Residence Life - - "Diversity Training"

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Japher
"you people"!!! I'm offended!

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by orange
I like this set best, though I would define prejudice as making a judgment or assumption about someone based on a physical characteristic prior to confirming it with a more reliable method.

Yeah, that's probably more accurate, but I would also add that the prejudice may be based on prior experience and could be understandable if you consider someone's past experiences.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by Caligastia


Why don't you just put that stat back in your arse where it belongs?

There's no reason to think a white person wouldn't be mistaken for a janitor if they were dressed the same way. Whether you think her race makes it more likely or not is irrelevent. The point is that she automatically assumes the worst.

Don't be ridiculous. In college virtually all janitors are hispanic (usually the more native american-looking ones). Do you really think there's even a remote possibility that she would have been confused with a janitor if she was white?

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Boshko
In college virtually all janitors are janitors

As they should be.

What are the janitors that aren't janitors doing?

(usually the more native american-looking ones). Do you really think there's even a remote possibility that she would have been confused with a janitor if she was white?

There is such a thing as a white janitor you know. Yes, it's true, some white people actually do manual labor.

[orange]

in our school very few are hispanic. Most are African American, some are white. Probably 70-30, based only on my experience of who I've talked to and seen.

[Q Classic]

at my highschool, they were all south vietnamese.

===

is it racist of me to think that white shrinks won't be able to understand at all where i'm coming from as an asianamerican, and that asianamerican shrinks would? even if it is based on personal experience?

if it is, then isn't it racist for a black person to think that a black would be more understanding?

so then, why is it somehow racist that a white person would think that a white ra would be more understanding of their issues? being asian, if i were an ra, i'd have no clue as to how to deal with whatever a typical white problem would be, like overcompensating and obsessing over a different, "in" ethnicity. i wouldn't understand exactly where a black person would be coming from when being thought of as a janitor. by the same token, i wouldn't expect a black or white person to understand just why it's so irritating to be complimented on how well i speak my english.

is it racist to think that those of your same kind may more often be capable of understanding where you're coming from?

[Al B. Sure!]

Q Cubed, you type such good english

[Shi Huangdi]

At Pitt we have plenty of white Custodians.

[orange]

Q Cubed - That must really stink. I mean, you grow up in America and yet you're still expected to speak broken English....some people

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
at my highschool, they were all south vietnamese.

===

is it racist of me to think that white shrinks won't be able to understand at all where i'm coming from as an asianamerican, and that asianamerican shrinks would? even if it is based on personal experience?

if it is, then isn't it racist for a black person to think that a black would be more understanding?

so then, why is it somehow racist that a white person would think that a white ra would be more understanding of their issues? being asian, if i were an ra, i'd have no clue as to how to deal with whatever a typical white problem would be, like overcompensating and obsessing over a different, "in" ethnicity. i wouldn't understand exactly where a black person would be coming from when being thought of as a janitor. by the same token, i wouldn't expect a black or white person to understand just why it's so irritating to be complimented on how well i speak my english.

is it racist to think that those of your same kind may more often be capable of understanding where you're coming from?

Of course not. It's not politically correct for whites to openly express such a sentiment though. Whites are not permitted to express their preference for whites in any situation without being branded as racist.

[Al B. Sure!]

i think the comedian patrice oneal said it best when he said there's definently going to be a race war in america but it isnt going to be between blacks and white. it's going to be white liberals against white conservatives.

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove


I'm sorry, but white people don't personally suffer anywhere nearly as much from the psychological effects of racial prejudice as do black people. The black girl needs a place where she feels safe. After all, if the race ratio at your school is like that of the typical American university then she is surrounded all day by people unlike her. She needs a place where she can let down her guard. Eventually she may acclimate to the environment. The situation of the white student is completely different.

You're side stepping the issue. I agree that a black student may have a problem for which a black RA (some type of advisor?) would be better suited. There are significant differences between black and white cultures. With that in mind though, wouldnt you expect that there may be some questions where a white student might have a better rapport with a white RA than a black RA one?

The purpose, though, is to promote diversity (or so I'm told) so if you're assigned an RA - thats the one you go to - never mind the 'skin tone'.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by SpencerH
You're side stepping the issue. I agree that a black student may have a problem for which a black RA (some type of advisor?) would be better suited. There are significant differences between black and white cultures. With that in mind though, wouldnt you expect that there may be some questions where a white student might have a better rapport with a white RA than a black RA one?

Good post.

[Japher]

Good post.

eeek! I thought so too...

[Caligastia]

[orange]

You're side stepping the issue. I agree that a black student may have a problem for which a black RA (some type of advisor?) would be better suited. There are significant differences between black and white cultures. With that in mind though, wouldnt you expect that there may be some questions where a white student might have a better rapport with a white RA than a black RA one?

While I don't personally agree with that opinion, i can respect and understand it because it is not a double standard. Reslife here at UD, however, takes a much more sinister appraoch. Plain and simple, the former example is acceptable, the latter is racism.

Update - I had a one on one just an hour or so ago with my HD. As I said before, we have a great relationship, but we always have a heated debate about this topic. What always strikes me as funny, though, is that we end up agreeing on many points when we debate this topic after we get most of it out there. Aside from a one on one, however, she takes on what seems to be a different opinion. It's as if she herself is ignoring many of her own feelings to go along with what is expected of her as a reslife employee. Though she is certainly on the other side of the issue, we really don't disagree on the fundamentals, only on the finer details. We both reach the conclusion that black-white power struggles, in general, are simply a microcosm of the larger issue of economic or class struggles, and that, if given the same economic status, most "-ism" issues would fizzle out.

Edit: Not so much equal economic status, but equal opportunity for economic status. I think one of the large issues here is that we live under the notion that everyone has the same opportunity for economic advancement and this is certainly not the case.