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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ 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.

Well it's discrimination in the dictionary sense of the word, but not under the law.

[Anonymous]

Oops...I screwed up the tagging. Fixing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

As a small sample of what I'm talking about:

[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.

Great article showing how we've come full circle

We desegregate, yet people choose to segregate by race. They need a "safe place." Well, one comment mentioned historically black colleges. They were created to level the playing field & to create safe havens for blacks. They still exist. There are charter schools created specifically for black males.

I don't know what to think anymore. But I do know this isn't the UNITED States.

[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.

Great article showing how we've come full circle

We desegregate, yet people choose to segregate by race. They need a "safe place." Well, one comment mentioned historically black colleges. They were created to level the playing field & to create safe havens for blacks. They still exist. There are charter schools created specifically for black males.

I don't know what to think anymore. But I do know this isn't the UNITED States.

And all this pandering to specific groups, in keeping with "identity politics" is dividing us further.

[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.

Great article showing how we've come full circle

We desegregate, yet people choose to segregate by race. They need a "safe place." Well, one comment mentioned historically black colleges. They were created to level the playing field & to create safe havens for blacks. They still exist. There are charter schools created specifically for black males.

I don't know what to think anymore. But I do know this isn't the UNITED States.

Are you referring to the United States of Jim Crow, redlining and white flight? The United States where AAs are routinely stopped for DWB or patted down without reasonable suspicion? Where online comments are filled with vile, racist hate speech? Where civic leaders think it's okay to post racist in ages of the President and First Lady? The United States where federal courts just this week struck down gerrymandered voting districts and ID laws designed to disenfranchise minorities? That United States?

[Anonymous]

White people are allowed to go to historically black colleges, PP. My white high school teacher got a scholarship to go to one! You say "identity politics" all negatively. At the end of the day people from certain backgrounds do have specific concerns. It's really not that weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

I feel the same, OP, at least when it comes to race. Because race is not a big thing in my life. I mean obviously I benefit from white privilege, but I don't go around thinking "glad we won this one for the white guys" or feeling like there is something special about being white.

However, I can kind of see the perspective because it's how I feel about religion. I am Jewish and it's been culturally ingrained all my life that it's important to marry a Jew, raise my kids Jewish, participate in Jewish causes, not let Judaism die out, etc. I notice when someone Jewish does something good or bad. Kind of a small "yay" if it's good -- like Aly Raisman at the Olympics -- and "ugh, asshole, stop reflecting poorly on us" when it's bad.

I guess some people feel this way about being white. I'm not sure why because I am not sure what particular cultural traits go with being white, as opposed to being of German/Irish/Polish/whatever ancestry. And I don't personally know anyone like that, I don't think. And I couldn't care less if 100 years from now there are virtually no whites in the US. However I would feel bad if there were no Jews.