This week I experienced a new level or WWB - Working While Black.
It seems that white males in corporate america and everywhere are extremely
angry and there are a hand full of black directors in a company with over 112,000 employees worldwide with 200 -300 white directors at those same levels for longer lengths of time and most who got there rather quickly. I hear remarks all day long and I just had to voice my opinion to them. The couldn't relate to the fact the blacks got there because they worked the system and there asses off. The honed in on what the companied valued in it's employees and delivered the results consistently. They didn't ask to be in those positions that demanded it. Just like white women have.

My question to this community is how do y'all deal with this shit?
I can't understand how a people (whites) who live in the best neighborhoods (at least those I work with), go to the best schools (so called) take great vacations, make good money, work for a company that treats them very well in training, excellent working environment, opportunities to travel abroad, moving assignments every three years, can be so angry! I've live in the the same city I grew up in,
caught hell from bankers when i purchased a home on the same block as my parents, went to the worst schools, catch hell on the job everyday, work late,
came in early, did 5 peoples job during the downsizing in 1993, saved the company over 200,000+ and (more doing all those folks jobs) a year in real money, steamlined all those stupid processes folks called themselves doing, pulled together a world wide developer's conference with 40 sessions going on (some simultaneously) in three week, came in at the entry level, work my way up and people want me to still prove my abilities. They think I (we as blacks) are getting some handouts.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy in my world (now that i've found okayplayers.) I don't need to live in their neighborhoods or go to their schools. I would like to see my daughter get a better education than I did but I know with God she is going to make it on her own merit. I just wanted to come here to get this off my chest. Thanks for letting me vent. I feel much better now. We as blacks really need to get our own. But it seems like an uphill battle when you bet blocked by financing institutions. There is also a level of support we need from our community in order to take those risks. We only get that one chance.

If you deal with WWB, please comment of how you deal with the stress of it all.

Peace and Love

As I write this I am realizing that I all can really do is serve to confirm all those wrongs that you're dealing with. I saw exactly what you've described (blacks basically getting shit on in the work place) from the "inside," for lack of a better term. There are a lot of older white males who are very pissed off at something, and can somehow seem to find some solice in bringing down their frustion on people of color. I worked in an environment that liked to foster, relish and deny their open rascism. I say open because they liked to tell me all about it since I was in the club, I guess. The only sense I can make of it is if they are low enough to think about any other race they way they do, they must not care to take the time to figure out who in their own race agrees or disagrees with them. I'm sorry I don't have the answer, but I feel that I understand your frustration just enough to know that it is unbelieveably fucked up for the black community in the work place. Thing is, though, that's just a reflection of the way things are everywhere else but at work. This openly racist person telling me all these things I never want to hear is raising his child to think that it's okay. I'm sorry, again, I don't have any answers. There are just to many damned people with all the wrong ideas.

that 'anger' is ignorance mixed with insecurity.
It's easier for a white male in a corporate position to tell HIMself that anyone (EVEN white women) moved up the ladder due to Affirmative Action instead of hard work.
If they started telling themselves you worked as hard as they did they might jump off a cliff.
I've been there. I've heard what they say. I've been a 'victim' of their ignorance, prejudice, racism, sexism and insecurity - but I choose to focus on how I can get to where they are at AND take over their ish - cuz it's only then that things will change.
My worrying about why they think what they think is a waste of my energy - cuz they won't change. That 'good ole boy' society is older than we can fathom - and they aren't letting me in either. I have tits.

Dove
~Sheepish Lordess of Chaos~


"One day all them bags gon' get in your way..." Erykah

"You can't talk your way out of problems you behave yourself into" ~ S. Covey

Email: Tygereyz67@aol.com
Wanna paaaaaage me? Email up to 200 characters: Dove@myairmail.com

Thank you both for your words of intelligence. It's helped me to balance the opinion of those I work with each day. Dove, you are right, the worry and confusion only serves to cause me distraction which will mess with my ability and productivity.
I will continue to be the best person I can be for me, my family and my Lord. I will treat others as I want to be treated and I will continue to uplift the goodness God has blessed me with. I will continue to stand against evil and injustice. He's blessed with your posts already.

