If it's not because they're racist...

[Anonymous]

Saw this article in the WaPo and it made me think of this thread.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/11/debate-flares-after-black-college-students-seek-a-non-white-roommate/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_roommate-805a-stream%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

In most respects, the roommate-wanted notice seemed routine. Three students at the Claremont colleges in Southern California were looking for a fourth this summer to join them in an off-campus house. They added a caveat in parentheses: “POC only,” they said, using a common abbreviation for people of color.

When a classmate challenged that condition, the Pitzer College student who posted the notice on Facebook pushed back. “It’s exclusive [because] I don’t want to live with any white folks,” wrote Karé Ureña, who is black.

Ureña, 20, a junior at Pitzer, and one of her roommates, Sajo Jefferson, 19, a sophomore at Pomona, defended their query in a statement to The Washington Post. Ureña describes herself as Afro-Caribbean and Jefferson identifies as a multiracial black person. Minority communities on campus, they said, constantly must deal with issues that arise when they are surrounded by classmates who don’t understand where they are coming from and have little interest in finding out.

“When and if you understand this context, it becomes clear that students of color seeking a living space that is all-POC is not only reasonable, but can be necessary,” they wrote to The Post. “We live in a world where the living circumstances of POC are grounded in racist social structures that we can not opt out of. These conditions threaten the minds, bodies and souls of people of color both within and without the realms of higher education. We are fighting to exist.”

Imagine, for one minute, that these students were white and posted a roommate-wanted ad that said, “Whites only apply.” Imagine the outrage. Then, imagine the backlash if the students tried to defend the ad.
Hypocrites.

[Anonymous]

Look, I'm white (Irish) and I wanted to marry and have children with another white (preferably Irish) person.

I also wanted to marry someone who was Catholic like me.

This was my preference. This is a lot of people's preference..they want to marry someone like them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look, I'm white (Irish) and I wanted to marry and have children with another white (preferably Irish) person.

I also wanted to marry someone who was Catholic like me.

This was my preference. This is a lot of people's preference..they want to marry someone like them.

I'm black and married a white person. But I really don't get upset at positions like PP's. I mean, some people even end up marrying people who LOOK like them -- ever seen those couples you really think look like siblings? People like different things. Who cares. Do what you want.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saw this article in the WaPo and it made me think of this thread.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/11/debate-flares-after-black-college-students-seek-a-non-white-roommate/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_roommate-805a-stream%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

In most respects, the roommate-wanted notice seemed routine. Three students at the Claremont colleges in Southern California were looking for a fourth this summer to join them in an off-campus house. They added a caveat in parentheses: “POC only,” they said, using a common abbreviation for people of color.

When a classmate challenged that condition, the Pitzer College student who posted the notice on Facebook pushed back. “It’s exclusive [because] I don’t want to live with any white folks,” wrote Karé Ureña, who is black.

Ureña, 20, a junior at Pitzer, and one of her roommates, Sajo Jefferson, 19, a sophomore at Pomona, defended their query in a statement to The Washington Post. Ureña describes herself as Afro-Caribbean and Jefferson identifies as a multiracial black person. Minority communities on campus, they said, constantly must deal with issues that arise when they are surrounded by classmates who don’t understand where they are coming from and have little interest in finding out.

“When and if you understand this context, it becomes clear that students of color seeking a living space that is all-POC is not only reasonable, but can be necessary,” they wrote to The Post. “We live in a world where the living circumstances of POC are grounded in racist social structures that we can not opt out of. These conditions threaten the minds, bodies and souls of people of color both within and without the realms of higher education. We are fighting to exist.”

Imagine, for one minute, that these students were white and posted a roommate-wanted ad that said, “Whites only apply.” Imagine the outrage. Then, imagine the backlash if the students tried to defend the ad.
Hypocrites.

If we lived in a country where black people were the dominant group and white people had a history of being enslaved and then discriminated against, I would agree with you. But I live in reality, so, alas, things are more complicated than you can apparently appreciate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this article in the WaPo and it made me think of this thread.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/11/debate-flares-after-black-college-students-seek-a-non-white-roommate/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_roommate-805a-stream%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

In most respects, the roommate-wanted notice seemed routine. Three students at the Claremont colleges in Southern California were looking for a fourth this summer to join them in an off-campus house. They added a caveat in parentheses: “POC only,” they said, using a common abbreviation for people of color.

