As an African I hope to go on an exotic trip to Detroit so I can help the children there and write an article about how I'm the central character in their whole situation.
@@paperdialup A female anime character that some people treat as if they were actually their girlfriend or wife? Yea, no, I think you have the wrong definition.
I think a big part of why White Saviors exist, at least for the non-celebrity ones, is because we're taught to expect a reward for our efforts. Helping struggling people usually does not lead to YOUR life becoming any easier so a lot of people who might try to help with good intentions at first end up feeling like they have to gain something for themselves. In a world where the rich get richer and the system isn't built to help you, some people are going to try to find personal success wherever they can, even if that defeats the purpose of helping others.
I think this part of the myth of american Exceptionalism and the virtue of Individualism. It leads to a hyperindividualism that prioritizes the Individual over the community.
There is a significant benefit when you have "Peace corps, 6mo, helped starving African children" on your resume. The powers that be often consist of a lot of whites saviors, so pandering to them will get you places. Jobs, undergrad, and grad school will all be easier if you have that gold star there. It's really cynical.
Contrastingly, one may exploit the suffering of others to elevate their own sense of self-worth. During my employment at the supermarket, I encountered a Caucasian colleague who frequently expressed intentions of traveling to Africa to aid its inhabitants. Despite her own financial hardships and challenges, she harbored the belief that her efforts would significantly impact the lives of Africans.
I am a 63yr-old white man. I have a lot of thoughts on the subject. I did not learn about white savior mentality until the distinction was made in my third year doctoral studies in clinical psychology. I would like a more detailed conversation with you than comments allow. My general rule of thumb is that if a white person wants to lead an effort to help Black members of our society, then run the other way. On the other hand, if a white person seeks to be a part of a push for justice and equality, then they understand Black people do not need leadership, they need those who care, to stand with them and for them. Everytime I say this, I am accused of pandering. No hope for any different here.
Thank you for sharing this. I'm a 27 year old white guy who is fortunate enough to have POC friends who have challenged my assumptions on topics like race and privilege, but when I try to share things I've learned in white circles I still get pushback and accused of "pandering" or "virtue signalling".
Idk. If I became insanely rich; and wanted to give back by creating an organization that helped the 10% of the world's population who doesn't have access to clean water. Would that be wrong of me because most of those people happen to be non-white?
@@lpphillyfan Why would you think this is what I am talking about? You would be providing much needed resources, not directing social activity. The people you would be helping will find the direction, considering the resource you helped make available, are free to choose their own direction. You really did not DO anything. Ideally, such an effort would fall under the Taoist concept of "not-doing." This is not easily explained in this format. Consider that "helping" is doing something. Providing resources without encumbrance is equivalent, in effect, to not-doing. You help without leaving behind obligation or authority. I hope this helps.
if the "White Man's Burden" is satire, it's probably the best possible example of how satire is tricky, doesn't always get across right and sometimes can be used unironically by the side it's supposed to be satirizing.
I'd love to believe that, but given that it was written by Rudyard Kipling, one of the famous racist, misogynistic, imperialist pieces of absolute trash...I doubt it.
@@martaanna9185Seeing as how it opened up trade and brought industrialization to many countries, it did. You can conquer and help. Rome and Persia come to mind.
@@kman9884nope - that trade and industrialization only enriched the colonists. The colonized had to fight hard for generations to even get a chance to participate in those systems in any way other than servitude. In most cases, the existing agriculture and material culture, not to mention economic structure, are all but destroyed entirely to make room for the industry and trade that they never asked for.
can you do a video on the "missing young white female" issue.. they take up so much media attention, like the missing van girl.. if she were a young black male teen, there would be no media interest
Yes!!!! Also Black Females & Black LGBTQ+ people are routinely ignored. It NEEDS to be addressed. Its literally creating deaths via a lack of big media representation (although A former YTr Cayleigh Elise {married & burnt-out, she retired last year} concentrated primarily on missing Black Children on her Channel & though she was white AF? She was an ally & respectful & broken by the numbers & the lack of police giving a shite).
@@T1J can you also cover the fact that corporations are still considered people while humans are relocated to assets? I mean, c'mon corporate homicide is COMPLETELY legal. Corporations and Corporate officers have more rights than any average citizen.
While the poem itself was dismantled by the video, I did like the reading of it. The algorithm would hate it because it's not what this channel does, but I'd definitely listen to you doing poetry readings
@@boyizheng6913 you don't have to be a bad person to do bad things. you merely have to be ignorant to the fact that your actions are bad/harmful. as the saying goes 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. many missionaries may mean well, but meaning well doesn't do shit when their work doesn't actually help, or when the main purpose is to use their 'help' as a way in to preach and convert, which despite what they may think is a wholly selfish reason to do something
@@c-rlt730 you won’t get a choice, that would be done through general taxation. So however clever you thought your point was there, it didn’t even get over the first hurdle 😢
Yep, he was a racist imperialist. We discusssed the poem in class at uni once, today to us it sounds parodic, but unfourtunately back then that was the official world view among european empires, and especially the Britsh empire.
@@maristiller4033 that's it more so than that one work, you can claim any one work is supposed to be ironic or mocking but the balance of his whole life's work doesn't support that conclusion. That's like pointing to just one of Hitlers famous over the top rants and claiming its so over the top its gotta be some sort of commentary of dictators and nationalism.
Telling someone that the violence and control you're submitting them to is "for their own good" and they're just not intelligent enough to understand that is such an insidious form of large-scale gaslighting.
While I catch your point, I'd also like to point out there are national teacher strikes. And teachers have never lined up to teach in less affluent schools. I'd have taken a 22yo idealist teacher with a savior complex over the education I received.
@@armyofninjas9055 It depends. I think, psychologically, it would have almost been more damaging to have someone treat you as if you need them to make. It creates a mentality as if you're not good enough on your own. Again, this depends. This will not always be the case. It depends on the teacher and their motivations. If they're coming at it in a, It's obviously me because damn it I'm going to do the best I can, that's one thing. If they're coming at it with the white savior mentality, then that can be damaging.
So you're racist against white people. Seriously, someone wanting to help the less fortunate is a good thing. The fact that you cast it as bad when the person is white just shows everyone that you are a racist.
@@danitho That really depends on the people involved. It can also make the student entitled and irresponsible. I wish more people asked, what they're doing before pointing fingers. I find it very disingenuous and thankless to blame only one side. It's like damned if you do, damned if you don't.
This reminds me of a caucasian girl in my school. She was well intentioned and she was defending a person of color who was being negatively stereotyped but she did so by using another less negative stereotype to defend. She was called out by the student and immediately almost she lost it. She told the student im defending you, you should be thanking me i dont need to hear that you should have told the guy i told off.
@@주지문-e7w I mean...it's not really hard to believe, given that it's happened to me, family, and friends multiple times (as the being 'defended') and that it's actually really, really common for white people to get defensive as heck when they get called out for racism. This is just a pretty common thing that happens -- a white person "defends" a poc while saying something vaguely or overtly racist, and then if or when the person calls them out on it, the White Saviour has a hissy fit about being right and 'defending' the poc. It's just a part of living a lot of the time.
@Sarah Payne How would writing out the offense perpetuate the offense? See this is the sort of BS that I don't put up with you Gen Z kids. You act like sissies and walk on eggshells over everything. If someone is harassing you, don't be afraid to shed their wrongdoings in the light! You'll get more people interested in helping you that way, instead of acting so cowardly and being so afraid to even say what they did that hurt you so much. Words can only affect you if you let them
Was she wrong though? I mean, I put myself in harms way to defend you in the heat of the moment, only for you to thanklessly turn on me? Do you actually expect me to get bashed by both sides? Umm ya...no thanks
It definitely took me many years as a white US grown dude to learn the INSANE diversity and complex history of Africa and unfortunately I was never taught any of this in school. For example I had no idea of the current economic growth of Nigeria and the amazing historical empires of Africa and instead had the false "tribal until colonialism" view.
Do you happen to know any good sources on the historical empires of Africa? I've been wanting to read up on that myself, but it's hard to find the history books that are both informative, well-researched and engaging.
Those 'amazing historical empires' are works of fiction. They're conspiracy theories thought up by racists, and you fell for it. You are not very smart, are you?
Some of the things are just so obvious and basic, for example No White Saviors based in Uganda pointed out that most of those kids without shoes or in dirty clothes are photographed playing outside. I don’t know about you but I played outside barefoot an awful lot, and my mother to me to put on play clothes instead of my good clothes just like I’m sure many of these kids were told.
Ha, this reminds me of Trevor Noah's old standup routine where he wondered why UNICEF videos always had children covered with flies. "No matter how hungry we were, we could still go like this!" (Swats face)
T1J your added comment on how white savior complex as it relates to a more local stage is so important, specially in light of how the Native American Adoption Law continues to get challenged by a bunch of white (Christian) savior who want to swoop in and “rescue” Native American children because they believe themselves entitled to and “better parents” for these children. And because it’s “local” they don’t see themselves as “white saviors”.
from someone who worked in humanitarian aid for 2 years - you're 100% on point. a good NGO will primarily work with local communities, listen to their needs and EXPERIENCES, and help create self-sufficient structures.
Thank you so much for the insight on this. It can be hard sometimes to see the difference when so many of us have been spoon fed white saviorism our whole lives. As others have said, I love how you don't pull your punches, but it always seems to be done in kindness.
