What would happen if I opened an all-white college?

An Actual Black Guy (gasp) wrote:

The statistical fact of the matter is the group that has most benefited from Affirmative Action (both percentage wise and in terms of total number) since its implementation has been upper-middle class white women especially in the working world and in the sciences and engineering. In terms of college admissions, African-American men are the group least "helped" by variable admissions standards.

Great post

and I forgot all about this statistic. You are 100% correct when you say this.

The data does prove that white women benifit the most from Affirimative Action.

The problem with a lot of the people on this thread is they don't want to look at the research or the data because it makes them feel bad. They would rather blame the victim for their problems rather than looking at the cold hard facts that rascism is still a live and well in America.

I agree. This is a very good post. Thank you.

Read this article. Don't balk at it--read it all the way through.

http://seamonkey.ed.asu.edu/~mcisaac/emc598ge/Unpacking.html

The article discusses issues of white privilege. Here is a tricky thing about privilege--many of us have it and many of us have very different levels of privilege. Lots of folks don't like being told by others that they are privileged if they feel that they are not (see earlier posts in this thread), and that is entirely understandable.

But let us consider a few things. We're all using the internet here. This means that we have access to a public library or that we have had to pay for this access. And we, or someone we know, has had the means to pay for this access. This is small, it doesn't mean much, but it is a privilege we have purchased with the privilege of some amount of disposable income. And the privilege to make a few minutes (or hours) of time a day spent not working but posting on letsrun.com. No one here should be ashamed of our ability to do this (although perhaps employers and school teachers might want to take note), but I personally think it's important to recognize that not everyone can afford the time or the ability to read internet forums and post online.

This is one example. It is small, and relatively insignificant. It is class-based, on the surface anyway, and has seemingly nothing to do with gender or race or anything like that. But it's only one example.

Lots of people are privileged and lots of people are privileged in drasticaly different ways. That doesn't mean you should be ashamed every time you pull your safe car with auto insurance out of the driveway because you were able to purchase safety for your family. That doesn't mean that your children should be ashamed that you worked hard to keep them clothed and fed and safe and educated. But think, even if ever so briefly, about that which you take for granted (and don't even recognize) that others in this country do not have and, for some, can never have.

To the original poster who said that the only reason there is still racism in this country is because BET still exists, I challenge you to re-examine that claim honestly and truthfully. Before you do that, you might want to try to figure out what you think racism actually is.

Lots of people think being prejudiced or racist means actively hating people who don't look like you. I am pretty confident that most Americans (and most people on this message board, trolls included) don't summarily hate other folks just because of how they look. We're past those days. But we're not past racism. Racism can be deeper than that. It can be scarier than that. And unchecked and unexamined it can be dangerously pervasive.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

Did anyone else find this racist? Not all white people are privileged. Some of us actually do have to work hard to get anywhere.

You're pathetic txRUNNERgirl. In no way was what I wrote "racist", but you jumped at the chance to find it so, because you are obviously agreeing with the knee-JERK "reverse racist" idiots on this thread. My, aren't you a good little texas conservative, aren't you?

If you actually read my post, what I was clearly stating was: that sometimes there are OTHER advantages to getting into schools other than the "diversity" ones sometimes given to blacks. THe poster I was replying to was bitching about how when a white student and black student have equal credentials, the black will almost always get in because of this diverstiy advantage. And I replied that this is not necessarily true, because there are many, many other considerations for a student getting into a college besides race and merit. LIKE.......

if you are a legacy, OR......if you are rich and can donate $ to a college, OR.....you have connections through your family, OR......your rich prep school has lots of connections to a particular college.

Believe it or not, all those considerations are used to get kids into schools. You don't think accpetance boards at colleges are political and give breaks to people with such advantages?? Of course they do. Or, do your think it is 100% "fair and objective based on merit", except for when race is thrown into the mix?? Don't be naive. And who tends to have more of these OTHER advantages that I talk of, black or white kids? Of course WHITES do. Because of the anti-black attitude of this country for so long, who is more like to have a family that attended an Ivy League school in the past, a white or black kid? Duh. Who is more like to have "connections" or "$ interests" at a school they want to go to? Duh. Many whites(not all) have many hidden "unfair" advantages too you know. That was my only point, and it was a valid one, but you found it racist. Great.

And later you said something like 'most whites have to earn what they get' or something like that. Fine, you don't think most blacks do? They are all handed what they get, is that what you are implying? Or are you implying that TxRunnerGuy (aka, George Dubya Bush) "earned" his way into Yale by being born to the right family? Suuure.

I am glad you revealed your true colors on this thread txRunnerGirl. Now you can get dates with lots of racist types. Good for you, enjoy those dates.

