Why are all the white kids sitting together?

My living quarters: two white students, two non-white students. The Ethnic Student Center (article says, "Ethic," lol) likes to send out these little pamphlets about upcoming events (or something, none of us read them) to the two non-white students, but has NEVER sent the same pamphlets to the white students.  The two pamphlets always show up at the same time, always for the two non-white students.  We actually started paying attention after someone noticed and joked if the ethnic student center was being racist.

And now you know, the rest of the story.

Shut dooown hahahaha
I had a feeling somebody would post something to this effect

On a side note, I hate when people assume I'm some racist fuck because I don't attent all this diversity shit.  My actions are louder than words.  Everyday actions I mean.  I never use race as a negative aspect to describe a person, and I don't treat people differently (at least in a negative way) based on their race or ethnicity~

I see no lack of interaction, do we go to the same university?

I have to say, I'm actually impressed that 20% of white students surveyed had attended ESC events especially when, as was pointed out, their participation is not actively sought out the way minority students' is. It is not the least bit surprsing that white students who are not given the same opportunity to learn about the ESC do not think that the Black Student Union has anything to offer them.  I would be afraid that titling the event "Why Are All the White Kids Sitting Together?" would only further alienate non-minority students.  If there were zero self segregation, in a student body made up of >3/4 caucasians, it would still not be surprising to find groups of four to five people without a single non-white student.  What is more remarkable, statistically speaking, would be to find a group of four to five people where none of the individuals is white. Of course I am not criticizing minority students for associating with members of their same ethnic, racial, religious or other group.  Of course there are numerous reasons why this occurs.   As mentioned in the article it provides a way for people to keep in touch with their culture and traditions, and it provides a safe haven for people with similar experiences to come together. I just think it was a somewhat unfortunate title for the event since it has a high potential for making white students, ostensibly the target of discussion, uncomfortable and in some ways misrepresents the actual phenomenon, which is that it is the minority students who tend to aggregate into groups in which their "kind" is overrepresented, compared to the statistical make up of the rest of the campus.  

I'm glad that the discussion was a success and that the dialogue is continuing here.

Firstly, why are white people always targeted. Why are all the Asian kids sitting together? Why are all the African American kids sitting together? The hispanics?

Secondly, it would be easier to make friends interracially if Western actually had any students that weren't white. I have been here for two years now and have maybe seen three African American students on campus before. I actually think my roommate may be the only hispanic that goes to Western. And she is only a quarter!

Point being, all this mixing they want to happen, can't happen when the numbers are so unbalanced. Let's try getting some actual diversity before someone complains about interaction.

I totaly agree with you, johns517.

I don't really think it's as much of an issue as they're making it out to be. I mean yeah, we all know Western isn't the most diverse but so what? I have friends of different color and sometimes I'll sit with them and sometimes I'll sit with other people. But I don't sit with them to be "diversified" and "cultured," they're just my friends! Race shouldn't even be the issue. At least it's not with me.

This is the reason I will never be a sociologist.

....because all the black, asian and hispanics sit together. I'd like to see this guy be the one to walk up and sit down at a table of 10 Japanese kids speaking Japanese to each other, and try "interacting" with them out of the blue. It's human nature to gravitate towards positions of comfort, and I think if you went to school in Asia, and there was only 2% White people who you knew spoke your language, you might gravitate towards them aswell. I personally found this quote just plain dumb.

Yes, other groups tend to self segregate as well...in fact, that was mentioned at the "Why Do All The White Kids Sit Together?" event. But no one ever said that that was okay and that that shouldn't change, did they? The issue of segregation isn't brought up to attack one group or another. The issue is brought up with events like "Why Do All..." to point out that segregation does happen, to bring awareness of the issue. It may seem kind of obvious that groups tend to "stick together", but reality is that not everyone does realize that. And some of those that do realize it only see it with minority groups, not with non-minorities. I know that for sure after an interview assignment for a class last quarter where I asked several students about segregation and while they all acknowledged that minorites do self segregate, only 1 acknowledged that she herself (as a white person) and white people in general also segregate themselves.