I love this - there’s so much energy and idealism in unqualified, inexperienced young people who want to help make the world a better place, and it’s so easy to become incredibly frustrated & disillusioned that you can’t do anything without making it worse. A positive model of allyship is exactly what’s needed to break that cycle. I think a related element of this conversation is learning that the opposite of pride isn’t shame, but humility.
I find it a little uncanny valley. By all means, use it if you need a break from being on camera, but I miss the nuance of seeing a human face speaking.
I love this as someone who's lived in the Philippines all my life up to my mid twenties and had to immigrate to Canada. A lot of people might be angry or say "then what do we do to help?", but honestly with social media nowadays it's easy to help local activists by sharing their posts, raising awareness of their campaigns, and donating foreign money which translates into a ton of financial support in a country where a dollar can go a long way. As a Filipina I have that ingrained knowledge of activists and groups who have been fighting the good fight from inside the house, and I try to share what I know to my well-meaning North American friends who want to be helpful. And it might be a little easier because the Philippines is so deeply ingrained in social media that most Filipinos have access to the internet and therefore have means to receive financial aid or attention, but it should never be assumed that countries with large scale poverty don't ALSO have access to online means of support. Always focus on amplifying local voices and donating to local movements supported by or validated by locals. Locals always know what they need better, and if someone wants to be a saviour - white or otherwise - they need to give up that egotistical need to be in charge and instead defer to the people who know best. And heck, for many celebs and influencers and such, they don't even have to give up notoriety when they use their own following to lead people to these causes. They can get their ego stroked AND consistently lead people to aid those who actually have the skills and knowledge and life experience to do something, with stuff like yearly drives and whatnot or pledging a portion of their constant income to said causes.
Thank you so much for showing me the flaws that I've done myself. It's embarrassing to say, but regardless it helps me grow as a person and an ally. It also teaches me that alot of the times I think I'm helping based off of my ego to look "good", I should probably shut up and ask what more I can do to help. This hits hard, but thank you. Really
This video really breaks it down so well, I feel like it should be played in activist circles on a big screen or something. Lots of people with "big ideas" on how to "help people" without thinking to ask people what they actually need.
I think for some white people they feel like "if I help white people, not PoC they'll say "oh look at that white person only wanting to help white people" but if they help black people they might be read as "wanting to be a white savior". Personally I grew up in a poor, majority black city (Flint, MI) so when I CAN help I help at places in my city that serve the poor of ANY race in the county, I have also BEEN the person getting the help, as I am a recovering addict and have needed the help of a shelter and warming centers before. I hope I do a good job at being a white ally. Because of my financial situation I can't do alot with money donations, but I have donated clothes to clothing banks, or formula and other baby items I got before I miscarried. These serve any race as long as you live in the city or county in some cases. But now I just heard "colorblindness" and I don't want to be one of those people too. TJ can you give me some advice. I want to do good, I want to help everyone who needs help, but I also don't want to ignore that black people DO deal with more issues than most white people do, even if white people have issues. I mean I could be a poster child for "white people have it hard too. Mom with mental issues, mom poor, dad lower middle class, mental illness, addiction, criminal record and I STILL know if I was black it would be even harder for me. For example my drug charge might have sent me to prison instead of probation. So if anyone has advice on how to be a good ally to black people, while still not acting like "color has no effect"
I think all you need to do is relax and listen and attend to the needs of the people you wish to help. You cannot please everyone in life, so the opinions of those you wish to help are the ones that matter the most.
I think a good way to be an ally rather than to be a savior is to treat the people you’re helping like you would a friend in need. If you’re helping out a friend in need, you do it in a way that lets them keep their dignity and you don’t make it all about you. You ask them what they need and don’t make presumptions.
I also am uncomfortable with the oversimplification of a “white savior” as anyone white who helps a person of color. It can be very tempting to call my parents “white saviors,” since they are white people who adopted an Asian child (me). However, knowing all of the scrutiny and work that goes into the adoption process, it’s kind of unbelievable to me that a true “white savior” would undertake this work, since there is a lot of it. I think a more appropriate criticism is that adopted parents don’t always realize that their kids will be treated differently due to racism and-even worse-become defensive when their kids point this out. But I don’t think “white savior” accurately describes most of these situations, just as you say.
Have your parents ever become defensive when you bring up racism? If they did, did you try and word it fairly and point out if they had never adopted you, you would be in a majority group in 'privileged' position, one that would give you power of them if they were in your native country? I think if you did that it would show that you understand that racism isn't a white person thing.
Thanks again for a great video, T1J! I have likely been guilty of this. I've been trying very hard for the last 2-3 years to not center myself when I'm trying to be an ally. It's taken a lot of introspection to acknowledge my motives. I want to be a good ally and listen more than I speak. (I also love the little avatar!)
Its so hard to find people to respect nowadays in this fast culture that rewards immediate emotional reaction more than the calm insightful and thoughtful perspectives you always show thank you so much its really inspiring loved the video
always lovely when I have a debates with "friends" where i tell them to watch videos where people who actually know personally whats going on and articulate it well instead of them just fiercly debating me bc what i said made them feel kinda bad, and then just a few days later a great video on the exact topic that i can forward to them comes out. Thanks a lot for your thoughts T1J!
I think you pointed out some important things there. I also resent how many of these charities present people in Africa as helpless little children, like the campaigns that tell you that they need the money to dig wells for example. That always gives the impression that Africans don't know the concept of wells if white saviors wouldn't tell them. I am not very familiar with the everyday details of charity work but I also think that you have to work with the people, not imposing on them things that don't work there. I recently read some part of a book about entrepreneur women and men in African countries. It was really impressive because often they didn't have the infrastructure or other basics that we have in the West, so they came up with really creative solutions that worked. It was a lemons to lemonade approach that I really liked.
There's a great podcast called "The White Saviours" by a Canadian network which is all about the We Charity scandal, and the culture of white saviour complexes. Definitely worth a listen
This is a great video! Im currently in grad school to be a librarian and we are talking about diversity in learning and being part of the local community is super important to provide proper services. Ill have to find some peer reviewed articles on the subject so I can write about this in papers
Fantastic video as always. The bit about white saviour films where the white protagonist is the one who has to "solve racism" made me think of a conversation I's having the other day. My friend and I were talking about the kind of fallacy of neutrality in "objectivist" thinking, with people who think that they're capable of being objective, unbiased, outside observers. My friend said "everyone wants to be as valid as the white man, but the white man isn't valid". I'd like to hear some POCs' perspectives on how we white people can get it into our heads that we are the only ones who can "solve racism" because we stand apart from it or something, instead of realising our perspective and actions are just as warped, just in a way that lets us pretend they're not. As the old joke goes: there are two races - white and political.
I think the most explicit example of that that I've seen was when a bunch of wealthy white ladies in my town knitted woolen squares and then sew them together to make blankets for poor native people. The blankets took so much work and they ended up being so much expensive than regular ones but they put so many pictures of them knitting in social media.
Confession time: I wasn’t paying attention in class when we were talking about the White Man’s Burden poem, so I assumed it was a satirical poem critical of colonization. I was talking like two years later with a friend and he pointed it out to me
Oh god, ditto. Kipling's sincerity is horrifying, but I think if somebody wanted to do an ironic reading/remixing of the poem it could be done pretty decently. (Similar to how non-white writers & creators of colour have been making cosmic horror stories that subvert & contradict Lovecraft's initial racist approach.)
Thanks for the video! I just finished listening to a podcast series by CANADALAND called "The White Saviors" and it's fascinating and depressing. Deep corruption in the "voluntourism" sector.
An interesting thing related to this topic is how funds are distributed within charities. Nearly all charities determine the use first, even some having their mission being "we will spend our money on this thing". Not only is this highly inefficient, its obviously infantilizing. In nearly all cases, its just better to provide individuals with cash. But people think that the reason poor people are poor is cause they are morally wrong, its built into our culture to think this way.
Dont remember where I read it, but I recall a quote along the lines of "money enlightens rich people but corrupts poor people." I think this attitude is prevalent among upper middle and upper class people.
@@liveoak227 hmm, never heard that one. I've always thought it was related to the prosperity bible. If you are a good more person God will give you wealth, therefore if you are wealthy you are a good person, and the flip, I'd you are poor you are a bad person.
I'm not sure who thinks poor people are poor because they are morally wrong. I do know a lot of people think poor people are poor because they are unskilled at managing money. Lottery winners tend to be broke within a few years.
@@PvblivsAelivs I mean your statement is almost exactly it. Poor people are not necessarily lotto players, they don't lose their money cause they are poor, they lose their money cause they are the type of people who play the lottery. Here's the thing most people won't straight out say "poor people are bad people" but it's a more subtle thing. Poverty is thought to be an individual failing, like your example poor money management, instead if a systemic issue
@@andersonneil2293 Well, poor people aren't necessarily lotto players. And that wasn't my point. Many people will continue to be poor, no matter how much money they get, because they will spend it away. But you tell yourself that everyone has perfect skills in everything, that everyone behaves exactly the same as everyone else, and that oppression is the only explanation for any differences. The fact is that if you deny the effect of individual actions, and just claim everything a "systemic issue" you will find no solutions and you will frustrate those you seek to help. It is an inconvenient fact that when some people come in to money, they spend it all. And you can't just wish it away.
I really appreciate the time and dedication you put into your videos and this channel. You are clear, understandable, and your videos are easy to follow. That takes a lot of work! I'm learning a lot and just want to acknowledge the energy you're putting out into the world. Thank you for your time, patience, and clarity.
