Pride is for the ignorant

Just had a conversation with my female roomate who was telling me how proud she was to be a "chicana" because of "her people's struggle" and long history. For months this woman has been telling me how great mexicans and indians are and the whole time blaming everything bad on "white interests." About a month ago I was already fed up with the blame game of the white and told her that it actually kind of upset me that she could be so ignorant given her "peoples" history being labelled many things that they are not- hispanic, latino, mexican... fucking whatever. Now her deal is calling white people "anglo," which seems to actually really agrevate me. Is this woman fucking retarded? She doesn't seem to get it. I told her I lack this identity that she has with her people... and that im not proud by any means.
Personally I am fed up with her BS ethnocentrism and racism. She can't see it because she sees herself as a disadvantaged class of people, but it is there. I hate to think I am imagining this and she has already dismissed how I feel about these race issues.
That said, FUCK anyone and everyone who is proud of their heritage and their people. You are not that special for being a woman or in a certain group, cause geuss what? - We are all the same, we may not look exactly the same but fucking A, we are the same fucking animal.... I am a human just like everyone else. I am not proud of that, but it would make much more sense to be proud of being a human.....
PRIDE is reserved for something you earn, not something you just get. I didn't choose to be an American, I did not choose to be white, I did not choose to be male.... geuss what, I don't give a shit about any of that. I am proud of things Ive done that I have done to include any sort of accomplishment that actually took some effort or work- thats what pride is for, not for something you are born with.

And for the fucking record, I could only claim to actually being maybe 5 percent anglo... so WTF. Anglo is english speaking people from england... and that only represents a small portion of my ancestry.... and here is where it gets really stupid from my point of veiw... WE ALL CAME from the same place if you go back far enough- our skins and features changed over the years to adapt to climate... And now because people have lived in any one place they think they are somehow entitled to a unique identity.

Until you are able to get rid of the labels, you will always be racist.

 

IF you were viking then you'd be anglo-dane and even if you were impervious to butthurt, I'm sure you'd be quite vulnerable to a nice sun burn. My point being its annoying to me because its a labeling game- no one like to be labelled. Just like she doesn't like to be hispanic because that is a broad term describing many different peoples, I'm not to fond of anglo for the same.

And I do have pride in many things I do. I certainly have pride for myself and I have no problem getting up and making things better for myself- But thats how you earn pride, you don't just wake up with it, you get off your ass and do something for yourself or others. I'm not going to go as far to say that some people need an identity so thats entirely why they do it, but it is a peice of it. Unfortunately, this need to belong ends up being more destructive as a whole than it helps.

I've long been under the impression that here in America we are not a melting pot, we are more of a mixing bowl with clumps of people sticking together keeping themselves from the other humans around them. Its quite understandable to want to live around others like you, but some people have taken this to the extreme to only associate with one type of people.

My housemate looks like a white girl. In fact, shes whiter than me. I get asked if I'm Mexican at least once a month. "Nope I'm just a human." is usually my response. I've met many people like my roomate, but this is the first time actually living with someone like this. I considered the fact that perhaps she needs people to know who she is because she doesn't look like a mexican or chicana. Its like a Marine telling you a that they are Marine- Congratulations Jar head, thats your job and thats what you do, but it says nothing about "who" you actually are, in much the same way that her being wherever it is that shes from really says "who" she is.

You can ride on your coattails of your specific culture all you want and ignore the others, but I think thats a sad group of people. I live within mine and I embrace all the differences, quirks, idiosyncrasies and seemingly crazy beliefs that other cultures and people have, I don't want to obliterate culture or condemn it- I only wish people would stop pointing so many fingers and realizing that people are not necessarily right or wrong for how they live because they are different. I celebrate different, I condemn ignorance.

 

I'm going to stick to my guns on this one... You can like your own inherited culture all you want and even defend it- but you still didn't earn it, its like a hand-me-down that you didn't choose to have. You still didn't earn anything to be proud of.

Now, on the other hand, you could support your heritage or your culture and be proud of that- but that is most definately not what you seem to be talking about.

 

Culture is the culmination of thoughts, ideas and ways of a group of people that intersects with many others cultures and subcultures with cultures within cultures. The point is- you don't earn it. You are just a part of it and it probably coincides with who you are, but it is something that you have and not one in the same. Culture is something you share with others, you can't have it individually. But culture is something that all people have, you be a culture or have it be something you are. I'm not sure I follow your train of thought by suggesting that you have to earn it. Your also giving me the premise here that you culture is something to be proud of without actually seeing my point of view. I was talking about pride being someting that needs to be earned. And yes, if you invented the proverbial lightbulb that is something that you could be proud of. Perhaps you are proud to have lost some weight, stopped smoking a 1/4 oz every day, stood up for someone else or harvested your pot after 3 stressfull months. Those are things that you could be proud of, not just culture or heritage that you just happen to be a part of.

Everyone takes part in cultures, but they didn't necessarily earn it. Even hermits would have hermit culture that would just be the things they have in common with eachother. You culture could influence "who" you are but it is completely innaccurate to say just because of your culture thats going to define you as a person.