Author Topic: Black people can't be valedictorian  (Read 15063 times)

Kudistos Megistos

  • Banned
  • *
  • Posts: 3929
    • View Profile
Black people can't be valedictorian
« on: 2011-07-27 21:27:11 »
I seem to be posting threads for every news article I find interesting. Anyway...

A school in Arkansas has refused to allow a black girl to be valedictorian, despite having the best academic record, because school administrators feared a "big mess".

>mfw Brown vs. Board of Education
>mfw 14th Amendment
>mfw Arkansas
>mfw the girl who wrote this article seems to be illiterate

nfitc1

  • *
  • Posts: 3011
  • I just don't know what went wrong.
    • View Profile
    • WM/PrC Blog
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #1 on: 2011-07-28 01:35:48 »
I'm from Arkansas. Heck, I still live here. Little Rock is the WORST for racial discrimination. It honestly doesn't surprise me that this is happening, but I am disgusted by it. That Super will be pressured to resign because of the publicity this has gotten, but I don't think it'll happen or change anything. North Little Rock has terrible gang problems (according to all the Little Rock residents) so they're all a little anti-minority. It's not as bad as Harrison though. There is not a single non-white person living in Harrison. Any minority would probably get run out of town; possibly violently.

Kudistos Megistos

  • Banned
  • *
  • Posts: 3929
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #2 on: 2011-07-28 01:50:50 »
I'm from Arkansas. Heck, I still live here. Little Rock is the WORST for racial discrimination.

I didn't actually read the article very thoroughly but OH SHIT IT'S IN LITTLE ROCK!

Not the same school, but it's still hilarious.

It's not as bad as Harrison though. There is not a single non-white person living in Harrison. Any minority would probably get run out of town; possibly violently.

Living several thousand miles away, I can't speak for what Harrison is like. However, is the lack of racial diversity the reason why you think it's racist, or do you have personal experience to back up the claim?

I ask because I often see people make the assumption that there is a link between racism and a lack of racial diversity in a town, whereas in my experience, it seems to be the most diverse towns that have the most problems. Maybe it's not like that in the US, but in Britain, overwhelmingly white areas tend not to be racist (except in an "oh wow, that stranger looks exotic!" kind of way); non-whites aren't a part of their life, so they just don't care. It's the cities with large and (this bit is important) segregated ethnic minority groups that have the issues.

BloodShot

  • *
  • Posts: 687
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #3 on: 2011-07-28 05:15:12 »
My school had a black valedictorian. Hell, my town is so mixed, they might have gotten flak if the valedictorian was white

Racial discrimination can go any way. It seems to be inherently in almost everyone's nature

nfitc1

  • *
  • Posts: 3011
  • I just don't know what went wrong.
    • View Profile
    • WM/PrC Blog
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #4 on: 2011-07-28 12:17:55 »
Living several thousand miles away, I can't speak for what Harrison is like. However, is the lack of racial diversity the reason why you think it's racist, or do you have personal experience to back up the claim?

Yes. I have many stories to back that up. I have family in Harrison so I've been there a lot. They're a typical friendly southern US city to white people, but send anyone else there and they'd think they'd gone to France. It's unfortunate that my aforementioned family is no exception to this. You'd also have to know that any city in Arkansas without non-white people is quite odd.

They won't take up torches, pitchforks or guns against "exotic people", but they'll make it clear that person isn't really welcome.

It's the cities with large and (this bit is important) segregated ethnic minority groups that have the issues.

Without giving too much personal demographical info, I live in such a city. I can't speak for the majority of the city's citizens, but the mix of cultures is a bit overwhelming and sometimes feels intrusive. Probably because I didn't grow up around it. Here's hoping that my expectant child won't feel this way.
« Last Edit: 2011-07-28 12:22:01 by NFITC1 »

Opine

  • *
  • Posts: 521
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #5 on: 2011-07-28 13:47:55 »
It's funny how much racism varies from state to state.

I am apparently very sheltered from it where I live. Of course I've heard things said that aren't quite polite. But I remember once watching a news interview with someone from some southern town (can't remember which), and the lady being interviewed was saying "Oh no, I'm not racist. I mean, I would never eat with them, or talk to them, but I'm not racist."