Anyways...the point of bringing this issue up is so that people do become aware. Afterall, how can anything change, in this case segregation across ALL communities, if no one is aware that it's happening. Why does anything need to change? What's wrong with how things are now? Let's see...I suppose things don't have to change, right? I mean, we live in a society that "sticks together" with like people but at the same time is completely open to other ideas/beliefs/values...a society where EVERYONE has the same opportunities...a society where the color of your skin or your socioeconomic status or your religous beliefs don't matter, shouldn't matter, because we look beyond that, we see people and not all those other silly things...

Yup, let's keep things the way they are. Let's not try to make baby steps toward making society a better place for everyone, because for most of us (and that's where the problem is) things are just fine the way they are.

Absolutely. Language barriers, different upbringings, a need for familiarity: this is why people break off into little cliques.

Should I feel guilty for sitting with other white people now? Should I try to be everyone's friend so I won't be accused of favoring one race over another?

And on and on it goes...

as a colored man on campus, there have been numerous times where i felt that i was looked at differently because i was not white. the atmosphere at wwu and bellingham is much different than what i am used to. its as if people have never seen a colored person before and dont know how to act around me. be yourself!

I'm largely deficient on this front. For me, it's just a combination of being uncomfortable with new people, growing up in an almost totally white school, having the majority of people of different complexions ALSO be refugees and not with me in the advanced classes, and also responding poorly to anything that I have even the mildest discomfort with. We always learned about acceptance, love, and tolerance in school like it was a science, and I can't help but feel that I've left with a sort of, well, test anxiety regarding any stranger of different looks: am I treating you well? Am I avoiding you? Am I staring? Is my mouth open too much? Too little? Can I say hi? Should I? I do this with people outside of certain social realms too (beautiful girl? RUN.)

I feel like I'm the incapable ambassador of Caucasia.

I know the feeling. I come from a similar background, although going out into the "real world" in high school and now coming to Western have improved these aspects of myself drastically; as has having an African-American brother-in-law. The solution to self-segregation? That I'm really not sure of. There definitely isn't an easy solution. I personally feel that I'm not really "invited" to Ethnic Student Center events, as has been stated, and I think this definitely is not helping the situation; changing this perception is a great jumping point, which goes along with actively seeking out white, caucasian students to attend these events in addition to students of ethnic minorities.

I just want to make the point DD that I do understand that people tend to "gravitate" to what they feel as comfortable. Most people who study abroad tend to befriend those who are similar due to the shared experiences and need for interaction. I honestly don't see problem interacting with those 10 Japanese students that you described out of the blue, if that's one style so be it. I personally probably would never do that, though most likely I wouldn't walk up to your group of friends and start chatting randomly as well no matter the race, gender, sexual orientation, dress, or whatever. The point being many of us make friends and/or interact with those with whom we feel comfortable with. Thanks for your input.

One more question to throw out there to everyone...what does diversity mean to you?

Here's a question: why should people of color have to go out of their way to make us white people feel accepted?

Here's my experience:

I'm white, and was born and raised in Hawaii. In Hawaii, the population is very ethnically diverse, with white people as part of the minority. Also, its important to note that white people control a large percentage of the wealth and power in the population (example: our governor is white). I thought I'd go to the Hawaii Club meetings more this year (i'd gone to a few before but never went regularly). I went to the meeting and I introduced myself. At least from what it looked, there weren't any other full caucasion people there, I was the only person that really LOOKED white. As part of my introduction I mentioned that I surfed.
A person asked, "Oh you mean in Washington?"
"No I surf back in Hawaii, its too cold." I laughed.
"Oh you're from Hawaii?" She asked me. I was dumbfounded; wasn't I at the Hawaii club? Why would I be there if I wasn't from Hawaii? Then I remembered that a lot of people at the Hawaii club aren't necessarily from Hawaii. Some were just friends of people at the hawaii club, or were Native Hawaiian and lived elsewhere. This made me mad...was it just because I didn't look like I was from Hawaii that I had to explain that I was actually from there? I left the meeting early, and was very angry the rest of the day, thinking how wrong it was of that person to judge me. I didn't want to go to any other meetings. I didn't want to have judgement made about me. It hurt my feelings. Poor me, right? :-P
(BTW I've realized that this person may not have even had race in mind when they were asking me that question.)

