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<p>Woah, “butthurt about things”? I’ve only made one comment even remotely pertaining to what the OP said, and it wasn’t even in reference to the original question. I also enjoy how it’s the liberal side that you’re pinning as butthurt(sic). Remember which side can be quoted as saying “F-ck that” and “Get the hell out of here with all your bullsh-t”? I expressed my opinion against prejudice and discrimination. I suppose that makes me intolerant.</p>
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<p>As an aspiring computer science major according to your other posts, you may want to consider the demographics of the technical staff at Silicon Valley computer companies or the general areas where you would live if you work at such a place. Based on your posts here, that may be something you might not feel comfortable with.</p>
<p>[San</a> Jose (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau](<a href=“http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0668000.html]San”>http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0668000.html)</p>
<p>I would laugh so hard if the OP was black and was worried about his non-English speaking, sushi-eating, Japanese, football (which means soccer) playing, super-jock roommate. Everyone seems to have assumed the OP is white and the roommate is black. Why? Then everyone goes out of their way to give their bonafides to “prove” that they are soooo open minded and now possess some type of moral authority which allows them to look down on anyone who is not as experienced in multiethnic interactions. This thread is pretty funny.</p>
<p>And, I with regard to this statement:<br>
“I expressed my opinion against prejudice and discrimination. I suppose that makes me intolerant.”<br>
Yeah, that does make you intolerant. You don’t tolerate ideas (however abhorrent you may believe them to be) that others consider perfectly fine. Who said we have to be tolerant of everything and everyone anyway? No matter what we do and what kinds of stupid programs people come up with, there will always be differences and differences will leave some people uncomfortable. If someone doesn’t like to deal with the differences, that’s their own deal. Leave them to it. What gives person A the right to force “tolerance” on person B. That seems to have made person A the intolerant one. We should all just keep our own intolerances and not worry about everyone else’s intolerance. If the OP is a little worried about the race of his roommate, no big deal. That doesn’t make his a racist. It doesn’t even make him intolerant. That makes him a kid and human. Give him advice on how to deal with the new experience, not pile on about some perceived latent racism. He’s already nervous;some of this thread is probably not helping him. (but it is kinda interesting) :)</p>
<p>BTW, here are my bonafides: my college roommate was black. Guess what sport he played? You only have two guesses… </p>
<p>If you guessed football, you’re a racist. LOL Did anyone guess swimming? If you did, you’re NOT racist, but you’d be wrong. LOL Did anyone guess tennis? If you did, you too are NOT racist, but you’d be wrong. The correct answer is… wait for it…wait for it…</p>
<p>Basketball!! Only problem is if you guessed this you’d be correct, but you’d be a stereotyping RACIST (according to some on this thread). How stupid is that? I guess you can’t win 'em all. LOL</p>
<p>I’m going to assume for a minute that you’re not a ■■■■■ and that the educational system and your parents have just epically failed you.</p>
<p>You don’t understand racism. That’s not racism or even a stereotype. That’s a reasonable conclusion to make if guessing based on statistical probability. </p>
<p>Racism was the time when blacks weren’t ALLOWED to play football, baseball, basketball, etc simply because they were black. </p>
<p>Oh and I’m 6’. Care to take two guesses as to what sport recruited me? You’re likely to guess basketball and volleyball. You’d be wrong. That doesn’t mean you discriminated based on my height, it means that you used statistical probability. Now to say I can’t play a sport because I’m too talk would be heightist (or whatever the technical term). </p>
<p>Learn the difference.</p>
<p>^^ 6’ would not be basketball, maybe golf or water polo?</p>
<p>Missed the point. It was softball btw.</p>
<p>Maybe more here should have discussed “closed-mindedness.” </p>
<p>Racist attitudes are when you make assumptions based on “race.” And cling to them.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter whether your experiences led you to believe something- or you read some report (or, often, misread it.) It’s about the personal attitudes. It’s not the “statistical probability” that a basketball player is Black. It’s assuming all tall Blacks play basketball. Or worse, that they got into college based on diversity or a sport, that they can’t be smart and focused on academics- and, for heaven’s sake, that you won’t get along, that you have nothing in common. Or, that the only thing in common might be that you both like Kanye.</p>
<p>Or, that an Asian roommate would be a drag, studying all the time. Or that the White one will will be intolerant. It goes on. It’s about using preconceived notions instead of an open mind: that all Northerners are liberal and all Southerners are evangelical Christians. That a kid from a farm can’t be sophisticated or that kids with certan majors are dumb. Think about it.</p>
<p>This thread has gotten ridiculous. People accuse the OP of racism and then devolve the discussion into a debate that is, in itself, far more racist.</p>
