<p>I sensed a lot of envy and resentment towards me when I was in high school. I was an A student but some teachers were jerks and still treated me like an idiot. I remember the time when a white teacher asked me what I planned to do after high school and I naively told her that I wanted to be an engineer. When she heard my answer she literally laughed in my face, rolled her eyes and shook her head while making a mocking gesture, as if non-verbally conveying the message that I was hopelessly deluded. That teacher obviously didn't know me very well, so she assumed that I was intellectually incapable of pursuing a degree in engineering simply because of my ethnic background.</p>
<p>Some of my white classmates ridiculed me on a regular basis. They usually were the ones who weren't doing exceptionally in school but were convinced that they were more intelligent than almost everyone, especially ethnic minorities. My being an A student clearly bothered them.</p>
<p>In college as far as I know I was never the subject of anyone's envy but I sensed resentment and in some cases even contempt towards me, mainly from white conservative students. I suspect that those are the same people who think that blacks and hispanics should not be in this country and that the ones who were accepted to college are all imbeciles who stole, with the help of affirmative action, a spot that belonged to a more qualified white student. Some school personnel (mainly office workers) were very disrespectful and made no effort to act professionally when I requested their assistance. It probably bothered them to see an unassuming minority student getting a better education than the one they ever received.</p>
<p>And the sad part is, most black and hispanic college students in this country probably share similar experiences. But we should be grateful that at least racism in this country is not as rampant as it was fifty years ago, when colored people were denied an education and many other basic rights just because of their skin color.</p>
<p>Well, I know there is racism and I see it in the way the city is divided. Some schools are all white, the east side school is all black and so is SH High in my city. The rest of the inner city schools are hispanic and poorly funded compared to the north side which are their own district. Eh, and then I always hear bad things whenever someone visits north of town but I hardly go. My school is pretty nice because it has good programs but is 97% hispanic (legit stat off of the school report) so I’ve never had much racism and have always been fine. I tell people I wanna be an engineer and everyone says “WAY TO GO!!! Help the district out when you get money!”. </p>
<p>Going up north east for college I’m a little afraid since I always hear these horror stories and know the hispanic stat at my school is just over 5%. Still, when I visited everyone was very friendly, thought it was cool that I’m mexican-american and spoke spanish, and really didn’t care other wise. Also the food sucks badly up north. Hah, can’t get over that. But yeah, I’m happy because my brothers were in HS just 10 years ago and because they were half black/half hispanic they got so much crap. Fights and jumps nearly every day and the principle just straight told them they should drop out. Really smart guys too but what can you do? Recently they were just denied a job because the man didn’t want any ■■■■■■■ and it’s kinda like “what do you expect in the middle of nowhere TX from an old white man?”</p>
<p>I don’t know, I worry more on how I’ll act. I’ve had probably 5 white friends in my entire life? 2 asian friends? There are much more in college but I’ve been okay on my visits. The culture isn’t as different as I was told it would be, different food and I don’t need to speak spanish so whatever. Everyone at my school is a nerd so I’ll be able to bond. I’m fine mostly.</p>
<p>Oh, and I do kinda dislike affirmative action. I mean, I benefit a lot but I still worked very hard in high school (taking IB, high test scores, tons of EC and volunteering and projects and leadership) and I am smart so I hate when someone says I deserve it less.</p>
<p>AA should continue but it should be based on economic status, not race. I know plenty of affluent minorities who have more opportunities than poor white people. And of course, poor blacks and hispanics have even more of a ladder to climb.</p>
<p>The school that I go to currently is about 50% white, meaning there are a lot of black/hispanic people. Personally, I am white, and I try very hard not to make judgments off of someone’s skin color or ethnicity. But it makes me really sad when I see black or hispanic people acting like their stereotypes. </p>
<p>When someone who is either black or hispanic (or even white) shows that they’re more than their stereotype (making good grades, having a good attitude, being a good person, etc) then I treat them like I would any other person - with respect. People like Obama (even though I disagree with his views) have earned the respect of everyone around them. And I agree that it’s a shame that people who are black or hispanic are looked down upon as if they are dumb.</p>
<p>However, in regards to this, I think that a lot of people at my school make the overall groups of blacks and hispanics look bad. Some of them talk loud, are rude, usually unhygienic, and most of them are barely passing. But some of them are truly good and smart people, and don’t fit that niche at all. I even know some white people who I would consider to be in that “disliked” category. It’s all about how you make yourself out to be. </p>
<p>Stereotypes are there for a reason, the important thing to remember is that not everyone fits them. While not as strong of an example, I’m a blonde girl and constantly have to listen to the blonde jokes, girl jokes, etc etc. It’s annoying, but when I crush them in video games (“you got beat by a girl!”) or show that not all blondes are “dumb”, but can actually have straight A’s, people tend to lay off.</p>
<p>I’m of mixed origin, including Hispanic, but at first glance I probably come across as a God-fearing white man, so I can use my minority heritage to my advantage as well as my ‘white privilege’ :D</p>
<p>Sometimes when i walk around in the city some white people will not look me in the eye. Its weird but it does not bother me. I have always had friends of every race. My HS was made up mostly of other cultures while white was the minority. When i was younger growing up on the other side of town, there were a lot of racist people my family had to deal with.</p>
<p>Oh! Hah, someone ran away from my friends and me. She was an older white lady but in her defense we were seeing a movie on the north side of town which could be a place for illegal activities. It’s kinda why I don’t go on the north side.</p>
<p>someting funny happened to me in the cafeteria yesterday. yesterday was really cold and windy (chilly wind) so i was wearing my beanie on my head. earlier in the day i walked by 1 of my friends (he is also black) and he saw me with my beanie on and said i looked like a criminal and i laughed. later on it was 930pm at night (just got out of a class) and i decided to stop by to get some snacks (was still wearing my beanie). one of my friends was the cashier, and i went to his line to buy my food. the whole time he was ringing me up he was just looking down which was uncharacteristic because hes pretty outgoing even at work. finally after he swiped my card i said something to him and he looked up and realized it was me (his friend). he said something like ‘i didnt know it was you’ and i laughed. in my mind though i am pretty sure he didnt know it was me because he didnt want to look up at me :).</p>
<p>Being Jewish is kind of odd. Non-Caucasian people treat you just like white people. A lot of white people think you’re not white [in fact, neither does the government]. It depends what part of the country you’re in.</p>
<p>I’ve experience the most racism in my transition between high school and college. People assume I got into Stanford “because” I was black. That’s not true. I agree with discontinuing racial preferences at the college level, but that’s not going to change the racism issue one bit. The people who think you’re not qualified because you’re a minority are going to think you’re not qualified no matter what the school’s policies are. There will also be some reason they justify their feelings of superiority. And it’s not just racism - it’s also sexism and classism. White privilege (and male privilege, and middle class privilege) really suck, because people think “nothing’s happening” and we “find what we want to find” because they themselves will never experience it.</p>
<p>If AA didn’t exist all the Ivy league schools/grad schools would be made up of %99 white people because they have more opportunities (just look at the stats). There needs to be diversity in schools because that is what makes people grow, it also brings in new ideas because of the differences in experiences. </p>
<p>Why do you think Sonya Sotomayor is a justice now??</p>
<p>Anyways coming from a 3rd world communist country am glad to be here =)</p>