpful in the process.
Kevin Smith is trying to tell you people how he feels. I understand his frustration. I also understand the frustration from others towards him. The problem is that neither him nor you are educated enough to understand the difference in opinion. That is why CURB is trying to educate White Bermudians on the subject.
White privilege is definitely real. Trust me I am a product of it. My Family came here in 1617 and was for the most part shipwrights, privateers, and farmers. They owned lots of land back then but had had very little money, like most Bermudians. Insurance, Tourism, grocery stores, construction companies did not exist as they do today, and there were very few truly ‘wealthy’ Bermudians. Life back then did not cost as much as it does today because they did not need a cell phone, car, bike, i-pad etc. You needed the shirt on your back and the tools to produce or catch what you needed in order to barter for the other things that you needed. So you ask how does that background make you privileged?
I am privileged because my grandfather was able to go to a great school, get a great education, fight in a WWI in the middle and create a similar situation for my father who did the same thing. My family then had two generations of men that were able to go away to school get an education and a world view that allowed them to create a situation for my siblings and I to be afforded the same. You see they were given the tools to get ahead, and even if they did not pass on money they passed on experience, which cannot have a price put on it. I was expected to finish high school, and go to college, I grew up never thinking there was an option, why? Because everyone around me went to high school and college and I didn’t know any different.
So to Kevin Smith, please understand that there are a lot of white people that did not get anything close to this type of upbringing, and they are rightly annoyed that all white people are lumped together in this bowl of guilt. To those that are telling Kevin to get over it, you need to understand that this is a real issue for him, and for us to achieve what we want, which is racial harmony and unified success, we must all discuss what used to be. Having said that, it is important for all of those that wish to be involved to educate themselves on the opposing point of view. Being aggressive and defensive is only hindering the process. There will be no reparations and that was just Kevin venting because you people refuse to understand where he coming from, he knows that is not an option. He wants white people to understand the head start that some of us have been given………. So Kevin this is me telling you that I understand that I have been given many tools in life that are not afforded to all, both my white and black brothers.
If white people got involved in the conversations, and black people ceased the attacks we could drop these barriers and achieve what we are all looking for………….. Success!
Well put.
well said.
Very well said.
Descendant,
I do agree with what you are saying, and appreciate your honesty.
If you notice, Bermudian has sat here and tried to discredit my point of view because I spell a few words wrong. That’s fine, because I’m use to dealing with his kind.
What he doesn’t realize is that I have white friends, have worked with white people, and many other races throughout my life. I never said all white people have a silver spoon, and I can understand the frustation of working class white people who have worked hard, but get lumped in the same pile with the rich white people.
But what I do know is the arrogance of this man to discredit my opinion because I misspelled a few words leads me to believe his brain is stuck in the past as well. And not in a good way!
FINALLY! Thank you! Now, did y’all herd him?!…Geesh…
I disagree. All white people have privilege…All they need to do is show up on any part of the planet next to me and they will be treated with privilege. Why…Because of the history or western conquest. It is not personal it is business. Deception, violence and control were used by white men to control the planet. Go to any place on the known globe white men rule. Yet they comprise only 15% of the world. Why is that. History shows that when Europe organized itself with the military, medicine, money and morality they had the burden and a sense of God given right to take religion to the heathen and riches from the heathen. THis legacy is what we inherited. Even the poorest white man has the benefit socially of this legacy. Not all whites were among the aristocracy yet they all were given access to opportunity in education, workplace, psychological substratum for idenitity formation and confidence etc. THis was the case for the romans when they ruled, the greeks etc. IT is not personal it is business and sociology… YET it is no Justice either. We are called to produce a product called justice. We cannot accept history as determinant and we are slaves to its forces. We have options and that is why we dialogue. WE get to see ourselves as others see us and examine life. WHite people have blind spots and because they have been used to being in control it is hard to hear form a black person. The greatest people to convince white people are white people committed to Justice…THey are the most powerful people on the planet yet they are the most silent. IT takes courage and humility…we all need a dose of that…me included!
Thanks for the voice of reason, @ Descendent.
YOU white people need this program because you are blind to your black brothers world view and you wish it would go away. Instead read history from the perspective of the oppressed study the hitory of white domination and figure a way to get rid of the hate once your true nature is exposed!
Overseas, let’s not forget the spiritual purpose of life.
And in the meantime we have a black government blowing ALL the people’s money.
why do you call your governement black…what color is the OBA?
Because that is what they label themselves and they ostracize white people. The OBA are not black according to the PLP. They are confused you know whats.
I hear people describing they are tired of talk about racism. I hear people sharing they just do not see racism as an issue, or that it is a dated topic of little relevence to contemporary Bermuda and the younger generations. I hear people asking others to let it go and move on. I sense the anger and frustration and I relate to just wanting this issue to go away. Is racism an issue? Does it drive psychological, social and economic forces? If racism is real, what does it look like? How does it shape our indvidual and collective lives? Is a person who is perceived as black substantially different than a person who is perceived as white? How does this latter dynamic impact our community? Is it a problem? If it is a problem then what type of problem is it? Whilst I can lend my views on racism, they are just that – my views; based on my own inner narrative. However, on a collective level, each of our views becomes something bigger – it becomes a collective view and, ultimately, a way of life. Is racism affecting our way of life? This is a complex question that has many answers – individuals and groups will field it differently. For people who are perceived as white, here is an opportunity to ask the question: is racism a problem? If it is a problem then what is the nature of the problem? And, if one is so inclined, to ask the question: how am I showing up in the problem or not?
Well done Chris.
@ Chris: All your questions point the way to attending the CURB workshops. At least that’s how I see it. Wish you had said it though, just to make it plain for those of us who are somewhat challenged.
Omg, how can you all comment on this topic of white privilege and make it so obvious that you don’t even know what it is. The purpose of the workshops is to inform us about this topic so we don’t have to react all emotionally and defensively every time it comes up. Why don’t you all just try opening your minds just a tiny bit and maybe attend one of these workshops to actually learn something.
I’m sorry, I don’t get what all this defensiveness is about. And just an FYI, CURB is made of of people who are committed to racial harmony – but if you bothered to get informed you’d know that…very sad.
Racial Harmony ??? By creating a platform to ensure everyone knows their “place” in society? Black Vs. White. Bermudian vs. Foreign Worker.
I assure you this is not the way to create racial harmony!
sounds like a good way to recruiter members for the KKK I mean the social elite…smh.
BDALUVIN, What we resist will persist.
Priveledge doesn’t necessarily mean what you own/have in life. It is how one is perceived. You take a white person and a black person. Put them in the same situation (nothing) and have them work their way up. Who will succeed first, assuming both are equally intelligent, likeable, etc.? Socially, the argument is, white people have ‘it’ easier. Not too say they are all rich and were given what they have. Just to say they didn’t have to worry about being poor, as some are, along with glares, looks, assumptions based on the colour of their skin.
And to those who want to stop talking about race. Is this how you handle most issues in your life? Ignore them and they go away? Pah! Good luck with that. We can have positive discussion.
Will your above employment scenario apply to Government jobs…?
I actually agree with most of this post, but this argument, put forth by Mr. Comeau, doesn’t go far enough. Take the white person and the black person. One can be Premier and the other cannot (not since Dr. Saul). Intentional or not, that is not inclusion, it is disenfranchisement.
Truth is that when a white leader comes forth who understands what this discussion is about and is prepared to tell the whole truth as John Barritt has at times courageously done, blacks gladly embrace them. All blacks are not the same just as all whites are not the same. What is fair and just is what we all want at our core.
Thank you!
Some of the sentiments expressed underline exactly WHY a seminar on white privilege is needed.
It’s not to say that people haven’t worked hard for what they have, it’s as you say, about the perception and opportunities that come along with that perception that are not afforded to other races. It is white supremacy in it’s subconscious, passive form – that society places a higher value on one group over another.
This is absolutely baffling… Who the F*** is CURB! Enough with the racist bull! This has me so fuming right now!!!! Slavery is OVER, we ALL have equal rights, black, white, male, female. It’s 2012!! GET THE f*** OVER IT!
After slavery there was segregation, and all the concommitant denials of opportunity and civil right that went with that. It took till 1971 to desegregate the schools in Bermuda, note 12 years after the Theatre Boycott in 1959. In 1991 white managers with no formal education (not even a high school certificate) earned more than black managers with a university degree. Bermudian Baby Boombers (the largest segment of the Bermudian population) walking around today have very clear memories of segregation and the ongoing discrimination they suffered post segregation. Believe me the pain and hurt is not history or in the past. We need to heal and reconcile, truthfully acknowledging that past is part of the process and how it plays out today. We do not need to “Get over it” – we need to dialogue, examine and explore our past together in order to create a more unified future.
