Proud? Proud Of What Exactly?

[cleanhippie]

Being Proud of your skin color, your gender, your nationality, your tribe, your sexual orientation seems to me so stupid. If you want to be proud, do something beneficial to mankind and stop bragging about things you had by mere chance.


It’s no doubt to me that there is nothing wrong with being white/male/heterosexual/Iraqi as I am, but really? Did I choose any of those? Was it given to me as a result of any achievement? Was it given to me as a prize? Do any of these characteristics contribute to me being a good person or a bad person? Or better/worse than anybody else who may have different characteristics as me? No, I don’t think so. And that’s the reason why I am writing this article.

I am pretty sure many reading this article have encountered some other people saying or signs somewhere that read, “I am proud of being a MAN,” “I am proud of being a WOMAN,” “I am proud of being a GAY,” “I am proud of being a STRAIGHT,” “I am proud of being a AMERICAN,” “I am proud of being a INDIAN,” “I am proud of being a BLACK,” “I am proud of being a WHITE,” etc. etc.
Can you notice how stupid these statements look like when using different examples?

Using my little Oxford Dictionary:
pride
■ noun
a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from achievements, qualities, or possessions that do one credit.

What have any of us done to achieve, possess, or qualify for being a man or a woman?
Did we choose the sperm of our dads and the egg of our moms? Did we choose when? And where? And which skin color the parents were? Did we even choose to be born in the first place? The characteristics that I have talked about “gender/skin color/ sexual orientation” have nothing to do with your achievements. They are genetic; they are out of your control.

I understand some of the arguments used against what I am saying, that in the example of “I am proud of being a WOMAN,” that it is used by some feminists and doesn’t mean pride in the literal sense, it simply means “I am not ashamed of being a woman” which is a response to some misogynist crackpots who look at women as inferior human beings, but would it be smart to fight stupidity with other stupidity?

--snip--

An example of that is one of my life inspires: “Marie Curie.” The reason why I have so much admiration for Marie Curie is not because she was a ‘white polish woman’; I respect her because she was one of the greatest scientists in the 20th century, and her wonderful discoveries led to huge development in science and opened to many new gates in scientific research and inquiry. If Marie Curie ever said “I am proud of what I have done,” YES, she is using the term correctly! Because what she had is really compatible with the actual definition of pride!
I hope that one day people would use pride and respect where they should be, and not something that they can delude themselves and others about.

http://www.faisalalmutar.com/2012/08/21/proud-proud-of-what-exactly/

Agree or disagree?

[HopeHoops]

1. I'm proud to be a DU member. Does that count?

[cleanhippie]

3. I would think so.

Seems to fit the proper definition.

[HopeHoops]

4. I was born a WEE bit before DU.

[lastlib]

5. you chose it! Sure, be proud of it.

[bettydavis]

2. because that type of pride is reactionary....

...to some current or prior stigmatization of said group by the more powerful members of their society. If you belong to a group that was limited or institutionally disenfranchised you are taught to be ashamed of what you are. It's part of the process. Keeps the whole thing on auto pilot. Just being called what you are becomes an insult in and of itself. (See Jane Elliot's Blue Eyes Brown Eyes 1960's experiments for more of how quickly groups respond to institutionalized oppression) Once that injustice is lifted, it's natural to want to shove the thing about you that others were using to hurt you right in their face. It's also verrrry cathartic to do so. So as I Love Love Love my man George, I aint down with him on this one... all good though.

[SomethingFishy]

6. I agree with Carlin.

Not much to be proud of even if you are "patriotic".

Half the problem with this country is false patriotism. Flying a fucking flag on your porch and eating chicken sandwiches does not make you a patriot. Running around saying Obama is destroying America while you take money out of America and stash it offshore is not "patriotic". That word needs to be redefined.

[Mac1949]

7. Could there also be an element of lacking anything else to be proud of?

I mean, not all of us are creative, or have a special talent. True, I would think everyone could find something else, but for some ethnic or national pride is simply an easy substitute.

[DonRedwood]

8. I'm proud to be a redhead...but that's because of all the hard knocks that go along with it

not because my hair is orange but because, for as long as I can remember, I was getting teased and made fun of. I had to learn to have a sharper tongue, a quicker comeback or be willing to hit back like in sixth grade when Jeff H said "Red on the head like a dick on a dog" and punched me. I only hit him once but it was a left-handed roundhouse that knocked him to the ground, where he stayed, for quite a while, crying like a baby. Nobody ever, EVER said that to me again.

So, I'm proud to be a redhead even though, in truth, I'm just a genetic freak.

[cleanhippie]

9. The author talks about what you just said.

I understand some of the arguments used against what I am saying, that in the example of “I am proud of being a WOMAN,” that it is used by some feminists and doesn’t mean pride in the literal sense, it simply means “I am not ashamed of being a woman” which is a response to some misogynist crackpots who look at women as inferior human beings, but would it be smart to fight stupidity with other stupidity?

Replace "redhead" for "woman" and see if you can pick up what he is putting down.