Hue and cry on ‘whiteness studies’ classes

THE WASHINGTON POST ^ | 6/20/03 | By Darryl Fears

[LuceLu]

AMHERST, Mass. — Naomi Cairns was among the leaders in the privilege walk, and she wasn’t happy about it. The exercise, which recently involved Cairns and her classmates in a course at the University of Massachusetts, had two simple rules: When the moderator read a statement that applied to you, you stepped forward; if it didn’t, you stepped back. After the moderator asked if you were certain you could get a bank loan whenever you wanted, Cairns thought, “Oh my God, here we go again,” and took yet another step forward.

[LuceLu]

Exactly how much is college tuition these days? Is it possible that one can obtain an excellent college education, and if so, where?

I seriously fear for my son's future. He's already got 2 strikes against him in academia: he's white and he's male. Used to be you could at least rely upon the Catholic Universities but now.... (maybe you can make it 3 as he is Catholic).

[ClearCase_guy]

whiteness studies, a controversial and relatively new academic field that seeks to change how white people think about race.

Not precisely accurate. It seeks to make white people feel bad about their skin color. Because, as humans have known for hundreds of years, some skin colors are good -- and some skin colors are bad. My! We've made such progress in the past 200 years!

[Diogenesis]

U of Massachusetts only exists to support a family
of serial murderers, the Bulgers from South Boston and the
Winter Hill Gang.

[decimon]

Is it possible that one can obtain an excellent college education, and if so, where?

Distance education and "testing out." Especially for an undergraduate degree. It's the homeschooling of higher education.

[raybbr]

I have a nine month old son and have the same fears. My wife and I live in CT and when I see articles like this I know I going to have to be strong when teaching him self-pride: Let him know that he is a good person and that he will have to learn to ignore the other white self-haters: Teach him to believe in himself against the rising tide of negativism against us.

I really am afraid that we are losing the battle for our culture and I am beginning to think that a revolution must happen. Look at South Africa. The whites tried to "get along" and now they have been driven out of their homes and land. We do have an edge in the 2nd amendment but we must fight its erosion.

[JimVT]

<....who say the concept of race was created by a rich white European and American elite, and has been used to deny property, power and status to nonwhite groups for two centuries

Right.

No Early Egyptians or Black Africans ever stole, raped, pillaged and sold their neigbbors, did they?

[spectacularbid2003]

Sounds like a hate crime to me.

[Gefreiter]

Folks, we have to bear in mind that this is UMass-Amherst. It's a big (not big like U-T, but big for around here) state school that has its share of faculty kooks. It's those kooks who the media A L W A Y S seek out.

It is entirely possible to spend your academic career there while avoiding these kooks and thriving. Seek out exceptional faculty and learn from them. They are there. Concentrate on your major. Do well. Land a good job after. Get promoted; make a ton of $$.

And then, when UMass begs you for the $$ they know you have, tell them they don't get a dime until the kooks have left.

[jmq]

Lowest Common Denominator? Everyone strive towards excellence? BS. Everyone should want to be the head of the class. I mean get a Bank loan? The left is out of control. Regardless of race everyone should want to be at the head of the class.

[spodefly]

“It’s a great advance to start looking at whiteness as a group.”

If all whites in this country believed and behaved as the other races do (a race-centered victim mentality that views any and all actions and results through the prism of race) we would be in the middle of a giant civil war right now.

[sticker]

You really have to wonder what people that take classes like this have for a major.

[RonF]

Let me get this straight. A professor said, "Anyone who thinks that they can get a bank loan anytime they want should step forward", and a white college student stepped forward? Perhaps said student should actually try getting a loan before she does this. Hell, I'm white, 50, and have a professional job and I wouldn't be that damn sure!

[RonF]

From such sentiments, whiteness studies advocates say, race was invented, and the idea of white superiority was crucial to justifying slavery and, later, the dispossession of Native Americans, Hispanics and Asians.

Have these people actually studied history? Group A has been killing Group B on the basis of how Group B is "not-A" since they could pick up a rock. Religion, color, dietary habits, ancestors, take your pick. To state that discrimination on the basis of race was invented by Thomas Jefferson is just insane.

[robertpaulsen]

"The field is based on a left-leaning interpretation of history by scholars who say the concept of race was created by a rich white European and American elite, and has been used to deny property, power and status to nonwhite groups for two centuries."

I sure do hope this is in the course description.

Give me a shot a writing those questions. The whites will not only be at the back of the room, they won't even get out of their seats.

Does society "owe" you for the way they treated your ancestors?
Is studying, graduating, and getting a job, "acting white"?
Are a disproportionate share of your friends in prison, in jail, on probation, or on parole?
Do a disproportionate share of your friends commit crimes?
Are a disproportionate share of your friends pregnant?
Are a disproportionate share of your neighbors on welfare?
Would you prefer to associate with others of your race, rather than integrate into the community?
Are you extremely sensitive to any slight reference to your race? Can I say, "niggardly"?
Do you have an attitude?

Go to the head of the friggin' class. I've had it with these lefties. I want diversity on campus -- STARTING WITH THE PROFESSORS!

[spodefly]

And by the way, tell these students, first and foremost, that whites make of less than 10% of the population of the planet, and anyone that says whites are the 'majority' race is being provincial, narrow-minded, and overlooking the brave new globalized, interconnected world.

[bribriagain]

I try to teach my daughter to be proud of her heritage and where she came from.

That's why we named her "Uterus"

[AnAmericanMother]

This is the biggest bunch of unsourced B.S. I have read in a long time. It is riddled with egregious errors.

Just for starters, who says Jefferson wasn't distinguished by class? He was a son of a burgess and county lieutenant, and his mother was a Randolph, probably the wealthiest family in Virginia.

And Crispus Attucks was a Natick Indian.

I could go on and on, but it's not worth it. These fools are making it up as they go along.

[amadeus]

Take the time to read "Ominous Parallels". The book will open your eyes WIDE to this sort of indoctrination of our youth. It's a bit tedious at the beginning and heavy on philosophical theory. If you stick with it, towards the middle of the book, you begin to see how the minds of the German People, starting in the classrooms and the courtroom, were warped towards turning a blind eye to The Holocaust. It took years to develop that sort of hate in Germans. What sort of major changes in our thinking have we seen take place in the last 40 years? Hmmmm?

[webstersII]

"Perhaps said student should actually try getting a loan before she does this. Hell, I'm white, 50, and have a professional job and I wouldn't be that damn sure!"

The only thing that matters in this classroom is perception. It has nothing to do with facts or the real world.