Thinking back now, its like, I may have been put into this position once and it upset me, enough to leave the situation, but I could run back to this white culture all around me and be "safe" from that judgement that I had perceived.
I try to imagine being a person of color and having a culture all around you that is unfamiliar, and only having a small group of people to go to that will understand.

So I ask, why don't us white people try to go to more ESC events? We need to be making the effort, not the ESC, if we want to promote diversity. I feel like people of color already make the effort every day ya know? Yeah we might be uncomfortable, but maybe that might help us to have at least a small amount of understanding....

P.S. I wasn't going to post this at first because I didn't want to antagonize the Hawaii club, cause its not their fault - I just wanted to write my feelings down so I could understand them better.  So I'll say this: Hawaii club people sorry for not going to any more meetings. I love Hawaii and our culture and want to celebrate it with ya'll. Hopefully I can go to more in the future? :-/

I agree with the need for more ESC involvement/practical diversity, but I feel like a part of the non-involvement (aside from the fact that it doesn't seem to involve white people, as the "ethnic" student center; same problem goes for "feminism," despite the existence of many male feminists) does originate in not including non-ethnic groups in the initial advertising. I hate to pull the "consumer culture" mentality, but the way that any group reaches out to people on campus is going to be crucial, no matter how serious the issues are. Some good leadership could do wonders for creating genuine dialogue, and it really needs to get started now, in college, before people get immersed in a job and routine that solidifies it even more.

Sometimes I wonder if people assume that, by default, it operates on the same rules as Take Back the Night, where the events are intended to be group exclusive? Probably not, but eh..

First, if I call myself Swedish instead of white, does that make me special? How about if I call myself a disabled person? At what point do the people I hang out with magically become non-descriminatory simply because of the label put on me?

Second, this, like many other things I've experienced recently in this university, has absolutely nothing to do with reality, but selective perception. People see what they want to see, and people who only want to view things in terms of race/gender/disability discrimination will see *EVERYTHING* as a derivation of descrimination. I'm taking an english course right now with a woman who's a very nice, intelligent woman... but she teaches mainly women's studies courses and so EVERY discussion gets lead to the plight of women. Nevermind that a short story we read recently specifically valued the main female character for her intellect, obviously the story is about how all men think intelligent women are evil. The discussion has absolutely nothing to do with the reality, but it's just a result of their view of reality.

So, the ethnic center fails to see the vast majority of student interaction, which is very non-sexist, non-racist, etc etc... but a group of white students sitting together? *OBVIOUSLY* that means everyone's racist.

I bolded your generalizations for you. I'd say next post, maybe you should work on not using such absolute terms? There are almost always exceptions :-P.
Now, back to your post:

Please tell me how people of color feeling the safest with people of their own culture has nothing to do with reality? Maybe it has it has nothing to do with your reality because you don't experience it or have to think about it?

lol please.....do you want me to make a list of all the "stories" with the connotation that all women think or are a certain way? (needy, clingy, weak, emotional, ditzy, slutty, prudish, need a good man, can't take care of themselves, etc?)
Anyway, I think you're possibly threatened by it because its challenging your ideas behind what it means to be a man and a woman, and that makes you uncomfortable, possibly because you're a man and it challenges your position in society.