I was flabbergasted that a mentality like that could even exist! Oh yeah, obviously not racist at all! I guess in some people's minds racism is pitchforks and guns. And as long as they don't cross that line, they think they're fine.

obesebear

  • *
  • Posts: 1389
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #6 on: 2011-07-28 13:53:00 »
I ask because I often see people make the assumption that there is a link between racism and a lack of racial diversity in a town, whereas in my experience, it seems to be the most diverse towns that have the most problems. Maybe it's not like that in the US, but in Britain, overwhelmingly white areas tend not to be racist (except in an "oh wow, that stranger looks exotic!" kind of way); non-whites aren't a part of their life, so they just don't care. It's the cities with large and (this bit is important) segregated ethnic minority groups that have the issues.
You're partially correct.  In areas dominated by whites who have little to no interaction with other ethnic groups, they tend to not be racist at all, simply because they haven't had any experience to be able to build up any bad stereotypes.  For example: http://www.census.gov/geo/www/mapGallery/images/black.jpg. The people living in the northwestern part of the country have almost no experience around blacks, so how could they be racist.  However, the southeast is much more the "melting pot" the US is always referred to as, so anyone living in the southeast would actually have opportunities to build their own stereotypes.   That's not to say everyone in the southeast is racist, just that you will find a lot more of it there in this particular example.

DLPB_

  • Banned
  • *
  • Posts: 11006
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #7 on: 2011-07-28 14:23:09 »
 :o valedictorian  a new word for me. As for this, it is shameful... colour should have nothing to do with it.  If a person deserves recognition then they do.  Not all 1 way though I have to say, racial problems (in this case racial prejudice) are usually only reported when it is the white community doing it, and seldom if the other way around.

ps.  Kymberly Wimberly? LOL
« Last Edit: 2011-07-28 14:25:46 by DLPB »

Bosola

  • Fire hazard!
  • *
  • Posts: 1752
    • View Profile
    • My YouTube Channel
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #8 on: 2011-07-28 18:36:45 »
I ask because I often see people make the assumption that there is a link between racism and a lack of racial diversity in a town, whereas in my experience, it seems to be the most diverse towns that have the most problems. Maybe it's not like that in the US, but in Britain, overwhelmingly white areas tend not to be racist (except in an "oh wow, that stranger looks exotic!" kind of way); non-whites aren't a part of their life, so they just don't care. It's the cities with large and (this bit is important) segregated ethnic minority groups that have the issues.

This rings true for me: in South Yorkshire, where I was brought up, and Cambridge, where I studied, the population was overwhelmingly white and decidedly non-racist. It wasn't until I moved to London (where ethnic minorities are more common) that I actually started seeing racism in the flesh. Of course, there are other issues at play - social class is more polarized in London, and I think the city's claustrophobia can make people quite hostile generally, but the fact remains that until I'd moved here, I'd rarely met people openly, brazenly racist.
« Last Edit: 2011-07-28 18:39:02 by Bosola »

Kudistos Megistos

  • Banned
  • *
  • Posts: 3929
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #9 on: 2011-07-29 17:42:06 »
This rings true for me: in South Yorkshire, where I was brought up, and Cambridge, where I studied, the population was overwhelmingly white and decidedly non-racist. It wasn't until I moved to London (where ethnic minorities are more common) that I actually started seeing racism in the flesh. Of course, there are other issues at play - social class is more polarized in London, and I think the city's claustrophobia can make people quite hostile generally, but the fact remains that until I'd moved here, I'd rarely met people openly, brazenly racist.

This is surprisingly like my experience, although I was at the superior university and grew up on the superior side of the Pennines (we have another thing to be rivals over!) the only difference is that I've never had the misfortune to live in London.

I grew up in a very homogeneous town. There were a few Irish people and a very small number of Chinese people and that was it. In some primary school classes, every single child had blond hair and blue eyes (which is quite astonishing; you would even expect that in Scandinavia). There was no racial tension and the BNP got no real support when they decided to run in a council election.

Oxford isn't really homogeneous, but most of the non-white people are Chinese, and racist groups don't tend to be bothered about them. I did, however, encounter some people from London who assumed that anyone from a homogeneous northern town would be racist. Hilarious.

Interestingly, there has been a surge of immigration from Poland to my hometown over the past few years. With this surge of immigration has come a surge of xenophobia and, in some cases, violence towards said immigrants. There seems to be a "these Eastern Europeans, where are they flocking from?" mentality developing. There were no such stories when non-British/Irish/Chinese people were only 1% of the population there, even though the media would have us believe that, back then, ethnic minorities should have been in extreme danger.

Jenova's Witness

  • Right Wing Safety Squads
  • *
  • Posts: 471
  • I ♥ SCIENCE
    • View Profile
.
« Reply #10 on: 2011-07-29 18:25:20 »
.
« Last Edit: 2015-11-16 10:19:01 by Jenova's Witness »

Kudistos Megistos

  • Banned
  • *
  • Posts: 3929
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #11 on: 2011-07-29 18:29:11 »
A read a biography or Mark Twain, and apparentally people were complaining about the dirty Irish 150 years ago.  You know, those people who just look different, not like us, with their strange foreign religion, who have too many kids, and are taking all our jobs, and who refuse to integrate with our good Protestant mainstream society?

I really don't give a fuck what people believe when they come here (provided they aren't trying to kill us), because I know that, in two generations, they will all be drinking and fucking and trying to stay sane in our intrinsincally corrupting society, just like the rest of us.  A society allows a little moral corruption innoculates its inhabitants against the greater corruptions of fanaticism and genocide.

