Why "White Power?"
 

By now, probably most, if not all The Villages has heard of or seen the video of the man yelling “White Power” at the recent golf cart ride. As inappropriate as that statement was, I started to think about why anyone would even use it. I then thought of several conversations I have had in the recent past with Villagers when we shared original homesteads and I mentioned I was from NY. On three separate times, I was asked, “What was it like living with “them?” “Where you ever attacked by “them?” “Weren’t you afraid to live with “them” so close? On two other times I mentioned we had to go into either Leesburg or Wildwood for an errand and we were asked what type of gun do we carry? The people asking the questions stated that they never go into “those areas” without a pistol.
That got me to wonder where, or how and why does one develop thoughts and fears like this? As humans, we are not born with a genetic predisposition to be a racist, bigot, or hater. As humans, like all other animals, our intelligence (the ability to incorporate and use information) is developed from combinations of our experiences with our environment, including family, our living experiences, including schools and religious associations, and interactions with other people and processes.
So, why would a person who has never met one of “them” be so fearful that they must carry a weapon because they assume they will be in danger? Why would a person who has never met with one of “them” believe they are different than we are? What was so devoid in a person’s development and life experiences that they must yell “White Power?” The questions are easy to formulate, the answers are not. I invite your thoughts.

Watch the whole video and not just the 15 seconds the media used for their sound byte, which portrayed TV in a bad light. You'll see after several minutes of the woman in black intimidating Villagers into responding and then the camera catching that moment, you'll see it was a setup. Also, you're a little late to the party. This is have brought up a dozen times on this board since that parade on June 14th and discussed at length.

YouTube

amen amen amen ///////

Because 'Us' think 'Them' are different
'Them' think 'Us' are different.
Something different can be scary.
So 'Us' fear of them, and 'Thems' fear of us, could be a reason for our differences.
Personaly I blame all my shortcomings on 'Those' others!!

///

Yet the OP AND the "gentleman" yelling were referring to skin color.

Methinks, you missed the entire point, on purpose ? Your response ignores the real issue, and as always it is "someone else's fault"

I agree with your wondering why people are afraid. Many of us who live here came from much the same level of safeness as here. As far as shootings and robberies and car thefts etc. This really does not relate to race, but I guess statistically it may relate to race. The words white power to me...all alone, those words are really no different than saying "Girl Scout Power" or "Bosox Power" or "New York Power" or even "women power" or Power to the People". It is because of the focus by the news media and Madison Avenue on the Black Lives Matter movement that many really ordinary people are beginning to feel guilty and wonder what did they do wrong??? I think that more than likely it may have meant just that. I am white. I haven't harmed anyone because of race. I have no issues that I know of with race, why does it seem that so many people don't like me because I am white?????? I think it may be that feeling. I don't know. In and by itself the words white power seem not wrong or bad. Many people associate the words white supremacy with the KKK and lynchings and terrible hatred and of course anything that the Aryans and the KKK do is hateful. People who are completely innocent are feeling unsettled and are wondering what is expected of them........That is what I think.

The cart parade was not a bunch of people yelling white power. The guy who said it in a sarcastic way was replying to several protesters who were yelling "FU, Fing Nazis, Where's your hood?" etc etc Maybe you should analyze that behavior.

It’s also likely the man was just trying to be as annoying as those yelling obscenities and Natzi Lovers. He was stiring the pot just as the guy who parks his golf cart around TV with anti Trump signs. Neither side seems to act very civil anymore. I guess he is paying dearly for his impetuous, smart mouth, as are residents of TV.

Appreciate your intelligent start for a hard discussion.

I interviewed at North Carolina Central University for a law librarian position in late 1994 and never saw so many different shades of African American skin colors. NCCU is a historically African-American school.

I was applying to everything in was remotely qualified for in the fall of 1994 and honestly had not known NCCU was a African American university. But was excited to be visiting and they paid for the plane trip from Chicago. And the hotel stay.

Not sure why in 2020 we would even need universities that have student bodies which have one ethnicity that is predominate.

Until you look at the histories of these schools though and the hard roads that they had to travel to survive.

Also probably schools like NCCU are good for people who share a lot of the same life experiences and who can empathize with one another.

Bingo.

I understand there are a lot of people that may be a lot more conservative then me . Look all I have to do is open my mouth and people know I’m from Boston , I’ve been here quite a few years in 5 different homes and I never had a conversation with anyone who asked me if how it was living with black people . The gym I go to is in Leesburg and I travel to Orlando and Ocala at least 4 or 5 days a month and I’ve never been asked about taking a gun , sometimes reading this site makes me think there might be people who think like this but hopefully not many. I understand the message the writer was trying to put out there but I think it gets lost in the time ay it was set up

One can never be late to the party when the guest of honor is racism. Oh oh, I may be wrong. You can be late to the party when you don't like the color of the hearse you are being transported in.

LoisR
One simple question to you....would you object if someone had yelled “black power”.
My objection to your post has nothing to do with the comment. My objection is that you object to the man saying “white power”. Where are his equal rights?
To paraphrase a quote...I do not support what he said but I will defend to the death his right to say it.
After all....it is the 4th of July.
Have a good one.

The whole thing seems to be about people acting stupidly.