Ms. Winfield,
Perhaps…but in so doing, be careful that you do not alienate the very people you claim to want to “reconcile” in the community. It is not for CURB – or any other group – to try and define the “white” experience in Bermuda; just as it is not for anyone who is not black to try and define the “black” experience for anyone else. This is because we all have our experiences, our own personal history, and you need to understand that just as some commentators like Kevin Smith and Blackboy are venting frustrating, you are also causing pain and frustration among whites who probably have not felt anylike to do with white privilege growing up.
It doesn’t matter if you, or the black population in general, believe that whites are privileged, based on historical events. What matters is how such statements make them FEEL – and if a white person who is born with nothing has had to struggle and work for what they have, then what you are suggesting is highly insulting to them. Just as a black person would (very rightly) be insulted if someone told them “You ony got thhe job/ promotion because you’re black (affirmative action). Can’t you understand that? How you perceive people is not necessarily how they perceive themselves, and frankly, it highly represensible to try and sit a person down and say to them “Now, let me tell you what you’re all about.” That is the reason why CURB is destined to fail in this initiative.
By,
A Mixed Race Bermudian Woman
Portia, your comments are very valid and you are right that this conversation creates concern and worry for many white people.
I identify with your statement that “a white person who is born with nothing has had to struggle and work for what they have, then what you are suggesting is highly insulting to them.”
My family were Londoners, my mother a Cockney. My grandmother scrubbed doorsteps to look after her family because her husband had emphysema from being gassed in the trenches in the WW1. Many of us have stories like this and come from families who worked hard and certainly didn’t feel privileged. CURB is not about telling people what they’re all about, and how they should or should not act or feel. The workshops will be educational but also involve discussions… so that people can give their opinions and tell their stories.
Mixed race woman,
From anther mixed race woman – FYI, CURB is providing useful information which can help us through this thing called race if we choose to be open to it. They are not the perfect answer. No one sits anyone down to define who they are. That is always the choice of the individual to determine that. When we close the door to learning more about who we might be we resist the possibility of realizing our truth and living a more fulfilling life.
@portia—your comments are interesting,however;As a black person I would not be insulted if I am given privilege because I am black, thats exactly why the world is in a stateofdecline because people were trusted based on what they looked like, if proper investigations were undertaken we would live ina more honest world..Thats exactly what white privilege is about, the fact that blacks were taught to respect anything from the white man without judgement, we lived in fear and still today are forced to adapt to circumstances that are very uncomfortable just to survive, no one bothers to ask our opinion as though it matters…being polite to someone is more insulting to me than at least thrashing out an issue… I again have no problem if someone wants to reward me with tons of wealth simply because all my life the color of my skin has held me back from achieving despite how beautiful and talented I might be…thats sad…when people assume to know your economic status merely by looking at you,, Of course I want it to change so shower me with everything I want that was deprived..I’ll take it because I am tired of being looked down upon because of my skin color..
Ms. Winfield! [" in 1991 white managers..."] Oh, no!… You must have been at the company I worked for back then! We saw that clearly! And… Two different people also went for a certain designation that was very costly and lengthy to achieve, one was non-black and the other was of color/black. The non-black had very little education and was only working at the firm in an entry level position, and the black was university educated working in the field of expertise gaining knowledge for the designation. Now, the non-black said they were instructed by the same management to just sign up for the program and and not to worry about the costs for the programs/exams, while the black person was told they had to pay for the program if they wanted to have a chance to enter the program, and if they pass the exams then they may be reimbursed by the company! What!….
excellent…!
Seen the reverse happen, white with qualifications lose out to black without for a position.
I see white privilege, I also see corruption and exploitation. Discussing this issue isn’t the answer to racial relations in my opinion, it’s up to the individual to be strong, educate and eradicate racial divide.
Agreed.
this island is screwed.
racism is alive and well, those who dont see and feel it, must be dead
I think a lot of the posters need to read the objective of the workshop again (if not for the first time) instead of reacting directly to the title.
“The workshops will involve dialogue and experiential learning environments and are for white folk and those who self-identify as white who wish to build a socially just and equitable society in Bermuda by more fully understanding the social construct of race.”
Its about learning from others what racial identity means to them – voicing your own opinion and maybe learning something new to develop/progress your opinion/thinking. Its about having a discussion on race simple as that!
The reason a lot of the problems on this Island and in the world in general are not solved is because we bury our heads in the sand and are no longer willing to truly listen and learn from others.
Challenge yourself – before rushing to judgement attend the workshop and find out what its really about.
This is the part of the “white mans burden”, which is hardly a privilege!
Born as a white man, you suddenly bear the responsibility of all the injustices from men before you.
You automatically bear all the benefit from those before you, even if you only have 2 cents to your name!
The reality is Bermuda has (might be had soon the way the PLP are running things) one of the highest GDP’s in the world.
If we looked at wealth and standard of living of blacks worldwide I’d bet Black Bermudians are by far the highest! This is something everyone seems to overlook!
So black people who got pimped a little less than others should be thankful?
Do you have a clue the burden black men are born with?
And the only reason we have one of the highest GDP is because a small group of people who live on the island have a lot of money.
what about black privilege, didnt we hand over the government to a black party 14 years ago and what has that amounted to? More of a divide between the community, it hasnt strengthened anyone at all! and for those who blame white people for the situation they are in, don’t, you should blame YOUR ancestors, they were offered a chance to go back to Liberia..they didnt go, then stop complaining because you are a thousand times better off than Africans and people from the Caribbean…and there is nothing stopping you from attaining higher education, speaking proper english, getting a well paying job and being a pillar in the community, NOTHING!
@Will – you need to calm down, and if you search your ancestry deep enough, I think you’ll find that you too came from Africa, AND you make yourself sound ignorant to believe that just because one is from Africa and the Caribbean that one is not wealthy. Please, a friend of mind was royalty from Africa with a home filled with servants and came to the western world and could not understand why Westerners have to do everything for themselves and dont have what they have in Africa because they are so royally wealthy! And the people of the country we were in thought they were corrupt just because of their skin color with wealth!
Learn about different cultures and you will realize that Africa and her people are very wealthy – man, better off that many of us Westerners, and like the Caribbean, they have beautiful homes, people and amenities. So you get educated so the rest of us can engage in a proper dialogue with non-proper-English-speaking persons such as yourself, and if you are a pillar in our community, in what way, or did you take it down 14 years ago when you “handed over the government to a black party”…
The posts above clearly underline the need to have workshops about white racial identity. The frustrations of those who have worked hard all their life to achieve where they are today are valid. It can seem very unfair to be accused of something one simply doesn’t believe one has. However, when it comes to racial justice, privilege is far more than wealth, hard work, or good work ethics. As Dr. Frances Kendall said “It is very difficult to talk about because many white people don’t feel powerful or as if they have privileges that others do not. For those who have privileges based on race, or gender, or class or physical ability or sexual orientation or age, it just is… it’s normal.” A simple analogy would be a person who is left handed, i.e. they move in a world designed and organized for right handed people, only they notice they are at a disadvantage. The rest of us right handers are totally unaware.
The workshops are more about understanding the social construct of race and how our identities shape who we are and how we move in the world, and the advantages and disadvantages that go along with that.
So , tell us Lynne , when someone who doesn’t know you, and they happen to be black, accuses you of having all this white privilege how do you respond ?
Do you, a) just agree and walk away
b) agree and apologise
c) agree and have a great conversation with them so they now understand your point of view of what it’s like to be a minority in Bermuda
d)tell them to attend a CURB meeting / seminar
e)promise to one day bequeath all of your hard earned possesions to them ’cause you know that’s what they would really like.
I could think of a dozen more .
Where is all this ‘talking’ hoped to take us ? How do you ever think that everyone will ever have been ‘talked to’ or ‘educated’ ?
Do you really believe it’s all just about ‘talking’ ?
What happens when the talking is all over and done with and there’s still a lot of bitter people out there ?
Dear ol’ white guy, nothing was ever solved by walking away or sweeping things under the carpet or by apologizing for one’s privilege. We get these privileges not because we deserve them but because we belong to a ‘favoured’ group in our society. It’s also no good beating someone over the head to get them to understand one’s point of view. However, I think there is a responsibility to raise one’s awareness around these issues. Most of the world is made up of people of colour, and if they can see we have advantages, we need to ask ourselves how come we can’t see it? What is it about our socially constructed “norm” that makes us blind to how we move and behave in the world?
Talking, communicating, dialogue, discussions are ways of resolving issues. Any psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist will tell you that. If we did more talking, negotiating, mediating there would be a lot less wars in the world. We talk about race relations, but people are unwilling to work on building the relationships which will help us to learn and trust each other more.
There are a lot of angry, bitter and disappointed people out there, that is because their voices are not being listened to and their pain and hurt not being acknowledged. This can only be done through communication. Not by accusations, tirades and retaliation.
There are also a lot of people out there who believe Bermuda has a very real chance to work through our issues of injustice, inequity and denial. As a community we have begun a journey, one which can bring us to a much better place. The talking we do now will help make sure our children inherit a more unified, cohesive and equitable society. Seems well worth while to me.
Thank you for your very moderate and well worded response Lynne.
