I did one of those ancestry DNA tests a few years back and the results weren't surprising. Mostly black, around 20% European, some native american, and a tiny tiny bit of Chinese/Filipino. Since I am big on genealogy and the family tree I like it because it connects you with anyone who shares DNA with you from siblings to super distant cousins. Every few months I check on matches and I'll reach out and try to figure out how we are related if possible.
I met a white distant cousin and since he lives within 10 miles of me we decided to meet up for lunch recently. I was so surprised I had to hold back laughter because one of the first things he did was apologize for slavery (the ggg grandfather we have in common had children with slaves on the side besides his legit family). I asked him what he has done to apologize for and he sounded like a typical brainwashed college student. He had all the talking points about privilege, systemic racism, and the rest. Since I wanted to just eat lunch and get to know him I gave a little push back and then changed the subject. Surprisingly there may be some hope with him. He invited me to a party him and his wife are throwing next month so I'll see him again then.
I am so tired of hearing about privilege. Life is a lottery and you can be born in either a billionaire family or the poorest third world village and everything in between. I would say two privileges that I had were being born in the United States and having two involved parents (who have been married almost 50 years now). As a kid I used to hate it when my mom dragged us to the library because she insisted that we frequently read but now I am grateful for it. She also used to make us listen to tapes in the car that taught different vocabulary words. Another thing I'm grateful for now.
Just boggles my mind how many people live to be oppressed or seem to feel some sense of moral superiority by whining about how hard they have it in their suburban home.
I think a lot of whites just really don't have experience with black people. You hear it in what they talk about how "they always neglected to think of the blacks on the other side of the river" or whatever. I really do think using that disconnect plus a little brainwashing is why they actually feel guilty. I can't really relate because I've really been around black people my entire life--school, work, friends, enemies, etc. If I've done something I should apologize for, I'll apologize. I'm not apologizing for made up privilege and "systemic" stuff.
Side note, your mom sounds about like mine. I think large part of the reason I could read and write before I even started school was from those tapes in the car, although I did a lot of read-along book type things. I think I actually liked it though, but that was probably just me. No one ever confused me for a normal kid when I was in school anyway.
Yea I wish I would’ve enjoyed it at the time but it has paid dividends. Vocabulary was always a major strength of mine and people would ask why I used big words but it was just how I talked. You are right. Apologize for what you actually did. The idea of collective apologies is dumb.
I laughed so hard at that video. But I will say I know quite a few black people who insist that Republicans want to keep them from voting.
I have seen that video. It's a great indicator of how clueless people are. Particularly the demographic of the white liberals, which if I recall were generally college students as I think they were in the NYU area of Manhattan.