<p>"You were in the majority and probably were not particularly attuned to racism toward people who don't look like you."
I am hispanic and because I look white people discriminate against me. And no, she was not attractive, and if I wasnt with my mother who is truly hispanic (My father is white, therefore Im a mix), thus darker, they didnt stare at me. I understand it might be different in many places, but a lot of these people are really racist against white individuals. Please dont misinterpret when I state Many, I mean many, not all since I know and have close relationships with black/hispanic individuals with excellent stats who also acknowledge that this situations goes on.</p>
<p>DHA_10- what do you think would happen if your mother, or a dark skinned person, walked into a McDonalds where there were only white people? Do you think Northstarmom's point about being looked at would be true? Or would it not be since you think that there is predominantly reverse racism towards whites now?</p>
<p>Could one not say this about any minority, such as Asians, those with disabilities, and those with strange hair? Moreover, do the effects of these stereotypes (or any stereotype of being a minority) bring enough obstacles to make Affirmative Action valid?</p>
<p>She has walked into a mcdonalds full of white people. She is trated with the same respect and courtesy everyone gets.</p>
<p>We must eat at different McDonalds. Actually, I prefer Burger King, maybe that's been the problem all along....LOL.</p>
<p>I can also add that there are certainly plenty of people who are racist against black people in Boston and even in Cambridge. When I went to Harvard, I did encounter some, including on campus.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, your statement that most minorities simply breed, roll in gangs, waste time and aren't academically inclined displays an appalling amount of ignorance. Your viewpoint is doubly sad since you're a minority yourself. What you posted indicates a great deal of self hate and as well as a lack of exposure to the greater world.</p>
<p>I also have the feeling that you're doing the equivalent of comparing people in, for instance, a trailer park or a slum with people in Scarsdale, Bethesda or Beverly Hills. What you may be noting has probably more to do with socioeconomic levels -- including education -- than with race.</p>
<p>It would be as if I were to say, "Most white people are violent, drug abusing and ignorant" while most black people are sophisticated, well mannered and educated, and I was comparing white people who lived in a gang-infested trailer park with black people who lived in a high income, highly educated area like D.C.'s Gold Coast. Another example would be if I were to compare the students at Spelman or Morehouse with the residents of a low income, crowded trailer park. </p>
<p>" Then when I switched atmospheres (at Harvard/Boston this summer) in which it is an 80 percent white majority, 10 percent asian, and 10 the rest, I didnt see any racism whatsoever towards these individuals (black, etc) And for the first time, the office depot employees knew what the hell they were talking about and were courteous (unlike ours). The truth is that most minorites are not academically inclined people. They concentrate on reproducing, rolling in gangs, and wasting time. I know this because I am a minority in a major city. "</p>
<p>APFreak, of all the URMs on CC, I think you might be the most obsessed with benefitting from AA. This isn't the first time you started a thread asking if minorities are given slack in admission to ivy caliber schools.</p>
<p>"There were like 33 Puerto Ricans accepted last before at Harvard so I was wondering if anyone know the stat on how many Puerto Ricans applied Early Action. The african american OVERALL applicant pool is about 1100 and this would be lower for EA. I can only imagine the EA pool of Puerto Ricans to be like 200 max."
And why do you so strongly think that admission officers care that you're Puerto Rican? How can you compare Puerto Rican applicants with African-American applicants (a pool that contains blacks from all of the Caribbean islands, African nations, and people whose families have been in America since slavery)? If you want to compare hispanic-american applications to African-American ones, then the numbers are probably similar. Besides it's not even like Puerto Ricans are a rare minority within the Hispanic group. If Harvard accepts 150 hispanics of which 40 are Puerto Rican, I don't think the school is in dire need of more Puerto Ricans. </p>
<p>Heck, my parents are from Grenada, one of the smallest countries in the world, and I still don't think it gives me any advantage over any other black applicants.</p>
<p>"I can also add that there are certainly plenty of people who are racist against black people in Boston and even in Cambridge. When I went to Harvard, I did encounter some, including on campus."</p>
<p>I understand everything is not so black and white (in the figurative sense), however, you probably studied during the middle-seventies or so where they was still some sort of resentment towards the civil rights movement. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, I am just stating the facts, by no way am I racist self hater. I live in this situation and see it every single day. Now, people may think its because of poverty reasons, however, this summer I met rich minority kids failing their SSP courses. I know I cant make generalizations due to a small amount of individuals, but I have seen this long enough, lived through it long enough to know these things when I see them. I can pair up an analogy with this; Americans are stupid. I am an American, I am very proud to be an American. I love my country and agree that we are one of the most blessed country in the face of the earth. However, that doesnt deter me from stating that Americans are stupid. Our average citizen doesnt even know why they vote for such and such individual, they just go with the label of the party. Its sad to say, but it is the same for minorities. I wish the situation was not like this, but the facts are the facts. My personal beliefs may not agree with them, but that is what is occuring.</p>
<p>DHA_10: I'm a current Harvard student right now. I have seen racism at Harvard towards minorities. SSP is nothing like Harvard at all.</p>
<p>Interesting Harvard Gazette article on the subject of racism in Boston:</p>
<p>"It's been almost 30 years since buses of black students were pelted with rocks and tomatoes in South Boston. More than a decade has lapsed since Charles Stuart shot his wife in Mission Hill and sparked a veritable witch hunt for a black killer who never existed. </p>
