Quote:
The main point here is that I'll accept that there are gray areas with how we observe different cultures, I don't think the word "racism" is meant to be applied to accurate observations about cultures and ethnicities and having statistically correct expectations based on those observations. Its what you do with that information that determines whether or not racism is present.
I think the reality is that race-based stereotypes or presumptions only cross over into the racism category based on how sensitive people are to that stereotype, which is just another way of saying what I've been saying all along. It was a racist sentiment, but not intended to be offensive, and not received as an offense, because he was defying the stereotype rather than reaffirming it, and because it's generally accepted as true, and largely harmless. In other words, no one is sensitive about white kids being slower than black kids, on average, and so referring to those racist stereotypes simply don't do more than raise an occasional eyebrow.
There was a story about an outraged group of black students at NYU who were fed "soul food" in the student cafeteria as part of Black History Month that illustrates the point. Serve a plate of southern soul food to your average black person, and they'll probably enjoy it, as would most white people. Have white men serve it to black people because they presume they'd like it and all hell breaks loose.
Quote:
A student group advocating for minority and marginalized students at New York University has issued a statement clarifying what happened at the university last week following a controversial Black History Month meal at the school.
On Sunday afternoon, the Governance Council of Minority and Marginalized Students at NYU
released a statement on Twitter saying that the group was “dismayed and disgusted by the information being spread” about a Black History Month meal students had called out for being racist and stereotypical. The meal included ribs, collard greens, and mac and cheese, along with Kool-Aid and watermelon-flavored water.
In the statement, GCOMMS clarified that two Aramark employees who were fired by the food service provider as a result of the incident were a general manager and head cook, and that both are white. The student organization also said that the supervisors “attempted to place the blame on black cooks by saying that the cooks created the menu.”
GCOMMS said it was unacceptable that the blame be placed upon those cooks, but also wrote that no student or student organization desired or demanded that the Aramark employees be fired. The statement also added that the students who inquired about the meal were lied to about who had made the meal and what could be done about it.
The group also addressed criticism that students’ problem with the meal showed that they were ashamed to eat soul flood, or that they were classist and too preoccupied with what white people might think of them.
“The issue is that we attend an institution that constantly ignores the voices of black students and works based upon preconceived stereotypes,” the group wrote, adding that no black students were consulted about the menu.
“We understand the importance of soul food, as many of us are born and raised in Southern homes, however, we take issue when these decisions are made by white managers, from a company that profits off of private prisons,” GCOMMS wrote.
The devil made me do it the first time, second time I done it on my own - W