So first off, it sounds like you're saying that a little racism is ok? That as long as racism doesn't occur 98% of the time, that its ok to let the other 2% slide? I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that isn't what you meant.
Second, I think the idea behind this is that white people need to do more to stop racism. Us white people often seem to think that to end racism, all we have to do is not be racist ourselves. Unfortunately, that is not enough, because there are other people out there who don't understand what is and is not racism. We need to take action against the racism of others and against racist institutions, as well as actively making connections with people of color. And yes, it is going to take a long time, and as white people, we're going to have to work for it to happen.

A similar example is that of rape. Do you think its enough to just not rape others yourself? If you're making derogatory remarks and being generally demeaning toward women (the gender that is most likely to be raped), aren't you supporting a culture where rape of a woman could eventually occur?

These situations aren't just isolated incidents.......they occur because of the culture that we live in.

Rape is going to become the new Godwin's law.

Ah Casey... half of what I write is sarcastic and the other half is exaggerated for sure. I do feel that generalizations are useful as long as it's understood that a generalization does not hold true, hence it being a generalization. For instance, most teens are bad drivers. While that could be interpreted as a descriminatory statement, it's also statistically true. That doesn't mean there are no teen drivers who are safe and intelligent, again... hence the fact that it's a generalization. I understand the importance of semantics, but when a counter-argument falls purely on a generalization using the word "all" instead of "most", I think that's a little ridiculous.

Also, there are many, MANY stories that have feminist implications. There are also a ton of pieces of art that are sexist in nature, so the artist is unknowingly making a feminist statement through their sexism. However, when we read Ligeia, a story by Poe about a man obsessed with a woman for her intelligence, and after she dies and is replaced by a woman who's basically defined as being "not Ligeia" in terms that she's beautiful but doesn't have the same intellect... well in that situation, I give no credit when women in class start saying the story is about how Poe thinks we should execute all intelligent women because they're a danger to male dominance, or how Ligeia's temporary ressurection is Poe saying that men have an innate desire to give birth. Both of those were major discussion points in the class I mentioned before. And neither made any logical sense or could effectively use the text to reinforce their argument.

As for my comments about racism... I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. The guilty view expressed by the article was a symptom of selective perception. If you want to see racism, you'll ignore the 50 tables in a cafeteria with mixed race/gender/ability, but that ONE table with all white students sticks out like a sore thumb. It has nothing to do with what's really going on socially, and that the table of all white students is just the result of random chance, but because you want to see it as a symbol of racism magically you'll extrapolate this statistical outliar to make it fit what you want to see. When I say the reality doesn't matter, I'm not saying people are deranged and have no view on what reality is... I'm just saying that the fact that they want to see something will make them find it, regardless of whether or not it's really there.

Now, I'm not "okay" with racism... but you must understand that some people just need to hate, and that's how they define themselves. As sad as that is, it's just a truth of the human condition. Who knows why... whether it's a warped perception that one race is superior to another passed down through family values, or maybe they were victimized as a child and now have misplaced their anger, whatever... point is some people will always need to be racist, sexist, whatever.

And the solution to racism is not recognition that black people are different and need to be special and have specific time allotted where everyone studies black people and blah blah blah. The solution is racial indifference. I grew up in the video gaming culture where I generally didn't actually see people when I met them, so I now have this huge advantage of when I meet people I honestly don't care if you're black, white, red, green, whatever. The trouble is that not only do I not look down on people for what they look like, but I also don't give people extra slack just because they're a different race or gender. This gets me in more hot water than you'd think... because trust me, girls still expect guys to do favors for them. It's just a social thing. It's also true that the common social view is that there's this big list of ways you shouldn't act "around a lady". Frankly I just don't give a damn, and I'm going to treat you with the same respect you treat me, regardless of your skin tone or gender. Ending racism is not recognizing that we're different, but realizing that even though we're a little different, we're pretty much the same.

Ok, this is my first post so I'm still eating up and deciphering this topic and all its responses.

First of all, I like to thank the constructive contributers to this topic.  I'm glad this dialogue is happening, and I just wish that everyone continues to keep their minds open when they read a reply just as much as they are openly adding their own two cents to the discussion.