Now here’s another question … You said .
+There are a lot of angry, bitter and disappointed people out there, that is because their voices are not being listened to and their pain and hurt not being acknowledged+
Do you believe that if all these bitter and disappointed people were all magically whisked off to a situation room where they could get others to listen to their pain and hurt their world would suddenly be perfect and they’d all be happy ?
If you say ‘No , but it’s a starting point’ , then what is next ?
I’m also sure that you know very well that whites are disappointed that their point of view is not being listened to either. Just look at some of the posters above !
These conversations more often than not end up being a one way shouting match . Whites know this , that’s why they wont participate in an meaningful numbers and never will.
And the broad brush of ‘white privilege’ will be forever used to tar all, regardless of how much of a struggle their lives have been.
Regular ol’,
This is the first time in history that we have had the means and freedom to have a discussion about this topic. Some people are already advanced because they have been engaging for some time. It is not essential that white people engage in this discussion but we know from history that those who bury heads in sand wake up one morning and wonder if they woke up in a different planet. Such will be the shift.
I fully support this workshop and CURB.
Me 2
Yep what about us “privileged” Portuguese treated like trash by people of both skin colours when we arrived. I’m upper middle class because my family worked hard, from poor agrarian workers to upper-middle class grocery store owners and after they sold it off eventually other work such as in the Insurance industry and Bank Shareholders. Hard work is probably shocking to many Bermudians, perhaps poor and black (if you’re stupid enough to look at it that way) should stop spending money on cars, televisions, vacations (go by any poor street in Bermuda and you’ll see SUVs or even BMWs parked by it) and instead “GASP” spend it on their children’s education.
An unpleasant truth … one we don’t dare ever bring up .. How could you ?
And let’s not forget that the Portuguese and Spaniards were slaves of the North Africans in the 8th century …And for a lot longer than the North Atlantic slave trade lasted.
You are correct but you also forgot to mention the 100 virgin scrifes that they demanded of Portugese and Spanish which were taken back to Africa as sex slaves.
LOL
This is some Hollywood fantasy type stuff. Next you will be telling us that Egypt is not an African country…
Maybe you need to do some research. Please explain the African Muslum style archtecture in those contries..
LOL even hollywood couldn’t make that up.
Black slaves when they were hired out by their masters knew what their masters were being paid, and they wanted to be paid fairly after Emancipation. After Emancipation the Portuguese population in the late 1800s were encouraged to come to Bermuda to work predominantly as farm labourers, as a cheaper alternative to employing Black Bermudians. They too were exploited, and worked and lived alongside Black Bermudians in the fields and as general labourers. They intermarried, lived next door to each other and went to school together. They formed a strong labour class. This was seen as a threat to the ruling elite, and so schools just for Portuguese children were built beginning in 1931 to separate the races. However the Portuguese were denied the right to attend ‘white’ schools. Perks such as having easier access to loans at banks gave them a helping hand up the ladder. Later as the need for the oligarchy to consolidate white votes to stay in power, Portuguese people were ‘permitted’ to be white, and attend white schools. The old adage “divide and rule” worked and the evidence of that division and bad feeling continues today. To understand where we are today we must understand our past and how it plays out in order to heal.
So again when does the healing start? It seems to me these talks start and stop in the same place …”The Blame Game”
LOL
Why is it then, Lynn Winfield, that Portuguese people are lumped in with white people when it comes to discussions about ‘white privilege’? If they, part of the white population, were denied opportunities until only about a generation ago, they are a segment of the population which has no historical ‘privilege’.
They aren’t unique in this, of course, but they do illustrate the point. Many white people come from underprivilieged backgrounds. Lumping all white people together as being ‘privileged’ is, frankly, insulting and ridiculous, just as black people dislike being lumped together and stereotyped in a certain way.
Zombie, thank you for your question as it brings up an important issue. Power is about control, I don’t think too many people would argue with that. If you need to retain control because you think you are the best people to rule, then understandably you do what is necessary… and the response from Bermuda’s oligarchy back then was to offer ‘whiteness’ and its ‘privileges’ to Portuguese, who had for many years been used and exploited. When you have an opportunity to move up in the world, there are not many people who would turn it down. The Portuguese community naturally responded positively to this invitation, predominantly not understanding the very real political reasons behind it. This is not to deny that the Portuguese didn’t work very hard for what they have today. It is merely to point out that Black Bermudians were not given the same opportunity at that time. When you start a race and one group has a 400 yard (years) head start, and then another group has a 100 yard (years) head start… it is obvious that one group, except for those highly talented few, are simply not going to be able to catch up.
@zombie…—–It doesn’t matter what background whites and portuguese came fromit is were we have arrived at today..Blacks are still discriminated against because of their color not because they were slaves..Huge difference from underprivilidged..Being Black is an automated underpriviledge to whom???everyone else!!now doyou get it? even though people from other countries were slaves and some today still practice class distinctions, Worlwide there is a perception of white priviledge and Blacks are still the underdogs fighting for recognition of being considered a Person….Hmmmm Black people have been systematically stereotyped because of their skin.We are just as insulted about this injustice as you are about the “ridiculous” notion that lumping all whites as privileged is ridiculous.Maybe much more insulted but at least you can catch my drift.
Good job Lynne. Keep all those resentments burning. If people could just let them all go, then may be all Bermudians come together for the common purpose of making these Islands a better place for all. I can’t make someone else feel good about themselves, only they have the power to do that. Let go and let God works for me, how about you?
Little Sound, it’s about telling the whole truth about our past. If we understand the past we have, as you say, “a much better chance of being able to work towards all Bermudians coming together for the common purpose of making these Islands a better place for all.” Before you can “let go” you need to first have what happened acknowledged and validated. Telling the truth is never easy, but it is one of the steps towards reconciliation and healing.
we have been over this again and again and again. your neat packaging of this part of history is all fine and dandy, as retrospect is a lovely thing. gives great clarity in the rear view mirror. however, this is like a skip in the bloody record…..we can’t get past the skip, it just skips and skips and skips and skips….pick up the damn needle and start playing a NEW song, SOMEbody, SOMEwhere…. PLEASE……..
Lynne Winfield,
I must command you, because your explanation is spot on!!!!!!
Commend.
Fool.
thanks .am – i was going to do it, but i got distracted…. he really is a fool. this garbage has been going on all day – i was off today, waiting for a repair person, but i wonder if kevin’s boss knows he just sits on bernews all day…..
Thank you for articulating the background to the divide between blacks, whites and Portuguese. I have yet to find it in any of the history books used in our education system.
BTW, This is the only country in the world that I have ever heard of where we have this unique descriptive separation of the races.
More truth telling is needed from the Portuguese community. Tell it like it was/is.
Isso mem!
Portuguese people are technically white, so stop separating them. If you go to America no one will know the difference. Your assumption that Black Bermudians all spend their money on vacations, televisions, SUV’s, BMWs and don’t or can’t afford to send their children to school is ignorant and racist in of itself.
Well said.
Yes, the Portuguese are white and have always been so, but there are people for whom it was financially convenient, made them non-white. How do the Portuguese feel about that? Does being accepted as white now with entry into whitedom make it difficult to see the injustices in front of the eyes?
I think the Portuguese Bermudian population are feeling similarly to whites because, generally speaking of course, they worked hard to become accepted in the white community and don’t always feel comfortable talking about the days when Bermuda was segregated for them also. They especially now, don’t want to be told they have “white privilege”. Its sad when people feel so uncomfortable about their past that they can’t talk about it without becoming angry and defensive – just bury your head in the sand and say “that was in the past”. Well, I’m all for letting go of the past but in order for that strategy to be successful we have to 1) Articulate it; 2) Accept the. reality of it; 3) Learn from it…THEN we’re free to LET IT GO!!!!
From what I’m seeing here, we as Bermudians are having great difficulty just getting to step one – talking about it! When people can’t even express themselves without being called names for their spelling and grammar and “use of proper English”????? Holy crap, that is really, really, sad.
Kudos to Blackboy and Kevin Smith for persisting past these attacks on your intelligence and experience…brave men indeed! And thank you for caring enough about us all to continue to share your insights and not be put off by these tactics.
White people…you need to know that no-one is “blaming” us for anything. We’re just trying to talk about a society that we all inherited and will be leaving to our children and their children…none of us “did” anything. We are just doing and saying what we know. The question is – do we know all there is to know about this society and the experiences of the people in it??? I think not. Is it possible that there is more to learn before we can move forward? I think so…
Well said Cathy!
Lovely points, Cathy! Well said. We need these conversations so very badly. Thank you, CURB, for opening the door in a way the “Big Conversation” never did for me.
Then maybe your people should stop having the businesses that you accuse apparently only blacks to patronize that have obviously afforded your family the ability to have what they currently do – you said it yourself: grocery stores, insurance, finance, automotive, electronics, tourism and education, then maybe you will have no reason to call yourself “privileged” Portuguese ! So don’t bite the hand that’s feeding you! And the last time you were on “poor street” where black businesses operated, did you and yours shop there?, oh, maybe you don’t feel safe, you may say, but these same people came you your family’s businesses to help you attain your Portuguese privilege, please…….