<p>The OP is clearly just fearing the unknown and isn’t making any racist statements. Not everyone is used to living with someone from a completely different background. It’s a reasonable question to ask.</p>
<p>That being said, I think it’s important to just keep an open mind and see how things go. All that really matters is that you get along with your roommate and can live together peacefully – you’re not obligated to be friends with them if you don’t want to. As long as you guys can get along, that’s all that matters. If not, you can always request a room change.</p>
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<p>Then again, a lot of college freshmen have no previous experience living with anyone outside of immediate family.</p>
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<p>If marriage statistics are any indication, Whites and Asians are far more likely to get along with each other than Whites and any other non-White race or Asians and any other non-Asian race. Since those are the two major races in the area you pointed out, I would have to assume you think he is one and has a personal issue with people of the other. Additionally, I think it’s unfair to imply that someone who views races as distinct and having unequal ability in some tasks will have personal issues interacting with those of other races.</p>
<p>Many are chalking this up to inexperience, suggesting all this is just “new” to OP. But in the first post, he said he went to a diverse hs.<br>
But, agree, enough about racism. There are other threads.</p>
<p>V- I wanted to say, earlier, that this isn’t about a freaking arranged marriage- it’s who has the other bed in your dorm room. When roommates become fast friends, it’s icing on the cake. There’s no expectation in college that the housing folks will be match.com or even try to get you a BFF. I think I can say, there is an expectation of tolerance and good will.</p>
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<p>First of all, when did I call the OP racist? In fact, where did I ever even insinuate it? My remark about “prejudice and discrimination” was referring to the gay roommate thread. The OP of this thread is not attempting to switch rooms, so I’m fairly certain he actually is not racist. Second of all, I’m not talking about opinions, I’m talking about “prejudice and discrimination”. You have the right to dislike what someone thinks or does. But once you use that dislike to discriminate against someone, you’ve overstepped your boundaries (for example, if a gay student was forced to get a single room because all of his straight roommates kept switching, or when blacks were forced to attend separate schools because whites were “uncomfortable” around them.) When did I ever try to “force tolerance” on anyone? Because I want equal protection under the law? Because I find blatant discrimination against minorities to be morally objectionable? Guess what, Oliver Brown (of Brown v. Board of Education) was against using discomfort around minorities to justify discrimination against them. Guess that made him intolerant, too.</p>
<p>People are misinterpreting my stance, and make me out to be some intolerant flaming liberal. Honestly, I’m extremely open to others’ opinions as long as they don’t plan to use those opinions for discrimination. Hence why I haven’t said anything about this OP being racist. He’s giving his roommate a chance despite them being different; I actually commend that.</p>
<p>“You don’t understand racism. That’s not racism or even a stereotype. That’s a reasonable conclusion to make if guessing based on statistical probability.”</p>
<p>So I take it you’re ok with racial profiling then, because that’s based on statistical probability as well.</p>
<p>this whole race/intolerance stuff is never going to be solved. I’m from Hawaii and right now I’m in a room with every race imaginable. There isn’t a single “white” person here and my guess is that most of the people reading this thread couldn’t even pronounce half the names of the people here. And although everyone gets along, every race here thinks the other race is dumb, lazy, stuck up, blah, blah, blah. The thing is here, we say it out loud and are happy to cut down our own race(s) too. there is no real animosity, just understanding that some groups of people act a certain way a lot of the time. It’s not uncommon to hear someone say “Man, I hate Tongans” even if that person is Tongan himself. No one believes that the person is some hate-monger. People on the mainland take race so seriously. Maybe people in Hawaii don’t take race so seriously because we don’t think about it so much. And when we do think about it we think that our particular race is better than all the others. We even wear shirts broadcasting our race and ink ourselves up to let everyone know our heritage. But because pretty much everyone does it, it’s not a big deal…</p>
<p>Oh, and I’m not ascribing anything to anyone in particular. Just trying to point out that every time you (generically) point a finger at someone else saying “hey, you’re racist” or “you’re intolerant”, there are three fingers (or maybe two and a half if you are a low level Yakuza) pointing back at you. This includes me…</p>
<p>OK, I’m done with this thread. Gotta get back to the important issues of college acceptances. :)</p>
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<p>Really? Everyone? I’m having trouble finding a single person who did this.</p>
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<p>Again, there is a different between what you think (ex. “An African American in sports, I wonder if he plays basketball or something.”) and what you do (ex. a swimming coach not allowing black swimmers on his team.) Racial profiling is discrimination. If the cop wants to say to his partner “Hey Tom, an African American. They are statistically more likely to commit crimes in this country,” that is different than saying “Oh god Tom, a black man, we better pull him over and interrogate him for no reason.” </p>