I am neither a racist nor a Republican (I'm mostly neutral, but lean slightly left) so I'm sorry if you got that impression. You misinterpreted what I said. I said *some* of us have to work hard and any advantages are *for the most part* earned. I never said Bush earned his way into Yale. However, he didn't get in because he is white. Someone in his family must have done something to earn money, a good reputation, etc. before him and he just happened to be born into a privileged life. Didn't Barack Obama's father attend Harvard and have certain political connections also? And then he just happens to go to Harvard Law School himself. What does any of this have to do with race?

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

I am neither a racist nor a Republican (I'm mostly neutral, but lean slightly left) so I'm sorry if you got that impression. You misinterpreted what I said. I said *some* of us have to work hard and any advantages are *for the most part* earned. I never said Bush earned his way into Yale. However, he didn't get in because he is white. Someone in his family must have done something to earn money, a good reputation, etc. before him and he just happened to be born into a privileged life. Didn't Barack Obama's father attend Harvard and have certain political connections also? And then he just happens to go to Harvard Law School himself. What does any of this have to do with race?

You’re not getting it still.

How did those individuals get their money so they could get into those big fancy schools?

How did Bush's dad get rich, how did Bush's grand dad get rich, and so on and so on all the way back for 100 years?

You do understand that wealth builds on wealth? If your parents are wealthy then you are more likely to be wealthy. Don't get me wrong some people can come from nothing and become rich but that is the exception not the rule.

Now ask yourself why are African Americans over represented when it comes to poverty?

Do African Americans have opportunities to get out of poverty? Yes they do. However just like wealth breeds more wealth poverty breeds more poverty.

Why are African Americans over represented in poverty statistics?

There really are only two answers that you can come up with.

1. They are lazy and social Darwinism is true.

2. Society has not allowed them to advance for over 400 years.

Hopefully you don’t think it’s number 1.

You can't discriminate against a group of people for 400 years and then all the sudden expect them to rise from poverty to success in the matter of a couple of decades.

To Mr. Swofford,

You seem very likely to make HUGE generalizations about race groups. You throw the "they" word around a lot, and you have confronted many posters about how they feel victimized in the Black vs. White "conflict". You keep claiming that the posters are saying that they were singled out and "disadvantaged" by affirmative action, but that is not the point being made. You singled me out and tried to patronize me by saying "oh, just because you didn't get what you wanted", but I have yet to apply (if you would have read my post). You are blinded by the fact that you think you are superior because you know all about the advantages and disadvantages of being a certain race. I know there exists a significant "white" advantage. I also know that in the list that was presented to me of possible graduate school funding opportunities, over half were for exclusively for minorities or diverse students, and almost all listed that preference was given to being diverse. I was not saying it was a black vs. white problem; I was saying that having the social classification of a non-diverse middle class run of the mill white does not open up opportunities for you. You can quote the "white advantage" all day, but I bust my ass in school to try to best prepare me for bigger and better things. It would seem that hard work should be what gets you to the next level. I think it is really shitty how some people can get by on the "good-ol' boy network", but it is the way it is.

Yes, I understand about the difficulty of growing up black in our society. My roommate/best friend happens to be black, raised in the inner-city, and him and his brother are the first to go to college in their family. We both have learned a lot about each other's cultures and how there is a difference between being white and being black. I have been with him as he is followed by security guards in the grocery store, and I know how his high school was MUCH different than mine.

But I see you, Mr. Swofford11, trying to victimize the black population, and you seem to be dead bent on portraying whites as greedy and self centered cry babies because all whites have the same background/homelife/income/college connections/education/beliefs/______. I understand that the answer lies in some murky freaking water, but I am just going to keep doing what I can do in the current situation. Does anyone have the clear-cut answer? No. Yes, there is racism, and yes, it does need to be addressed; has anyone found the answer? There is a bias on both sides, it is UNDENIABLE. You can claim that the bias against one side weighs more heavily against the other side; or that the damage done by one bias is less damage done by the other bias; or that this certain bias is all right because we are just going to do it for a little bit until the damage done by a past bias is erased. It is a really shitty situation that all these different social values need to be weighed against one another so that the answer can be found. Will there ever be an unbiased system? Not in any of our life times. Looking back on history there were a lot of terrible and despicable things done. Some racist acts that were executed are terrible, and I am glad that society is moving forward and correcting mistakes. I know it will take work from all sides of the matter, and that it will take sacrifice on all sides of the matter to be corrected. However, the point trying to be made is: should the "son pay for the sins of the father"?

