<p>^Exactly what I was going to say. To be fair if one race is allowed to do it then all races should be allowed. Whether or not races should be allowed to do this sort of thing at all is a greater point of discussion in my opinion.</p>
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<p>The past and the present.</p>
<p>You see, blacks, being a minority, had and still in some ways have an actual need to band together to ensure that they are treated fairly and given equal rights. From this stemmed some groups that used violence as a means such as the Black Panthers. But also groups that used nonviolence and civil disobedience like the NAACP and the SCLC.</p>
<p>White people, as the majority and in earlier history the outright oppressors of minorities, have never needed to form groups to advance their cause. The only national organizations focused around Whites that have any historical memory are hate groups like the KKK and Neo-Nazis. There is no just fight, whites are not the ones who were oppressed. What would a white group advocate? What battles do they need to win? What injustices must they overcome that creates a need for them to band together with a common racial identity?</p>
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<p>I agree. I just don’t see the point in being proud to be white. I didn’t choose what race I was born as. It’s not something I can choose to change or keep.</p>
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<p>Thank you… I’m surprised it took this long for this post to appear.</p>
<p>Reading through the rest of this thread, I’m disappointed how backwards-thinking many CC members are when it comes to race. (see also: any AA post)</p>
<p>This is dumb. You know why there doesn’t need to be a White Student’s Union? Because the majority of student unions across the country ARE white student’s unions.</p>
<p>Why don’t we need white universities? Because historically universities have consisted of ALL white people. And still, most universities can be classified as PWI (predominantly white institutions).</p>
<p>Of course my school doesn’t have this. Mainly because we (as a whole) are not racist and backward.</p>
<p>ALL race/ethnicity clubs are filled with narcissists and egocentric people who like to separate themselves. Why go to a club to see people that may look like you? If you don’t see how these types of clubs have no place in college, you are backwards mentally and socially. End of story.</p>
<p>^I think that’s a gross overstatement. If I were an international student from Southeast Asia going to college, it would be very helpful to meet people from a similar cultural background.
Joining a club that celebrates a particular culture isn’t egocentric. Most clubs I know are open for everyone that.</p>
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<p>A white immigrant from South Africa was born and raised in an African county and moved to America. That makes them African-American.</p>
<p>Most “African-Americans” today have never been to Africa and know very little about it. Their ancestry is from generations and generations ago.</p>
<p>The same is true for a lot of European-Americans.</p>
<p>Heck, I’m white and of course have mostly European ancestry, but I’ve never actually stepped foot in Europe. I have, on the other hand, been to Africa.</p>
<p>And a lot of “African-Americans” actually have European ancestry. I found this on wikipedia: “58 percent of African Americans have at least 12.5 percent European ancestry (equivalent of one great-grandparent)”. Not sure how completely accurate that is, but it shows how none of us are really just one thing. We’re all mutts.</p>
<p>I, personally, don’t see the point of a White Student’s Union… but if they’re not doing anything violent or harmful, then I don’t really see a problem with it.</p>
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<p>If and only if they CHOOSE to self-identify that way AND the definition of whatever form they’re checking off allows them to identify that way for statistical purposes.</p>
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<p>Plus, there’s a distinct difference between just meeting because of your race and actually advancing a cause…groups like I mentioned such as the NAACP. Plus, it’s helpful to meet people with a common thread when you’re starting an entirely new social experience. But if a school is 80%+ white, what gain would they get from such a group?</p>
<p>I’d say white people descended from Moroccans or Algerians living in or born in the US are also African-American. The term refers to a continent comprised of many different people of many different races, ethnicities and religions.</p>
<p>…and +1 for DavidSSabb94’s post.</p>
<p>@DavidSSabb94</p>
<p>Wow. What about the white discrimination of affirmative action? And just because all the pro-white groups you know are hate groups doesnt mean all pro white groups are hate groups.
