White people need to admit they have white guilt which causes them to protect themselves with rationalization and denial.

Chances are if you have ever said, “I’m not racist but…” you are racist! It’s more than just blatantly saying racist things! It’s being scared when you see a black man walking down the street, or locking your door when you drive through a poor area, its saying, “bad neighborhood” when you mean black people… etc.

Oh and yes, I am white.

This may not be directly tied to AA but it is my own personal experience:

I am a college student and graduated high school with a 3.97 GPA, 30 ACT score. I worked incredibly hard for that, and I have had to fight for scholarships in order to attend college , I recieved a few scholarships which helped.

Now the comparison, a friend of mine from the same high school who never studied, was always a marginal student barely making passing grades got double the scholarships, and his parents make double the money mine do. I was talking with him one day and he mentioned that he recieved many of the “African American ” Scholarships. I think this is disgusting, do you ever see caucasian scholarships? This is a real form of institutional RACISM.

At my university there is a NAACP chapter, Black Students Ass., Society of Black Engineers, Black Scholars United, Black Graduate Students Association, Black Law students association, Minority Affairs Association, the list continues…..

Now I search for White Associations:

No result.

They host a Black History Month here, a Black Awareness week, Black students are rewarded with banquets for only black scholars.

THIS IS RACISM, PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT BY PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS.

If you do not see this, not just from what I wrote but from common sense in your everday lives you are blind!!

This is wrong and I am flat tired of it, I am not a prejudice person but I hate it when people claim they need AA, and that they are under oppression by a white system of power etc. The only people being oppressed are the new generation of white children/teenagers. Society is not the same as it was in 1960, none of the new generation was even alive then. Times change!

As you might have guessed from the above statements, I am against affirmative action. I believe that it further separates people on the issue of race as well as implies that blacks are inferior and need help.
Blacks do not need more help than anybody else.
They just need to take personal responsibility for their own lives and aspire to be great, because the ability to become great is in all people, and the oportunity in America for one to follow their dreams and reach their own individual potential is endless.

Lastly, one major problem in the black culture is who the young look up to as role models. Putting gangster rapers and ball players up on high pedistals is ruining them. The black culture looks down upon accomplished black individual like Condelesa Rice and Colin Powel. Condelesa hold I believe 4 doctorite degress and speeks a multitude of languages and holds the highest position in government a black woman has ever reached. Colin Powel of course has similar admirable attributes. These people are looked down on, even ridiculed; they are called uncle toms and such. Similarly a black child in school is ridiculed if he attains good grades for trying to “act white”. This is extremely offensive to me, and should be to everyone. Again, this implies that only whites do well in school. The fact that such comments come out of the mouths of black children leeds me to believe that they are not being taught the right Values.
Blacks are affraid of not “acting black”. Which they take to mean as not raping, or trying to be a ball player, to joining a gang, to dumbing down their own inteligence and potential to fit in with the black culture. One example of this in society, in the media, is in the Dave Schepel Show. Where they had a racial draft.
I even went to a comedy show last weekend and the comedian on stage was saying how he envied white people, because they can go out wearing whatever and not worry about what it looks like or if it gets dirty…He continued to say that he must have the appropriate, pre-approved “gear”
on, and if he managed to get ketsup on it, he needs to get home to change. He then said if he didn’t do this he might get his “black card” taken away from him.
I believe that affirmative action and its implication that blacks are entitled to handouts and privilage on the sole purpose of their skin color is wrong, and is contributing, yet not the only factor, to the breakdown of black society and their unwillingness to take responsibility for their own lives.
Again, please read: White Guilt, by Shelby Steel.

Why does he not know what he’s talking about? It’s easy to imagine that racism doesn’t exist when you don’t experience it because you are part of the dominant culture. When growing up, everyone expects you to take college level classes. When hanging out with co-workers, you’re invited to go golfing, participating in activities, etc.

Yet when you are a minority, you’re expected to just get by, you don’t get invited, people expect you to fail.

I think some of you think of racism only in terms of lynching, police beatings, KKK cross-burnings, etc., and I’m sure most of you think that’s bad. But those are only the overt forms of racism. There is also the more subtle versions, some of which you may practice even though you may not be aware of it.