When a classmate challenged that condition, the Pitzer College student who posted the notice on Facebook pushed back. “It’s exclusive [because] I don’t want to live with any white folks,” wrote Karé Ureña, who is black.

Ureña, 20, a junior at Pitzer, and one of her roommates, Sajo Jefferson, 19, a sophomore at Pomona, defended their query in a statement to The Washington Post. Ureña describes herself as Afro-Caribbean and Jefferson identifies as a multiracial black person. Minority communities on campus, they said, constantly must deal with issues that arise when they are surrounded by classmates who don’t understand where they are coming from and have little interest in finding out.

“When and if you understand this context, it becomes clear that students of color seeking a living space that is all-POC is not only reasonable, but can be necessary,” they wrote to The Post. “We live in a world where the living circumstances of POC are grounded in racist social structures that we can not opt out of. These conditions threaten the minds, bodies and souls of people of color both within and without the realms of higher education. We are fighting to exist.”

Imagine, for one minute, that these students were white and posted a roommate-wanted ad that said, “Whites only apply.” Imagine the outrage. Then, imagine the backlash if the students tried to defend the ad.
Hypocrites.

If we lived in a country where black people were the dominant group and white people had a history of being enslaved and then discriminated against, I would agree with you. But I live in reality, so, alas, things are more complicated than you can apparently appreciate.

You know, perhaps if these “non-racist” college students who want only a “Person Of Color” as a roommate actually had a white roommate, THEY may learn something about white people and the white person might learn something about people of color. There is no reason at all to be so damned exclusive (i.e., racist) like these students. No reason.

[Anonymous]

Look, PP, I think you're probably white. I understand it's hard for you to understand and as a POC very comfortable with whites, I would not do what those students are doing. But some POCs were so isolated in majority white environments growing up and felt so discriminated against and misunderstood that going to college and living with people like them is empowering and educational and kinda therapeutic. I did not get along with people like this is college -- but I understand them now.

[Anonymous]

^^^ I'll also add I was kind of kicked off the black student listserv in college! LOL! But, seriously, people have different journeys they need to take. Reflect on it. Practice radical empathy. It will be okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...then why do some people have a vested interest in keeping a race "pure"? (Stereotypically white people, but it could also mean traditional families, i.e. Indian parents who only want an Indian man for their daughter, etc.) I understand that some of it stems from retaining cultural/religious views in a family, but I'm only talking about the racial aspect.

Why is "white genocide" a term? It's not a genocide in the way that the Jews and Armenians experienced, being killed by the masses. It's referring to a mixing of races, diluting the white family tree by having children with non-white person. Even if this were a serious affair (which it's not currently, according to Table FG4 here), what difference does it make? Why should anyone care if their race eventually turns into a mix with others? I'm white, and by the time that even happened (even if it were rampant now!) I would be long gone, so what effect does it have on me? I just can't wrap my head around the notion.

I guess you don't know many Koreans or Japanese. They're worse

OP here. Those cultures would be covered in my blanket statement, whereas the second paragraph is more so what I actually see in America right now. I'm curious about the mindset from any race's perspective...but being white myself, it's especially odd to see the white genocide folks tout their grievances when I'm in "the same boat" as them and I don't feel the same as they do in the slightest. Anyone remember the backlash to that interracial Old Navy ad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:...then why do some people have a vested interest in keeping a race "pure"? (Stereotypically white people, but it could also mean traditional families, i.e. Indian parents who only want an Indian man for their daughter, etc.) I understand that some of it stems from retaining cultural/religious views in a family, but I'm only talking about the racial aspect.

Why is "white genocide" a term? It's not a genocide in the way that the Jews and Armenians experienced, being killed by the masses. It's referring to a mixing of races, diluting the white family tree by having children with non-white person. Even if this were a serious affair (which it's not currently, according to Table FG4 here), what difference does it make? Why should anyone care if their race eventually turns into a mix with others? I'm white, and by the time that even happened (even if it were rampant now!) I would be long gone, so what effect does it have on me? I just can't wrap my head around the notion.