@youidiotssays—-You are middle class because you worked hard… at least you were able to work hard and steady and given a hand up!!!the slavemaster favoured the portuguese before they got here!!!Even though blacks were still fighting for their rights!! Portuguese took the hand up and now call it hard work!!!By the way did you get educated or assisted!!!!!!Especially when blacks weren’t even allowed to have education!!!which water fountain were you using??
PLP should immediately pass a law banning all forms of White Priviledge. Case closed. It would be against the law to have in your possession any form of white priviledge. Same fine as feral chickens $2,880.00. This would quickly get rid of all of it.
Would that stop the yelling accross one’s face on the sidewalk to their mates accross the street, or the dirty looks thinking one is an evil white foreigner, or walking on the sidewalk 2,3 aside an not moving for the white (or perceived) devil coming towards them, etc ect….?
lol Why should they move? You can wait till they walk pass.
Simple politeness? Oh no, forget it. I’m wasting my time.
Why can’t it be politeness on their part and wait their turn? White people walk like that as well, in fact most people do in every race, it’s not just black people and it’s ignorant to even say that. Or should black people stop in their tracks and move because a white person is coming through?
to put it another way would there be such an uproar on here if it was workshops called ‘What it Means to be Black’??????? Just wondering what all the comments would be like if it was reversed????
CURB has been holding internalized racism workshops for over a year for Black folks. They have been called “Discussion for Black Folks” “Do Blacks Play the Race Card” etc. There are those in the Black community who are examining how 350 years of intergenerational trauma caused through slavery, segregation, and years of discrimination has played out negatively within their own culture.
CURB has also held many workshops, presentations, forums open to all. But we also understand there is a need for each group to meet apart to explore their own perceptions, stereotypes and beliefs, before the groups can meet together in a more open and constructive dialogue.
Black folk have no choice but to know what it’s like to be black. The notions of “colourblindness” and doubts over the existence of white privilege are luxuries that blacks cannot afford.
Yet apparently the majority of us afford cars (has to be luxury german cars or SUVs), televisions, cable, houses, food and of course donations to your Charlaton preachers.
But gasp if we ever start talking about education, or “HORROR”, working your ass off.
Racism is so toxic and spreads like wildfire. In this era there shouldn’t be any form of it on any side. I have the outmost respect for black people. I respect their culture and their hurt at how they have been treated in history. What I don’t understand in the current times is how some want to blame the “white person” for not having a job and for not having racial equality when the leader of this Island is a black woman. I’m not being disrespectful, I just want to know why the “white man” continues to be blamed…..especially in Bermuda.
Because power hungry politicians want to keep the races apart. It is only way they can stay in power. CURB is just another part of the propaganda machinery that is used to keep people from coming together for the common purpose of making Bermuda a better place for ALL people. This workshop is meant to fill all white Bermudians with a huge sense of guilt for “being born with this burden of white priviledge ” and making sure that they carry this negative burden forever. This will create something know as white guilt, which will lead to whites being involved in normally unacceptable enabling behaviours, especially towards perceived underpriviledged non-whites. Behaviours that most non-whites would not tolerate themselves…
Grouper, I’m sorry you feel that “CURB is part of a propaganda machine that is used to keep people from common purpose of making Bermuda a better place for ALL people.” That is so very far from the truth.
This workshop is not about making white Bermudians feel guilt or blame. It is about understanding perceptions, stereotypes, and how our multiple identities play out in the world. It is about discussing why we have these social constructs around, what was it about our past that created them. It is about looking at a bigger picture and seeing how we fit in and how we adapt.
Oooooh Grouper!!! That is so not true! These workshops are not about guilt at all. Perhaps that is your fear, but it is not the truth. Clearly, you know very little about CURB – or you have a vested interest in the status quo.
Black government does not equate black power.
Being white in Bermuda for me has meant being a second class citizen. It’s meant a different set of rules for me at the Immigration counter. It’s meant being kicked, yes, physically assaulted, while sitting on a beach by black teenagers, because they wanted to force me off ‘their’ section of the beach (why?). I didn’t have a cell phone on me, so I couldn’t report it to the police, before some smart-a$$ tells me what I should have done. And what good would it have done, these were teenagers, minors. There would have been no action anyway.
I’ve been taunted with ‘you white b!tch’ at the bus station, just standing in line minding my own business (why?). I have been asked in a professional setting what a white person could possibly care about the job of educating ‘our black children’ (seriously???). I have been denied opportunities in the workplace, I suspect because of my skin colour. I have been sneered at in stores (why?), and when introduced to one of our leading politicians, she wouldn’t deign to shake my hand, and looked at me like I was something she’d just stepped in (why?). I have been served last at bars with black bartenders when out with my very mixed group of friends (why?). I have been told that I am unable to relate any experience of mine with ‘the black experience’, so why am I here talking about it, in conversations in the workplace (shut out- why?). I have been excluded and invited to leave discussions about race, because I’m white and I wouldn’t understand (why? My ancestors were oppressed, enslaved by their own people). Or because I’m white I would necessarily be offended (then why would I want to participate? well, maybe to learn something, but once again, excluded).
So where is this ‘big conversation’? Why does it not include then all of our voices? I really am Bermudian, by the way. And I treat all my fellow Bermudians the same way, until they prove to me why I shouldn’t. Nice begets nice, what ever happened to that?? Yes, there is a great deal of white privilege, but that’s at the top of the economic food chain. There is also plenty of black privilege here, again mostly because of the economic advantage offered by being a member of a given group, association or family. Economics play a far more critical role in this equation as far as I can see.
I don’t get invited to the black sororities’ events, even by my friends who are in those. I don’t get invited to ‘black’ social clubs, or ‘black’ events. I also don’t get invited to the ‘white’ ones either, because I’m not from a wealthy background. I’m just Bermudian. I truly do get that racism against black people does exist, it is real, and it is despicable. But let me ask this- where does my voice count? Will it ever? Is it right that I and people like me don’t matter? and for the last question- does it make things better for you as a black person if you just turn the tables on me? If it does, then I suppose my indignities have served a purpose and I can thank God for that. If it doesn’t, then what purpose has that aggression and oppression served? Why not treat everyone with dignity and respect, and see what shakes out of that?
+1
Imagine how our tourists feel when they get similar treatment. No wonder we have so few hotel guests and IB is leaving, but it’s all part of the Dr. Brown’s grand plan…
Agreed.
The underprivileged black population will soon have their beautiful island all to themselves as the privileged whites make their mass exodus from Bermuda – this includes Bermudians as well as the evil ex-pats. The privileged whites can then sit back and watch the show from much friendlier shores. I suppose the underprivileged blacks will still find a reason to blame the whites for everything that doesn’t go their way.
@ Fed Up Bermudian :[ "I also don’t get invited to the ‘white’ ones either, because I’m not from a wealthy background. I’m just Bermudian."] it sounds to me that you’re have challenges with both black and white people, but you’ve only chosen to emphasize your experiences with black Bermudians….hmmmm…….
Well, no, actually. I have a problem with people placing labels on MY experiences here as if you have walked in my shoes. How about this- ever been in a room where white people are talking racist crap in front of you, assuming that you’ll just agree with them, then when you speak out and walk out you get labeled a ‘ni***r lover’ behind your back? And it gets back to you, ugly words and all? And then the distinctions are made that ‘people of my background’ could never ‘understand’. Seriously, dude. You missed my whole entire point. It’s not AS MUCH about a blatant racism as it is a blatant classism. I get that I may be preferentially treated in some situations because of my lack of melanin, but can you not accept that nowadays there is preferential treatment for blacks depending on the simply because they’re black? If you can’t, then you are part of the problem. Preferential treatment based on appearance, regardless of what that is, is wrong.
I have a problem with bigots. And they come in ALL different flavours and colours: black, white, and every shade in between.
Might there be some expectation on your part? Is it the feeling that you are not being treated as you have always taken for granted. Did it ever occur to you that black people have had to suck up such disrespectful behaviour toward them for centuries. You are helping to define what white privilege is. I don’t condone the behaviour and honestly I would like people to be more enlightened but they have been as brainwashed as whites.
My My, how that poor little country just keeps on sliding back into the plantation – not that there ever was slavery in Bermuda of the type that we hear of in the sugar fields of the Caribbean, I believe that they were merely servants on the little rock and pickers of arrowroot. When the black people were ‘unchained’ in the mid 1850′s, caucasian children (white wretches who would not be tolerated in the posher streets) were provided with their first pair of shoes and shipped off from the heaving workhouses of London to take up their tasks of toil. I wouldn’t mind betting that there are a few thousand Appalachian back-woods people currently surviving at the bottom of the barrel who would willingly swap the boon docks with some of the black people in Bermuda or their pink beaches.