I really love the patience you had in this video, especially while talking about the white savior perspective. And it's a reminder that sometimes I could try to have more patience too. Although I'm white af, I'm trans, and the broader sort of infantilization of focusing solely on trauma - which in this video lends to the white savior complex - is something I absolutely despise. And if I were talking about something intersectionally similar right here and now, I don't know if I would have that same sorta patience.
You’ve always got the high level and deep analysis of difficult to discuss subjects. Yet another master piece T1J!! Thank you for the great content and ideas! You really helped shed light. I went to an Uhuru solidarity movement in Huntsville a few years ago. We were discussing the blood diamond mines in Africa and the “rape of the land.” I suggested the idea “why don’t we just burn the mines down and say no more diamonds.” It was poorly received to say the least which was not expected by me. I now see that what I was suggesting was the neo-colonial approach to it.
When you started reading that (without knowing it was Rudyard Kipling) I honestly thought it was some kind of anti-imperialist satire. When it got to the last page with his name though, I was like "wait. what?" Definitely not meant to be satire, but without the context of knowing the author it definitely could function that way :B
Helping should be like a bassist in a band, always in the background helping the groove stay groovy but never taking the spotlight from the singer. Or like Jesus said, “let not your right hand know what your left hand did”, meaning good deeds should be mostly done in silence to avoid grandiosity and self adulation.
I recall watching a piece on a rich white woman who travelled to an African nation and decided to buy a whole bunch of stuff to give to a hospital built in a remote and isolated area, loads of really expensive equipment she thought would make their lives better (more likely so she could go back home and brag about what she had done). By the end of the piece they were interviewing the local nurses and doctors, whose blank stares during the scenes with the white lady already said enough about what they thought of this Super Karen and her wild adventure in Africa. But then, when she wasn't in the room, they just told reporters everything Super Karen had purchased was useless because they didn't have a proper power supply infrastructure and they couldn't actually use any of that equipment. Their generators were being used in emergency situations, during surgery and on patients that needed constant care. So Super Karen went home filled with self importance and the hospital now had a bunch of machines which were left to rot away in a corner. I really hope someone there had the good idea of selling all of it to invest in some solar panels or just some more generators and fuel. Edit- just wanted to add that when people talk about volunteering to go to poor countries and "help the natives" the first thing that comes to mind is the scene in the movie Airplane where the two protagonists join the Peace Corp and Elaine (the female lead) is sitting down with some ladies in the middle of their village, having a Tupperware party. It speaks volumes about what white people think they can do to help developing nations.
I think about the difference between Savior and Ally all the time. I'm a white person who is often in First Nations spaces, both in personal and professional capacities. There are a great many First Nations issues in my part of the world (Saskatchewan, Canada) that I care a lot about and am involved with. Figuring out the best ways to do that is something that a couple decades on, I am still working on. It's something I really hope I'm getting better at. If nothing else, my awareness is much greater than it was at 20. I don't know that my view of what it means to be an Ally is necessarily standing behind, but perhaps beside and amongst. I know I don't belong at the front of a gathering, unless asked to be there, but being within the group usually feels more right than hovering at the fringes. Unless my role is to bear witness rather than participate.
Ok, so this vid kinda hit me harder than I thought it would. I, like many people I'm guessing, often end up relying on my altruistic instincts to guide me on how and where I need to contribute. But, like you said, that's not enough and can lead to problematic behavior. I just want to say thank you. I'm gonna share this video as much as I can.
Oh frick. I've been following this channel for... what, 3+ years now? And I'm not subscribed?! Okay, okay, fine. T1J, you got me finally. Good luck on the milestone! You deserve it!
3:32 A few month ago I was reading a part of Sara Ahmed‘s book „The Promise of Happiness“, the chapter on „melancholic migrants“. In this Ahmed argues that colonialism (from a British perspective) was also enabled by politics that concerned happiness, Utilitarisnism in particular. According to colonialist ideas imposing british lifestyle on colonialized countries would somehow improve their happiness and was therefore worth the effort, even if british people didn‘t seem to profit from it economically. I thought of this when I heard the poem, it seems to be the same attitude.
The person in that situation knows best what their community needs. I as a white European from sort of middle class background can't possibly know that. Wanting to help is a great thing, but you gotta listen to the people going through those experiences first to know what sort of help to provide.
Cool video. I'll note because we're on the topic of saviour politics which focus more on the people "helping" than the people being helped that a similarly shady saviour mentality has been observed in black Americans from people in African countries. Some of these volunteers have tried to import ideas of a global racial struggle against white supremacy in countries where that doesn't exist as a problem and the people there are more concerned with education and employment deficits.
Saying colonialism is a burden is like modern rich people saying they're doing us a favor by hiring is to work for them for not enough to pay rent. Power and privilege are poison for self-awareness.
Like Capitalist Class "job creators" who are lauded for what really amounts to destroying thousands of mom & pop businesses on behalf of multinational corporations.
I'm a 15 year old white girl from germany. I stumbled upon your channel from the video you made about The Office, (the toxic love triangle between Karen, Pam and Jim) and I'm really glad for that. I love your style and calming voice, and this helps me to educate myself more about these topics I'm interested in! I have POC friends and witnessed them experiencing racism, and wanted to help them but never really knew how (I didn't want to come across as a white saviour or something like that) and this really helped! thank you very much :3
I think your description of the Peace corp is out of date. In the 1960s and seventies, yes, they did seem to think that if you were a citizen of the USA you could go anywhere and tell people how to improve their lives, even if you knew nothing about them. But by the 1989s, they had already improved and were only taking people with specific training to do the work needed in a particular area. It doesn't always work out, but at least they tried.
Given all of the recent hype around the new Dune movie (and related claims of white savioring in the book/film), I'm surprised you didn't mention it. (Frankly, it deserves its own video, but I think the Quinn's Ideas channel has already done a fairly good job of it.)
My summation as a Dune fan is: "Yeah, kinda. It takes a lot of inspiration from the common narrative around T.E. Lawrence. But the sequels also deconstruct the savior aspects hard."
Watching this twice, I appreciate your insights. I especially liked the part about teachers. I taught for 30 years. 1 year in Mexico (among privileged families) the remainder in a rural school with predominantly Hispanic farm laborer families. In that context, I’ve been the white savior and I’ve been the ally too. I think that a distinction between the two is humor. A white savior doesn’t quite get it. You know? Humor passes us by. And, Laughter can be cruel, mocking, dismissive. White saviors are hurt when laughed at, we feel taunted, challenged…we take umbrage. White saviors are tested, I was. Sometimes I learned..sometimes I talked to the manager…but I was the manager…so …damn. Then I listened. What! White allies cherish laughter. We need the relief that only shared laughter offers. It gathers us, it’s a balm of acceptance. It’s shared recognition of the absurd. It’s courageous. I recall our school janitor saying to me, “If we can’t laugh at ourselves we’re dead.” After 30 years I burned out. Was I helping my students or just another brick in the wall? I wasn’t sure anymore. I’m genuinely happy that a young Hispanic woman was selected for the contract I decided not to renew. She struggles now, I hope she laughs too. The kids are worth it.
@@pseudonymous9153 Hi Pseudonymous. I agree that bullying is wrong and I don’t like to be bullied. As a teacher, I dealt with that a lot and it’s very challenging. Children need adult leadership which is difficult when a white adult requiring authority to do their job and serve children, is perceived as a threat to autonomy or an easy target to harass and unload resentment upon. Among all children there are also and always …allies, friends, and leaders who also want what is right and will work for it with the adults in their lives. Young people are amazing.
One of my favorite books, The Diamond Age was just revealed to me as a white savior trope. I hate having to poke the author for that error, but they do need to learn and be aware of their harmful cliches.
I think that white savior reading of Diamond Age is kind of selective and weak anyway. The book is playing off Dickensian tropes (with names like Hackworth) and it ignores the kind of core ideas of a society in transition from ethnic identity to ideological/cultural centred identity. For example, the Finkle-McGraws' full name is the Chung Sik Finkle-McGraws, suggesting they are of mixed race. This is not to say the novel isn't steeped in problematic orientalism and some ideas of cultural chauvinism. The novel feels more invested in Liberal Individualism and the competition of ideas than it does to an idea of white people saving others, especially when whether people are white or not is often (deliberately) ambiguous. And it's important to keep in mind cyberpunk as a genre is largely obsessed with corporatism and globalism. We might contrast the random white people of Diamond Age's Shanghai with the orientalized San Francisco of Blade Runner. Ironically, Stevenson does sort of take on the white savior trope in his most recent novel where a Texas billionaire builds a machine that stops global warming with unintended climate effects on certain parts of the world.
the high school i went to did (and probably still does) a yearly "missions trip" to Belize. it's a christian school with a church attached (i think the church came first). there was also a trip to Portland OR that the youth group did (it was to get to know/serve homeless people in the area). 16 year old me didn't know about all the nuances of that kind of trip and wanted to go on both, but could only afford the Portland one. i had a friend who was privileged enough to go on both trips. after going on both trips she said that she honestly felt like the Portland trip was definitely a lot more effective at making any sort of difference in the community. in Belize, it was planned so that they spent most of the days building a fence, i think? and then like one day they went to an event and talked to locals and stuff like that. and obviously the rest was like a touristy vacation where they went and saw Mayan ruins, etc. vs in Portland, we just went around talking to people, offered them coffee and donuts, invited them to a dinner thingy, had genuine conversations, and then there was a thing the people could come to and get food/clothes/etc. idk, it's just interesting looking into what actually happens on these trips and how much of an effect they have on the locals, good or bad. like if you "helping" by going and building a school actually just takes away paying jobs from people that live there, are you really helping?? or do you just wanna get instagram points?