Love and blessings...

the only way for evil to win is for good men (or women) to do nothing. Someone smart said that but I can't remember who :-)
Go do what you do best. See what they have, see how they get it, then go get it for yourself.
It's all about how you use your ambition - cuz talent in itself isn't always enough to win.
Thank you for the kind words, but don't think that you have to be cool as a fan ALL the time. It's easy to get frustrated with corporate ass-kissin bullshit. You just gotta vent and move on. Keep your eye and mind on your goals regardless - and never let em see you sweat.
Dove
~Sheepish Lordess of Chaos~


"One day all them bags gon' get in your way..." Erykah

"You can't talk your way out of problems you behave yourself into" ~ S. Covey

Email: Tygereyz67@aol.com
Wanna paaaaaage me? Email up to 200 characters: Dove@myairmail.com

thanks,

believe me, I've learned the hard way to carefully choose what battles to fight. I can't change the opinions of others but I can change my re-actions (or actions) and speak up in a constructive manner when I disagree . Thanks again...oh, and your points about having goals and meeting them are well taken.
best of luck on the battle field and in the board rooms...remember, there's a determined black woman out here rooting for you.

peace out,

white anger finds alot of it's roots in a lack of culture and/or history

there is no such thing as the "white" ethnicity, and the "white" race does not exist--it's merely an absence of melanin.

So white has no roots, other than mythologized history, which at this stage in development is a joke.


That, I think contributes to white anger.

I think, also, that under the surface of people who identify as being "white" lies all the subconscious racism juice, and white-privilege language terminology and day-to-day shit that has "white" wound like a powder keg of the n-word and republicanism (a frustratedd reaction, not to be confused with conservativism--an ideology).

so i didnt have to say it this time

tanks d

K

but i see you are filling in for him nicely. I agree big time. I have white skin, Scottish backround, and I think that something that you skipped is that white people do not have symbolism for their culture and that to creates insecurity.

"On a personal level, Freaking Out is a process whereby an individual casts off outmoded and restricting standards of thinking, dress, and social etiquette in order to express CREATIVELY and his relationship to his immediate environment and the social structure as a whole."-Frank Zappa


"Escuchela la ciudad respirando"
"So much on my mind I just can't recline
Blastin holes in the night til she bled sunshine. Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine. Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline.Yo don't the bass ride out like an ancient mating call.I can't take it y'all, I can feel the city breathin.Chest heavin, against the flesh of the evening.Sigh before we die like the last train leaving."--Black Star "Respiration"

"I have white skin"

correction: you have pale or peach colored skin- white is the color of this page you are probably more the complexion of coral sand.

K

you know I know you know :-)
Dove
~Sheepish Lordess of Chaos~

I've read Koala's posts and spoken with him about this. I was trying to make simple point - that no matter how evil someone else is, you get nowhere by focusing on them. You have to focus on the ways you will improve yourself to get past them.
Sorry if I got everyone upset with my simplicity.
Dove
~Sheepish Lordess of Chaos~


"One day all them bags gon' get in your way..." Erykah

"You can't talk your way out of problems you behave yourself into" ~ S. Covey

Email: Tygereyz67@aol.com
Wanna paaaaaage me? Email up to 200 characters: Dove@myairmail.com

I think we all got it

but its very important for me (or someone) to keep saying it.

I urge you guys to understand that its not such an innocent thought- its not such a bening idea. Consider the implications and the threat it has been rooted in throughout history. The more people are willing to believe in it- the more the conscious must be unwilling to play along... even if we have to break it down to the semantics and start putting "white" in quotes like I always do.

let people know that you dont mean what they think you mean

.greetings.