<p>Is Boston, America's third-whitest major metropolitan area, as racist as it once was? Can a city that embraces its history firmly and fondly shed its reputation? Is this city of neighborhoods in fact a city of segregated ethnic enclaves? </p>
<p>The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University joined Boston Magazine Wednesday (Oct. 30) to tackle racism and segregation in Boston in a panel discussion and public dialogue inspired by an article in the November 2002 Boston Magazine called "Divided We Stand." </p>
<p>The panelists included Harvard professor and Civil Rights Project (CRP) co-founding director Gary Orfield; NAACP Boston president Leonard Alkins; Paul Watanabe, co-director of the Institute for Asian American Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston; and William "Mo" Cowan, partner in the Boston law firm Mintz, Levin Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., a co-sponsor of the event. They cast few backward glances to Boston's racist past, engaging instead with the city's still segregated present. "
<a href="http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/11.07/09-racism.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/11.07/09-racism.html</a></p>
<p>In checking around more, it does seem that the racism in the Boston area has decreased since I was there as a student (which was during the height of the busing movement). However, there still is racism, as there probably is in every location in the US.</p>
<p>Here's part of an article from the Harvard Medical school web site:</p>
<p>" According to the survey, most Latinos report facing some sort of discrimination in Boston, mainly with respect to housing and employment. Although Latinos also reported that they have encountered discrimination in social settings such as shopping centers and restaurants, they describe the types of racism they encounter as indirect, not overt. In addition, college educated Latinos were equally as likely as their less educated counterparts to experience indirect racism; this finding contradicts prevalent myths that middle-class status offers protection from racism in Boston. "
<a href="http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dcp/mentations/spring_2005/23_FaceGreaterBoston.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.hms.harvard.edu/dcp/mentations/spring_2005/23_FaceGreaterBoston.htm</a></p>
<p>Frankly, racism is expected. When one group of students is let into an institution with lower standards, other students will view them with contempt. If these students practiced racism to all students regardless of affirmative action, then Asians would be suffering the brunt of it. In either case, this does not make a case for Affirmative Action.</p>
<p>" When one group of students is let into an institution with lower standards, other students will view them with contempt"</p>
<p>And, of course that's why there's so much racism expressed toward athletes, students from underrepresented states, and offspring of large donors and celebrities. That's also why URMs expressed so much contempt and hostility toward wealthy white males when highly qualified URMs weren't allowed into top colleges but wealthy, dull witted white males were.</p>
<p>There is contempt shown toward athletes and offspring of large donors and celebrities (although due to the power of donors, it is not direct). I wouldn't call it racism though.</p>
<p>URM's who were more qualified than "wealthy white males" might have shown contempt, but due to the standards at the time, URM's were not more qualified than most white males even then (this was due to laws of segregation and a lack of civil rights). But, for those FEW minorities who were able to overcome obstacles, yet were still denied a place due to lower standards for white males...contempt would have been justified.</p>
<p>Paco, remember DHA is not just referring to racism inside a college campus. According to DHA, racism is not prevalent in any American institutions. This is false; racism still exists.</p>
<p>I'm not debating the existence of racism...I'm tracing the reasons behind it. The two opposing claims that I can come up with is:</p>
<p>a) Racists look down on URM's because they receive help from quotas, and therefore are given supposedly unjustified boosts in jobs and colleges.</p>
<p>b) Racists look down on all minorities because they are minorities and not welcome.</p>
<p>In situation (a), affirmative action and other such job quotas are hurting URM's, and if they do insist on coming in with lower standards, they should not find the discrimination surprising.</p>
<p>In situation (b), which seems to be more on par to what you are saying, Asians and other minorities who are not helped in college admissions are discriminated against in the Cambridge area, and thus, they should receive affirmative action.</p>
<p>I really don't want to get into a debate about affirmative action. However, affirmative action, as you should know, is not based on "discrimination" or racism. Affirmative action is based on the need to increase the amount of underrepresented minorities at a university. Racism is not due to affirmative action. Long before blacks and Hispanics received affirmative action, they were discriminated against. Racism, which is an extremely complex and horrible human by-product, is usually due to a superiority complex and hatred of the unknown or different.</p>
<p>oh my god. oh my god. FINALLY and orderly constructive discussion on race relations and college. this is a great development, that we finally can move forward from bold rants, to intellectual conversations on the reasons revolving race relations in our community. call the police because we finally have some peace here on the boards.</p>
<p>"This is false; racism still exists." -Yea towards white people, check out what that Kanye West said.</p>
<p>"Comedian Mike Myers was paired with West for a 90-second segment that began with Myers speaking of Katrinas devastation. Then, to Myers evident surprise, West began a rant by saying, I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says theyre looting. See a white family, it says theyre looking for food.</p>
<p>They start it on their own. I am a URM, and white people have never been racist against my family or I, however, I cannot say the same for black individuals.</p>
<p><a href="http://hosted.planetether.net/referral.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://hosted.planetether.net/referral.jpg</a></p>
<p>Seems to me as Kanye was right on.</p>