I'm a (just beginning) international political scholar and foreign aid is just such a difficult topic. It almost always ends up legitimizing bad governments as they take a cut of aid. Organizations have to agree to the cut or the aid never gets to people that actually need it but they end up partially funding some regressive authoritarian state. So you either don't help the people at the bottom, support a bad regime, or try some whack shit like the US does and try to replace the regime. None are great options
I'm Kenyan and my country is a white saviour sweet spot. That's coz they can access the "normal luxuries" in the big cities while being in "Africa" and "helping these people". We simultaneously have "the biggest slum in Africa" and the "biggest mall in Africa" while being the centre for all HQs from the UN, World Bank, WHO and of course the aptly named 'Save The Children'. The good intending white people have disenfranchised many communities and allowed the government to ignore major social responsibilities because some NGO is going to get lots of funding to do it. We even tried to force the govt to close some down because they were getting too much. Of course that didn't work - the orgs need the funding to line their pockets. I cannot tell you how many times I've been in situations where ignorance is being so glorified and I'm realising that as an African child growing up in a low income household, I was nothing but a statistic to them. They are not helping, they are crippling the communities for years to come and leaving no tangible skillset behind. Meanwhile I've seen sick people lying in NYC streets and people acting like they don't exist. Just disgusting.
Very interesting veiw. I think I agree with most if not all of what your saying. And in the cases that i may not agree i think it gets into minutia and fringe cases. I do think that i have a savior complex. Not in the way discussed here, but I have to constantly stop my self and ask if my involvement with situations will do good or harm, as I am driven to act. 20 years millitary and other works might have driven the idea of a duty to help, but that's a topic for another discussion. I also dont see my self as white being Romani decent. Although outward appearance would have me classed as such. For my part I try to find areas that I can act and provide aid. Whether that local organizations dealing with vet issues, providing temp employment when I can to some of the homeless or otherwise destitute. And generally attempting to do what's in my power to at least make some ones life more barable. Now that I am 40-ish, I am exploring the greater expanse of these social-political issues. So I appreciate the effort you've taken in constructing this piece. Thank you
Linton: "I was worried what they would do to me, a white woman." Me: "I don't imagine the kinds of soldiers that do this are particular about a woman's skin color so much as the first one they can catch. Also, yikes." Linton: "I had become a central character." Me: "Nope, you really are not the person suffering most right now if you can fly on home."
Loving this. The white saviour complex is quite rampant in my country (Kenya) notably in kibera slum. Foreign NGOs have been exaggerating the number of people who live there for years while disregarding the fact that they are hardworking people integral to the country's economy.
First off, WOW, Kippling, going through some things. Yikes. Secondly, I cant get enough of these knowledge drops from channels like yours and others offering similar, significant content. Keep it coming, clear and oddly palatable, infinitely ingestible, and wholly nutritious.
I loved your video and I get a lot of the criticism leveled at the Peace Corps, but it's more nuanced than that. When I volunteered we all talked a lot about being White Saviors and how we can avoid it. There was a big emphasis on listening to the local community about the kind of help they wanted. The buzzword that got thrown around a lot was 'sustainability.' Basically, our focus was on helping communities build themselves up and continue on when we were gone. That meant we weren't in the business of doing what a lot of other aid groups do. We weren't there to build something. We were there to train people and connect them to resources they wouldn't normally have access to. Some people still saw themselves as the main characters of their story though, and there was this fetishization with how shitty your living conditions were. Plenty of volunteers giving zero shits about cultural taboos or expectations. And the lack of training was genuinely frustrating. Still, the reaction of the people I lived and worked with in my community was overwhelmingly positive. And in the end its their opinion that matters when you ask if we really helped. I know that's not always the case
My issue with the Peace Corps is that it was initially set up in 1961 with a strong White Savior mindset and so it's fundamentally not great at stopping people who are doing it for the wrong reasons. The fact that you have to have your plan for the people you are "helping" in place BEFORE you actually meet them/talk to them was a huge red flag for me when I looked into joining. I ended up doing another program for a year which was much more about living alongside the community, asking what they would like you to do and having the exact same financial paycheck as your community so you really can't live a different lifestyle even if you wanted to (with the exception of medical care). That being said, I know plenty of people who did end up doing Peace Corps and worked with the communities/didn't have a white Savior complex in the least. They were proactive and got around the fundamental systemic patronization of Peace Corps' setup. The issue is the Peace Corps can easily let volunteers do more harm than good and, personally, I think actively encourages that mindset unless you are careful. Imo Peace Corps shouldn't be discarded all together, but instead reformed so the communities which get volunteers have a much more active role/say as to what projects actually need to be done in their communities.
You really knocked it out of the park with this one. I think a lot of people aren't critical enough of this white western chauvinism, although I have also heard from some who study him that Kipling can be interpreted as attempting to pillory the idea by crafting deliberately ridiculous language. But even that just reinforces what a problem this is.
Like, this topic has been on my mind a lot lately. I wrote out this big ra,bling comment, sharing my life experiences and my recent run ins the people with white saviour complexes. But you know they it was long and meandering. So I just wanna say, thanks for the awesome content, this was a really great video.
As a british person, i lament the fact we weren't taught anything like this in history class. We are taught nothing about the empires true reality, so we grow up with weirdly ingrained nationalistic fervour that comes out when we see the queen or win a football game. Really great vieeo mate, going to binge a load of your content!
Okay, Filipino here and I had to replay that bit you mentioned the poem. And, "civilize the Filipino people"? Ex-fucking-cuse me? Like Spain hasn't already done that for three centuries? Like, my expectations were already low but WHAT THE HELL. Damn Kipling, what did Filipinos ever do to you? lol
Another banger! I frequently get called a white saviour or the like by white people whenever I call out casually racist language, and frankly calling out casually racist language is virtually the entirety of my activism.
Why are you a Digimon character now? :) Man, I remember when I was in highchool and there was just nothing I wanted more than to go to Africa and help those poor shoeless kids. Now I hear about people who DID go on missions like that, and, y'know. They wouldn't employ the people of the community to help build the schools or dig the wells or have any say in what the community ACTUALLY needed help with to prosper. They'd just swoop in, do whatever they had predetermined (while still in Canada) needed to be done, take some selfies and go home.
As an African I hope to go on an exotic trip to Detroit so I can help the children there and write an article about how I'm the central character in their whole situation.
Or you can just go the West Virginia
😂😂
Lol 😂
Your hero we all need
While every one ignores jimmy the crack head
You came to help lol
Come to South America
A Savior stands in front and an Ally stands behind for support. You held the best line for last, that is just such a good sum-up!
🤔
I wonder what it's called when someone neither stands in front or behind but rather beside
@@TailsfromtheIDW That's a waifu
@@paperdialup 🤣
@@paperdialup A female anime character that some people treat as if they were actually their girlfriend or wife? Yea, no, I think you have the wrong definition.
@@milascave2 is joke.
Sir! It's so dope that you came with this heat at this moment. Definitely hit some nuances that I missed.
I literally thought “Hey, what a coincidence. I just watched Fiq’s video!”
Wait a second so you're telling me you both aren't the same person
@@mansamusa8410 they gotta at least be cousins
@@jeffersonclippership2588 no, they're just both black
❤❤❤❤
I think a big part of why White Saviors exist, at least for the non-celebrity ones, is because we're taught to expect a reward for our efforts. Helping struggling people usually does not lead to YOUR life becoming any easier so a lot of people who might try to help with good intentions at first end up feeling like they have to gain something for themselves. In a world where the rich get richer and the system isn't built to help you, some people are going to try to find personal success wherever they can, even if that defeats the purpose of helping others.
I think this part of the myth of american Exceptionalism and the virtue of Individualism. It leads to a hyperindividualism that prioritizes the Individual over the community.
There is a significant benefit when you have "Peace corps, 6mo, helped starving African children" on your resume. The powers that be often consist of a lot of whites saviors, so pandering to them will get you places. Jobs, undergrad, and grad school will all be easier if you have that gold star there. It's really cynical.
Jet: Anybody who thinks that is nieve, though. Activists seldom get any reward for the work they put in.
Contrastingly, one may exploit the suffering of others to elevate their own sense of self-worth. During my employment at the supermarket, I encountered a Caucasian colleague who frequently expressed intentions of traveling to Africa to aid its inhabitants. Despite her own financial hardships and challenges, she harbored the belief that her efforts would significantly impact the lives of Africans.
I am a 63yr-old white man. I have a lot of thoughts on the subject. I did not learn about white savior mentality until the distinction was made in my third year doctoral studies in clinical psychology. I would like a more detailed conversation with you than comments allow. My general rule of thumb is that if a white person wants to lead an effort to help Black members of our society, then run the other way. On the other hand, if a white person seeks to be a part of a push for justice and equality, then they understand Black people do not need leadership, they need those who care, to stand with them and for them. Everytime I say this, I am accused of pandering. No hope for any different here.
Thank you for sharing this. I'm a 27 year old white guy who is fortunate enough to have POC friends who have challenged my assumptions on topics like race and privilege, but when I try to share things I've learned in white circles I still get pushback and accused of "pandering" or "virtue signalling".