I also want to thank Casey and Meyerss because I really appreciated their feedback and contributions.  There might be more I want to thank... but you two really stood out for me.  Thanks for sharing your feedback and experience about your visit to the HOH meetings.  I do recall you coming to the meeting, and I'm glad you were able to sit back and let things settle.  It is true that there are few native Hawaiians in the club... so I've seen the excitement/awe that comes from the natives when they find a fellow Hawaiian.  

I also wanted to make a comment about the outreach of the ESC and its students.  I've worked at the center in the last two years, and I am an active advocate and supporter today.  When it comes to the quarterly newsletters that are sent out, I wanted to shine some light on why and how those are distributed on campus:
Just like any thing that comes from the university, funding is always an issue.  The newsletters are created in limited amounts due to funding issues.  In order to maximize its effectiveness,  the university gives us lists of students who indicate in their records at enrollment if they are a student of color.  They are automatically sent, and are also available for distrbution at key events and areas.  I recall someone asking about why it's only the colored students that get it... but I also wanted to echo the additional comment about how none of them read it when it arrived anyways.  That's the answer, funding and effectiveness.  Anyone who doesn't get it automatically may easily request to be added to the mailing list.  We can't afford the luxury of blindly sending it to everyone, and we try other avenues via facebook, internet and collaborations with other departments and events to spread the word of our events and programs.

Do not get the ESC wrong... part of the mission is to provide an opportunity for the growth of diversity across campus, but another big part is to provide a space for support and growth for students of color.  To put the idea of finding the answer from a single center with limited funding and resources is crazy.  Thus I echo many others already that it is a shared responsibility to increase WWU's diversity efforts...

What's the policy on mass e-mailing, since you already have access to the addresses of those who identified in a certain way? Also, in what regard are you looking to "maximize effectiveness?" It seems like your deficit is more with getting things mixed up in regards to the white population, right? What volunteers are you allowed to have? Are you working with the school's entertainment venues for outreach to a more captive audience? 

I notice groups of Black people and Asian people together, too.

Considering I've never read the story I can't really comment on it....   : - /
However, I will say it looks like you have your opinion and they have theirs about the meaning behind the story.......so I don't know how you can cite this as fact when all I have to go on is your interpretation of the story.

So what it sounds like you're saying is that the statistic that a large majority of white people at Western don't attend ESC events is "selective perception". That's fine....you can look at it like that if you want to, I choose to look at it as a very unfortunate statistic that I'd like to change because it shows me that we live in a school with a lot of white people that don't understand or don't care about diversity. When a person of color at Western only really feels comfortable around people of their group, it makes me wonder what we as white people are doing, or not doing, to alienate them.

I'm not saying you're "okay" with racism.
I will say this: You can not like racism and not want to be racist........and still be racist. You can not like racism and still commit racist acts. Asking a black person "hey what do black people think about _______?" is a pretty racist thing to do, even if you didn't mean any harm by it.

Have you ever heard of "colorblind racism"? I actually hadn't until I googled "racism color blind" because I've heard the term color blind before referring to racial perception. Unfortunately, I think you may want to google it as well because what you're saying here looks like a good example of it.

Here's a decent link on it: http://aad.english.ucsb.edu/docs/Halstead.html#color

Colorblind racism is the idea that we pretty much shouldn't look at race at all and should act like it doesn't exist. The problem is that ignores all of the systems of privilege that still exist in our society.

Btw in case people didn't know, there is a book called "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?"
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Sitting-Together-Cafeteria-Conversations/dp/...

I believe the thread title is there to make us think about why people in certain ethnic groups hang out, and to challenge white people to think about the part they play to make western more diverse.

 You probably are looked at differently because most of the students at this school are upper middle class suburban white kids that have no life experience outside of SUBURBIA! They come to university and don't open their minds up to new people, ideas and values, they just carry on in their ways on the inside while spouting off stupid shit like "I'm color blind, I don't see races" just to seem egalitarian.  They're full of bs usually.  I'm sorry you've felt that way on so many occasions... that's shitty.