I’ve been in stores where clerks just stare at you, not friendly, expecting you to steal stuff (FYI, I don’t steal, I was raised not to break laws). You get pulled over late at night just because of your skin color (I’m a good driver, and I wasn’t charged with anything). When as a 7th grader, I was enrolled against my will in a 6th grade math class even though I got great grades in elementary school, and was not allowed to jump grades (I was finally able to transfer to a 7th grade math class but not 8th grade). FYI, I finally got my degree in physics but I know I would have done better had I learned calculus a year earlier, which I would have had I been able to jump up to 8th grade math like many of my white peers was able to do in 7th grade. None of them have any idea that those experiences happened to me. I’m sure my experiences isn’t unique, and that’s only some examples.

It’s only natural to want to hang out with people who share common experiences, who look/talk like you. It’s more comfortable, and we all do it, regardless of race. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

But when it comes to excluding others who may be just as if not more talented/experienced, who would otherwise get left behind, who aren’t given opportunities just because of their skin color/gender, then is that not wrong? If a talented woman isn’t invited to go golfing with the boys and hence misses out on the latest gossip at work (who’s trying to line up a new customer, better business opportunities, new techniques to try when brainstorming about problems, managers who are on the outs), then isn’t that unfairly punishing her, who could also benefit from that knowledge gained while golfing? I’m not saying to legislate that everyone must go to this activity or that activity, but to be aware of the consequences, and even to invite fellow co-workers. They may say no for whatever reason, but at least you made the effort.

If you truly hate AA, then you should also be up-in-arms about nepotism and legacies. George W. Bush got B’s and C’s in high school, yet he went to Yale, taking a spot from someone who worked hard, who got straight A’s, high SAT scores, lots of extra-curricular activities, essays, etc. Was it right that he got in over someone who was a better, more dedicated student?

“Black people can depend on NO ONE but themselves, and the racist treatment of this country towards them from the time they were brought here against their will, shows itself in how America really does not want to see black Americans improve or progress any further.”

It sounds like you are about preaching, Everyone’s against black people. No one cares about black people. Ann, come on. We must’ve voted affirmative action into place, so somebody out there must desire equality as much as you do. Can you explain how AA doesn’t promote some level of equality or at least try to? Our government could do more to help and that’s exactly what I’m talking about.

“AA is white America saying to her black citizens that at least after all she has done to destroy black America, she will attempt some kind of try to do right by them.” This statement isn’t true either.

Affirmative action is an attempt to have a greater level of equality for all races and ethnicities. Why do you have to say white America and black America? These kind of labels work against the very equality that you want. You actually said, “White America started this racism disease.” That’s ridiculous. The Code of Hammurabi in Mesopatamia, a set of laws from 1800 B.C shows that slavery was already a common practice. That’s almost 4,000 years ago. “White America” wasn’t around then. In addition, slave trading of Africans was happening centuries before America was even discovered by European nations, including the Vikings. So, just because rich white guys brought slaves over from Africa several centuries ago, doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have been slaves somewhere else. You can’t blame white people today for the sins of their forefathers. You say that you don’t, but your words speak volumes against that.

But since I am an American living in America, I know that I have a right to speak my mind just like everyone else.

And no, I do not hold whites of today guilty for what whites of the past did.

Like I said in my comment, treat black citizens as the citizens of this country that they are.

And I did not EVER ask for an apology.

I know that black America has never received an apology for America’s wrongs, and black America never will. That is a form of sucking it up.

I know that I will at times come across white, and other non-white people who will still judge me on the color of my skin, instead of my character, integrity and morals.

I suck it up.

I know that I am not always given the benefit of a doubt because of my race.

And I suck it up.

Black people are used to “sucking it up.” It comes with living in America, and we have gotten so good at it that even we now consider it second nature.

No need to tell me about sucking it up.

I’m an expert.

But, I do know that I do have the right to express my opinion, whether ot not it is accepted by others.

And I do not need other’s acceptance to express my opinion.

And as for working five times harder than the next person, well, that has simply made me even better than most people.

Nothing like adversity in your life to make you the very best there is, bar none.