Idk. If I became insanely rich; and wanted to give back by creating an organization that helped the 10% of the world's population who doesn't have access to clean water. Would that be wrong of me because most of those people happen to be non-white?
@@lpphillyfan Why would you think this is what I am talking about? You would be providing much needed resources, not directing social activity. The people you would be helping will find the direction, considering the resource you helped make available, are free to choose their own direction. You really did not DO anything. Ideally, such an effort would fall under the Taoist concept of "not-doing." This is not easily explained in this format. Consider that "helping" is doing something. Providing resources without encumbrance is equivalent, in effect, to not-doing. You help without leaving behind obligation or authority. I hope this helps.
@@PresentFocus well said
I know black people who would acccuse you of pandering. Ad a black person myself I think you have the right idea. Keep pushing
if the "White Man's Burden" is satire, it's probably the best possible example of how satire is tricky, doesn't always get across right and sometimes can be used unironically by the side it's supposed to be satirizing.
I'd love to believe that, but given that it was written by Rudyard Kipling, one of the famous racist, misogynistic, imperialist pieces of absolute trash...I doubt it.
I'll admit that its what I thought it was; satirically flipping white privilege on its head.
Satire or not, it was reflecting Brits' thoughts on the subject. They were not conquering other nations. They were helping them.
@@martaanna9185Seeing as how it opened up trade and brought industrialization to many countries, it did. You can conquer and help. Rome and Persia come to mind.
@@kman9884nope - that trade and industrialization only enriched the colonists. The colonized had to fight hard for generations to even get a chance to participate in those systems in any way other than servitude. In most cases, the existing agriculture and material culture, not to mention economic structure, are all but destroyed entirely to make room for the industry and trade that they never asked for.
can you do a video on the "missing young white female" issue.. they take up so much media attention, like the missing van girl.. if she were a young black male teen, there would be no media interest
Yes!!!! Also Black Females & Black LGBTQ+ people are routinely ignored.
It NEEDS to be addressed.
Its literally creating deaths via a lack of big media representation (although A former YTr Cayleigh Elise {married & burnt-out, she retired last year} concentrated primarily on missing Black Children on her Channel & though she was white AF? She was an ally & respectful & broken by the numbers & the lack of police giving a shite).
I think that's a good idea.
@@T1J please in MMIW and perhaps the Jermain Charlo story out of MT, they did a podcast called "Stolen" on it.
@@AmberAmber I used to watch her, understandable why she had to leave but a shame
@@T1J can you also cover the fact that corporations are still considered people while humans are relocated to assets? I mean, c'mon corporate homicide is COMPLETELY legal. Corporations and Corporate officers have more rights than any average citizen.
While the poem itself was dismantled by the video, I did like the reading of it. The algorithm would hate it because it's not what this channel does, but I'd definitely listen to you doing poetry readings
Same I just love poetry
Edit: Obviously not this one though fuck that shit
His voice is perfect for reading poems!
Paging Ours Poetica to come back from the dead!
I’d follow a poetry reading channel so it doesn’t mess up the Al Gore Rhythm…
Reading poems that are meant to illustrate a point, on a semi regular basis, could totally fit with the channel.
The idea of “saving” people sounds uncomfortably close to missionary work
Well missionaries have been used plenty to help colonisation so makes sense.
Missionaries are not bad people.
@@boyizheng6913 you don't have to be a bad person to do bad things. you merely have to be ignorant to the fact that your actions are bad/harmful. as the saying goes 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions'. many missionaries may mean well, but meaning well doesn't do shit when their work doesn't actually help, or when the main purpose is to use their 'help' as a way in to preach and convert, which despite what they may think is a wholly selfish reason to do something
That's why I won't be contributing to reparations; an extreme white savior act, expecting our money to save anyone.
@@c-rlt730 you won’t get a choice, that would be done through general taxation. So however clever you thought your point was there, it didn’t even get over the first hurdle 😢
I'm never going to get tired of listening to your insight into matters like this. You don't pull any punches, but you're not cruel either.
So true, it makes him a great speaker. Productively telling people they're wrong is an insanely hard skill imo
Rudyard Kipling was definitely pro imperialist, that poem venerates white slavers way too hard for irony, just my opinion
Same.
Yeah a lot of his stuff from what I’ve read is VERY pro-colonialism
Yep, he was a racist imperialist.
We discusssed the poem in class at uni once, today to us it sounds parodic, but unfourtunately back then that was the official world view among european empires, and especially the Britsh empire.
@@maristiller4033 that's it more so than that one work, you can claim any one work is supposed to be ironic or mocking but the balance of his whole life's work doesn't support that conclusion.
That's like pointing to just one of Hitlers famous over the top rants and claiming its so over the top its gotta be some sort of commentary of dictators and nationalism.
Telling someone that the violence and control you're submitting them to is "for their own good" and they're just not intelligent enough to understand that is such an insidious form of large-scale gaslighting.
I love the idea that a 22-year-old white teacher thinks "black people just need good educators, and obviously that's literally me."
While I catch your point, I'd also like to point out there are national teacher strikes. And teachers have never lined up to teach in less affluent schools. I'd have taken a 22yo idealist teacher with a savior complex over the education I received.
@@armyofninjas9055 It depends. I think, psychologically, it would have almost been more damaging to have someone treat you as if you need them to make. It creates a mentality as if you're not good enough on your own.
Again, this depends. This will not always be the case. It depends on the teacher and their motivations.
If they're coming at it in a, It's obviously me because damn it I'm going to do the best I can, that's one thing.
If they're coming at it with the white savior mentality, then that can be damaging.
So you're racist against white people. Seriously, someone wanting to help the less fortunate is a good thing. The fact that you cast it as bad when the person is white just shows everyone that you are a racist.
@@danitho That really depends on the people involved. It can also make the student entitled and irresponsible. I wish more people asked, what they're doing before pointing fingers. I find it very disingenuous and thankless to blame only one side. It's like damned if you do, damned if you don't.
This reminds me of a caucasian girl in my school. She was well intentioned and she was defending a person of color who was being negatively stereotyped but she did so by using another less negative stereotype to defend. She was called out by the student and immediately almost she lost it. She told the student im defending you, you should be thanking me i dont need to hear that you should have told the guy i told off.
Your story would be more believable if you could actually describe the things that she said instead of giving an unclear statement.
@@주지문-e7w I mean...it's not really hard to believe, given that it's happened to me, family, and friends multiple times (as the being 'defended') and that it's actually really, really common for white people to get defensive as heck when they get called out for racism. This is just a pretty common thing that happens -- a white person "defends" a poc while saying something vaguely or overtly racist, and then if or when the person calls them out on it, the White Saviour has a hissy fit about being right and 'defending' the poc. It's just a part of living a lot of the time.
@@주지문-e7w like this story isn’t happening every day. I worked in non profit and let me tell you..
@Sarah Payne How would writing out the offense perpetuate the offense? See this is the sort of BS that I don't put up with you Gen Z kids. You act like sissies and walk on eggshells over everything. If someone is harassing you, don't be afraid to shed their wrongdoings in the light! You'll get more people interested in helping you that way, instead of acting so cowardly and being so afraid to even say what they did that hurt you so much. Words can only affect you if you let them
Was she wrong though? I mean, I put myself in harms way to defend you in the heat of the moment, only for you to thanklessly turn on me? Do you actually expect me to get bashed by both sides? Umm ya...no thanks
It definitely took me many years as a white US grown dude to learn the INSANE diversity and complex history of Africa and unfortunately I was never taught any of this in school. For example I had no idea of the current economic growth of Nigeria and the amazing historical empires of Africa and instead had the false "tribal until colonialism" view.
Do you happen to know any good sources on the historical empires of Africa? I've been wanting to read up on that myself, but it's hard to find the history books that are both informative, well-researched and engaging.
@@gryranfelt5473 look up Mali empire, that's an easy way to start.
Maybe the reason you never hear about the historical empires of Africa is because they didn't accomplish anything substantial.
Those 'amazing historical empires' are works of fiction. They're conspiracy theories thought up by racists, and you fell for it. You are not very smart, are you?
Some of the things are just so obvious and basic, for example No White Saviors based in Uganda pointed out that most of those kids without shoes or in dirty clothes are photographed playing outside. I don’t know about you but I played outside barefoot an awful lot, and my mother to me to put on play clothes instead of my good clothes just like I’m sure many of these kids were told.
I always appreciate how thoughtful and straightforward your videos are. I've learned a lot.
Ha, this reminds me of Trevor Noah's old standup routine where he wondered why UNICEF videos always had children covered with flies. "No matter how hungry we were, we could still go like this!" (Swats face)
T1J your added comment on how white savior complex as it relates to a more local stage is so important, specially in light of how the Native American Adoption Law continues to get challenged by a bunch of white (Christian) savior who want to swoop in and “rescue” Native American children because they believe themselves entitled to and “better parents” for these children. And because it’s “local” they don’t see themselves as “white saviors”.
Just finished Parable of the sower and Parable of the Talents, and it's just so scary seeing, day by day, how fictional that series wasn't.
What do you mean by that
Orrr maybe they just want children in need regardless of race to have loving families regardless of race?
You could have a separate channel where you read poetry. I would absolutely give it a sub.
from someone who worked in humanitarian aid for 2 years - you're 100% on point. a good NGO will primarily work with local communities, listen to their needs and EXPERIENCES, and help create self-sufficient structures.
Thank you so much for the insight on this. It can be hard sometimes to see the difference when so many of us have been spoon fed white saviorism our whole lives. As others have said, I love how you don't pull your punches, but it always seems to be done in kindness.