Don't worry about them though... There are plenty of great people on this campus that really do look past differences.

Sigh... seems like I'm just running into passive-aggressive ad-hominem, but okay. Colorblind racism is the extremely patronizing way of saying that we should just strip all race-based terms from our culture. That's completely backwards as people will continue seeing race but just be ignorant to it and shallowly mask their views. I don't believe that we should ignore the fact that my skin tone and ancestry are different than someone of another ethnicity. What I do believe is that we should stop this myth that just because I'm white and someone else is black that it makes us completely different people, maybe even different species.

What your view opens up to in terms of social issues is reverse racism. It seems like you'd lead towards the "if we don't help poor people by their ethnicity, the minority ethnicities will be perpetually downtrodden", when the social programs implemented with mindsets like that help out poor black, asian, latino, etc... people, but completely ignore poor white people because of this bogus view that all white people are privlidged and don't deserve help.

In terms of life, we should recognize that my skin tone's a little different than someone of another race, but that doesn't make me better or worse. For our social institutions, if we're going to help underprivledged people, is it really a good idea to make sure that we help underprivledged people of specific races first?

I hope this doesn't sound too controversial, because it's not meant to be.

As a white student, the "why are all the white kids sitting together?" title is really offensive to me. White people are not immune from racism, and this title implies that this is an issue with white people, that while all the minority groups are willing to interact with other people, it's the white kids who aren't open to "integration" so to speak. I obviously understand that this is just a title, but it just implies that this is a problem with one racial group, when I know this isn't true.

As a white student, I'm supportive of diversity, and think it'd be great if there was more interaction between races. But I think it needs to be said that ALL groups are subject to racism, not just minorities.

No, but it does make you people from different cultures and different experiences with race, which deserves recognition by our society, because some cultures are still subjected to racism regularly.

For one thing, nobody has said that white people don't deserve help. White people still have access to social programs, even if people of color could be getting additional government assistance. Nobody is trying to take anything away from white people, which is what you're making this out to be. 

What it sounds like you're saying is that you don't believe in white privilege in our society. Here's a link to Peggy Mcintosh's article on it, in case you haven't read about it before and I am correct in my assumption:
http://www.case.edu/president/aaction/UnpackingTheKnapsack.pdf

Also, you should read up on educational inequality, and the racism that occurs in our educational systems.

Inequality in our health care systems: http://www.unnaturalcauses.org/

Besides the fact that you're steering this into an affirmative action debate, you're also pretty much going back to colorblind racism.

By the way, just so you know, I consider myself racist...not in the way that I want to go out and hurt people of different races, but that I've been raised in a society that perpetuates beliefs about other races. I say this so maybe you won't feel that you have to spend your time or energy making sure I know you're not a racist.

I completely agree. Why should I feel guilty for being white?
It's not like I had a choice in the matter...
And if I do hang out with white kids more, it's not saying anything against different races, it's more of just how everything played out.
I am not racist, and I refuse to be called such because I don't sit with different people of different races.

Honestly Casey, it sounds like we're getting into a semantic debate without knowing it. If your belief is that our culture perpetuates racist beliefs subconsciously and that we're thusly all racist whether or not we know it, then there's no argument to be had because you're arguing something that can't be proven or disproven.

And being "racist" is not a binary system, there's not category A of all racist people and category B of all non-racist people... it's a continuum. I like to think I'm further to the non-racist side of average, but mostly it's because I'm so apathetic... and  think that racial apathy is the best solution to ending racism. For our social systems, people who need help need help... if the majority of people who need help do so because of some old racially-biased system, then an unbiased system will solve both problems simultaneously.

Again with the "colorblind racism" thing, your argument relies on a logical trap. If I say I'm not racist because of <reasoning> then you just say my view is flawed because I'm racist. So there's no point in continuing that discussion.

