Being White in Philly

"A Nation of Cowards." That's how Attorney General Eric Holder chose to castigate a certain sector of the American people in 2009 for remaining voluntarily self segregated. Holder claimed that "certain subjects are off limits and that to explore them risks at best embarrassment and at worst the questioning of one's character".
  
Well, recently there's been some refreshingly honest discussion about race, but my guess is that its not the type of honesty that Holder was looking for. Being White in Philly is an article that explores how middle-class white people feel about race relations in a gentrifying neighborhood near North Philly. A blunt Russian law student relates the following:

"Blacks use skin color as an excuse. Discrimination is an excuse, instead of moving forward. … It’s a shame—you pay taxes, they’re not doing anything except sitting on porches smoking pot … Why do you support them when they won’t work, just make babies and smoking pot? I walk to work in Center City, black guys make compliments, ‘Hey beautiful. Hey sweetie.’ White people look but don’t make comments. … ”

The author interviews several residents, each with a unique perspective, but the overall gist is that it's not easy being white in a predominantly black Philly town. This honest discussion of race tells a starkly different narrative than what progressives like Eric Holder have been spinning since the 1960s. In fact, the article so enraged the Democratic establishment that Philadelphia mayor Nutter called the article’s tone “disgusting,” and he’s asked the PHRC, the State's Civil Rights Agency, to "investigate some of the sensitive racial issues explored in the piece". So much for an honest discussion.

Being White in Philly has been widely read and commented on (2260 comments as of this writing). For more refreshingly honest discussion about race relations I suggest you read some of the article's comments (Warning: there are many downright racist comments from Blacks as well as Whites, but there's also alot of heartfelt honesty). Here is the comment with the most "up votes" (1100 as of this writing).

white kid in black gradeschool • 13 days ago
As I white kid whose well-meaning parents enrolled him in a majority black school for the same noble reasons as "Jen", I just have to say that that decision is really negligent. I love how she makes it about herself. I love my parents dearly and have never told them about how lonely and terrifying it was to be one of the only white kids in my grade school. I love them too much to put that kind of guilt on them. I was constantly teased, picked on, and bullied by a few kids... and even the nicer kids never seemed to display any sort of empathy. Given the state of race relations in this country, and the overt disdain black people have for whites, I don't suppose I see how that would be surprising. Whites only think racism goes one way... they have no idea what its like for those of us in the trenches. Especially kids. Link to this comment here

white kid in black gradeschool goes on in another comment...

One thing that I came to see as a kid was that there was no end to the scorn for being white. While I didn't "wish I was black" per se, I definitely craved validation from the only people I was surrounded by, and for us handful of white kids, there was no higher compliment in life than being accepted by black kids as "cool", and somehow transcending our being white....

and here, white kid in black gradeschool comments on Jen, a mother in the article who believes that sending here children to the black school is the right thing to do...

The worst part was that my parents, like Jen, thought that I was getting so much cultural value out of this experience. They couldn't have been further from the truth: I probably would be more positively disposed to black people as a group had I grown up in the suburbs. Again, even though I still have actual black friends, I definitely do not fall for all the white people are all racist lines. I really, really hope Jen's kids turn out OK-- I can guarantee they will probably have MAJOR issues throughout the rest of their lives. Not to mention, the academics, no matter how much Jen decides she just loves the teachers and the schools, are TERRIBLE. No one cares about schoolwork, even the teachers. Jen's on a moral superiority mission, and her children are the victims. I guarantee 100% that they dread going to school. If white privilege is the right to a carefree childhood, they are being robbed of their birthright. Almost every day I wish things had been different for my childhood. And to tie this in a little bit with the story: I have never been able to tell my story to anyone. White people's brains would blow up, black people get hostile (see comment to my first post)... it's just a story that simply doesn't compute in today's racial narrative.

  No, I don't suppose this is what Eric Holder had in mind when he asked for an honest discussion on race.