Cheers!
I love this - there’s so much energy and idealism in unqualified, inexperienced young people who want to help make the world a better place, and it’s so easy to become incredibly frustrated & disillusioned that you can’t do anything without making it worse. A positive model of allyship is exactly what’s needed to break that cycle.
I think a related element of this conversation is learning that the opposite of pride isn’t shame, but humility.
First time hearing the full poem. It's...a hair-raiser, Jesus.
I like the little cartoon T1J! Haven't finished the video yet, but I wanted to say that :)
came here to say exactly this!
I find it a little uncanny valley. By all means, use it if you need a break from being on camera, but I miss the nuance of seeing a human face speaking.
I like it too, it's always neat to see art of my favorite speakers :)
I’m having an issue with his left eye though.
I love this as someone who's lived in the Philippines all my life up to my mid twenties and had to immigrate to Canada. A lot of people might be angry or say "then what do we do to help?", but honestly with social media nowadays it's easy to help local activists by sharing their posts, raising awareness of their campaigns, and donating foreign money which translates into a ton of financial support in a country where a dollar can go a long way. As a Filipina I have that ingrained knowledge of activists and groups who have been fighting the good fight from inside the house, and I try to share what I know to my well-meaning North American friends who want to be helpful.
And it might be a little easier because the Philippines is so deeply ingrained in social media that most Filipinos have access to the internet and therefore have means to receive financial aid or attention, but it should never be assumed that countries with large scale poverty don't ALSO have access to online means of support. Always focus on amplifying local voices and donating to local movements supported by or validated by locals. Locals always know what they need better, and if someone wants to be a saviour - white or otherwise - they need to give up that egotistical need to be in charge and instead defer to the people who know best.
And heck, for many celebs and influencers and such, they don't even have to give up notoriety when they use their own following to lead people to these causes. They can get their ego stroked AND consistently lead people to aid those who actually have the skills and knowledge and life experience to do something, with stuff like yearly drives and whatnot or pledging a portion of their constant income to said causes.
This. Just this. Perfectly said. 👏🏾
Thank you so much for showing me the flaws that I've done myself. It's embarrassing to say, but regardless it helps me grow as a person and an ally. It also teaches me that alot of the times I think I'm helping based off of my ego to look "good", I should probably shut up and ask what more I can do to help. This hits hard, but thank you. Really
Great video. When you read the "central character" quote I said out loud, "Um, it's not about you."
Yeah, I just spluttered "pff-What!?" all over my laptop.
Weren't a bunch of details from that "story" also found to be fake, anyway?
This video really breaks it down so well, I feel like it should be played in activist circles on a big screen or something. Lots of people with "big ideas" on how to "help people" without thinking to ask people what they actually need.
I think for some white people they feel like "if I help white people, not PoC they'll say "oh look at that white person only wanting to help white people" but if they help black people they might be read as "wanting to be a white savior". Personally I grew up in a poor, majority black city (Flint, MI) so when I CAN help I help at places in my city that serve the poor of ANY race in the county, I have also BEEN the person getting the help, as I am a recovering addict and have needed the help of a shelter and warming centers before. I hope I do a good job at being a white ally. Because of my financial situation I can't do alot with money donations, but I have donated clothes to clothing banks, or formula and other baby items I got before I miscarried. These serve any race as long as you live in the city or county in some cases. But now I just heard "colorblindness" and I don't want to be one of those people too. TJ can you give me some advice. I want to do good, I want to help everyone who needs help, but I also don't want to ignore that black people DO deal with more issues than most white people do, even if white people have issues. I mean I could be a poster child for "white people have it hard too. Mom with mental issues, mom poor, dad lower middle class, mental illness, addiction, criminal record and I STILL know if I was black it would be even harder for me. For example my drug charge might have sent me to prison instead of probation. So if anyone has advice on how to be a good ally to black people, while still not acting like "color has no effect"
I think all you need to do is relax and listen and attend to the needs of the people you wish to help. You cannot please everyone in life, so the opinions of those you wish to help are the ones that matter the most.
What's that old saying? Oh yeah,
"The path to Hell is paved with good intentions".
I think a good way to be an ally rather than to be a savior is to treat the people you’re helping like you would a friend in need.
If you’re helping out a friend in need, you do it in a way that lets them keep their dignity and you don’t make it all about you. You ask them what they need and don’t make presumptions.
I also am uncomfortable with the oversimplification of a “white savior” as anyone white who helps a person of color. It can be very tempting to call my parents “white saviors,” since they are white people who adopted an Asian child (me). However, knowing all of the scrutiny and work that goes into the adoption process, it’s kind of unbelievable to me that a true “white savior” would undertake this work, since there is a lot of it. I think a more appropriate criticism is that adopted parents don’t always realize that their kids will be treated differently due to racism and-even worse-become defensive when their kids point this out. But I don’t think “white savior” accurately describes most of these situations, just as you say.
Have your parents ever become defensive when you bring up racism? If they did, did you try and word it fairly and point out if they had never adopted you, you would be in a majority group in 'privileged' position, one that would give you power of them if they were in your native country?
I think if you did that it would show that you understand that racism isn't a white person thing.
Thanks again for a great video, T1J! I have likely been guilty of this. I've been trying very hard for the last 2-3 years to not center myself when I'm trying to be an ally. It's taken a lot of introspection to acknowledge my motives. I want to be a good ally and listen more than I speak. (I also love the little avatar!)
Oh ive definately been guilty of this i want to.do.better but it ends up coming across as pretty cringy
Its so hard to find people to respect nowadays in this fast culture that rewards immediate emotional reaction more than the calm insightful and thoughtful perspectives you always show thank you so much its really inspiring loved the video
always lovely when I have a debates with "friends" where i tell them to watch videos where people who actually know personally whats going on and articulate it well instead of them just fiercly debating me bc what i said made them feel kinda bad, and then just a few days later a great video on the exact topic that i can forward to them comes out.
Thanks a lot for your thoughts T1J!
I think you pointed out some important things there. I also resent how many of these charities present people in Africa as helpless little children, like the campaigns that tell you that they need the money to dig wells for example. That always gives the impression that Africans don't know the concept of wells if white saviors wouldn't tell them. I am not very familiar with the everyday details of charity work but I also think that you have to work with the people, not imposing on them things that don't work there. I recently read some part of a book about entrepreneur women and men in African countries. It was really impressive because often they didn't have the infrastructure or other basics that we have in the West, so they came up with really creative solutions that worked. It was a lemons to lemonade approach that I really liked.
There's a great podcast called "The White Saviours" by a Canadian network which is all about the We Charity scandal, and the culture of white saviour complexes. Definitely worth a listen
Also “The Missionary” about the white Christian woman who “white saved” over a hundred Ugandan children to death
White Saviors: "Congratulations! You are being rescued! Please do not resist."
This is a great video! Im currently in grad school to be a librarian and we are talking about diversity in learning and being part of the local community is super important to provide proper services. Ill have to find some peer reviewed articles on the subject so I can write about this in papers
Fantastic video as always. The bit about white saviour films where the white protagonist is the one who has to "solve racism" made me think of a conversation I's having the other day. My friend and I were talking about the kind of fallacy of neutrality in "objectivist" thinking, with people who think that they're capable of being objective, unbiased, outside observers. My friend said "everyone wants to be as valid as the white man, but the white man isn't valid". I'd like to hear some POCs' perspectives on how we white people can get it into our heads that we are the only ones who can "solve racism" because we stand apart from it or something, instead of realising our perspective and actions are just as warped, just in a way that lets us pretend they're not.
As the old joke goes: there are two races - white and political.
I think the most explicit example of that that I've seen was when a bunch of wealthy white ladies in my town knitted woolen squares and then sew them together to make blankets for poor native people. The blankets took so much work and they ended up being so much expensive than regular ones but they put so many pictures of them knitting in social media.
Confession time: I wasn’t paying attention in class when we were talking about the White Man’s Burden poem, so I assumed it was a satirical poem critical of colonization. I was talking like two years later with a friend and he pointed it out to me
Oh god, ditto. Kipling's sincerity is horrifying, but I think if somebody wanted to do an ironic reading/remixing of the poem it could be done pretty decently. (Similar to how non-white writers & creators of colour have been making cosmic horror stories that subvert & contradict Lovecraft's initial racist approach.)
After watching you for like 4 years now, I was not expecting you to pop up as an Anime avatar. Dope tho!
Thoughtful as always! I like the addition of your little avatar too
Thanks for the video! I just finished listening to a podcast series by CANADALAND called "The White Saviors" and it's fascinating and depressing. Deep corruption in the "voluntourism" sector.
An interesting thing related to this topic is how funds are distributed within charities. Nearly all charities determine the use first, even some having their mission being "we will spend our money on this thing". Not only is this highly inefficient, its obviously infantilizing. In nearly all cases, its just better to provide individuals with cash. But people think that the reason poor people are poor is cause they are morally wrong, its built into our culture to think this way.
Dont remember where I read it, but I recall a quote along the lines of "money enlightens rich people but corrupts poor people." I think this attitude is prevalent among upper middle and upper class people.
@@liveoak227 hmm, never heard that one. I've always thought it was related to the prosperity bible. If you are a good more person God will give you wealth, therefore if you are wealthy you are a good person, and the flip, I'd you are poor you are a bad person.
I'm not sure who thinks poor people are poor because they are morally wrong. I do know a lot of people think poor people are poor because they are unskilled at managing money. Lottery winners tend to be broke within a few years.
