Monday, November 05, 2007
Brave new schools
To say that the following is Orwellian is an understatement of the first degree:
"A mandatory University of Delaware program requires residence hall students to acknowledge that 'all whites are racist' and offers them 'treatment' for any incorrect attitudes regarding class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality they might hold upon entering the school, according to a civil rights group.
"'Somehow, the University of Delaware seems terrifyingly unaware that a state-sponsored institution of higher education in the United States does not have the legal right to engage in a program of systematic thought reform. The First Amendment protects the right to freedom of conscience – the right to keep our innermost thoughts free from governmental intrusion. It also protects the right to be free from compelled speech,' said a letter from Samantha Harris, director of legal and public advocacy for The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education to university President Patrick Harker.
"The organization cited excerpts from the university's Office of Residence Life Diversity Education Training documents, including the statement:
"'A RACIST: A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality. By this definition, people of color cannot be racists, because as peoples within the U.S. system, they do not have the power to back up their prejudices, hostilities, or acts of discrimination.'"
Implying that someone is racist simply because he or she has white skin is inherently racist in and of itself. No? Well, consider this:
From 1994-2005, blacks "made up 40 percent of all cop-killers ... even though they [made up] only 13.4 percent of the American population."
If I implied from on high that "all blacks" are cop-killers, do you think that anyone on earth would take me seriously? What If I suggested that a U.S. college or university should instruct its charges to learn about cop-killing blacks and do what they can to "fight" such pernicious individuals?
I'd be run outta town on a big-ass rail, and any free-thinking/learned soul worth his or her salt knows it!
You know, any person who thinks that American colleges and universities are institutes of higher "learning" is deluding himself/herself. Indeed, tain't much thinkin' goin' on at very many schools these days ... see above.
"A mandatory University of Delaware program requires residence hall students to acknowledge that 'all whites are racist' and offers them 'treatment' for any incorrect attitudes regarding class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality they might hold upon entering the school, according to a civil rights group.
"'Somehow, the University of Delaware seems terrifyingly unaware that a state-sponsored institution of higher education in the United States does not have the legal right to engage in a program of systematic thought reform. The First Amendment protects the right to freedom of conscience – the right to keep our innermost thoughts free from governmental intrusion. It also protects the right to be free from compelled speech,' said a letter from Samantha Harris, director of legal and public advocacy for The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education to university President Patrick Harker.
"The organization cited excerpts from the university's Office of Residence Life Diversity Education Training documents, including the statement:
"'A RACIST: A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e., people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture or sexuality. By this definition, people of color cannot be racists, because as peoples within the U.S. system, they do not have the power to back up their prejudices, hostilities, or acts of discrimination.'"
Implying that someone is racist simply because he or she has white skin is inherently racist in and of itself. No? Well, consider this:
From 1994-2005, blacks "made up 40 percent of all cop-killers ... even though they [made up] only 13.4 percent of the American population."
If I implied from on high that "all blacks" are cop-killers, do you think that anyone on earth would take me seriously? What If I suggested that a U.S. college or university should instruct its charges to learn about cop-killing blacks and do what they can to "fight" such pernicious individuals?
I'd be run outta town on a big-ass rail, and any free-thinking/learned soul worth his or her salt knows it!
You know, any person who thinks that American colleges and universities are institutes of higher "learning" is deluding himself/herself. Indeed, tain't much thinkin' goin' on at very many schools these days ... see above.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, November 05, 2007 
