Fungi Forums
Miscellaneous => General Chat => Not at the Dinner Table => Topic started by: Markio on October 02, 2012, 11:40:41 AM
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http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/09/at_towson_univ_a_white_student_makes_his_case_for_a_white_student_union.html (http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/09/at_towson_univ_a_white_student_makes_his_case_for_a_white_student_union.html)
Do you think a White Student Union can exist without being racist?
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No, as it already excludes certain people based on race.
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Open-and-shut.
I don't even mean that sarcastically.
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It's just a excuse to be proud of something that's completely arbitrary in the first place. So what if a guy with white skin invented the automobile? His skin had ****ing zilch to do with it so you're a ****ing retard for celebrating.
I could just as easily start an anti-white club because Adolf Hitler (who was white) committed mass genocide and I guarantee you Matthew Heimbach would throw a tantrum. I won't though because I-like anyone with more than two brain cells-know that Hitler's skin color had nothing to do with the atrocities he committed but rather the belief that skin color is actually important.
Unfortunately for some, my criticism can be extended to black student unions too. So I propose we just start celebrating humans-that's something we all are, fellas-who made great advances in their respective fields regardless of their [darn] skin color.
*sigh*
Rant over. To answer your question, the group is racist, insofar as it asserts that "race" is meaningful, which, according to most contemporary scientists, is a pseudoscientific proposition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
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Racial Color-blindness: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/colorblind/201112/colorblind-ideology-is-form-racism (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/colorblind/201112/colorblind-ideology-is-form-racism)
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That article seems to be saying that the thought behind "colorblindness" is "treat everyone like they're white." Yeah, of course, that statement would be racist, if that's what PaperLuigi (among others) were saying. It's not, though. The idea isn't "treat everyone like they're white," it's "treat everyone like people." To strive for that is not to deny the fact that racism exists, nor is it to use anything but "don't discriminate" as a standard.
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My point in posting the article about color-blindness was to point out that race is meaningful in that it affects the way people are perceived and (mis)treated in society. Biologically, race is arbitrary; socially, it is not.
Many Americans view colorblindness as helpful to people of color by asserting that race does not matter (Tarca, 2005). But in America, most underrepresented minorities will explain that race does matter, as it affects opportunities, perceptions, income, and so much more. When race-related problems arise, colorblindness tends to individualize conflicts and shortcomings, rather than examining the larger picture with cultural differences, stereotypes, and values placed into context.
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I'm not denying that racism isn't a social issue. It is. Whites enjoy many social privileges that blacks typically aren't afforded. For instance, blacks find it harder to get jobs because many employers label them as criminals (this also makes it harder for them to become the employers). They're not likely to receive an inheritance because their ancestors arrived in the United States with nothing (being slaves and all). The mere fact that they start out with a less than equal playing hand forces many of them to join gangs. That sort of thing. It's a complex issue that I won't write off as just an instance of needing to forget one's past or culture altogether. All I'm saying is that creating a group to celebrate white (or black) "heroes" is frivolous because their skin color had no bearing on their talents. I'm also saying that Heimbach's group might be racist because he's implying that merely being white is a reason to celebrate and is thus not an arbitrary distinction.
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I just follow the golden rule, treat everybody as you want to be treated. I've met some interesting people on the street by being kind, people from Egypt, Nepal, etc. All colours, all nationalities.