@@PvblivsAelivs I mean your statement is almost exactly it. Poor people are not necessarily lotto players, they don't lose their money cause they are poor, they lose their money cause they are the type of people who play the lottery. Here's the thing most people won't straight out say "poor people are bad people" but it's a more subtle thing. Poverty is thought to be an individual failing, like your example poor money management, instead if a systemic issue
@@andersonneil2293
Well, poor people aren't necessarily lotto players. And that wasn't my point. Many people will continue to be poor, no matter how much money they get, because they will spend it away.
But you tell yourself that everyone has perfect skills in everything, that everyone behaves exactly the same as everyone else, and that oppression is the only explanation for any differences. The fact is that if you deny the effect of individual actions, and just claim everything a "systemic issue" you will find no solutions and you will frustrate those you seek to help.
It is an inconvenient fact that when some people come in to money, they spend it all. And you can't just wish it away.
If you have the money to give just give directly, people know what they need.
I really appreciate the time and dedication you put into your videos and this channel. You are clear, understandable, and your videos are easy to follow. That takes a lot of work! I'm learning a lot and just want to acknowledge the energy you're putting out into the world. Thank you for your time, patience, and clarity.
I really love the patience you had in this video, especially while talking about the white savior perspective. And it's a reminder that sometimes I could try to have more patience too.
Although I'm white af, I'm trans, and the broader sort of infantilization of focusing solely on trauma - which in this video lends to the white savior complex - is something I absolutely despise. And if I were talking about something intersectionally similar right here and now, I don't know if I would have that same sorta patience.
I got two minutes into the video and an ad for save the children showed up 💀
Your videos are really eye opening on different topics that I’ve been reading and learning about. Keep up the great work.
You’ve always got the high level and deep analysis of difficult to discuss subjects. Yet another master piece T1J!! Thank you for the great content and ideas! You really helped shed light. I went to an Uhuru solidarity movement in Huntsville a few years ago. We were discussing the blood diamond mines in Africa and the “rape of the land.” I suggested the idea “why don’t we just burn the mines down and say no more diamonds.” It was poorly received to say the least which was not expected by me. I now see that what I was suggesting was the neo-colonial approach to it.
When you started reading that (without knowing it was Rudyard Kipling) I honestly thought it was some kind of anti-imperialist satire. When it got to the last page with his name though, I was like "wait. what?"
Definitely not meant to be satire, but without the context of knowing the author it definitely could function that way :B
Helping should be like a bassist in a band, always in the background helping the groove stay groovy but never taking the spotlight from the singer. Or like Jesus said, “let not your right hand know what your left hand did”, meaning good deeds should be mostly done in silence to avoid grandiosity and self adulation.
I recall watching a piece on a rich white woman who travelled to an African nation and decided to buy a whole bunch of stuff to give to a hospital built in a remote and isolated area, loads of really expensive equipment she thought would make their lives better (more likely so she could go back home and brag about what she had done). By the end of the piece they were interviewing the local nurses and doctors, whose blank stares during the scenes with the white lady already said enough about what they thought of this Super Karen and her wild adventure in Africa. But then, when she wasn't in the room, they just told reporters everything Super Karen had purchased was useless because they didn't have a proper power supply infrastructure and they couldn't actually use any of that equipment. Their generators were being used in emergency situations, during surgery and on patients that needed constant care. So Super Karen went home filled with self importance and the hospital now had a bunch of machines which were left to rot away in a corner. I really hope someone there had the good idea of selling all of it to invest in some solar panels or just some more generators and fuel.
Edit- just wanted to add that when people talk about volunteering to go to poor countries and "help the natives" the first thing that comes to mind is the scene in the movie Airplane where the two protagonists join the Peace Corp and Elaine (the female lead) is sitting down with some ladies in the middle of their village, having a Tupperware party. It speaks volumes about what white people think they can do to help developing nations.
I think about the difference between Savior and Ally all the time. I'm a white person who is often in First Nations spaces, both in personal and professional capacities. There are a great many First Nations issues in my part of the world (Saskatchewan, Canada) that I care a lot about and am involved with. Figuring out the best ways to do that is something that a couple decades on, I am still working on. It's something I really hope I'm getting better at. If nothing else, my awareness is much greater than it was at 20.
I don't know that my view of what it means to be an Ally is necessarily standing behind, but perhaps beside and amongst. I know I don't belong at the front of a gathering, unless asked to be there, but being within the group usually feels more right than hovering at the fringes. Unless my role is to bear witness rather than participate.
Thank you for expanding my worldview some more.
Ok, so this vid kinda hit me harder than I thought it would. I, like many people I'm guessing, often end up relying on my altruistic instincts to guide me on how and where I need to contribute. But, like you said, that's not enough and can lead to problematic behavior.
I just want to say thank you. I'm gonna share this video as much as I can.
Oh frick. I've been following this channel for... what, 3+ years now? And I'm not subscribed?! Okay, okay, fine. T1J, you got me finally. Good luck on the milestone! You deserve it!
My takeaway (as a white dude):
Listen to people whose life experience is different than mine, talk to people whose life experience is similar to mine.
I was actually wondering about this topic recently. This was very informative. Thanks.
3:32 A few month ago I was reading a part of Sara Ahmed‘s book „The Promise of Happiness“, the chapter on „melancholic migrants“. In this Ahmed argues that colonialism (from a British perspective) was also enabled by politics that concerned happiness, Utilitarisnism in particular. According to colonialist ideas imposing british lifestyle on colonialized countries would somehow improve their happiness and was therefore worth the effort, even if british people didn‘t seem to profit from it economically. I thought of this when I heard the poem, it seems to be the same attitude.
I really appreciate your videos. You have an excellent mind, and your heart is gigantic.
The person in that situation knows best what their community needs. I as a white European from sort of middle class background can't possibly know that. Wanting to help is a great thing, but you gotta listen to the people going through those experiences first to know what sort of help to provide.
Cool video.
I'll note because we're on the topic of saviour politics which focus more on the people "helping" than the people being helped that a similarly shady saviour mentality has been observed in black Americans from people in African countries.
Some of these volunteers have tried to import ideas of a global racial struggle against white supremacy in countries where that doesn't exist as a problem and the people there are more concerned with education and employment deficits.
Saying colonialism is a burden is like modern rich people saying they're doing us a favor by hiring is to work for them for not enough to pay rent. Power and privilege are poison for self-awareness.
Like Capitalist Class "job creators" who are lauded for what really amounts to destroying thousands of mom & pop businesses on behalf of multinational corporations.
I think you nailed the distinction on your last sentence about out front glory vs. rear support.
Heh. I've met social workers who think they can take a disability-blind approach. That whole profession is weird.
I'm a 15 year old white girl from germany. I stumbled upon your channel from the video you made about The Office, (the toxic love triangle between Karen, Pam and Jim) and I'm really glad for that. I love your style and calming voice, and this helps me to educate myself more about these topics I'm interested in!
I have POC friends and witnessed them experiencing racism, and wanted to help them but never really knew how (I didn't want to come across as a white saviour or something like that) and this really helped!
thank you very much :3
There are so many points in this video that want me to like it again and again.
I think your description of the Peace corp is out of date. In the 1960s and seventies, yes, they did seem to think that if you were a citizen of the USA you could go anywhere and tell people how to improve their lives, even if you knew nothing about them. But by the 1989s, they had already improved and were only taking people with specific training to do the work needed in a particular area. It doesn't always work out, but at least they tried.
Given all of the recent hype around the new Dune movie (and related claims of white savioring in the book/film), I'm surprised you didn't mention it. (Frankly, it deserves its own video, but I think the Quinn's Ideas channel has already done a fairly good job of it.)
I don't see how you can be surprised. Not everyone is paying attention to the same things.
My summation as a Dune fan is: "Yeah, kinda. It takes a lot of inspiration from the common narrative around T.E. Lawrence. But the sequels also deconstruct the savior aspects hard."
@@ScorpionViper1001 I agree. :-)
The idea that Frank Herbert is rather misguided once one reads the second and third books.
Thank you so much for putting into words what I as a Nigerian find really difficult to explain to those around me
You are brilliant, man. A glowing gem on this platform
Watching this twice, I appreciate your insights. I especially liked the part about teachers. I taught for 30 years. 1 year in Mexico (among privileged families) the remainder in a rural school with predominantly Hispanic farm laborer families. In that context, I’ve been the white savior and I’ve been the ally too. I think that a distinction between the two is humor. A white savior doesn’t quite get it. You know? Humor passes us by. And, Laughter can be cruel, mocking, dismissive. White saviors are hurt when laughed at, we feel taunted, challenged…we take umbrage. White saviors are tested, I was. Sometimes I learned..sometimes I talked to the manager…but I was the manager…so …damn. Then I listened. What!
White allies cherish laughter. We need the relief that only shared laughter offers. It gathers us, it’s a balm of acceptance. It’s shared recognition of the absurd. It’s courageous. I recall our school janitor saying to me, “If we can’t laugh at ourselves we’re dead.” After 30 years I burned out. Was I helping my students or just another brick in the wall? I wasn’t sure anymore. I’m genuinely happy that a young Hispanic woman was selected for the contract I decided not to renew. She struggles now, I hope she laughs too. The kids are worth it.