I can't speak to those who want the race pure, but I can speak to those people, especially immigrant Americans who want their children to marry others of their same ethnicity. I'm first generation Chinese American, e.g. the first natural born generation (since some people use it differently). In the 1950's when my parents immigrated to America, there were not a lot of Chinese around. They did gravitate to others like them who had immigrated relatively recently. As all of us kids were born and grew up, some of the families placed a strong emphasis on marrying Chinese. Why? Because there is a culture that they wanted to have their children and in-laws continue to participate in. For example, my parents often speak to us in Chinese. Even though my siblings only respond in English, they still understand when my parents speak to them in Chinese. We have customs that we were raised with based on our Chinese origins including celebrating certain holidays or following certain customs. I have been married 14 years and my wife still says that sometimes when we visit my parents, some cultural things go past her. She is familiar with a lot, and when she doesn't understand something, she usually just waits and she asks me about it later and we talk about it. But my parents have always been much more "Americanized" that some of their friends. Some of our long-time family friends did have a bit of culture shock in trying to adjust to a non-Chinese in-law. When you are comfortable communicating in your native language at home, trying to remember to speak in English when your in-law is there is hard. You forget. There are cultural differences that you share that would take a long time to teach someone. If you want to get a taste of this, watch "The Wedding Banquet" or "The Joy Luck Club" and watch the interactions of the family once the non-Chinese in-laws are added and see some of the difficulties they face.

OP here. This is good insight into the cultural side, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look, I'm white (Irish) and I wanted to marry and have children with another white (preferably Irish) person.

I also wanted to marry someone who was Catholic like me.

This was my preference. This is a lot of people's preference..they want to marry someone like them.

OP here. This is true, and this is understandable. I tend to have more African-American friends because I tend to get along and have the same likes and beliefs as the majority of the ones I've come across. It's compatibility, just like you marrying an Irish Catholic is compatible for you. (I'm Irish too, woo!)

What I don't understand is when people get upset because someone ELSE is marrying someone from a different race. It doesn't really affect them (it might mildly if it is their child; see the Chinese-American example above), but they get upset because the race is "dying out." Like I've said before, no offense to my fellow white people, but I couldn't give a hoot if there aren't any pale people in 500 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saw this article in the WaPo and it made me think of this thread.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/11/debate-flares-after-black-college-students-seek-a-non-white-roommate/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_roommate-805a-stream%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

In most respects, the roommate-wanted notice seemed routine. Three students at the Claremont colleges in Southern California were looking for a fourth this summer to join them in an off-campus house. They added a caveat in parentheses: “POC only,” they said, using a common abbreviation for people of color.

When a classmate challenged that condition, the Pitzer College student who posted the notice on Facebook pushed back. “It’s exclusive [because] I don’t want to live with any white folks,” wrote Karé Ureña, who is black.

Ureña, 20, a junior at Pitzer, and one of her roommates, Sajo Jefferson, 19, a sophomore at Pomona, defended their query in a statement to The Washington Post. Ureña describes herself as Afro-Caribbean and Jefferson identifies as a multiracial black person. Minority communities on campus, they said, constantly must deal with issues that arise when they are surrounded by classmates who don’t understand where they are coming from and have little interest in finding out.

“When and if you understand this context, it becomes clear that students of color seeking a living space that is all-POC is not only reasonable, but can be necessary,” they wrote to The Post. “We live in a world where the living circumstances of POC are grounded in racist social structures that we can not opt out of. These conditions threaten the minds, bodies and souls of people of color both within and without the realms of higher education. We are fighting to exist.”

Imagine, for one minute, that these students were white and posted a roommate-wanted ad that said, “Whites only apply.” Imagine the outrage. Then, imagine the backlash if the students tried to defend the ad.
Hypocrites.

I'm pretty sure this is illegal under federal, state and local laws.
There are no exceptions in the prohibition against discrimination in housing if the people advertising for rooms to let are black.
Amazing these kids so blatantly admit to engaging in housing discrimination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this article in the WaPo and it made me think of this thread.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/11/debate-flares-after-black-college-students-seek-a-non-white-roommate/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_roommate-805a-stream%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

In most respects, the roommate-wanted notice seemed routine. Three students at the Claremont colleges in Southern California were looking for a fourth this summer to join them in an off-campus house. They added a caveat in parentheses: “POC only,” they said, using a common abbreviation for people of color.

When a classmate challenged that condition, the Pitzer College student who posted the notice on Facebook pushed back. “It’s exclusive [because] I don’t want to live with any white folks,” wrote Karé Ureña, who is black.

