by Carmen Van Kerckhove
Here we go again. Our supposedly racism-free youth at their finest. Thanks to Tereza and Kyla for the tips. I’ll have some links coming out tomorrow, but in the meantime you can read about it here.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of New Demographic, an anti-racism training company. She hosts the podcast Addicted to Race and blogs at Racialicious, Anti-Racist Parent, and Race in the Workplace.
Racialicious! is a production of New Demographic.
© 2004-2007 New Demographic. All rights reserved.
blog.txt theme by Scott
Brad wrote:
This time they are actually using racial slurs. I really don’t see what a town hall meeting is going to prove. The last couple of times this happened, there were town hall meetings and open forums and it just keeps happening. I said from the beginning that these students should be expelled. To me this isn’t freedom of expression, this is conduct. Maybe I’m being biased because I’m not rich like I believe these students are but if I or any other hospital emplyees or Firefighters pulled a stunt like this we would be suspended or fired even if weren’t on the on the clock. Our association with the department or hospital would be more than enough to get us fired. I believe They’re association with the school should get them expelled. that’s all I have to say
Posted 10 May 2007 at 4:55 pm ¶
Koko wrote:
This makes me weary about college. GEEZ…I mean people never learn.
At least they didn’t just get off with an apology, as if that would get the point through.
Posted 10 May 2007 at 5:26 pm ¶
eric daniels wrote:
To be young, white oblivous anti- P.C. and stupid.
Posted 10 May 2007 at 6:33 pm ¶
kate v. wrote:
oh my god what a bunch of buffoons. and did you read their apologies? it sounds something like:
oh my god. i am like soooooo not a racist. i’m like totally open-minded and stuff. i know i like go to college and stuff but i seriously had like no idea that like the word spic is like offensive and stuff. i’m like sooooo sorry if like anyone took offense to it. i also had like no idea that Latinos are like human. i so totally thought they came from outer space.
Posted 10 May 2007 at 8:32 pm ¶
Jeffrey wrote:
On the plus side the university responded quickly and the students apologized. I didn’t see any of the “you’re just being insensitive” junk.
Posted 11 May 2007 at 5:45 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
Oh joy, finally this crap comes to MY neck of the woods. Best part of the La Raza site is the “apologies:” Evidently everyone has gone to the Gibson/Imus school of Non-Apologists.
“I am accepting of all groups of people.” (except when you’re not.)
” I have respect for the minority population” (ah yes, the singular, monolithic, minority population. You too have heard of this, I see. I know it well.)
“In no way were these outfits or pictures meant to offend” (Um, what WERE they supposed to mean?)
“It was not my intention to be racist/I had no idea that word was racist” (basic rule of thumb: if you don’t hear a word in polite conversation in reference to an ethnic group, and the word invokes laughter or derision among people who aren’t of that group, and ESPECIALLY if you first heard it in the context of a joke or of someone yelling it at someone else…. IT MAY JUST BE A RACIST TERM. And you call yourselves high school graduates…)
“I was accused of racism… I apologize to anyone who was offended.” (Way to NOT acknowledge your error, but still validate the EXISTANCE of anonymous people who may have possibly been offended).
A commentator either here or on RachelsTavern said something in regards to the blackface parties: [paraphrased, and if anyone knows who came up with it, please let me know - it’s golden…]
“You didn’t intend to make fun of [XXX group]? OK, then, if you HAD, what would you have done differently?”
Posted 11 May 2007 at 7:05 am ¶
Eun-jung wrote:
This just saddens me to the core. What is even more disarming is that these kids have parents that provoked some kind of thought into their minds that it was okay to have a racist point of view against people.
I was just as upset, if not even further outraged with Johns Hopkins had the Halloween party this past October where they hung a scarecrow outside the house that looked uncommonly like a slave from a plantation being lynched from the porch. Disgusting. Utterly disgusting.
Posted 11 May 2007 at 8:06 am ¶
Jeffrey wrote:
No accusations of people being OVERsensitive, not INsensitive. I probably shouldn’t be commenting that early in the morning, typos like that slip through with ease.
Posted 11 May 2007 at 11:27 am ¶
Jun Zuniga wrote:
How is claiming ignorance a continual defense with these students? I’m not culpable because my intent was not to be racist, plus I didn’t know people would find it offensive.
They knew, I’d be surprised if they didn’t hear of the other campuses involved in similar blackface and yellowface incidents. They knew, then they posted their racism on Facebook.
“Spic & Span”, how do you reasonably claim to NOT know that is a racial epithet?
Posted 11 May 2007 at 11:48 am ¶
hoo_boy wrote:
And no comment from Sen. Biden about how wrong all this is/was? If he truly wanted to make a name for himself and stand up on racial stuff, this would be the time to do it, right?
Posted 11 May 2007 at 3:52 pm ¶
Angel H. wrote:
Is it just me or are all of those starting to look like form letters?
