Can a white person really walk in the shoes of a black person?

[Motown_Johnny]

I know some people here will take offense at this and I apologize in advance. I understand that this is an emotional time for everyone and I will try to be as civil as possible.

Unfortunately I find Sec. Clinton's comment today offensive.

I don't see how a rich white person (especially one who has claimed to have had to duck and run from gunfire when there never was any gunfire and has been surrounded by personal security guards for over 20 years ) can claim to walk with persons of color who live with the possibility of being murdered simply due to the color of their skin.

Dr. King had the right to make those remarks. He had been victimized and even unjustly imprisoned because of his skin color. I just don't see how Sec. Clinton thinks she has earned the right to make the same statement.


Again, I apologize if this seems offensive. I know every Clinton supporter is going to be upset that I wrote this. At least I didn't step on the original thread and did this instead. I really was trying to be as respectful as possible while still voicing my opinion.

[magical thyme]

1. I don't believe a white person can walk in the shoes of a black person

Nor can a black person walk in the shoes of a white person.

Nor a man walk in the shoes of a woman.

Nor a woman walk in the shoes of a man.

[Maedhros]

17. I think the important thing is that we make the effort to see things from different perspectives.

I can't walk in the shoes of a black person, but I can try to understand how it must be.

[cali]

2. I'm most decidedly not a Clinton supporter, but I think her remarks

were simply an expression of solidarity. Maybe I missed something but I didn't see her claiming to have walked in "the shoes of a black person"

[Cal Carpenter]

11. I tend to agree with you

both in terms of not supporting Clinton, and in thinking the OP is reading into her words a little inaccurately.

As a white person, I will be one of those "millions of Americans ...(who) are walking with you, in grief, in solidarity, in determination." tonight at a local vigil and march, to use her words.

I think the OP's observations of Clinton are mostly true, but she didn't use the "walk a mile in someone else's shoes" type of language, at least not the quotes I read, like the one above. But when push comes to shove, I wouldn't expect much from Clinton in terms of radically changing the systemic racial disparity in this country, let alone the world.

White people do need to walk in solidarity. With black people leading the way, and getting most of the time at the mics, and so forth...

[bigwillq]

3. No

As far as the comments being offensive, one is free to feel that way. I do not. I really don't get offended by what politicians say; must of it is all BS anyway.

I am not black, so maybe if I were, I would feel differently. Again, I have no issue with folks being offended by her comments. And I also don't have any issue with folks who are not offended. It's personal, and everyone is bound to feel differently.

[1StrongBlackMan]

4. Well ...

I get told regularly, that white people know more about racism, discrimination, and all things Black, especially how and what I should consider my interests, than I do, so ... I guess her comment is no more offensive to me than what I regularly hear here.

[BlueJazz]

5. Depends on who is there. Generally speaking? No. However, in all races, there are people who have..

...or are born with the ability to have an extraordinary empathy with other humans plus have the imagination to feel others life-pain.
Some of us have some or even a lot of that trait. Does Sec Clinton have it? Don't know.

[uppityperson]

6. Do you mean "walking with you, in grief, in solidarity, in determination"? It depends

on what you mean by "walk in the shoes" of someone else. For me, walking in the shoes of someone else means trying to see what they are experiencing from their viewpoint. That seems a valid goal for everyone, though no one can ever fully understand anyone else.


ETA, do you mean this part?

You do not walk alone. You do not walk alone because millions of Americans ... are walking with you, in grief, in solidarity, in determination. We are with you and we will stand with you as we seek answers and take action."

Walking with others in solidarity seems like a good thing and of course that is possible.

[Angry Dragon]

7. Perhaps it would be better if politicians actully did something

instead of flapping their lips

[luvspeas]

8. She quoted Dr. King in saying "We are walking with you"...

not that anyone is walking in anyone's shoes. These are 2 entirely different concepts.

And for the record, I'm not particularly a Hillary supporter and I think that by starting a new thread you wanted very much to be heard, but I'm not sure you listened in the first place.

And actually I'm a bit offended that you took Dr. King's words so far out of context. sorry. just voicing my opinion.

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. I wonder where that "BettyEllen" came from? n/t

[MohRokTah]

9. No. eom

[Spazito]

12. Oh FFS...

More, many more white people should be walking in solidarity with the black community and yet here you are posting a white woman shouldn't even voice that support and certainly not walk in solidarity.

Geez.