Fight the Power wrote:

My roommate/best friend happens to be black

Was it an accident?

Coelacanth wrote:

Fight the Power wrote:

My roommate/best friend happens to be black

Was it an accident?

I don't understand your post. If you are trying to make some grammatical statement about how I used the phrase "happens to be"; you really need to reconsider your life.

The point I was trying to make that he is my best friend and is also black. He is not my friend because he is black, nor would a person be my friend solely because there are white, Asian, Hispanic, etc. A person's race should be used an adjective and not as what defines them. We were randomly assigned as roommates our freshman year of college, and have been living together since.

It's from a George Carlin album:

I’d like to mention something about language, there are a couple of terms being used a lot these days by guilty white liberals. The first is “Happens to be” ‘He happens to be black’ “I have a friend, who happens to be black” like it’s a f***in' accident ya know. Happens to be black? Yes, he happens to be black. He has two black parents? Oh yes, yes he did. And they f***ed? Oh indeed they did. So where does the surprise part come in? I’d think it’d be more unusual if he just happened to be Scandinavian."

That is a terrible and distasteful joke.

It exemplifies how race is viewed as the defining factor of a people; which then in turn leads to generalizations and stereotypes.

*But it is all right, I suppose, since a comedian/celebrity like George Carlin said it. I do not think he is racist in anyway or anything. Maybe someone should find a Dave Chappelle quote too because he is black you know, and he would know more about it.

Note: * denotes sarcasm

there is such thing as an all white college. Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Stanford, the list goes on and on.

Fight the Power wrote:

That is a terrible and distasteful joke.

It exemplifies how race is viewed as the defining factor of a people; which then in turn leads to generalizations and stereotypes.

*But it is all right, I suppose, since a comedian/celebrity like George Carlin said it. I do not think he is racist in anyway or anything. Maybe someone should find a Dave Chappelle quote too because he is black you know, and he would know more about it.

Note: * denotes sarcasm

I disagree (that it's terrible). To disqualify comedy on basis of taste really limits your range of exploration. Carlin addresses this, too, but you'd probably fail to see the comedy in that, too.

this is the gayest thread ever

xghsdg wrote:

there is such thing as an all white college. Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Stanford, the list goes on and on.

All-Asian would probably be closer. Poor Asians outperform rich everyone else on everything academic. Thank their culture, which actually emphasizes education as a means to advancement.

Or to give the answer that LetsRun prefers, they're genetically superior. Yeah, that's the ticket.

come to new york city.

immigrants that are darker than any american and do not speak english are on their feet within one generation. no handouts, no bitching about how things are not fair. they just sacrifice their life so that THEIR CHILDREN WILL BENEFIT.

I don't care how many laws you change or how many protests you make, you can not legislate respect, and you can not force people to like you.

3 examples, the catholic, the mormons and the irish. they didn't ask for respect. They didn't wait for white american to treat them as equals, they just did what they had to do to make it in America.

Hmmm....so you like that attitude of "no bitching about how things are not fair", huh?

THEN WHY DON'T ALL THE F'N WHITE CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE ON THIS THREAD AND ELSEWHERE SHUT THE F*** UP AND STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW THE "LIBERAL MEDIA" IS UNFAIR TO WHITE REPUBLICANS, AND HOW A.A. IS UNFAIR TO WHITE PEOPLE, AND HOW THE EXISTENCE OF ALL-BLACK COLLEGES IS UNFAIR TO WHITE PEOPLE, AND HOW POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IS UNFAIR TO WHITE PEOPLE, AND HOW THERE IS A "WAR ON CHRISTMAS", ETC, ETC, ETC, ETC. ???

It seems like the people MOST complaining about how unfair life is to them and who are playing the victim are white conservative Christians who are now facing .01% if the prejudice and unfairness that blacks have faced for centuries in this country. The bitching on THIS thread about things being unfair and facing prejudice is all from whites.

Hmm....were those groups dragged here in chains and treated as sub-humans for decades and decades and decades? Not quite (they might have faced some prejudice, but nothing like blacks). And maybe, just maybe that makes the situation a wee bit different, don't you think? Yeah, possibly.

just watched american history x. movie is truly inspiring. this should fire up some sprinters hahahaha.

My great-grandmother barely escaped being captured by Nazis in WWII (she was Catholic), only to flee to the U.S. to be an indentured servant where she was physically abused. But I guess that's just another "personal situation."

1st im not complaining about any of that stuff. nothing is unfair. life is life, you either step up or you dont.

as for being dragged here in chains and being treated as subhumans for decades.....

well you can only be treated that way if you allow it.

great quote "i would rather die on my feet than live on my knees." zapata.