Nevada City, CA — Third generation local Norwegian resident Ernest Dahlman is not quite sure what kind of “white racist” he’s supposed to be. Mr. Dahlman, 42, once recently called a “white racist” on a local Facebook comment thread and immediately became confused about just what kind of white person he was.
“It’s confusing to me,” said Mr. Dahlman, “My ancestors are from Norway, but my parents and grandparents are from St. Paul, Minnesota. So, I guess that makes me a Northern European white racist and not the more pedestrian Germanic or Slavic white racist. But I’m not entirely sure, because my mother was Irish. So I suppose that makes me a Celtic, Norwegian white racist man. I’ll get this sorted out, don’t worry.”
The argument broke out in a popular offshoot of a “Venting” Facebook page where people feel free to become unhinged in front of thousands of people daily. Mr. Dahlman had entered the comment stream to add his “two cents” about the local homeless problem, having been a homeless advocate back in St Paul.
“I just jumped into the conversation with my experience about housing the homeless,” continued Mr. Dahlman, “and some angry person said that I didn’t know what it was like to be oppressed because I was a white person, so that got me thinking about exactly what kind of white person I was. It turns out. It’s kinda complicated.”
A fellow resident made the comments of Nevada City, who accused Mr. Dahlman, without provocation, of not knowing the difference between different types of Asians and “the Blacks.”
As for Mr. Dahlman, he’s not giving on up his intensive search for his exact type of white racist.
“I take these things very seriously,” added Mr. Dahlman, “but I think I have which kind of racist nailed-down. It’s going to take a little more research, though. Can I get back to you on that?”
