In truth, I think it's a matter of perspective-- It's typically viewed as acceptable when minority groups band together or exhibit ethnic pride because, as minorities, many of them have experienced one sort of hardship or another as a direct result of being part of that minority. Slavery, Jim Crow, Japanese Internship, etc, are all things that have "earned" minority groups the right to "stand up" for themselves a bit. Let's be honest here-- With the exception of Irish-Americans and other down-trodden European immigrants in the earlier part of the 20th century, white Americans in general have never been an oppressed group in this country, at least not as a result of their race. And people rarely make a stink about various Irish Pride (and other nationality-oriented) groups and events, because I think most of us (even black guys like me) recognize their right to such things. Speaking as a black man, what makes people edgy about "White Pride" is often the tone in which it is voiced. I think some people tend to see the growing equality of minorities in this country as a kind of zero-sum game: If those people are getting something, then I must be losing something. This leads to a rather resentful, reactionary, and sometimes belligerent tone that I've personally found from some people who claim to be simply embracing "white pride". Furthermore, I think advancing it as White rather than, say, Irish or Greek or German, is also part of what turns people off. Putting the focus on the skin-color rather than on the country of origin tends to rub people the wrong way. I think that we, as black Americans, are in kind of an odd situation on this front. Record-keeping during slavery was pretty poor-- it's exceedingly rare for a black American to be able to find what region or country his family was brought from. In a way, "black American" is kind of a nationality of its own in that respect- I don't know what country my grandfather's great-grandfather was from. But I know I'm an American, born and bred. And this fact is uniquely true for any black person whose family has been here since then. Obviously, I'm not trying to start a flame-war on a board to which I'm totally new, but this was the first topic that popped up when I signed in, so I thought I'd at least try to add to the debate. Incidentally, because I happen to be half-white and shave my head regularly, I get mistaken for a white skinhead all the time. With naturally hilarious results. EDIT: Just saw the post above mine and realized that someone had bumped this shit from two years ago. Ugh. Sorry for adding fuel to a burning turd. Oh well.