Come on Bermuda, home of just over 60,000 souls, you are just moaning your way into oblivion
Same ole same ole. Where you alive back then to know if there were slaves or servants?
Either way, if I am denied education, bank loans, the right to vote, the chance to work hard and earn a home of my own, does it matter if we were slaves or servants?
Critize the PLP Govt. today and one risks being denied education, bank loans, the right to vote, jobs, the chance to work hard and earn a home of my own…
I read all the comments and all i can do is laugh. This curb thing is a load, people need to stop being jealous of what others have. Life isnt fair no matter what colour you are. But instead of sorting out your own problems you complain about this and that and this and that, because of white privilege. We all work for what we got, and because someone is better off than you, you pull these race thing. there are plenty well off black people who work hard for what they have. times are hard for eveyone but you cant blame whites for it.
Show me where CURB is blaming whites.
A good part of white priviledge in Bermuda today is actually perpetrated by some Black Bermudians. Here’s a personal example for you.
Post office sends my wife (black Bermudian) a notice that a parcel has arrived for her at PO. She askes me (white Bermudian)to collect it for her. (NB all employees at this PO are all black Bermudians). I collect it for her, no problem. A few weeks later a notice of a parcel arrives for me, I ask my wife to pick up for me. Guess what happens…. the ladies at the PO who gave me a parcel in my wife’s name will NOT give my wife a parcel in my name. She is outraged of course.. So I think that it is quite simple…always try your best to follow the Golden Rule.. do unto others as you have others do unto you… and a a consequence we may make some progress towards eradicating all forms of priviledge
My wife and I have had same position as you and have never had a problem she’s black and I’m white. How do you know that the person she dealt with just did not have an off day or as in many cases know you or your wife from school days and did not like her?
Just a question.
LOL
Not the case here, but I would say that if someone is a having a bad day, they should really keep it to themselves and not impose it upon their customers. Unfortunately this is quite a common dysfunctional/childish behaviour in Bermuda along with “I never liked her at school” Let it go, get over it.. Some people never grow up, others do…
Like they say, let go and let God…
LOL
Grasshopper, you have identified a piece of internalized racism.
It will be amazing to see what the reaction when the growing filipino population leapfrogs the well-established black population in wealth and starts owning businesses and power in 10-15 years. It’s inevitable, and I wonder what the reaction from CURB, the PLP, the race card players will be then.
Who is enabling them?
and who is Shelly Tochluk and how is she qualified to speak on issues relating to Bermuda?….
Another foreign consultant brought into Bermuda to impose a certain viewpoint that is aligned with the party in power. Keep the resentments burning. Rather than emphasising what Bermudians have in common, work on keeping them divided and apart so that they dont realise that they are being fed a crock of … by a group of elitists who think that “only they know what is best” Start thinking for yourselves BERMUDIANS! Wake up! These people do not care about you and they do NOT want you to COME TOGETHER as ONE PEOPLE – they want to keep you apart so they can control you.. Think about it PLEASE….
Shelly Tochluck:
“An educator, with a background in psychology, I spent ten years as a researcher, counselor, and teacher in California’s public schools. I currently serve on the leadership team of AWARE-LA (Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere-Los Angeles) and am a professor at Mount St. Mary’s College in the Department of Education.”
The fact that she tought in the California public school system should tell you everything about her. Sounds like your typical white/jewish “expert” on race relations that really outside of the fantasy lands of big cities she really has no clue what the rest of the world faces every day.
she gets a nice trip to Bermuda though…
“Sounds like your typical white/jewish “expert” on race relations that really outside of the fantasy lands of big cities she really has no clue what the rest of the world faces every day.”
Sounds like many of the [presumably] white folk who have posted on this thread, actually.
So now we’re also introducing anti-semitism? Excellent.
Bottom line is everyone is an Immigrant. White, Black, Brown, Yellow, Red etc. ALL our ancestors/forefathers were brought ( By their will or against) here by a boat or planes. So lets all get over the colour of each others skin and talk about more important CURRENT subjects like where all our governments money has vanished to? And how the heck are we going to get out of this economic slump? Our Bermudian Brothers & Sisters are hurting right now: loss of jobs, business’ closing down regardless of their skin colour everyone is hurting.
If there is a platform for us all( Every skin colour under our Bermudaful sun) to come together with solutions on how we can move forward I would support it 100% But I feel like this workshop is just to distract people, seprate us ” Whites” vs. rest of the Island and to ensure everyone knows their “rightful” place as per their perception of how society should be.
Lets move foward united.
You hit the nail on the head my friend. Time to come together for the common purpose of making Bermuda a better place for all!
EXACTLY. thank you thank you thank you.
Hi eveyone. as a young person in my early thirties who is bermudian I am saddened that we are heading into the years 2013,2014,2015,2016 and we are still talking about these rediculous decisive topics that seperate people rather then bring people together. It is uneducated and allows us not to grow.
White privledge, black privledge who cares! There is no such thing there are people who raise their children properly and there are people who do not raise there children properly it is as simple as that.
Stop making excuses as to why you can’t grow.
Those that complain and also complain to others that they can’t do something because of whatever reasons are normally people who never did anything or accomplished anything in their own lives.
It is very convenient to sit back and make an excuse as to why you’re not succeding in life and buy into that idea, but that is not the reality, it is just a convenient excuse. Go and make something of yoursef it is that simple, don’t care who you are and what you have or don’t have. Just tired of excuses.
A quote I like is “It is up to the discplined of the world to teach the undiscplined.”
It seems like I see the undiscplined trying to teach the discplined.
It’s not ridiculous at all because there are still racists out there and race is still a huge issue. It’s not as big as it used to be but still an issue. We can’t say just say stop talking about it like it doesn’t exist. That’s apart of the problem. We can’t come together if we don’t understand each-other.
your a sad race of people,
In societies where there are injusticies, haves and have nots, is it white priviledge where:
the society is entirely white?
the society is entirely black?
the society is Asian?
what does it matter, i just stay away from them, i dont shop at their stores i dont eat at their resturants, i dont go to their churches “no way” ,,, i cant relate to people with such a major history of hate,,
im sure 80 percent of them hate us
But can you differentiate the 20% who don’t? We look like all the others.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/14/slavery-still-shackles-mauritania
If any of you guys have ever been bullied or beat up when you was younger, in your teens and in your youth, I’m sure that as an adult if you see the individual or individuals who use to bully you, and they haven’t changed their ways, you would feel a certain type of way. Especially if this person has children and their children is bullying your children.
You wouldn’t just get over it you would speak out! Blacks were enslaved for well over 260 years, and not only were they enslaved but as a people they suffered under their slave masters and the laws some of the worst treatment of a people for years. White people done this and it’s a fact, white people was given a huge head start because of this, Black people who have moved up recently in job positions only moved up to take the place as a worker while the white people who moved out can enjoy their money, retire and spend time with their family and live comfortable.
After slavery blacks were still treated bad, and them came the Jim crow laws which made it even worse, also the same black people were psychologically enslaved by the psychology of the white race,
God was GIVEN to black people in the image of their slave master, anybody considered to be a hero was white, go take a look at any Jehovah witness pamphlet and look at the color of Jesus and his disciples.
Its only been 64 years since segregation laws was abolished..do you think 64 years is equivalent to well over 300 years of mistreatment and psychological and economical slavery?? You cant say oh the Egyptians had slaves and they were black…the Egyptians had fall, their empire fell and we don’t see no reminisce of how the Egyptian slavery affected us today.
However we see the affects of European slavery still happening today, and you have a problem when its being spoken about?? 64 years since racist laws of segregation was abolished…. many of our parents and grandparents are still alive and remember that.
And you think that when the laws was abolished that white privilege just stopped right there an then??? When slavery was abolished white privilege carried on right up until Jim Crow laws and on
So in today’s we have a better world that is moving away from racism however the wound that was inflicted on a people still exist. Prime example of this is if any black person talks about Bermuda going independent he is shut down by whites immediately, and the psychological effects of slavery is existing in other blacks so much that they cant even imagine us being an independent country. Yet they would go to AMERICA which got its independence from the same country that were trying to get our independence from.
And you think racism doesn’t exist, that white privilege doesn’t exist? The few whites that is in Bermuda now..(a lot have left to live in other parts of the world due to great grandpa an great grandma being privileged) Where do they live….you would find them in houses that is paid for or in houses that was passed down to them, you would find them in the best neighborhoods and some say I worked hard for what I got.
Yes you did but being white gave you an advantage with private school paid for no worries about bills and your education was far superior than that of the average black person, education which money was set aside for you due to wealth accumulated from your ancestors being privileged which gave you a huge leap in life.
Which brings us back to the bully issue…you would not stand for a bully who bullied you in the past to bully you or your children nor will you allow for the bullies children who have learned how to be a bully, bully Your children.
And if the affects of being bullied is still prevalent in your life today and you had the opportunity to express to the bully and other bullies what you went through in hopes that bulling can stop..you would do that, and you would do that in the hopes of having a “better world”
What would you say if a person says..that happened when you was a child or a teenager…get over it already
Perfect example ..