Lady: To say that I empathize with you would be a gross understatement. I have this same convo. from time-to-time with my brother, who also works in the corporate realm & deals with a different, albeit similar, set of angry white folks. He & I often have lunch together & clown at how moneyed white folks make themselves unhappy, despite having lives that the majority of people in this country would sacrifice greatly for. The real side is that these disgruntled white folks feel powerless, so they attempt to deal with their own self-hatred & insecurities by hating on black folks, but check it: this is the American way. Brown people have caught hell forever from the other, and that may never change. For what its worth, I can see this mental disorder for what it is, as we all should condition ourselves to do. Don't misread me though, that understanding does not equate to apathy, but simply a measure to assist in coping with their bombastic behavior.

I've been with this company for nearly 8 years - started in the mailroom as an Affirmative Action hire (company's first black male), and 5 (or so) promotions later, I am a Manager. Nothing like starting from the bottom to provide a crystal-clear perspective on the entire game. But, isn't that the essence of having brown skin in this nation - starting from the bottom & rising? Hopefully, we'll end that cycle for the next generation of sistas & brothas.

As I (& we) continue to rise, the lunacy from white folks will only become worse. The key is to recognize what is and deal in reality. As long as we do that, the Angry.White.(Fe)Males of the world don't stand a chance. Intelligence kicks Ignorance in the ass 99.9% of the time.

.peaceful.

white men have been in control in america for years and years not because they are smarter or faster or better but because theyve used oppression tactics...even on their own white sisters. so this idea if superiority is basically ingrained in their heads...their brain washed. they couldnt admit to themselves a Black or female could actually be more capible then they are because that shatters the role theyve played in society so long even though that role has been built on a bunch of lies...therefore it ruins their self image. imagine if someone told you that everything that you value about youself is just a delusion and thats how the white man feels when he is being passed by a minority. so he tells himself that youre just a product of affirmative action. thats easier then coming to grips with the truth that they are not the bomb!...dove is right...they would have to jump offa a cliff.
sig...
If you are 1 in a million...there are four people just like you in China.

I apologize for the generalization of all white males. I certainly have received excellent coaching and mentoring from a few while males in my tenure with the company. What concerned me most is that the remarks were made by a young white male...someone who has only been with this particular corporation for 2 years. I've been here 12 years. So, you can see my concern that young white males, people who grew up in diverse educational systems and in a time with blacks are more visible in leadership roles, government and media still have these views. A white female from Europe mentioned that this is the perception of many of our colleagues in Europe--the percention that promotions in the U.S. are based on race and gender. She went on to say that Eurpoe on has has 1 Black VP. There are no Asians or Blacks or in Senior Executive roles either. (btw: the one black male vp in Europe is from the U.S).

It's ashame that a person would sum up a persons career advancement as being based on their race or gender. I know several of the black Directors and VPs and I know how hard they have worked. Some of them are single and do not have lives outside of work. Some have lost their marriages due to the demand of their roles. It's a sad commentary, but I believe it needs to be discussed.

I am blessed to have seen members of my own race advance. They have always been willing to give back to the community. But those strives have not come easy and it has not come without a heavy price--and their promotions were not hand outs on a silver platter.

Love and Blessings...

as a white male in the corporate world myself, although I cannot fully comprehend what you're going through personally, I do understand what you must be feeling and the concerns you've raised. I work for a top 5 public relations firm in NYC, and there are only a handful of african-american executives that I know of. Most of the non-white employees who work here either work as secretaries/administrative assistants or in the mailroom. As a member of the majority, it is very easy for me to not give ideas like these much thought, until they're brought up in forums such as these. Its a shame that people still have these 1950's mindsets and think that people are only being promoted due to government interference (affirmative action), and who cannot look past ones skin color and make determinations based on performance. I can only say that to succeed in this world, the only person who can make it happen is yourself. Stay strong!

Gyrl i am really hearin you that shit goes on everywhere. i remember when i was in high school, the only black gyrl in all of my honor classes and i had to constantly prove myself. i had to do triple the work because i was black AND i was a gyrl. that Ive graduated and in college i still have to prove myself. i dont thnk we as a poeple will improve unless we get more people up inthose "good jobs" and stop the generalization that black people dont know shit. its a shame that some blacks dont even try when they live in the hood
most are like 'well i aint gonna be shit then why should i try?' we gotta get rid of this and start strivin to achieve.
:)