If not wanting to be bullied and thinking bullying is wrong makes me a white saviour then IG I'm a white saviour 🤷🏻♂️
@@pseudonymous9153 Hi Pseudonymous. I agree that bullying is wrong and I don’t like to be bullied. As a teacher, I dealt with that a lot and it’s very challenging. Children need adult leadership which is difficult when a white adult requiring authority to do their job and serve children, is perceived as a threat to autonomy or an easy target to harass and unload resentment upon. Among all children there are also and always …allies, friends, and leaders who also want what is right and will work for it with the adults in their lives. Young people are amazing.
Thank you for all of this content, I feel smarter everytime I watch one of your videos.
hello, thank you for this. it’s a well-needed reminder that I appreciate and value. I hope you take care of yourself today.
One of my favorite books, The Diamond Age was just revealed to me as a white savior trope. I hate having to poke the author for that error, but they do need to learn and be aware of their harmful cliches.
I think that white savior reading of Diamond Age is kind of selective and weak anyway. The book is playing off Dickensian tropes (with names like Hackworth) and it ignores the kind of core ideas of a society in transition from ethnic identity to ideological/cultural centred identity. For example, the Finkle-McGraws' full name is the Chung Sik Finkle-McGraws, suggesting they are of mixed race. This is not to say the novel isn't steeped in problematic orientalism and some ideas of cultural chauvinism. The novel feels more invested in Liberal Individualism and the competition of ideas than it does to an idea of white people saving others, especially when whether people are white or not is often (deliberately) ambiguous. And it's important to keep in mind cyberpunk as a genre is largely obsessed with corporatism and globalism. We might contrast the random white people of Diamond Age's Shanghai with the orientalized San Francisco of Blade Runner. Ironically, Stevenson does sort of take on the white savior trope in his most recent novel where a Texas billionaire builds a machine that stops global warming with unintended climate effects on certain parts of the world.
the high school i went to did (and probably still does) a yearly "missions trip" to Belize. it's a christian school with a church attached (i think the church came first). there was also a trip to Portland OR that the youth group did (it was to get to know/serve homeless people in the area). 16 year old me didn't know about all the nuances of that kind of trip and wanted to go on both, but could only afford the Portland one.
i had a friend who was privileged enough to go on both trips. after going on both trips she said that she honestly felt like the Portland trip was definitely a lot more effective at making any sort of difference in the community. in Belize, it was planned so that they spent most of the days building a fence, i think? and then like one day they went to an event and talked to locals and stuff like that. and obviously the rest was like a touristy vacation where they went and saw Mayan ruins, etc. vs in Portland, we just went around talking to people, offered them coffee and donuts, invited them to a dinner thingy, had genuine conversations, and then there was a thing the people could come to and get food/clothes/etc.
idk, it's just interesting looking into what actually happens on these trips and how much of an effect they have on the locals, good or bad. like if you "helping" by going and building a school actually just takes away paying jobs from people that live there, are you really helping?? or do you just wanna get instagram points?
Lucid takes as always. I loved your reading of the poem
I'm a (just beginning) international political scholar and foreign aid is just such a difficult topic. It almost always ends up legitimizing bad governments as they take a cut of aid. Organizations have to agree to the cut or the aid never gets to people that actually need it but they end up partially funding some regressive authoritarian state. So you either don't help the people at the bottom, support a bad regime, or try some whack shit like the US does and try to replace the regime. None are great options
I'm Kenyan and my country is a white saviour sweet spot. That's coz they can access the "normal luxuries" in the big cities while being in "Africa" and "helping these people". We simultaneously have "the biggest slum in Africa" and the "biggest mall in Africa" while being the centre for all HQs from the UN, World Bank, WHO and of course the aptly named 'Save The Children'. The good intending white people have disenfranchised many communities and allowed the government to ignore major social responsibilities because some NGO is going to get lots of funding to do it. We even tried to force the govt to close some down because they were getting too much. Of course that didn't work - the orgs need the funding to line their pockets. I cannot tell you how many times I've been in situations where ignorance is being so glorified and I'm realising that as an African child growing up in a low income household, I was nothing but a statistic to them. They are not helping, they are crippling the communities for years to come and leaving no tangible skillset behind. Meanwhile I've seen sick people lying in NYC streets and people acting like they don't exist. Just disgusting.
Very interesting veiw. I think I agree with most if not all of what your saying. And in the cases that i may not agree i think it gets into minutia and fringe cases.
I do think that i have a savior complex. Not in the way discussed here, but I have to constantly stop my self and ask if my involvement with situations will do good or harm, as I am driven to act. 20 years millitary and other works might have driven the idea of a duty to help, but that's a topic for another discussion.
I also dont see my self as white being Romani decent. Although outward appearance would have me classed as such.
For my part I try to find areas that I can act and provide aid. Whether that local organizations dealing with vet issues, providing temp employment when I can to some of the homeless or otherwise destitute. And generally attempting to do what's in my power to at least make some ones life more barable.
Now that I am 40-ish, I am exploring the greater expanse of these social-political issues. So I appreciate the effort you've taken in constructing this piece.
Thank you
Still watching, but so far I like. Good work!
Linton literally did a Heart of Darkness
Linton: "I was worried what they would do to me, a white woman."
Me: "I don't imagine the kinds of soldiers that do this are particular about a woman's skin color so much as the first one they can catch. Also, yikes."
Linton: "I had become a central character."
Me: "Nope, you really are not the person suffering most right now if you can fly on home."
Loving this. The white saviour complex is quite rampant in my country (Kenya) notably in kibera slum. Foreign NGOs have been exaggerating the number of people who live there for years while disregarding the fact that they are hardworking people integral to the country's economy.
First off, WOW, Kippling, going through some things. Yikes.
Secondly, I cant get enough of these knowledge drops from channels like yours and others offering similar, significant content.
Keep it coming, clear and oddly palatable, infinitely ingestible, and wholly nutritious.
Yes, everyone please subscribe to T1J! This channel deserves more attention.
I loved your video and I get a lot of the criticism leveled at the Peace Corps, but it's more nuanced than that. When I volunteered we all talked a lot about being White Saviors and how we can avoid it. There was a big emphasis on listening to the local community about the kind of help they wanted. The buzzword that got thrown around a lot was 'sustainability.' Basically, our focus was on helping communities build themselves up and continue on when we were gone. That meant we weren't in the business of doing what a lot of other aid groups do. We weren't there to build something. We were there to train people and connect them to resources they wouldn't normally have access to.
Some people still saw themselves as the main characters of their story though, and there was this fetishization with how shitty your living conditions were. Plenty of volunteers giving zero shits about cultural taboos or expectations. And the lack of training was genuinely frustrating. Still, the reaction of the people I lived and worked with in my community was overwhelmingly positive. And in the end its their opinion that matters when you ask if we really helped. I know that's not always the case
My issue with the Peace Corps is that it was initially set up in 1961 with a strong White Savior mindset and so it's fundamentally not great at stopping people who are doing it for the wrong reasons. The fact that you have to have your plan for the people you are "helping" in place BEFORE you actually meet them/talk to them was a huge red flag for me when I looked into joining. I ended up doing another program for a year which was much more about living alongside the community, asking what they would like you to do and having the exact same financial paycheck as your community so you really can't live a different lifestyle even if you wanted to (with the exception of medical care).
That being said, I know plenty of people who did end up doing Peace Corps and worked with the communities/didn't have a white Savior complex in the least. They were proactive and got around the fundamental systemic patronization of Peace Corps' setup. The issue is the Peace Corps can easily let volunteers do more harm than good and, personally, I think actively encourages that mindset unless you are careful. Imo Peace Corps shouldn't be discarded all together, but instead reformed so the communities which get volunteers have a much more active role/say as to what projects actually need to be done in their communities.
You really knocked it out of the park with this one. I think a lot of people aren't critical enough of this white western chauvinism, although I have also heard from some who study him that Kipling can be interpreted as attempting to pillory the idea by crafting deliberately ridiculous language. But even that just reinforces what a problem this is.
Great video! Nuanced and thoughtful as always 👍
Finding your channel has been the best part of my month
Like, this topic has been on my mind a lot lately. I wrote out this big ra,bling comment, sharing my life experiences and my recent run ins the people with white saviour complexes. But you know they it was long and meandering. So I just wanna say, thanks for the awesome content, this was a really great video.
As a british person, i lament the fact we weren't taught anything like this in history class. We are taught nothing about the empires true reality, so we grow up with weirdly ingrained nationalistic fervour that comes out when we see the queen or win a football game. Really great vieeo mate, going to binge a load of your content!
Okay, Filipino here and I had to replay that bit you mentioned the poem. And, "civilize the Filipino people"? Ex-fucking-cuse me? Like Spain hasn't already done that for three centuries? Like, my expectations were already low but WHAT THE HELL. Damn Kipling, what did Filipinos ever do to you? lol
Your commentaries are always so on point! Keep up the good work!
Another banger! I frequently get called a white saviour or the like by white people whenever I call out casually racist language, and frankly calling out casually racist language is virtually the entirety of my activism.
Thank you! 💛💛💛🤙🏾🧘🏾♀️
Thank you for this! You are helping me check myself and my motives. Much appreciated!
Why are you a Digimon character now? :)
Man, I remember when I was in highchool and there was just nothing I wanted more than to go to Africa and help those poor shoeless kids.
Now I hear about people who DID go on missions like that, and, y'know. They wouldn't employ the people of the community to help build the schools or dig the wells or have any say in what the community ACTUALLY needed help with to prosper. They'd just swoop in, do whatever they had predetermined (while still in Canada) needed to be done, take some selfies and go home.