I don’t like this title
Dear friends,
I came across this article and found it very somewhat interesting. I don’t like the title or words that infer racism, but I am just reproducing from the original here but not agreeing with the title and all the views. I have nothing against white people or any people of any color. I respect all people on this planet. Having said that, the article does merit some reading and further thoughts. The destruction and disasters we are encountering now are the consequences of mankind being selfish and greedy. For centuries, we have been taking advantage of the earth’s resources and there was not once that we thought of paying back.
As a result, mankind wounded and destroyed our planet earth, and this has led to a lot of disasters. Unfortunately, up to this day, very few of us seem to realise that the earth’s condition has deteriorated. We must stop destroying the planet before it’s too late. I hope everyone who comes across this article will read it and digest it well.
Tsem Rinpoche
White Men Must Be Stopped: The Very Future of Mankind Depends on it
For 500 years, they’ve exploited their fellow man and plundered the planet. It’s time they rein themselves in.
FRANK JOYCE, ALTERNET
This article originally appeared on AlterNet.
The future of life on the planet depends on bringing the 500-year rampage of the white man to a halt. For five centuries his ever more destructive weaponry has become far too common. His widespread and better systems of exploiting other humans and nature dominate the globe.
The time for replacing white supremacy with new values is now. And just as some whites played a part in ending slavery, colonialism, Jim Crow segregation, and South African apartheid, there is surely a role whites can play in restraining other whites in this era. Beneath the sound and fury generated by GOP presidential candidates, Fox News, website trolls, police unions and others, white people are becoming aware as never before of past and present racism.
Admittedly, this encouraging development is hardly the dominant view. To the contrary, given the possibility that Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson or one of their ilk might become president, white supremacist ideology seems to be digging in harder than ever.
I don’t take this lightly. Once upon a time I foolishly thought that there was no way that Ronald Reagan could get elected president. Lesson learned. Now is the time to start contingency planning for intensified resistance to mass deportations of immigrants, atrocities against Muslims and extreme danger to African Americans.
That said, it would be a mistake to focus only on the negative. Recently the New York Times ran Gordon Davis’ op-ed What Woodrow Wilson Cost My Grandfather. It is still generating debate. (Gordon Davis and I are both “alumni” of the Northern Student Movement, a 1960s civil rights group.) Davis was writing in the context of the student-led protest at Princeton University over the veneration of its former president, Woodrow Wilson. The controversy stems from Wilson’s viciously racist speech and behavior particularly when he was president of the United States.
A subsequent Truthout article by Harvey Wasserman, “Princeton Students Are Right, Woodrow Wilson Was Way Worse Than You Think,” complements the critique. Most of the 776 comments on the NY Times article (as well as 1,600 more on a followup Times editorial) were the predictably negative responses usually heard regarding white racism. Many said some version of, “that was a long time ago when values were different.” Others took the tack that “nobody is perfect and the good things Woodrow Wilson did outweigh the bad of his racism, so let it rest.”
But there was also a substantial undercurrent voiced by those who were open-minded enough to learn.
Following are NY Times comments on the article:
Jim K. New York, NY
As a former Princeton professor, I applaud the students for raising this issue. It’s not about erasing history, but confronting it honestly. This beautiful column makes clear how Wilson’s policies, based on his deeply racist and white-supremacist views, destroyed the lives of thousands of black families. Why should we publicly venerate this person? Why should elitist Northern universities get to insist that we overlook this man’s systematic, consequential racism, while every Southern municipality and retail store is expected to rid itself of monuments and souvenirs of their racist politicians and soldiers. Let’s indeed, every American community, take stock of the deeply embedded racism that has been a part of our history (North and South), recognizing that a thoroughgoing accounting will involve reconfiguring our public and institutional spaces in many ways. Because that has yet to be done, and the younger generation of Black militants will, rightly, not be content until it is.
JPBarnett Santa Barbara
It’s sad that after having been through 12 years of grade school in CA and graduating from a UC, I just learned this about Wilson. It’s silly that I’m surprised I didn’t learn of his racism I suppose, but I’m glad I do now. My opinion is forever changed.
Many commenters were startled to learn about a long known but rarely taught side of Woodrow Wilson. White people have a lot to be surprised about. The very nature of white supremacy requires sanitized teaching about slavery, the genocide of indigenous people, the reach of U.S. militarism and many other topics.