You’ve just had your vent and I listened (read it )
Do you feel better ? Has your (or my) life changed ?
What happens next ?
Still waiting for Lynne to respond .
So the island is literally losing businesses, people both black and white are losing jobs, everyone is suffering. Why are we still focusing on this race stuff? As black people (Yes,I’m a black male) i often wonder what will make us happy. Reading the comments above, are we suggestion that we be compensated because some white people were born privileged, do we want them to write apology letters, etc? LOL.
People its time to move forward, many talk about history, but forget the most important part. Thats its history, its gone and its not coming back.
I sincerely hope that we start talking so passionately about the real problems of the island, namely crime and our economy. That is happening now and that we can do something about!
Compensated ????? no thats not the suggestion at all..if your black and you can ignore the structural factors that led to one race being ahead of another, then you are blind to the reality and your mind is controlled by those who want you to forget.
Its recent history…RECENT HISTORY..and if you honestly cant see the wound that has been left open then you can bleed slowly in ignorance and wonder why is it you have a hard time making it in the world.
Crime is where it is because families of blacks look at drugs and crime as an alternative way to make it in this world, people are fed up and refuse to look at the wound that slavery caused and segregation, and how it is still being played out now.
Young black and no house, mommy trying to pay rent, she didnt go to college , grandparents didnt own a home, your broke and its hard and your young and you dont know why. You dont know your history so you have no respect for yourself or others or your community, so you turn to a life of crime.
Its all systematic and if we follow the root cause then we can eliminate the sickness, ignore the root cause and the sickness gets worse
Right, let’s deal with the now. But in order to know what to do about now it is necessary to know what created that which we have now. We then have to ask what is in the best interest of all of us? Are we ready for that?
Rampant jealously by the blacks.
But you’d never have balls big enough to ever utter that in public. Coward.
I don’t know who you are Klu Klux Klan and I really don’t want to know. To use a pseudonym like that speaks to bigotry, racism and intimidation. The KKK represents one of the most oppressive and violent periods in U.S. history and you chose to use it to intimidate here. I would ask Bernews to ban you from posting on their website – it is obvious from your pseudonym you are not here to engage in discussion.
kkk—–exactly why I want compensation!!!!!!I rest my case!!!!Acre and Mule OOPs ten acres two pools!!!
Never Exhibit Xenophobic Tendencies
See, it’s easy and fun. Why don’t you try. See what you can do with CURE or CURB.
But do remember, Contrived Organizational Acronyms Lack Substance.
This argument goes no where what’s the solution? Won’t be in anyone’s lifetime I feel, it’s not like we are going give or jobs and houses and saving
Or even a talk and a good cry about our sufferings on both aside ain’t gonna change a thing we just have to deal with the cards we are dealt plain and simple.
The best way to gain complete control of an entire population is to divide them.
Bermuda is the new Rhodesia.
IZ ALL DE WVITE MAN’S FAULT.
Its all the whites fault, I would love to know how. You blacks will never lay down for the race card. You blacks all want something for nothing, and when u don’t get it u call the race card into play. Oh read the history about the black slaves, boo woo woo, that has nothing to do with the present. Get on with your life and forget past that doesn’t concern u, u were not slaves. There are plenty successful blacks in Bermuda that work hard for what they have. But I guess u won’t be happy until every black person has it all. Life isn’t easy for anyone so suck it up and deal with ur own problems instead of blaming whites.
@WhiteBoy, I think “DE PEE AL PEE” is obviously a troll, mind you, never underestimate stupidity on this Island.
So, essentially, a dialog on why people treat us like second class citizens. FANTASTIC! And how, exactly, am I better off having engaged in this talk? Am I somehow meant to be LESS offended the next time someone mouths off at me because I’m white?
We are not responsible for the shortcomings of other people, nor should we somehow be made to feel so.
Ol’ white: When I said “There are a lot of angry, bitter and disappointed people out there, that is because their voices are not being listened to and their pain and hurt not being acknowledged” I was actually talking about whites. You only have to read this blog to know that people feel that way. Some express it in extremely accusatory, negative, and appalling ways. Others just tell their experiences. What is really apparent from the almost 250 comments on this blog is that people have strong opinions, they want answers, they want to understand, and they want to be heard. Providing a place for that dialogue is what CURB is about, and facilitating the conversation to ensure people truly are heard is possible. So in answer to your question “What next?” – I would say that the people of Bermuda have a very real chance to make substantial changes in our society to bring about greater justice and equality. However, BIG change requires BIG vision. Something Bermudians have never lacked. It requires us to be open to other’s point of view and to understand that when we deny another’s reality, be it a black or white perspective, we are in effect calling each other liars. We all stand in our own truth, the key is to be aware of the other’s truth which runs parallel to our own, even when it is so very different from our own reality.
Sounds like you really are an OBA supporter…
Whites never want to be held responsible for the history and shortcomings of their forefathers but will gladly take all the benefits and profits of that same history. Amusing.
Says, Do you realize that black people mouth off at black people also? Ask the question “what are those specific people so unhappy about?” Don’t take it personally.
So a white person from California can teach Bermudians about being white? Does she also teach germans in germany, russians in russia, the french, etc etc. She is from a different culture. Her insights are probably powerful in the correct context, but probably not here. Time for the ol’ race card to be taken out, I guess.
There seems to be a misunderstanding that Dr. Shelly Tochluk is coming to Bermuda. That is not the case. The workshop will be run by CURB.
Ah so. I misread. Thanks for answering Lynne.
Why don’t they do a workshop on “black on black crime” or why don’t they bring up Africa….slavery is still alive down there and not by white people. What about the African slave trade? What about the innocent people who suffer by the hands of their own people in Diamond mines in Africa right now ask we speak? There is no way in hell that I’m going to feel guilty or “priveledged” because I have a job or good life. I damn well work for it. My WHITE husband was laid off from work (yes it happens to us too), but he didn’t blame society or ouor black neighbour who had a job…he got off his a$$ and said you know what screw this I’m going to work for myself. He took what he’s gifted at and started his own business. Don’t just blame the “white man” for racism, prejudice, inequality or whatever else you want to throw at us….EVERYONE is guilty of it, its just easier to blame someone else if you’re life isn’t going the way you want and don’t have the strength or the want to change it.
Feel free to bring up those topics Bermudian. I’d attend. Be sure to bring in the history of the people who de-stabled Africa.
there clearly is a need for people to sit in a room and talk…just read the above.
I never knew white people were this angry though
This would make so so so SO much more sense if it was a workshop for the other 60% of the island. I’m white. I don’t need to ‘understand’ this. I don’t need to talk about it. Being white is not MY problem as I take no issue to it. If you have a chip on your shoulder, that’s something YOU need to understand and YOU need to address.
If CURB were to do a workshop on ‘What It Means To Be Black: Understanding Mental Slavery’ then I’d be first in line at the door.
that’s very true. There are blacks that have found success in life without looking for excuses or handouts. Life isn’t fair, they know it, so just do what they have to do to get ahead like others in society.
Unfortunately there are some who are allowing the physical shackles from the past to entrap them in mental shackles! They are allowing those persons from a century gone who bemoaned the ending of slavery to smile in their graves! They are smiling because even with the physical shackles long gone, the there is still the torment of mental slavery for some!
Let this chip of mental slavery go, then you will be free and can leave them rolling in their graves!!
After reading this whole blog I am glad that whites have said their piece. Every expert that comes here just treads on the white guilt more and more it is ridiculous. It is a simple fact that not all whites are rich and privileged and not all blacks waste their money on BMWs.
CURB seems to serve no reason other than to fan the flames of racism. Sorry Lynn and I know your efforts are honorable.
I ask one question: If racism ended, what would people like Blackboy complain about? To call you and others a bunch of spoiled children would be an insult to spoiled children everywhere.
Yes, whites are angry and have spoken. It is about time because we’re fed up with being treated like something you just stepped in.
Cedar Beams, I appreciate your kind comment that you think I am being honorable. I have to ask that if you think my efforts are honorable, why would I chose to be the lead facilitator for this White Identity Workshop? As you can see from the above posts… it is not because I want to be popular. I believe this workshop is needed within the White community and believe it is the right next step. Doing the right thing, is not always the easy thing. I hope those who attend find it interesting and make authentic relationships.
Says, So you want Black folks to understand their dysfunction but you don’t want to understand yours and how the two are intertwined?