Ureña, 20, a junior at Pitzer, and one of her roommates, Sajo Jefferson, 19, a sophomore at Pomona, defended their query in a statement to The Washington Post. Ureña describes herself as Afro-Caribbean and Jefferson identifies as a multiracial black person. Minority communities on campus, they said, constantly must deal with issues that arise when they are surrounded by classmates who don’t understand where they are coming from and have little interest in finding out.

“When and if you understand this context, it becomes clear that students of color seeking a living space that is all-POC is not only reasonable, but can be necessary,” they wrote to The Post. “We live in a world where the living circumstances of POC are grounded in racist social structures that we can not opt out of. These conditions threaten the minds, bodies and souls of people of color both within and without the realms of higher education. We are fighting to exist.”

Imagine, for one minute, that these students were white and posted a roommate-wanted ad that said, “Whites only apply.” Imagine the outrage. Then, imagine the backlash if the students tried to defend the ad.
Hypocrites.

If we lived in a country where black people were the dominant group and white people had a history of being enslaved and then discriminated against, I would agree with you. But I live in reality, so, alas, things are more complicated than you can apparently appreciate.

You know, perhaps if these “non-racist” college students who want only a “Person Of Color” as a roommate actually had a white roommate, THEY may learn something about white people and the white person might learn something about people of color. There is no reason at all to be so damned exclusive (i.e., racist) like these students. No reason.

I agree. You can;t defeat racial discrimination by engaging in it.

[Anonymous]

I am an Irish Catholic white woman's. In ways, I wish my husband were also Catholic (and Irish might be nice too given that extended family would be in the same place and could connect more easily). Don't care about skin color, though.

I do think that shared expectations are very important in a marriage. Whether a couple gets that through a shared culture or religion, shared experiences, or simply by having the same world outlook on key issues I don't think is too important. I could understand wanting to marry within ones culture more where someone is in a group that is disrespected by others and wants to have a group identity that is familiar and known within their home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Saw this article in the WaPo and it made me think of this thread.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/11/debate-flares-after-black-college-students-seek-a-non-white-roommate/?hpid=hp_hp-more-top-stories-2_roommate-805a-stream%3Ahomepage%2Fstory

In most respects, the roommate-wanted notice seemed routine. Three students at the Claremont colleges in Southern California were looking for a fourth this summer to join them in an off-campus house. They added a caveat in parentheses: “POC only,” they said, using a common abbreviation for people of color.

When a classmate challenged that condition, the Pitzer College student who posted the notice on Facebook pushed back. “It’s exclusive [because] I don’t want to live with any white folks,” wrote Karé Ureña, who is black.

Ureña, 20, a junior at Pitzer, and one of her roommates, Sajo Jefferson, 19, a sophomore at Pomona, defended their query in a statement to The Washington Post. Ureña describes herself as Afro-Caribbean and Jefferson identifies as a multiracial black person. Minority communities on campus, they said, constantly must deal with issues that arise when they are surrounded by classmates who don’t understand where they are coming from and have little interest in finding out.

“When and if you understand this context, it becomes clear that students of color seeking a living space that is all-POC is not only reasonable, but can be necessary,” they wrote to The Post. “We live in a world where the living circumstances of POC are grounded in racist social structures that we can not opt out of. These conditions threaten the minds, bodies and souls of people of color both within and without the realms of higher education. We are fighting to exist.”

Imagine, for one minute, that these students were white and posted a roommate-wanted ad that said, “Whites only apply.” Imagine the outrage. Then, imagine the backlash if the students tried to defend the ad.
Hypocrites.

I'm pretty sure this is illegal under federal, state and local laws.
There are no exceptions in the prohibition against discrimination in housing if the people advertising for rooms to let are black.
Amazing these kids so blatantly admit to engaging in housing discrimination.

Not to be too technical, but I think the students already rented the apartment and then sought the roommate. That's not under the housing discrimination law. They're not a landlord looking for a tenant. I doubt you'd have a problem with three women looking for a fourth female roomate. Frankly, it wouldn't even be illegal if whites did what these kids are doing. The reaction would be different because our history is different. It makes sense to me but some of you don't seem to have reflected enough on our history.

[Anonymous]

^ it makes no sense to me because our nation passed anti-discrimination laws in housing in 1964 - over 50 years ago - and now these kids just blatantly and with impunity say "I don't want to live with whites." That just blatant racial discrimination. They should be thrown out of school. And they would be if the were white and advertised for white roommates only.