Fortunately, gains from past struggles give African Americans increased opportunities to expose what was previously deliberately obscured. Ta-Nehisi Coates is the best known of a new generation of black, indigenous, Hispanic and white writers, scholars and activists revealing ugly realities hidden from most of us.
Even the New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks has acknowledged this development. “So much of the national conversation this year has concerned how to think about past racism and oppression, and the power of that past to shape present realities: the Confederate flag, Woodrow Wilson, the unmarked sights of the lynching grounds. Fortunately, many people have found the courage to tell the ugly truths about slavery, Jim Crow and current racism that were repressed by the wider culture.”
Source: http://www.salon.com/2015/12/22/white_men_must_be_stopped_the_very_future_of_the_planet_depends_on_it_partner/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
For more interesting information:
- 3 Million Dollars!
- Not his finest hour: The dark side of Winston Churchill
- When You Kill Ten Million Africans You Aren’t Called ‘Hitler’
- There May Soon Be More Plastic in the Oceans Than Fish
- This is something painful to know
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If you are in the United States, please note that your offerings and contributions are tax deductible. ~ the tsemrinpoche.com blog team
Racism happens everywhere, every single day. Being treated differently or unfairly because of their race, skin colour or ethnicity do happened. It is a reality for far too many people. We all have a part to eliminate racism. Blacks been exploited by the whites had been going on long ago in the history of America. Slavery is part and parcel of American popular culture. Black American backgrounds are most victims of racism even up this days. Interesting read of all the comments in this blog ….
Well great knowledge to learn about it and acknowledge its significance to American history. What the future will bring, no one knows for sure how humans been exploited ,global warming has effected us human. Global warming is a significant risk to society. The future of life on earth lies in the balance as when we destroy nature, we destroy the essentials on which all of us depend. Interesting read.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
Good books to read which address the issue of perceived domination of other cultures by white people/Europeans/Eurasians are Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel
and The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Third_Chimpanzee
and another of his books:
Collapse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collapse:_How_Societies_Choose_to_Fail_or_Succeed
it’s not exclusive to white people – caste discrimination in India, the conflicts between Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda, perhaps more examples that I am not aware of, it is far too easy and highly unskilful to point the finger of accusation & blame when perhaps it might be more “enlightening” and skilful to come up with solutions and plans on how to make the world a better place for our children, we are not victims of our “karma”, we have to create “good karma” to ensure that our actions never bring about negative consequences for ourselves or others.
What sets apart White people and other people, was probably their spirit of adventure, a willingness to innovate.
There were so many conflicts in European theater and places of power, sometimes not innovating or changing meant the difference between survival and thriving.
White people dominated the rest of the world because they were more advanced in terms of military prowess and weaponry. I do hope in the future people will not seek to dominate or have power over others, but seek a middle ground to coexist peacefully and in harmony.
That people in the future will see advancement as being more spiritual more in touch with environment, nature.
It is quite true to say that the white man must be stopped for the sake of humanity. White people have wiped out many civilizations for the sake of their own name. Those who are not wiped out are often mistreated and face harsh treatment for the rest of their lives.
By right everyone is equal, whether you are black or white, we are all humans and should treat each other fairly and equally.
I really hope that Racism and Segregation will end soon.
I am a white man, I didn’t choose to be – what must others stop me from doing? What crime have I committed merely by virtue of being of European ancestry? Many Thanks in advance for your prompt and “enlightening” response.
it was WHITE men who put an end to slavery in Africa when many African nations were enslaving conquered tribes and profiting from a business that had been in existence there for centuries before white people got there, an example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghezo
white people in India that outlawed the practice of Sati – the burning of widows on their dead husband’s pyre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sati_(practice) so it’s just as wrong to be racist towards white people as it would be racist towards anybody else – a garden with flowers of many colours is perhaps more interesting than just a garden of 1 colour, diversity is necessary for survival, a mixed heritage child will inherit more genes and be immune to more diseases than a “pure bred” child might me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterosis#Humans – many aristocratic and Royal families had a wide variety of congenital disorders due to inbreeding for the sake of “keeping the bloodline pure”, Tutankhamun could barely walk without a cane and was severely disfigured since birth because of the inbreeding of his ancestors, there are plenty more examples.