@.am–you would make so much more sense if you bothered at all to have any interest in the topic besides your “blahs blahs”! you would know that these meetings with Blacks have been taking place including the subjects you mentioned in previous meetings held more recently at the Leopards club. Also Dr. Eva Hodgson has written countless letters to the editor of local newspapers regarding the subject..If you bothered to attend any of the BIG CONVERSATION you would also know lots of white people were also involved and the atmosphere is certainly nothing like the “blogs”. CITV has aired the BIG CONVERSATION, there are many local books that have lots of documentated facts regarding the treatment of the blacks, portuguese, westindians..Please feel free to expand your mind beyond that privileged ego and open up your mind to receive knowledge..This forum is for people like you to discuss how these conversations effect you..Its not about a chip on anyones shoulder, how would you like to be constantly tapped on the shoulder to move along,because the skin tone is wrong??nevermind don’t answer that..just try and pay attention if you are going to participate.. there are quite a few comments to read here and some of them might answer your questions as well…stay tuned for the next curb meeting!!!
Blacks in Bermuda have no reason to cry about racial inequality…the leader of this Island is a black woman for Christ’s sake. What white man is holding them down now? Most teachers are black, in all 3 political parties the majority are black, most of my neighbours who own they’re home are black. Give me a friggin break!!!! Get on with it and stop blaming the white man for your shortcomings in life. Life is what you make it!!!!!!!!!!!!
So because a few are the exception and not the rule-the rest should just shut up because of that? Let’s forget that most of the poor people are black? A result of things like slavery and segregation, generational poverty? How can they ever get ahead in life? But no one complains about generational wealth, right? Those rich white kids who get to go to the best private schools thanks to the wealth of their parents get great jobs because of it right? Where do you live were your neighbors are black and all home owners? Most people rent and most black people sure as hell do not own their own houses in Bermuda.
@ amen those rich white kids who go to private school thanks to their parent’s wealth have no reason to feel guilty or ashamed of it. And I hope you didn’t pull that out assuming that I have kids and they attend private school. If you need to know I live in Hamilton Parish in a predominantly black neighbourhood and yes most of them are home owners. Why, are you suggesting that a black person is not capable of owning property? Friends (a black couple) just bought a new home and a car AND their child is pre-registered at a private school. And don’t go there about slavery…heard of African slave trade????? Africa exported their own to Europe. You should be blaming yourselves for that.
From 1623 (when the first blacks arrived in Bermuda) to 1971 there has been approximately 17 generations of Bermudians. Since 1971 (the year the schools were desegregated) to today there have been approximately 2 generations. This is a very real reason as to why social change is not happening quickly. It is virtually impossible to overturn 390 years of racial injustice and economic disparity in 40 years.
From 1609 to 1998 predominantly white folk ruled this island. Again it takes time, work and understanding to change over 400 years of stereotypes, perceptions and socially constructed opinions on race.
Yes there has been change, and yes there has been progress but there is much, so very much, more to learn about each other.
amen, u act like all whites on this island are wealthy. get off that crap, there are poor whites here too, u obviosly choose not to see that cause of the color of their skin. Both races suffer on this island. sounds like you people will never be happy until whites are made slaves i swear.
This curb thing is just to get the race talk going again ( which it has done) right before an election, so PLP stay in power. They will make all of bermy suffer even more, loose alot more money, bring up the race thing again and again, just so you all have something to blame on the whites.
Racism on this island will never go away, because of SH!T like this put into the paper
I never said all whites are wealthy but a majority of them in Bermuda are. As I said earlier my father is white and he is not wealthy so please do not assume or say things I did not say. No I will be happy when whites try and understand and stop telling people to “get over it”. That’s what enrages people, the lack of care and understanding. Instead of saying “yeah some of us white people did get an unfair advantage based on history”, instead they say suck it up-we have a black premier so get over it.
amen- the best thing you can do and all the blacks that feel we whites have to understand/feel sorry what happened years, is to say a prayer and then say AMEN about it cause its over. People like you are the cause of racism cause you can let go of what happened in the past. every 2 mins there something coming up about the whites. You blacks are the majority on this island thats y more blacks seem to be suffering, but because there more of u than us i guess thats a white person fault too. You all have no reason to feel angry towards whites for what happened in the past. we didnt do it and it never happened to u. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and do and blaming us because you upset and nothing
The best thing for you to do is to learn how to read properly. You’ve gotta be joking. As I stated I am biracial and I can see things from both sides. Healthy debate is good, however I will not engage with simpletons like you whose only opinion is that blacks should “get over it cause it’s over”. It’s over but the effects aren’t-which is the whole point. Again can you not read? How am I the cause for racism? You sound good and silly. It is not an everyday issue for me, nor do I not let go of anything, however I won’t sit by and act like on places like the Bernews comment section, whites continue to deny, ignore or disrespect very real issues that are still present. That’s the true racism.
I can read just fine, all I read and understand from all that u see is cry cry cry. Maybe people like u should be more simple and then we would have less of an issue on this island. But no u people just choose to blame others for ur issues. Wish u would all just lay down. This issue will always remain because the jealousy , guess it always easier to blame someone else
@gottolovebermy—-Don’t even begin to think that you have the slightest clue about me as a Black person who is continually judged on her skin tone, yes today!!2012!!!got it!!I don’t pray I PREY!!until I feel that the color of ones skin is no longer significant to their existence, I’m not talking about a whitebred world were we are forced to accept what has been shoved down our throats by selfserving white superiors who feel their word is gospel!!!You don’t know which relative of yours discriminated yesterday,today or will tomorrow. Regardless of blacks being the majority, the control of economic wealth is in the hands of non-blacks! When I can be truly set free with enough economic wealth so that I can truly compete on a level playing field then I will be happy! Happy not to be told what to do, to accept my circumstances,to praym to shut up ahhhhhI can almost smell the salty clear blue ocean calling me for a sail…I continue to dream cos I gotta work!!!!!work!!!work!!!no offence to white people, love some of you guys but certain things must be said and justice must be seen!!
It will only work for those who want to learn about each other. Will be very interesting to see how many black/whites come out to truly listen and digest what is being said. I don’t think many whites will support this because it feels like an attack. After reading most of the posts it is clear that many blacks and whites are angry….I don’t think this will ever go away
Bermudian, this is for whites only. Why does it feel like an attack?
Feeling are real but they do not necessarily reflect reality. This workshop is being held because white people have asked for it.
Actually no I did not assume that, I am just replying to your argument that blacks are free, should get over it and make something of themselves because we have a black Premier and mostly black politicians. How can you if you have forever been poor? Where did I say that they should feel guilty? I said that whites would NEVER give up the wealth, land, opportunities, businesses or whatever else that they were afforded because of their ancestors yet on the other-hand they do not want to be held responsible for how they attained those things.
I’m not assuming, it’s more of a fact, a majority of the people do not own homes, especially not the black population in Bermuda. Why are you saying I said things I did not say? I did not says blacks were not capable of owning property, I said a lot of blacks in Bermuda do not own property. There’s a difference. Perpetuating lies in history books doesn’t prove your point and again they were the exception not the rule. Truth of the matter is whites destroyed things everywhere they went and exploited people everywhere they want. Now that’s a fact. You need to speak to some older generation black Bermudians and maybe learn something.
My beef is this…just because I’m white, don’t hate me. I have never done anything bad to anyone. I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. My dad worked several jobs and my mom was a housekeeper, so when I’m stereotyped as being privileged it really gets me mad. My parents didn’t own their own home when I was growing up, in fact we had all black landlords. The same way society shouldn’t label blacks, Hispanics, gays…they shouldn’t label all white people. I respect the hurt and anger that black people have from what was done to them and acknowledge that yes, white people did benefit from black labour. You also have to see that people like me who didn’t have black “help” growing up, who didn’t go to private school and who didn’t have the best paying job shouldn’t be labeled as privileged. This topic can go on forever, all I ask that we share mutual respect and learn to co-exist. If we as humans can’t do that then Bermuda is truly lost.
Bermudian; I agree that labelling is wrong be it by whites or blacks. So many of these posts are full of people accusing others of stereotypes. Also buried within these posts are people trying to tell their stories. When we doubt, brush off, or belittle someone’s personal experience we are calling them liars. Why do we find it so difficult to believe another’s experience? We can live in two almost identical houses, 500 yards apart, yet have totally different life experiences due to the colour of our skin.
By starting to believe each other, sharing these life experiences, acknowledging the past and its legacy, understanding the very real historical, cultural and blood connections that Bermudians have across race, and be willing to do the work necessary to build relationships, we can start to co-exist and share the mutual respect that you, and so many others, wish for.
Most black people and especially CURB do not hate white people. Hate is a word that is being used over and over to dismiss what people are trying to say and so. Try not to align yourself with people who use it. It is contaminating.
Frances DIFFERENT NAME HUH U R DE DISEASES
some folks r dumber then dumber
I have two cats, one is black the other is white. They get on just fine.
LOL +1
OMG this is the most amazing comment ever! <3
373 comments above speaks to the dire need to dialogue as a community. For those who cry “Move on”, “Let it go!”, “It’s in the Past”, “That’s history”, “Where over that”, the above comments clearly show we are not. In particular the comments from whites show that there are many who want to find a way to forward. We have to do this ourselves, we cannot wait for government, politicians to do this for us.
