The white dilemma Diaz and Baldwin point out is also expressed as the truth of suffering, the first noble truth. Why do we suffer? The Buddha said: The truth of origin (of suffering) is the truth of ignoring and craving. Afraid of death, we cling to the five skandhas as an ego, seeking happiness from our projections." Skandhas are the different mental processes: recognizing a form, liking or disliking it, wanting or hating it, developing concepts about it and our consciousness that houses this process. Skandhas don't last, they are just the mind messing about. We take it seriously and suffer. There is a way out, called the path, but we have to find it. We can live as gentle and caring beings not demanding so much. We cannot achieve happiness based on stuff of any kind, as we already know. Living with what we have inherited, we can be alive, as Dias points out.
I think I ran across the cold giving rise to technology earlier than people in warmer climes in Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel years ago. It seemed plausible to a point, but doesn't explain Eskimos, for instance. Being white, I think I can say this without being racist. A lot of white people burden ME! Some years ago, I dated a black woman. We could feel the eyeballs on us, even in diverse NYC. When we traveled in the countryside and stopped for a meal, it became procedure for me to duck my head into the restaurant to gauge the redneck element first. Sigh.
Perhaps for most, the only thing that encourages wisdom is suffering. Whites have come to dominate the world, some think because the cold regions we evolved in demanded technology which was used to conquer darker skinned people where survival was arguably easier, and technology less driven. I am unsure of this argument, it demands more study. Certainly, though, the Earth shapes us. I long for the mountains and deciduous trees, a good friend longs for the desert and cactus. Our differences are small and all connected to the Earth. We must recognize our connection to each other and live in protection of our common interest.
The "cold regions" story seems to have tried to escape from "the white man's burden story." It was plenty cold in northern Asia and North America…. There were plenty of non-dominating indigenous groups in Europe as there were across the globe. They too were the victims of the dominators. Ask the Irish and Scots, for example.
I agree that we are shaped by our place. We are also shaped by the spectrum of ancestries we each have. The breadth and range of genetic inheritance each of us exhibits blows away any "scientific" basis for "Whiteness." There are no "Whites." There are people of all ancestries who have embraced Whiteness. Most are of European origin, but we're talking about a mental contagion, not a People.
The white dilemma Diaz and Baldwin point out is also expressed as the truth of suffering, the first noble truth. Why do we suffer? The Buddha said: The truth of origin (of suffering) is the truth of ignoring and craving. Afraid of death, we cling to the five skandhas as an ego, seeking happiness from our projections." Skandhas are the different mental processes: recognizing a form, liking or disliking it, wanting or hating it, developing concepts about it and our consciousness that houses this process. Skandhas don't last, they are just the mind messing about. We take it seriously and suffer. There is a way out, called the path, but we have to find it. We can live as gentle and caring beings not demanding so much. We cannot achieve happiness based on stuff of any kind, as we already know. Living with what we have inherited, we can be alive, as Dias points out.
I think I ran across the cold giving rise to technology earlier than people in warmer climes in Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel years ago. It seemed plausible to a point, but doesn't explain Eskimos, for instance. Being white, I think I can say this without being racist. A lot of white people burden ME! Some years ago, I dated a black woman. We could feel the eyeballs on us, even in diverse NYC. When we traveled in the countryside and stopped for a meal, it became procedure for me to duck my head into the restaurant to gauge the redneck element first. Sigh.
Perhaps for most, the only thing that encourages wisdom is suffering. Whites have come to dominate the world, some think because the cold regions we evolved in demanded technology which was used to conquer darker skinned people where survival was arguably easier, and technology less driven. I am unsure of this argument, it demands more study. Certainly, though, the Earth shapes us. I long for the mountains and deciduous trees, a good friend longs for the desert and cactus. Our differences are small and all connected to the Earth. We must recognize our connection to each other and live in protection of our common interest.
Welcome Geoffrey, and thank you for commenting.
The "cold regions" story seems to have tried to escape from "the white man's burden story." It was plenty cold in northern Asia and North America…. There were plenty of non-dominating indigenous groups in Europe as there were across the globe. They too were the victims of the dominators. Ask the Irish and Scots, for example.
I agree that we are shaped by our place. We are also shaped by the spectrum of ancestries we each have. The breadth and range of genetic inheritance each of us exhibits blows away any "scientific" basis for "Whiteness." There are no "Whites." There are people of all ancestries who have embraced Whiteness. Most are of European origin, but we're talking about a mental contagion, not a People.
Yes, we are all connected.
Tony
Thank you, Tony.
You are most welcome! Glad this resonated with you!