Dear [offended party],
I am deeply sorry for what I did. I cannot fully express to you in words the regret I am feeling right now for the pain that I have caused. Please understand that in no way was it my intention to be offensive to you or anyone else in any way. At the time I did not believe [insert actions] conveyed [racist, sexist, ageist, homophobic, etc.] ideals, however, I in no way wished to hurt anyone. [Insert action(s)] [was/were] intended to be light-hearted and funny. Never did I wish to degrade the [inserted offended party] community, and at the time, I did not expect that it would be taken so offensively. In this, I made a serious error in judgment. I am aware of the grave mistake I made; it was wrong, hurtful, and
offensive for me to do what I did.
I am actively working to improve myself and learn from this grave mistake. Again I apologize for offending you or anyone else.
Posted 11 May 2007 at 5:32 pm ¶
trixmithis wrote:
I notice a trend, a trend! They think it’s cool don’t they. Soon there’ll be a nappy headed ho’s party “I didn’t mean to offend. Is “nappy” racist?”
Posted 11 May 2007 at 11:00 pm ¶
Lyonside wrote:
Angel - oh yeah, they’re definitely from the “Damn, we got caught - now what?” playbook.
The timing sucks in that moat colleges are slowing down for the summer, even a big school like UDel. There’d be more diverse opinions and different voices heard from had this happened earlier in the semester. I’d have liked to hear from other campus organizations and individuals, maybe see a conversation going instead of what definiterly feels like a canned response.
Posted 12 May 2007 at 12:46 am ¶
Yori Kim wrote:
ugh, honestly—what has our society turned into? They knew it was racist, they just did that because they don’t want people to know that they ARE racist and they also don’t want to get expelled from their college. What a bunch of idiots.
Posted 13 May 2007 at 10:48 am ¶
Rabia wrote:
The obvious racism of these kids aside, how could they possibly be so idiotic as to take pictures of this party??? It’s like begging to get caught. You would think that they would have learned at least that much (learning to not be racist is clearly too much to ask!) from all the previous blackface and similar incidents this year.
Posted 14 May 2007 at 8:57 am ¶
Sewere wrote:
Rabia, I don’t think they were paying attention or that they cared. That’s why this form of racism is manifested in this manner, they are completely insulated from what is people of color find offensive.
Posted 14 May 2007 at 12:16 pm ¶
Santa Inquisiscion wrote:
Ja… they don’t learn, i am wondering what if the ghost of Cho would appear in from of them…
Posted 16 May 2007 at 4:15 pm ¶
gigi wrote:
This incident is an outrage! But it speaks to a bigger issue in America. It seems that people find it ok to make fun of and verbally abuse Mexicans/Latinamericans, but the second someone says one word about a black american they lose thier job or are immediately kicked out of their organization. It is appalling that white people feel the need to make fun of other races and even more appalling that society tends to penalize the slightest infraction against blacks, but glosses over downright racism towards hispanics.
Posted 20 May 2007 at 12:09 am ¶
Jared wrote:
I sent CALR and e-mail and they tried to have me fired from my job. They could have not responded or responded only to me but they decided to be malicious. They actually tried to harm my life by gettting me in trouble at work. What they didn’t know is that I’m the boss.
These people have no character. It’s about shutting people up. They are tolerant only if you agree with them. Is that tolerance?
Jared
I’ll send the e-mail to anyone who wants it.
Posted 21 May 2007 at 10:45 am ¶
Angel H. wrote:
Jared: An e-mail about what? Did you attend the party?
Posted 21 May 2007 at 11:31 am ¶
jared wrote:
No I did not attend the party. In fact I’m just some Joe Blow out here in Houston. I heard about the party via CNN. My letter was not very Politically Correct but it was well researched and had some great points. I’ll attempt to post it but it may be to long.
Jared
Posted 21 May 2007 at 2:30 pm ¶
jared wrote:
This is actually 3 emails. The original, a response from CALR, and a reply from me. I have not heard anything further from CALR.
It’s pretty long and the first e-mail is actually at the bottom… work your way up.
I appreciate your response but you’re talking to the Chief Executive. I don’t mind how I use my time in my own company.
Also, thank you for your e-mail. Instead of replying directly to the examples I gave in my e-mail you instead attacked me and were trying to threaten my job. LOL.
Make no mistake about it I will spread my e-mail and your response around. It’s wonderful evidence about the “intellectual” stance of your argument.
Failure to comply! LOL!
I learned a great lesson in writing when I was in college. My professor said if I was going to make a claim in an essay I would need to backup that claim with three examples. I did that in my previous e-mail. You make claims in your e-mail with absolutely no backup.
Just so you don’t try and intellectually weasel out of the arguments I posited you should know this: My wife was an illegal alien. She is from El Salvador. We were able to get her legal thanks to a law signed by President Clinton. We were planning on getting married in May 2001 but had to rush the wedding because we had a deadline of April 30, 2001 to get the paperwork filed. She is currently a permanent resident and we will be able to file for her citizenship in June of this year. It’s an awfully long process.
You see naturally through love we are building this “Cosmic Race”.
I don’t see how this has any bearing on any of my arguments however.
Gauging by your response to my initial e-mail one of two things is true (I don’t know which)
1) You simply disregard arguments that don’t fit your belief and you don’t allow yourself to truly think critically.