You say whites are these evil oppressors but throughout the last 40 years in America minorities have been treated in such a way that is unprecedented in the history of the world. Never before has a majority population willingly discriminated against its own people (affirmative action) and allow themselves to quickly become a minority (next 50 years). Whites will be a minority in America soon why not be proactive about it.</p>
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You do realize this is the exact argument white supremacists use to justify their cause, right? You are woefully ignorant of American history.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as reverse racism.</p>
<p>Only the oppressed group can experience racism. White people may be discriminated against in certain cases, but they are clearly not oppressed. Racism is historical, cultural, ideological, and institutional.</p>
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Maybe we’ve reached the point where we can end affirmative action. But there was a legitimate problem with minority groups not receiving the same educational opportunities that necessitated affirmative action, and it’s been very successful I might add. There is still a significant mismatch of school funding and quality in some areas of the country. </p>
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- You misunderstand the term minority. Whites will still have the largest percentage of the population (plurality) for a very long time.</p>
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<li>WHY do you see this as a bad thing? I’d love to see anyone who screams about “Whites becoming a minority” answer this without revealing their prejudice.</li>
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<p>^^That’s funny because if you look up the definition of racism, it says nowhere about minority and majority.</p>
<p>"1. a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
2. a policy, system of government, etc., based upon or fostering such a doctrine; discrimination.
3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. "</p>
<p>I’d think affirmative action fits under category 2. Whether it’s wrong or right, I won’t go into. But racist things can happen to whites.</p>
<p>My mother went to a 97% black school in the mid-seventies in a small southern town. You bet that she had to deal with racial remarks and slurs every day of her life. It was only a few years after segregation and people still were not settled over the whole thing. When she got on the school bus, they’d always make her and her two siblings sit in the back of the bus. People didn’t even get to know her. They just saw she was a white girl and made assumptions off of her race.</p>
<p>“The only way to end racism is to stop talking about it.” -Morgan Freeman</p>
<p>Can we just stop. God.</p>
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<p>It’s a tiny correction in a system that still very much favors white people overall.</p>
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<p>So did I, in Harlem. I was literally one of two white kids in my grade for all of elementary school. And some girls didn’t like me there, in “their” place. But you know what? “Their” place was the projects that our school was located in and I had options that they didn’t have because I was white. I could go get a job easily, I could walk into stores without being followed like a criminal, I could walk out of those projects and into the white world - which is basically everywhere else - and instantly belong. They could not and still cannot. So they could call me whatever they wanted but I don’t kid myself that they had it better than I did because in EVERY other way, my life was easier and in EVERY way I was given more opportunities.</p>
<p>“The only way to end racism is to stop talking about it.” -Morgan Freeman</p>
<p>Can we just stop. God. "</p>
<p>The dumbest thing I have ever heard…omg. Wow…lol</p>
<p>And the person who has mentioned affirmative action, white women are the #1 benefactors of affirmative action. Try again.</p>
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<p>So? It doesn’t make us any less African-descended.</p>
<p>African-American arose as a term at a time in American history in which black Americans were celebrating and remembering our roots. For the majority of American history, black Americans were discriminated against and being African-descended wasn’t something to be proud of - it was a stigma against you, a mark, something that made you “inferior” both by social status and by law. Black Americans began appending the term African-American to themselves to celebrate their African heritage instead of trying to hide it or discard it. The term “African American” was never intended to be used for white Americans who have immigrated from Africa, and most of them would never use that term. Nor would most north Africans unless they also identified as black.</p>
<p>All Americans are mixed. That doesn’t mean that the majority of our racial makeup doesn’t come from somewhere. White Americans’ majority racial makeup usually comes from Europe or the Middle East; black Americans’ majority racial makeup typically comes from African nations. So pointing out that “we’re all mutts” is meaningless.</p>
<p>In any case, I don’t have a problem with students having a white student union. I don’t have a problem with white people being proud of their race, if they want - although I’m not really sure what there is to be proud of, since historically in the US white people have NOT faced the kind of oppression and discrimination that ethnic and racial minority groups have. Pride in racial minority groups comes from being from a heritage of enduring an every day struggle and still surviving - and thriving - in a country where less than a century ago we could be killed, without impunity for the killers, for no reason at all.</p>