<p>You also didn’t seem to address the fact that you mislabeled me and misinterpreted everything I said. Probably because you realized you were completely wrong.</p>
<p>And I’m not going to lie, Hawaii sounds awful. I seem to recall someone on CC moving from Hawaii to Alabama in order escape the racism.</p>
<p>JeSuis,</p>
<p>I don’t feel like you’re an “intolerable flaming liberal” at all. Just wanted to ask you a question - why is a person automatically homophobic if he is uncomfortable sleeping in the same room as a gay guy? I don’t know if you can just make that connection. There were three gay guys on my floor this year. Of their three roommates (all of whom were straight), I became close friends with two of them. Both of them got along VERY well with their gay roommates and I even noticed that they became best friends. They did lots of things together. However, both of them were still uncomfortable at times by their roommates’ behavior, and this did not change even when they became very good friends. Thus, my point is that I don’t think you can label a guy as homophobic or anti-gay simply because he’s uncomfortable sharing a room with a gay guy.</p>
<p>Anyway, I don’t really want to escalate this further. I agree that he needs to give his roommate a chance, but I don’t agree with the notion that a person who’s uncomfortable around gays is homophobic just based on THAT itself.</p>
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<p>Definition of homophobia: an unreasonable fear or hatred of gay people. If someone is afraid of sleeping around someone SOLELY because he is gay, that is homophobia. Would you call being uncomfortable sleeping around a black man racist? If not, then I give up.</p>
<p>^ Yes, I would call that racist, but both of my friends who felt uncomfortable felt that way because both of their roommates made advances toward them in the beginning of the school year, and luckily things got settled and it never happened again. They felt discomfort because of the advances, not expressly because they were gay.</p>
<p>My cousin had a black roommate who was volatile and violent. He didn’t feel uncomfortable sleeping around him because he was black. He felt that way because he was violent.</p>
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<p>THAT is MUCH MUCH different than:</p>
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<p>If you can’t tell the difference, then I don’t know what to tell you. </p>
<p>I am bi and would feel uncomfortable sleeping around people of either sex that made unwanted sexual advances towards me.</p>
<p>^Yes, I can tell the difference. In my previous post I had mentioned “behavior” but I probably should have expanded. Anyway I’m done.</p>
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<p>thankyou4flying: There is a lot tied up in this issue that I really would have to debate you in person to fully explain. First of all, we’re not talking about behavior, we’re talking about thoughts. If my roommate’s sexuality is directly affecting me, like if they’re coming on to me or bringing partners back to our room constantly, then that’s grounds for feeling uncomfortable and wanting a room switch, gay or straight. If I haven’t met that person and simply know that they’re thoughts tend towards being attracted towards males, that is not grounds for being uncomfortable around them. If you’re uncomfortable thinking about being around someone who is homosexual before you have ever met them or talked to them, you are homophobic. Second of all, I never used the term “anti-gay”. There’s a big difference between homophobic and anti-gay. I find romanigypsyeyes’ analogy great: “why is a person automatically racist if he is uncomfortable sleeping in the same room as a black guy?” Sure, there are issues of attraction, but for the most part a gay guy isn’t going to be lusting after someone he knows is straight. The alternative is to stick all homosexuals together, which then makes the attraction issue a bigger reality. This also would mean all bisexuals must get single rooms. Also, it’s unfair to assume that a roommate will be attracted to you simply because he’s gay, just like it’s unfair to assume a poor roommate will steal from you simply because they’re poor. And if your roommate does become attracted to you, it’s unfair to assume he would try anything. Not to mention you can have homosexuals attracted to you at any given point in time, so are you going to avoid every social situation due to this? Can’t go swimming, can’t walk down the hall shirtless, can’t change in the locker room.</p>
<p>As a society, we have decided that girls room with girls, boys room with boys. So as a male, you would say you are requesting a male roommate. However, if you get a homosexual roommate, that person is still a male. You cannot switch on the grounds that this male doesn’t not live up to your standards of masculinity; that is discrimination. Sure, you can switch roommates and let someone else, who is not homophobic, take your spot. But does that make it okay? Is it okay to just say “Oh, this homosexual roommate is an issue. I’ll dump this problem on someone else who can deal with it.” Again, that is discrimination.</p>
<p>Like I said, this isn’t an easy issue to debate over the internet. And, for the record, thankyou4flying is the one who brought this up, not me. I don’t think it’s an appropriate conversation for this thread, especially since I don’t believe the OP is racist. However, I have the right to defend myself.</p>