2) You are intentionally attempting to deceive people with your words and actions. Example “undocumented immigrants”. Be honest, they are illegal.
Now do you have the intellectual ability/honesty to debate my ideas or will you simply try to brow beat me? Using company time…. still LOL.
Jared
—–Original Message—–
From: La Raza - The CALR [mailto:thecalr@hotmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 12:38 AM
To: Jared Cowan
Subject: RE: EMR 2000 & La Raza Cosmica
Mr Cowan:
Thank you for your comments. We would encourage you not to use the property
of the Electronic Medical Resources Corporation or company time to engage in
any further offensive and misguided behavior.
Failure to comply will result in us contacting EMR’s chief executive staff
at its Houston headquarters at a time of our choosing.
In the meantime, we encourage you to strongly consider taking classes in
cultural sensitivity and professional responsibility.
For those of you in EMR who have been blind-carbon-copied this email - Mr.
Cowan was referencing the material found on the following website:
http://www.campuslaraza.org/racism.html
Best,
~The CALR Staff
The Campus Alliance de La Raza
En La Union Esta La Fuerza
218 Trabant University Center
http://www.campuslaraza.org
>From: “Jared Cowan”
>To:
>Subject: La Raza Cosmica
>Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 09:26:34 -0500
>
>La Raza Cosmica. It’s about breeding! Granted it’s about the blending of
>all races into one “Cosmic Race” but at the end of the day it’s about the
>breeding of a new race of people naturally through love. Do you really
>have to have breeding to blend cultures? Does a “decadent” Asian really
>have to breed with an African to produce offspring that is culturally
>sensitive and understanding? What a load crap! Has anyone actually sat
>down and thought through the mechanics of this?
>
>
>
>Furthermore, La Raza, implies an inherent hierarchy, because you have to be
>bred. What if my parents are both Caucasian? Am I left out of “La Raza”.
>The answer is YES. It’s about sex and breeding. Of course Vasconcelos
>intent may not have been to radicalize anyone like the Nazi’s but the
>hierarchy is still there, and people have been radicalized. Ever heard of
>MEChA?
>
>
>
>Jose Vasconcelos was wrong/naïve on so many levels, but that is beyond the
>scope of this e-mail.
>
>
>
>Now, according to your “definition” of “La Raza” people misinterpret it!
>If anyone has misinterpreted the meaning it has been you. He is clearly
>talking about a RACE of people created through breeding.
>
>
>
>Let’s stop the philosophy and get practical:
>
>
>
>Who claims to be La Raza?” There is an obvious answer - Hispanics. When a
>bunch of illegal immigrants get together and protest for rights waving the
>Mexican flag and holding signs saying “Viva La Raza” it’s unambiguous which
>people are “La Raza”. We have a music station here is Houston called “La
>Raza”. Guess what kind of music they play. I’ll give you a hint, it’s not
>Jazz or Country. When I see someone driving along with a “La Raza” bumper
>sticker it is never a “decadent” Asian. When someone comes up with a
>college “Alliance de La Raza” I’ll even venture to guess that part of their
>mission statement is to advance the Latino Agenda. That’s not very
>inclusive. In the “spirit” of “La Raza Cosmica” shouldn’t you be promoting
>a “Human Agenda”?
>
>
>
>And you think people have misinterpreted “La Raza”. That’s just
>intellectually dishonest (on multiple levels) at best and a malicious
>attempt to mislead at worst.
>
>
>
>Now the scandal: A Racist Party at the University of Delaware. Talk about
>mock outrage. All I see is the pot calling the kettle black.
>
>
>
>I didn’t see any Hispanics getting bent out of shape when HISPANIC leaders
>were saying if we didn’t give illegal-immigrants work visas we wouldn’t
>have anybody to pick our lettuce! Isn’t that racist? Is that the only
>work illegal immigrants do? Are illegal immigrants only Hispanics? That
>notion is racist too.
>
>
>
>We are also told if we enforce our immigration laws we (Americans) are
>racists. What about Mexico? They enforce their immigration laws. Using
>that logic ALL MEXICANS ARE RACISTS! In fact ALL LATINO’S ARE RACIST
>BECAUSE ALL THOSE COUNTRIES ENFORCE THEIR IMMIGRATION LAWS! And this type
>of rhetoric comes out of the mouths of people associated with organizations
>like and including “La Raza”.
>
>
>
>Intellectual dishonesty. Racism. It’s not a misinterpretation. We
>(Americans) are quite aware who the racists are.
>
>
>
>Jared
Posted 21 May 2007 at 2:33 pm ¶
jared wrote:
About them trying to get me fired…. They used my e-mail address to find my company website. They found and e-mail address there and BCC’d that address with their response. Whether it was to just get me in trouble or get me fired is anyone’s guess but it was malacious nonetheless.
They could have not responded OR responded only to me. They chose to try and shut me up. And it was malacious because they tried to hurt my career by sending the e-mail to the other address.
So much for the platitude of tolerance!
Jared
Posted 21 May 2007 at 2:44 pm ¶