And as to who's privileged in our society, I think a wealthy minority is privileged as it's always been and as it is in every human society ever built. However, I think one of the most racist but socially acceptable views is that this means all white people are privileged. I think that the view of "privileged" is also used at times by people to justify not having to work for what you want. Look at my family and you'll see that my father was one of six children of a poor Polish immimgrant woman and my mother's family was never able to own wealth... and yet both of them worked their ass off to get good careers, and I think it's insanely offensive to imply that the only reason I'm in a good position in life is because I'm white.

Now I understand that many people say they can't get into college to become doctors and lawyers to become in some mystic group of people who are "privileged", but that view just says that the people who say it think that privileged white people just sit on their ass, smoking out of a pipe while they watch their bank accounts grow. The view that because a concentrated few rich white families are privileged, then all white people are privileged is racist nonsense. To end people being overly privileged, we need to implement a tax system that prevents people from being and categorically staying obscenely wealthy... regardless of what color those people's skin is.

So if you want me to say it... yeah, I'm definitely privileged. I'm a disabled person going to college without having to work (for now... though I did work for 3 years prior to coming here to save up some money)... so yep, I'm pretty privileged... but to say that I'm just privleged because I'm white is incredibly racist.

Thanks, flieder for your post. You brought up some stuff that most people aren't willing to talk about. Yes, I'm privileged too. But this doesn't mean that I haven't encountered racism or discrimination. White groups have been targeted as well as other minority groups. My grandparents were poor catholics, which was the most widely targeted group of the KKK in this part of the country.

I think diversity is great. I think there should be more interaction between races on campus. But I also think this is everyone's problem, not just the result of white discrimination. 

Quote: Honestly Casey, it sounds like we're getting into a semantic debate without knowing it. If your belief is that our culture perpetuates racist beliefs subconsciously and that we're thusly all racist whether or not we know it, then there's no argument to be had because you're arguing something that can't be proven or disproven.

And being "racist" is not a binary system, there's not category A of all racist people and category B of all non-racist people... it's a continuum. I like to think I'm further to the non-racist side of average, but mostly it's because I'm so apathetic... and think that racial apathy is the best solution to ending racism. For our social systems, people who need help need help... if the majority of people who need help do so because of some old racially-biased system, then an unbiased system will solve both problems simultaneously.

Again with the "colorblind racism" thing, your argument relies on a logical trap. If I say I'm not racist because of <reasoning> then you just say my view is flawed because I'm racist. So there's no point in continuing that discussion.

And as to who's privileged in our society, I think a wealthy minority is privileged as it's always been and as it is in every human society ever built. However, I think one of the most racist but socially acceptable views is that this means all white people are privileged. I think that the view of "privileged" is also used at times by people to justify not having to work for what you want. Look at my family and you'll see that my father was one of six children of a poor Polish immimgrant woman and my mother's family was never able to own wealth... and yet both of them worked their ass off to get good careers, and I think it's insanely offensive to imply that the only reason I'm in a good position in life is because I'm white.

Now I understand that many people say they can't get into college to become doctors and lawyers to become in some mystic group of people who are "privileged", but that view just says that the people who say it think that privileged white people just sit on their ass, smoking out of a pipe while they watch their bank accounts grow. The view that because a concentrated few rich white families are privileged, then all white people are privileged is racist nonsense. To end people being overly privileged, we need to implement a tax system that prevents people from being and categorically staying obscenely wealthy... regardless of what color those people's skin is.

So if you want me to say it... yeah, I'm definitely privileged. I'm a disabled person going to college without having to work (for now... though I did work for 3 years prior to coming here to save up some money)... so yep, I'm pretty privileged... but to say that I'm just privleged because I'm white is incredibly racist.

___________________________

Did you read the article that Casey P attached to their message.  If so, you would see that it has nothing to do with material  wealth, but rather "privileges"  or "advantages" that White people get that Non-White People do not have. 