Selfishness is the root of all evils. Selfishness manifest is ways that cause great sufferings to others and ultimately the self. This is the irony. However, because of the shortsightedness of men, seeing this as the only life and justifying their own “specialness” in they eyes of their religion (if they have any); the manifestation of the selfishness becomes perhaps the greatest evil of humankind.
The founding fathers of America declared; and I quote The second paragraph in the Declaration of Independence states,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” (1776)
understood the inherent manifestation of selfishness of men in the form racism; yet it took 89 years for Abraham Lincoln to free all slaves in 1865. With slavery abolished, racism was never (and I feel will never be) eradicated. If took another 89 years for the Rosa Parks to trigger the civil right movement into prominence and that let to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 and yet up until the present time, racism has not been totally eradicated.
Of course now we have Mr Trump! Sigh!
In a broader perspective, I feel all ordinary men are guilty of a certain degree of racism, even those who are anti racist, risk sounding racist for being anti racist. This is the paradox. Hence, perhaps the title of the article should be “All men should be stopped:……….”
Finally, I think as long as we are not enlightened, we are not totally selfless, we perceive self and others to be different and no matter how good our intentions are, we cannot help but to be selfish in a certain degree. It it the nature of samsara’s suffering. It is pervasive.
Ignorance is the root of all evil, and the unskilful application of altruism will only result in making martyrs of people for questionable causes. Acting in a way that may threaten your own survival is never a good thing.
First and foremost, I do NOT condone racism or the stereotyping of any type and forms. Unfortunately in the history of mankind, there are glaringly endless examples of how race, and religion are being used as a tool to harvest resources and wealth, mercilessly. In the process, we see society shattered and environment destroyed. The destruction of human and environment is the consequences of a handful of selfish and greedy people, who held position that allow them to exploit the rest of the social hierarchy.
The racism behavior of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States during his reign (1913 – 1921) was revealed in the 1960s and still generating interest among the human rights bodies. President Wilson’s damage should be a mirror to us today, to confront sensitive issue around us, e.g. the systematic annihilation of Dorje Shugden practice from the Tibetan Buddhism community. The new generation of Tibetan society should confront their deep rooted cognitive dissonance on Dorje Shugden. If it takes restructuring of social responsibility, perhaps, so be it.
Thank you so much Rinpoche, for another eye opening article.
Humbly, bowing down,
Stella Cheang
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921.
Just to share some of the infamous principles adopted by Wilson
1)Wilson believed that slavery was wrong on economic labor grounds, rather than for moral reasons.
2)He idealized the slavery system in the South, viewing masters as patient with “indolent”(lazy) slaves
3)Wilson’s War Department drafted hundreds of thousands of blacks into the army, giving them equal pay with whites, but in accord with military policy from the Civil War through the Second World War, kept them in all-black units with white officers, and kept the great majority out of combat. When a delegation of blacks protested the discriminatory actions, Wilson told them “segregation is not a humiliation but a benefit, and ought to be so regarded by you gentlemen.”
4)While being the President of Princeton University, Wilson had discouraged blacks from applying for admission, preferring to keep the peace among white students and alumni.
5) Wilson wrote that the Ku Klux Klan “began to attempt by intimidation what they were not allowed to attempt by the ballot or by any ordered course of public action”.
6)Cabinet heads appointed by President Wilson re-segregated restrooms and cafeterias in their buildings believing this was in their interest.
Wilson was an elected President of the USA. He must possess lots of qualities that were looked upon as good and suitable to be the head of a country which is deemed the leader of the world. Probably no doubt on many good policies he has put in and decisions made in the best interest of the country and its people. Yet, he held on to the believe that his “type” was a class above the blacks, that the whites deserved better then the colored, that their birthright allows them to rule others in a disadvantage and bias way. The ego was huge here. The discrimination was huge. The abuse was intolerable. But it was ok for them to do so; it was ok because they have the power as the head of government and they were a race above the others. Plus they were doing the colored people a favour by employing them as “slaves” !! Segregation is not a humiliation but a benefit!!
