reflexblue

Oh Boy.....Harry Boy

Are whites racially oppressed? - CNN.com

(CNN) -- They marched on Washington to reclaim civil rights.

They complained of voter intimidation at the polls.

They called for ethnic studies programs to promote racial pride.

They are, some say, the new face of racial oppression in this nation -- and their faces are white.

"We went from being a privileged group to all of a sudden becoming whites, the new victims,'' says Charles Gallagher, a sociologist at La Salle University in Pennsylvania who researches white racial attitudes and was baffled to find that whites see themselves as a minority.

Do you feel oppressed, Well do ya Boy?

Harry Boy

I ain't touching this one unless I start drinking.

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

Nikolai

Everyone's racially oppressed somewhere.

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We get what we deserve.

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“On a day when they could have had impact players David Terrell or Koren Robinson..they took Georgia defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who had 1 sacks last season in the pass-happy SEC and is too tall to play tackle at 6-6 and too slow to play defensive end. This genius move was followed by trading out of a spot where they could have gotten the last decent receiver in Robert Ferguson and settled for tackle Matt Light, who will not help any time soon.”

reflexblue

I will say this, how much longer does affirmative action go on? It started 50 years ago this year, I had to deal with it and now my kids have to deal with it. At what point is enough enough?

Harry Boy

I knew it, your a racist.................

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Harry Boy (Genius)

In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself

Drewski

What is our/your definition of oppressed? What situations do you consider to be a form of oppression? I'm certainly of the opinion that there aren’t many white people (if any at least in the US) that have felt the oppression of slavery, but that is one type of oppression, and obviously the extreme of it.

While I personally have never in this country, as a white male, felt that I personally was oppressed, there could be some people who feel this way.

Are there examples in this country where applicants to jobs or colleges receive "points" because they are a minority? If so, I would consider that a form of oppression. Clearly not to the level of what slavery was, or limiting the rights of Black Americans (or any minority group for that matter) systematically up until the 1960s was, but a form nonetheless.

I guess, while I realize the historical reasons around it, one could make the argument the Affirmative Action or similar practices is a form of "oppression". I’ll probably get flamed as a racist for that statement, but hear me out:
1. How have we tried to right the wrongs of the racial inequality, we as a country have had throughout our past? By creating another policy of making us not equal? Doesn’t make sense to me. If i were a business owner/hiring manager/dean of admissions, I would want the best and the brightest to work for me/come to my college. I don’t care where you come from, or what your parents do, or what color you are, or what religion you practice (just keep it to yourself , if you are the best, I want you.
2. How, if our goal as a society is to get to a point where race doesn’t matter, a truly "equal" place, do we get there by having things such as applications race points and AA? To me that "brings" race in situations where otherwise it may not have been. So what should be a situation where race has no bearing, now is part of the conversation.

I am one of those truly "naive" people that doesn’t see color. I realize I bring it up a lot in my posts, but I was an extreme "minority" for most of my formative years. In the US our minority groups are still in the millions of people. In Indonesia a country of something like 270M people, the expat community; regardless of race, was on the order of 30-60K. I stood out literally anywhere I went. Go to the mall, people would notice. Go to a bar, people notice, walking down the "street" people would yell things. There were times that being a "buleh" (Indonesian derogatory term for a foreigner) made you a target for verbal altercations, physical abuse, theft, paying higher prices for the same goods etc. Counter that minority status with the fact that my school days were spent in a school where 92 countries were represented; a tough place to exist (the school) if you are a racist or are in the mood to oppress people that dont look/think/beleive like you do.

Do I think there are white people in America that think they are somehow oppressed because a black person can move into their neighborhood, or get a job...or god forbid vote? I'm sure their are, and I'm sure some of those people took the survey in the link you attached. But I think we can all agree that is not a form of oppression. On the the side, my opinion is that AA and the like are forms of it, using historical inequality to justify continued inequality doesn’t make us equal, which most of us would agree is the goal, our goal.

Dr. King in his speech didn’t say "I have a dream that my four little children will one day get bonus points on a job application because of the color of their skin"

He said "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

I have serious hopes about this thread, that some true discussion can happen, I obviously have my doubts , but I look forward to this conversation.

PS Sorry for the novel.

reflexblue

I started this thread so Harry could vent. I don't feel oppressed, but i can see how others might.

reflexblue

You forgot Bigot!

Drewski

Hahaha completely missed your point then.

I retract my novel then!!!!

Real World

Whites aren't oppressed, but they are certainly picked on a little bit. Everyone who isn't white, has access to more priviledge than "my people" do. Think about it. If you go take a test for a civil service job, "my people" could score 100, but the person who isn't white that scores a 75 could still get the job instead. Be it financial aid, scholarships, subsidized housing, etc. if you are one of "my people" you might find yourself on the shorter end of the stick. Or in some cases you just might have a shorter stick. Good thing I don't have that problem.


The bottom line is that it is what it is. What bugs me though, is when people talk about "white priviledge". When people talk in a manner that paints "my people" as being evil in some way. Like we're an accessory to some crime that was committed. The sarcastic "poor white people have it bad" crap. The bottom line is that the people who work hard get ahead, and the people who don't tend to fall by the waist side. It's not "my people's" fault that some struggle in life. It's their own.

Another thing I hate is the "diversity" BS. When a crowd looks too white it's somehow proof that all the people there are racist, or whatever it is they are there for is bad in some way. Somehow someway if you have too many of "my people" in one place, then they're probably all angry old white racist crackers. Or whatever Patters calls "my people". Seriously though, I think the more you coddle, and differentiate over race or ethnicity, the more you divide people in general. When you give a specific group a break, or a priviledge that another doesn't enjoy, then you've moved to create a distinction between them. A distinction that will only lead to a division and disdain. Just my opinion anyway.

** This is in no way meant to say that minorities don't face circumstances that may make their situations more difficult. I'm merely expressing what I see taking place from "my people's" POV. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of "my people".

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897