What white kids think

I read two interesting posts this morning concerning minorities. What was interesting to me was that these veiws came from young people.

The first has to do with the Solomon Amendment case that the Supreme Court agreed to hear during the next term. The Solomon Amendment says that any school receiving federal funding has to allow the military to recruit on campus. It was passed in 1994 and no one had a problem with it. Except Law Schools. Here's why: Since most law schools have strict anti-discrimination policies they feel by having the military on campus violates that since the military does not allow gays.

The kid who wrote this put up an admirable defense for the military. He truly doesn't understand the law school's logic.

So, what he’s saying is that, despite the school’s strong anti-discrimination policy, allowing a recruiter on campus will tell everyone that the school actually agrees with the military’s idiot policy on LBGT rights. I don’t follow you. Believe me, I’ve read argument transcripts where precisely this logic is followed, and I don’t follow it. But maybe that’s because I’m insane. Or… maybe it’s the other way around.

Now do you know why this young person's comments bother me? No matter how you feel about the  Solomon Admendment this young person is part of a scary trend I see happening.

In general,young people today, those born after 1980, are big supporters of the government. They are Bush supporters. I thought it was my imagination but I now see it as a trend. Being part of a generation considered "Slackers" and cynics, I find it disturbing. I may go into details in another post but I also wanted to mention this post as well.

The young writer had a situation accur in a local McDonalds (read the post for details). What is of interest to me in this post is her reaction.

Well let's see, you have a young black male who gets the stereotype of being what, lazy, drug user, thug, whatever, right? And he goes and does bullshit like that and an ADULT black WOMAN lets him get away with it?? A black woman who might otherwise be the very one yelling about oppression and how unfair stereotypes are in the first place allowed the very perpetuation OF the stereotype, right in front of me.

That's what I hate.

I hate bling bling and ebonics. I hate that it's being shoved down the throat of mainstream viewers, largely white viewers with the greater percentage of disposable income in order that we too might feel "cool" and like we're a "part of 'what's in and happening'". Seriously. Anymore if a commercial goes hip-hop? Screw you, I'm not watching it let along shopping at your store. I hate that ebonics itself is accepted. Piss on that. You don't have birf-days, you don't go to the dentist when you need your teef cleaned, and for shizzle my nizzle, you don't have to talk like a moron. Here's what I think. If I were a young, upwardly progressive, college educated black person in America today, I would be ashamed of ANYONE who perpetuated the stereotype in such a loathesome manner. You want to make an impression? Forget your stupid plasma televisions in the back of your escalade on MTV's Pimp My Ride, go out and spend your (hopefully not ill-gotten) cash in a good way. Donate it to inner city youth centers, get them computers and worthwhile educational tools, set up a fund in your community, speak to young minorities about the right way to live so that they can look up to you for more than the bling, man.

She (or he) talks about how she is not racists but still feels that a Black person should act like them. Talk a certain way. Dress a certain way. That baffles me.

Both of these young writers seem intelligent, well adjusted and normal. I have a feeling they are also typical.

Comments

[zblackstar]

you've hit the proverbial nail on the head. I love it when people say, "I'm not racist but.." and then they proceed to say something completely racist and/or prejudice. But I've always known what white people think of us.

[Rich]

Upon closer inspection of those posts, I'm not so sure if either of those kids are well adjusted. The first one kept alluding to his own sexual "issues," and judging from the post they are probably not of the homosexual type, so I'm wondering possibly bestiality or some other wierd shit, which appears to be a thing of right wingers these days (or always)- http://www.newshounds.us/2005/05/06/bizarre_sex_habits_of_the_extreme_rightwing.php . Interestingly, the JAG recruiters coming to my law campus were recently an issue there, and my law school is private (presumably not getting any federal $$), yet it still let them in. I really don't know what to make of that. The second one was obviously such a blatant racist, that I think that goes beyond the realm of usual white ignorance (disclaimer- I am white). I mean, that girl saw a black kid being obnoxious and all of a sudden assumed he was a thug/drug dealer- and then decided to blame not intervening on the McDonalds worker, as if she had a duty to do so because she was black. She didn't even think that ANY McDonalds employee, of any race, obviously does not give enough shit about McDonalds to care of someone steals a sandwith that cost about 5 cents to produce. As a white person, I have observed other white people make ignorant/racist cognitave leaps like this, and trust me- all that I have known are not well-adjusted or typical (or even well-liked among their fellow caucasians).

And Zblackstar, by assuming the whole white race shares the ignorant beliefs of those two ("I've always known what white people think of us")- you are guilty of the same prejudice.

[Rich]

I may have spoken too quickley- let me clarify. Again, I'm forgetting that I'm from New York. I'm sure that there are a lot of racist white people who fit-in to their communities in many different areas. But again, regional differences must be accounted for and white people from different areas of the country have different views and not one unified ignorant opinion of black people.

[Prince C]

Hi Rich! You're not jumping to conclusions again are you? :)

[Rich]

Yeah, yeah :) I know I am a hothead. I just wanted to point out that as a white person, I am possibly privy to more of the behind-the-scenes racism because racist white people who don't know me say things to me that they wouldn't say in front of non-white people. And from all of these experiences, the kids who do this are always unpopular social loners, and thus use racism as a attempt to be accepted into white society because their loserness otherwise leads to their exclusion. So in sum, the white kids who have these types of additudes have never been well-adjusted or typical, at least from my own personal observations. Now I'm sure that this probably isn't the case in different areas of the country, but this still shows that all white additudes can't be categorized under one umbrella.

[Nancy]

What it boils down to for me is employability. Being articulate, intelligent, well mannered, displaying pride and professionalism in appearance is what is important. I couldn't care less about race. It has nothing to do with being forced to "act like them" - it is civilized behaviour. The Africans I used to see when I lived in London, dressed in their pristine and starched native garb for church, would not have allowed that lazy, sloppy dress in their own children for a second. I have no time for attitude, slurred speech and underwear hanging out. To me, that screams, "I am utterly unemployable and couldn't care less whether I ever am."

[djxplicit.blogspot.com]

> It has nothing to do with being forced to "act like them" - it is civilized behaviour.

according to standards set by who?

white people?

you want them to act "civilized", which is just another way of saying like you.