Our avoidance of race can manifest in several different forms. We can deny the continuing effects of race and its categorizations, move toward ethnicity, become colorblind, and believe that we transcend race altogether. Important to acknowledge is that we can take up one or all of these approaches with the best of intentions. For many of us, the flight from paying attention to race is not made consciously. We are not aware that we are distancing ourselves from the problem instead of working toward a solution. The CURB workshop at the Human Rights Commission on Thursday at 6:30 pm is specifically for white folks to explore why we use certain strategies that keep us from paying attention to race. Read the first post in this blog to find out more details. Email secretary@uprootingracism.org or call 505 0112 to be a part of the solution.
375 posts!! must be a record…. Bernews??
My my but how we protest at the though of acknowledging that there IS such a thing as white privilege. Just the mere thought of acknowledging has people up in arms…WOW
Forgive me as I did not read all 375 posts (I do have work to do to improve my situation that I am responsible for and don’t blame anyone for) and I did come across a couple of individuals who do mention the fact that one race did benefit from the work of another……
But to take such issue with a workshop…..amazing!!
Seeing all of the venom shared here makes me wonder who I sit next to at work.
BdaMan
@BdaMan…its about to be, if it goes over 389 it will be….
lynne winfield says:
August 17, 2012 at 12:46 pm
Bermudian; you say that “none of us like what has happened in the past, but we cannot control that. We can play an effective role in the present and the future.”
“I agree and would add one more thing. That as Bermudians (both long-time descendants and comparatively recent status Bermudians) we all have a responsibility to rectify the injustices of that past (because we have all benefited); and I include both whites and blacks in that statement. Many Bermudians (note I said many not all) live today in a way that is a direct result of that past. That is not to blame them for that; or make them feel guilty. Instead there is a need to raise awareness that there needs to be recognition and action to create greater racial equity today. Being part of a conversation to create relationships which will lead us to greater trust is one of the ways we can do this.” ~ Lynne Winfield. Mrs. Winfield, PLEASE answer how “white privilege” and “racism” will be rectified. What is it that I, as a Non white priviledged person can do? To be quite honest, I believe you and others are the ones who are privileged and seek to destroy the progress that has been made. For God sakes, I’ve said I’m sorry for the past (although I wasn’t personally involved), I hire people of other races, I donate money to worthy causes, etc. What should I do now, offer to others what I’ve worked damned hard for, like my house and my car? No one GAVE anything to me! I do the best that I can and when I sat here and read the above comments, I am sickened to think that people like you will continue to believe that “talking” is going to resolve the HATRED that people already feel in their hearts because of “history”. People need to start accepting and loving each other as HUMANS instead of attacking each other for their WEALTH! The bottom line is, MOST Bermudians are PRIVILEDGED to live in such a beautiful island and MOST of whom have a job. Perhaps Mrs. Winfield, you can charter a couple of airplanes and send those whose hearts are filled with hate, to places less fortunate than ours where people live in shacks, have no power, barely have any food, have no transportation, and yet, are happier than the spoiled brats (black and white) who live here!!!!! Racism by all races, and privilege by all races, is here to stay. Get over it and MOVE FORWARD!
Reply
Great work that CURB are doing….much thanks to Mrs. Winfield who is working hard to help folks understand.
Looks like the OBA/UBP have a lot of work on their hands. Maybe this is why they might avoid the subject of race until after the election, as it upsets their core support base. Race is a serious issue in Bermuda. The white populations appear to have great difficulty in dealing with it.
Come together people, come together..stop missing the key points that CURB are presenting. I ask that all whites attend the workshop, and learn something new.
You’re wrong again. White people do not have great difficulty dealing with it. They simply don’t like being put in a situation where the ‘conversation’ degenerates into a one sided shouting match full of false accusations .
I’ve been a part of many small private ‘big conversations’ over the years and that’s the way it always turns out.
It would seem that to most blacks ,as long as some people are white they will always have this mythical privilege. From reading all of the remarks here it’s obvious that there’s nothing they can do to debunk it. No matter how little they may have or how much they’re struggling.
I have no reason to understand why I must engage with such thinking.
Dear Regular ol’white boy,
I note you say you that white people “simply don’t like being put in a situation where the ‘conversation’ degenerates into a one sided shouting match full of false accusations. And that you have been “part of many small private ‘big conversations’ over the years and that’s the way it always turns out”. If this has been your experience I can fully understand why you are reluctant to engage.
CURB workshops/forums, conference and presentations have never degenerated into “a one-sided shouting match full of accusations.” We have been offering opportunities to the community to attend these dialogues for almost 7 years and they have been very informative and this kind of behaviour has never occurred. We work hard to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to speak and most importantly their voice heard. Not everyone agrees with each other, but importantly value is placed on the honesty and authenticity in the room and the willingness of people to express their opinions.
bermuda is a class based society like our english momma. how you are treated in general is a reflection of how much money you earn or steal. unfortunately the rich and wanna be rich use race to divide the poor most effectively in bermuda. im 44 years old and mostly white, and the government has hated me since i was conceived. i had hoped the plp would immediately table the proceeds of slavery act in 1997 ——- france had a revolution, they got napoleon. russia had a revolution, they got lenin and stalin. africa had a hundred revolutions, they got a hundred mobutus and idis. bermuda had one revolution, we got ewart. the counterrevolution usually wins and gives you a megalomaniac —-
rich privelidge is a reality but white privelege is a myth. i may be descended from orchard thieves but that dont make me one
Well said
@blockade runner——–forever guilty by association–not my rules!the only people that have rich privilege are white , the only people that were discriminated against for their skin colour are Blacks.. Guilty by association, even though I was never a slave nor were my parents, because we were so lucky to have beautiful skin we were guilty by association of being born into a darker hue family, therefore we were treated according to specific rules set up specifically for people of color.Bermudas revolution has not even BEGUN yet!!!but I see your white privilege way of thinking!You think Ewart was something..stick around, because there are still some more changes to come!!
WOW! over 400 comments due to this post and from what I have read fear on both sides will continue to keep this issue around for a long time. Many people, both black and white have fought for progress, so like it or not we are all in this together, stop throwing stones and make a difference. I am by no means saying forget History, education is key to progress and I think this forum might actually benefit some people so end the hate and don’t discriminate.
black african people sold other black african people into slavery. 3 irishmen were so happy with their slavery in bermuda that they stole a boat and rowed back to ireland. britains success in slave colonies was because they enslaved white irish people first. rich people discriminate against poor or disadvantaged people period. last week i saw a black man walk out of hsbc and drive off in a chinese suv, dosent he know that all african slaves imported to china were mandatorily castrated? all but one slave rebellion in the carribean failed because the plotters didnt plan to abolish slavery, they planned to becomne the slavemasters. did you know that britain abolished slavery because simon bolivar promised any black man who faught against spanish imperialism would be free. bolivar reneged on that promise, but the newly liberated latin american nations outlawed slavery and the slaves in english territories were fleeing in droves to former spanish colonies. im so happy i wasnt born in africa, im so happy i never betrayed my brothers, im so happy my white family drove hitler into a hole like the cockaroach he was, despite the blood price. i dont want dames or lords or megalomaniac tyrants to rule here…. i want bob marley
the mayan calendar calls the 5200 year cycle that ends this year the age of deception.almost 5200 years ago, the hero twins faught the lords of death in a ball game in xibalba ,the underworld ,and the twins victory founded this age.this very planet earth was the ball. but the hero twins cheated, and thus began this age of deception.humanity invented power through deception in this period religion, money, slavery, racism. it all ends this december so prepare yourselves to live in an age with a new theme for humanity.
@Blockade runner—–I want Bob Marley tooo>>I also remember napolean deceiving Tousant L’ouveture!!!Yes apart from all of the History of War,lies,slavery, we still have discrimination against a people merely for their color, that is the issue that you continually negate, I don’t dispute the fact that the Irish were so despised by the British who enslaved, and deported them to other Southern countries because of their soft hair and pale skin, this was the desire of the Blacks to have them as lovers as much as it was the intention of the slave masters to mix up the races in order to divide them, pitting one hue against the other..All of that said, after the abolihment of all types of slavery the Irish actually all did not want to even return to Britian and assimilated into the societies were they were, however Blacks were ostricized and singled out to worship the white man and show loyalty to knowone else! it has perpetrated throughout history because when something is taught, believed and passed on, old habits die hard.. Lets try and fix this with first understanding that we all react differently to our circumstances and some people do not take kindly to being pre-judged!
I only wish to submit this link. I do suggest people give it a read.
http://lawretta.hubpages.com/hub/Are-black-people-racist
Bob Marley- Three Little Birds (With Lyrics!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LanCLS_hIo4
ENJOY ALL :- )
WORLD DOMINATION IS PEACE
i was thinking CURB can have an interracial family day all race poor rich average all come out and UNITE IT WOULD BE A BETTER BERMUDA
Bob Marley – One Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdB-8eLEW8g
ENJOY :- )
a dead bob marley would be a great premier. better than all weve had so far, or can expect under the current system. these partys do anything but address the real issues.