A White Person Asks Other White People About Race. Their Answers Are Astounding.
Has anyone ever asked you this question?
Why would a filmmaker ask white people in Buffalo, New York, how they feel about being white?
Filmmaker Whitney Dow created The Whiteness Project because, he says, white people don't have a lot of experience talking about whiteness. And that's a first step for white people to begin to understand their privilege and place in the world.
People who were really open and honest with him. Some of what they say isn't easy to hear. But I think he's on to something really, really useful.
A lot of us don't have much to say about being white:
I don't think I've ever come across anything that has made me aware of my race. I really don't...I'm an American before I'm anybody else or any group or type of person.
A major reason may be that most white people don't interact with people of color at all:
"Where I work, there is one black man, of prominence, in the department of I'd say 50 or so. I think about that a lot. ... I'd say every job I've worked at has been primarily white. ... It troubles me."Some people do think about their race a lot and how their experience is different because they are white:
I live with an African American, we do the same things, we live the same life, but I guess inherently there's never going to be a time where a person with lighter skin understands what a person with darker skin might go through on a daily basis...
Other people Whitney Dow spoke with were struggling with feeling disenfranchised:
"They took the same test I did and didn't score as well but ...I got bypassed because of minority requirements."
Others expressed prejudice and fear:
"I'm just being friendly. ... They take that as an opening to approach, and ... it's just not comfortable. So, do I call it prejudice that I don't like that? I guess it is, in a way. I don't like that — I'm afraid."
This last interview is one of the shocking ones (though given recent events maybe it shouldn't be). If you take in all the interviews and all the accompanying stats gathered by Dow, you begin to understand something about what's going on with white people.
And I think that's Whitney Dow's genius here. It's good for people to say that they feel cheated, or scared, or uncertain. It may not be pretty, but it's like putting a pin on the map. It helps you figure out where you are, and, even better, where other people are at. It's just about the most important conversation us white people need to have.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."