[JI7]

13. i think Its offensive you used this to go after Clinton by misleading

And bringing up the gunfire thing.

She did not claim to walk in a black persons shoes.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. Considering four presidents have been assassinated ...

Considering out of forty five presidents four presidents have been assassinated and there were at least five other serious attempts the lives of her and her husband were and are at a much elevated risk.

[upaloopa]

15. I just read, reread and reread Hillary's statement

and did not see the part were she says she is walking in the shoes of Black people.
Could you post the exact quote please.

[HereSince1628]

16. maybe not, but a white person can feel shock, empathy, outrage at fellow citizens being killed

by acts of hatred based on false beliefs.

[prayin4rain]

18. White people certainly cannot understand racism the way black people do.

I keep thinking that I have gotten some insight into racism and then, usually within the hour, I'm smashed with how poorly I understand it. Racism makes me feel sick and infuriated on days like today, I cannot IMAGINE how it must feel to live with these feelings every day. In my experience, black people have incredible grace and patience with white people trying to talk about what they can't fully understand. You have every right to be offended.

[tishaLA]

19. No, but she said "walk with," not "walk in the shoes," no?

And, anyhow, I don't think this event is the best time to up the ante on internecine warfare.

[Solly Mack]

20. That's not what she said and please don't do this.

Don't turn what happened into a primary wars attack.

Please delete. Please.

[MerryBlooms]

21. Well, I'm a Bernie supporter and I found your post offensive.

I think you need to go back and actually read what you're trying and failing miserably, to quote.

Bad OP. Very disappointing.

[Bluenorthwest]

23. That's not an attempt to quote but to characterize and there is a world of difference between

the two.

[Bettie]

22. Probably not, but

we can make the effort to find some common ground.

No one can truly know what another person feels, thinks, and experiences. The best we can do is find empathy and look for understanding and accept that others are searching for the same.

[Warpy]

24. Maybe women can more than men, but there's no way I really know what it feels like

to be automatically clicked into the criminal underclass even at a distance, to have who I am and what I'm wearing and my level of education discounted because black skin = criminal.

There is nothing any black person can do about that, not even prove them wrong and it is pervasive.

Women can get an inkling a little better than men because having boobs = reduction to a body part or two without intelligence and without civil rights. This is also at a distance and there is little we can do to overcome it, it's their problem.

[rock]

25. Good question. Let's discuss.

By the idiom, "Walk a mile in someone's shoes", we minimally mean, emphasize with that person (usually recommended before criticizing). So if you mean emphasize or understand, the answer is yes. How hard it is depends on circumstances. How well a job you do also depends on circumstances and your experiences.

Now we need to clarify a point before going further. The point "...especially one who has claimed to have had to duck and run from gunfire when there never was any gunfire and has been surrounded by personal security guards for over 20 years ... "which you have picked up from RW sources and of course have the facts slightly muddled. First off there were several transports in the airport at the time Hillary was there, and secondly some shooting going on at about that time. So there was absolutely nothing wrong with Hillary's description as "ducking bullets" because after being told the circumstances she sure as hell wasn't going to stand up straight and see who was firing at whom!

Why don't I make one more point and call it quits. A few of your points are in the form I don't see how such and such bunch of stuff could be. I don't really see that as much of an argument. See what I did there?

[JoePhilly]

27. The sniper fire reference alone makes this OP very questionable.

WTF does that have to do with empathizing with anyone.

As you note, she was TOLD that sniper fire was common, and so she THOUGHT they were telling her it was ongoing.

Whether her understanding was correct or not ... does nothing to impact her ability to empathize with anyone.

Tossing that nonsense out in this OP makes the entire OP very suspect in my opinion.

[rock]

28. Correct

Very nicely put! Thanks.

[Agnosticsherbet]

26. No, but we can feel empathy and work to make sure

that everyone enjoys the same rights.

White privilege shows that we have a long way to make everybody's civil rights equal rights.

[Jamastiene]

29. We cannot possibly know. I don't think.

We can empathize and care, but that is something someone really cannot know unless they are a person of color. The best we can probably do is listen and learn at least somewhat that way, but we can never truly know. That's my opinion, for what it is worth, based on what I have learned by listening. I could tell anecdotal stories about things I have experienced being compared to people of color, but at the end of the day, I'm not. I won't be followed around a store, shot because cops are unnaturally afraid of my skin color, murdered while I practice my religion, or any of the other things people of color have to endure.

I think Hillary was just trying to show support, but did it in an awkward way.