<p>I am Asian, and I almost never talk about any racism I may experience to my white friends. I save that for fellow Asians who generally don’t need it explained to them why I find it frustrating that all my accomplishments are being attributed to my race. (I got a higher score on some kid on a math test. His response: “oh, well, you’re Asian.” No, *******, I’m just smarter than you.)</p>
<p>I imagine it’s worse for black and Hispanic kids, who in addition to not being able to own their own accomplishments are automatically presumed less qualified.</p>
<p>Racism, as it manifests today, is generally not overt or obvious. It’s in the little things, which people generally don’t notice unless they experience them themselves. Stupid assumptions (“Are you going back to your country?”), offhand remarks which make it clear that the person talking to you doesn’t understand that your brain doesn’t work differently because you’re Not White. There’s also still a lot of profiling going on. Just a little while ago, a black high school student (who was a gd violist, for crying out loud) was brutally beaten by three police officers because they saw a bulge under his coat and thought it was a gun.</p>
<p>It turned out to be a bottle of Mountain Dew. I can’t make this stuff up.</p>
<p>Would this have happened if he was white? You can come to your own conclusions, but I doubt it. There are many little stories like this; most never get as far as the local paper.</p>
<p>No doubt racism exists and is destructive, but it’s clearly diminishing. My suggestion is to just go and be your awesome self and don’t worry about it. Get involved. Change the world. </p>
<p>When I went to MIT many years ago as a white Jewish kid from NY, I went to the free tutoring offered by the MIT Black Student Union when school was kicking my butt. Those guys were welcoming and awesome and aside from my being very grateful, it was enlightening for an 18yr old who grew up with ignorant stereotypes about race to be schooled by brilliant African Americans. </p>
<p>Martin Luther King’s dream was for people to be judged by the content of their character not by the color of their skin. Make people judge you by the former. Just be non-confrontational and awesome so that ignorant people (like myself as an 18yr old) can let their defenses down and see the real you.</p>
<p>"Both parts of Qwerty’s comment were subtly prejudiced - including the second part, because the implication is that racist and prejudiced acts won’t happen because people have “better things to do.”</p>
<p>It’s racist to imply that people are too busy to harass people, because there may be one crazy person out there who may harass someone sometime in the future?</p>
<p>Wow… why not call me a racist because I’m White? That sounds more reasonable. Or maybe I’m just a racist because I didn’t come into this thread and tell the OP that people are going to be as brutal as possible, or because I didn’t quote nor reference MLK in my post. Or call me a triple racist because of all of those things. </p>
<p>Whatever, I’m out of this thread.</p>
<p>By the way, that’s only directed at juillet.</p>
<p>I was watching some panel discussion on the news the other day about the idea that we will become the minority in (around) 2050, and the panelists seemed horrified at the thought. It’s funny actually, when you think about it, a lot of white people deny that minorities may have a tougher time or that racial disparity is present - yet when faced with becoming the new minority – they’re terrified.</p>
<p>if you’re nervous about going to college because of racism then throw in the towel</p>
<p>Yes racism exists in all parts of all countries, it’s a sad fact. It’s much better than it was fifty years ago, but everyone has a way to go before we stop judging people based on the color of their skin.</p>
<p>In the mean time, just go to college. Don’t let the fear of racism keep you from pursuing your dreams, because if you do then that means racism has won.</p>
<p>They don’t think “inferiors” should receive the same education and have the same opportunities that they have. Having minorities on campus equalizes the playing field and cheapens their sense of superiority.</p>
<p>If a black person earns good grades there is always the risk that his racist white peers will think that he must have killed himself studying since he is black and can’t possibly be intelligent. They will continue to see him as their racial inferior.</p>
<p>OP: Go get 'em. There’s no need to care one iota about the racists. If they insist on not using their brains…you wouldn’t be competing with them anyways. Don’t let this factor into your decision.</p>
<p>Well I assumed that you were saying that the claim that race is an arbitrary social construct was the pipe dream. Never mind then. Sorry for the confusion.</p>
<p>I am African-American, and it does mean a lot to me, since I find it asinine that people seem to justify their prejudices off of something which is non-existent biologically. I see what you’re saying, though, and I’m not trying to argue against you.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Please tell me this is a joke. If so, it’s pretty funny. If not, then that’s just sad.</p>
<p>“I am African-American, and it does mean a lot to me, since I find it asinine that people seem to justify their prejudices off of something which is non-existent biologically. I see what you’re saying, though, and I’m not trying to argue against you.”</p>
<p>OK, you are not African-American. You are not black. You are not a negro. Because race doesn’t exist, you are NONE OF THESE. You are a person. A human being. A homo sapien. So being African-American can’t possibly mean anything to you because that term has no meaning. </p>
<p>And we all have a “right to be racist”. It is not a joke. We have the right and most of us, underneath all our political correctness, are racist. Most of us just don’t say anything about it.</p>
<p>And everyone has the right to be a dumbass, but you’re abusing it.</p>
<p>I do find it interesting how you have managed to contradict yourself. If a race doesn’t exist, as you’ve asserted, then how are “we all racist underneath our political correctness?”</p>
<p>I was pointing out the contradiction in the previous post, hence the sarcasm of the message. </p>
<p>My assertion is that race exists and is important both biologically and socially. It doesn’t matter whether it is a “existential social construct” or a “biological concept”, it exists, and will always exist, unless people like the poster I was responding above quit saying they are “proud of being African American/Black”. Then maybe the social construct part of race will disappear. </p>
<p>But the biological part is important. Because you know, certain diseases afflict certain races with greater probability. And also, certain races have bigger, ya know, things. Greg Oden’s picture made me very sad. People of my race don’t tend to be so quite well endowed. And I find that very interesting.</p>
<p>What type of race? Do we use the racial classifications of Latin America, including Mestizos and Creoles? What about the classifications of apartheid South Africa of Black, White, Indian, and “Coloured”? Where does the “one-drop” rule fit in? What about the old system in America, where your choices were White, Black, Mulatto, Chinese, and Indian? (And, no, there was no “Hispanic” race or “Asian” race; if you were from that area, you had to be either Chinese or Indian) Does the “Aryan race” (it existed a long time, originating from the early 1900s at least) go anywhere? Why is someone from North Africa (Libya, etc.) considered “white” but someone from China considered “Asian”? </p>
<p>The problem with race is that, since it’s socially constructed, every society has a different definition of what race is. While I agree with you that it’s important, it’s hard to say that there’s a hard-and-fast biological basis. We tend to pick random ethnic traits and create racial categories out of them but it’s certainly not as universal as we might think.</p>