Sounds familiar with whats happening between the anti Dorje Shugden practitioners and the Dorje Shugden practitioners. The anti DS are heads of government. They are the majority and they have the power. They say that the DS people are given passports, they have their own monasteries and even if they are not allowed to be hired to work in the government this is not seen as a discrimination. They deem that there’s no abuse but yet they break up families, spouse, friends and associates, forcing people to take sides though most prefer not to. The DS people are segregated and labelled as evil practitioners. All because and all stemmed from the instructions of the Head of Government at that time, someone in the same position as Wilson !! The wrong done to DS people are blatant ! Yet the head of government is revered upon and deemed to do no wrong ! His followers go into denial and just blindly follow, losing their independent ability to think and contemplate and make their own fair judgements. They become so lazy to practice the Dharma and prefer to just follow the crowd and the incumbent leader!!
Very sad indeed ! Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.May all these discriminations end soon !!
As Napoleon once said, “What is history, but a fable agreed upon?” History as we know it is, has always been written by those in power. Hence, it is not surprising that the bits unfavourable to them are conveniently whitewashed and hoped to be forgotten over time. Ironically, it is likely that over time such “hidden” or “distorted” facts will surface and it is just a matter of when the ugly realities are exposed. The more important point is, having now been presented with the detrimental effect of the past and present racism and the (persistent) problems with the white supremacist ideology, what do we do with such information? Do we care enough to do something about it and push for a change now within our means and capacity? Or do we miss the bigger picture by bickering about whether such exposure of the ugly truths are indeed proper exposures notwithstanding that the detrimental effects are still present regardless of whether the expose is proper or otherwise? Or do we live in denial as it then fits into our understanding of how things are and “does not rock the boat” so to speak? Or do we fight dogmatically ignoring the detrimental effect because some parts of the expose challenge our beliefs and our need to be right? Or do we conveniently not address such matters until we feel the direct impact of the disaster (which might be a little too late to salvage by then) as it is less of a hassle? What we choose to do is very revealing of our own state of mind. Thank you Rinpoche for yet again another thought provoking article.
Dear Rinpoche,
Thank you for the article. It indeeds requires a lot of depth thinking how our society is heading.
Although the title is really something unpleasant, it is also a wake up call to the whites who advocates strongly against racism, sexism, democracy. Whilst many are going for change, many are also reluctant. We must all be educated about the past, and face it head on and work for the betterment.
Definitely what is happening is affecting Mother Earth and it is up to all of us to stop and prevent anymore damages to our planet.
Thank you.
“One hand cannot clap alone”. The reason poor countries were being exploited were because there were infighting between themselves. The whites came in with the excuse of offering help to one of the parties, in return for their resources. It was the greediness of the leaders that caused the people to suffer.
Comprehensive exploitation.
This is a hard hitting article and talks about a subject people avoid in ‘polite society’. But I disagree with the suggestion that ‘white men must be stopped’. That itself is racist. I would however agree that the idea of ‘white supremacy’ has to end. By that phrase, I do not merely refer to organized groups like the Ku Klux Klan or the Neo-Nazis or even Donal Trump’s election rhetoric. I mean the deeply rooted and chronically habituated thinking that it is ‘natural’ to consider Western people superior.
The colonial era and trans-Atlantic trade created a belief that it was right of the traders and missionaries to have gone to the East and Africa to ‘liberate’ and ‘educate’ Africans and Asians. I am quite sure that even today, deep in the thoughts of Europeans, those expeditions were well justified.
I am Asian and I know how and see how Asian naturally regard Europeans and Westerners. I think instead of just saying that the ‘White’ people should be stopped, I think the non-White people should stop thinking like a conquered race.
Mother Earth is suffering from the burden of our exploitation, be it exploitation of land, animals or humans. Even modern technology designed to lighten our load and increase production causes faster depletion of natural resources and destruction to the environment. On top of that some wars are created for the control of natural resources by masking it under all sorts of excuses. Now the Presidential candidates in USA ups the ante with pledges of more money to be pumped into defense and high handed treatment of immigrants, most of whom having contributed towards the comfort of their economy.
It is always good for the truth of the past to be revealed so that we may understand and learn not to make the same mistakes. Denying or ignoring the ugly truth is like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand.
Thank you Rinpoche for bringing us articles of different aspects to learn from. Helps us to open our mind up instead of being contained in our comfort zone.