"I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group"

- Peggy Noonan, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

In this article, Noonan lists daily effects of white privilege. Here are a few:

1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time. <--think about this and then the title of this thread.

15. I do not have to educate my children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.<--As a person of color, you learn about this at a very young age.

22. I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color who constitute the world's majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.

50. I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.

For the full list,
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html#daily

Also, I would like to add this comment.  I feel that when a discussion about race is brought up, it seems that many people feel  defensive, like they are being blamed.  This is not about blaming individuals or white people.  This is about critically looking at yourself, the way you live your life, and how you got to be in that postion,  as well as looking at the institutions that are set up with preference to one group over minority groups (race, gender, sexuality etc.)  The same can be said considering sexism and heterosexism.

I'm guessing the Peggy Noonan was a typo? I was confused for a bit as to why a speech writer for Reagan/Bush/Bush2 would be writing an article like this, but we're going with the assumption that Peggy McIntosh =/= Peggy Noonan as the author of this article...

In that light, going through that list it seems like something an incredibly guilty white person would write. Reading through that list that supposedly all white people can count on those assumptions... no, most of them I can't count on. Since I don't want to copypasta line by line, I'll just say I went through the list and of the 50 privileges supposedly all white people have, I only had about 20 of them... and the vast majority of those had nothing to do with my race. If I move into a neighborhood, I think people will enjoy having me as a neighbor because I'm a nice, reasonable person... not because I'm white and everybody's wiping their brow praying that no <insert racial epethet here> is moving next door.

Honestly, I understand how screwed up a lot of places are in terms of race... and I understand how screwed up a lot of families are that perpetuate ideals that make no sense. I just cannot stand it that I get lumped in with this massive category of "white" and everybody denegrades me for how privileged I am for it. Normally I appreciate irony, but the crusaderish fervor that most people advocate blatantly overgeneralized ideals like "oh yeah all white people are privileged and dont ever have to worry about anything ever" is scary to me.

People just fail to understand that when they make statements like "all white people are privileged", they don't see just how racist they're being, and they shrug off a lot of evidence of how wrong they are. Some white people are privileged, yes... but only a guilty, privileged white person would generalize it and say that all white people are privileged.

I don't necessarily think that having people stare in a non threatening way automatically means you're being discriminated against. I also am not fully "white", and I like to think people look a little longer because they are curious about my exotic look. People tend to stare longer at things they aren't use to seeing, and it does not always mean a bad thing. I will stare longer at anyone I find interesting looking. This may be a bad analogy, but if I drove by the Grand Canyon everyday I would stop being so intrigued, but if it was only once a month my eyes would be glued to the window. Maybe there's a strong contrast between eye and skin color that's appealing. Maybe something they're wearing catches my eye. It doesn't matter if they're male or female, although I'm not male so it could be different for why they generally look at other people. I definitely agree that Bellingham isn't use to people of color as much as other places, but I don't think it's unwelcoming either or unwilling to learn. I just hope that people can look past their own skin and be confident that there is more to them than color and that maybe people aren't staring at them solely because of it. Sometimes racism might be the case, and that is not okay, but I really like to give the benefit of the doubt until I am absolutely sure otherwise. Maybe it's just naive optimism, and I would understand if you completely disagreed with everything I just wrote :)

I also find the name of this "diversity" gathering to be very offensive. A lot of people had really good points in this discussion, and I'm glad other people found the name unsettling, as I did. The name alone does a really good job at alienating a whole group of people, and I do not think that was the intention. I've heard of that book with a similar title, but I don't think it is fitting for what the event was trying to accomplish, and I classify myself as a half-white person I would definitely not attend a meeting with that title!

I knew it was Peggy something...lol.  Yeah my bad.  Internet forums are the worst place to have typos.

Haha no worries... I was just really confused when I first read that because it took me a while to figure out why that name was familiar. It's a shame it wasn't Peggy Noonan though because if she wrote a thing on racial descrimination I bet it would be HILARIOUS. :D