Unfortunately, there are certain religious groups that actually become less integrated the longer they spend in Western countries. The children are more extreme than their parents. I won't say what these groups are, because that would be racist. ::)

Totally forgot where I was going with this.

I don't think any of us know, either.

Jenova's Witness

  • Right Wing Safety Squads
  • *
  • Posts: 471
  • I ♥ SCIENCE
    • View Profile
.
« Reply #12 on: 2011-07-29 18:36:29 »
.
« Last Edit: 2015-11-16 10:18:38 by Jenova's Witness »

Kudistos Megistos

  • Banned
  • *
  • Posts: 3929
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #13 on: 2011-07-29 18:48:07 »
while Christians aren't quite as crazy, there are a lot of Moderate Christians who refuse to condemn the crazy power-seeking shit assholes like Rupert Murdoch do, because fellow Christians would never do something so horrible, would they?

Wait a minute, are you saying that "moderate" Muslims don't do this? I'm not sure what the situation is like over there, but in Europe, Christians are far more likely to condemn other Christians than Muslims are to condemn other Muslims. I remember that something like a third of British Muslims thought that 9/11 was a smear campaign and expressed sympathy with the suicide bombers in London, and Britain isn't an unusual case. I can guarantee that you won't see such a huge proportion of Norwegian Christians saying that Anders Breivik was a pretty cool guy.

Also, Muslims don't have the military or economic might to cause a lot of havoc (yet)

Not yet. But they will eventually if people refuse to take a firm stand with countries like Iran, or if Pakistan (a nuclear power) falls into the hands of extremists.

I suspect that this is one of the reasons why the US gives so much support to Israel. As long as it has American support and a decisive military edge, it can contain the other nations in the Middle East. It doesn't matter how politically correct and pacifist the Western leaders are; if countries like Iran start to develop nuclear weapons and look dangerous, the Israelis won't hesitate to deal with the problem.

Jenova's Witness

  • Right Wing Safety Squads
  • *
  • Posts: 471
  • I ♥ SCIENCE
    • View Profile
.
« Reply #14 on: 2011-07-29 19:02:21 »
.
« Last Edit: 2015-11-16 10:18:09 by Jenova's Witness »

Kudistos Megistos

  • Banned
  • *
  • Posts: 3929
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #15 on: 2011-07-29 19:10:11 »
Falls?  They already are in the hands of extremists.

They're in the hands of incompetent morons, but not extremists. The government has been infiltrated by them, but they can't do whatever they want; Pakistan isn't like Iran.

The Israelis are the only people on the planet who have a proven method of dealing with terrorism.  They didn't torture prisoners, they didn't stage a Mission Accomplished party on an aircraft carrier, but they did make damn sure that the Palenstinians know that their plight is a result of their reliance on terrorism

Something that a lot of people in the West refuse to acknowledge. Actually, I think that the Israelis are a little soft on the Palestinians; the people of Gaza voted for a party who says that Muslims should wipe the Jews* off the face of the Earth. They knowingly voted for a party with genocidal ambitions. The German people, on the other hand, had no idea how far the Nazis were planning to go, but they get far less sympathy. I wonder why that could be?

*Please note that the passage in question refers to "Jews". Not "Zionists" and not "Israelis". It refers to all Jews.
« Last Edit: 2011-07-29 19:15:53 by Kudistos Megistos »

Jenova's Witness

  • Right Wing Safety Squads
  • *
  • Posts: 471
  • I ♥ SCIENCE
    • View Profile
.
« Reply #16 on: 2011-07-29 19:17:40 »
.
« Last Edit: 2015-11-16 10:17:21 by Jenova's Witness »

Kudistos Megistos

  • Banned
  • *
  • Posts: 3929
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #17 on: 2011-07-29 19:42:33 »
Blame the academics, blame whoever you want.  But like I said in another topic, the blame lies with those weak enough to lay it.  If you want more people to be honest, then take the stand yourself, and learn to defend yourself in arguments such as these.  You persuade people, not by logic along, but by believing in yourself and by never giving up.

But that sounds like hard work! :(

Jenova's Witness

  • Right Wing Safety Squads
  • *
  • Posts: 471
  • I ♥ SCIENCE
    • View Profile
.
« Reply #18 on: 2011-07-29 19:52:46 »
.
« Last Edit: 2015-11-16 10:17:00 by Jenova's Witness »

poofacetherisen

  • *
  • Posts: 31
  • My coffin smells...
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #19 on: 2011-08-05 02:52:00 »
They're in the hands of incompetent morons, but not extremists. The government has been infiltrated by them, but they can't do whatever they want; Pakistan isn't like Iran.
I didn't know poor a** people, who had a leader (C.I.A. and N.S.A. funded) in a cave with a laptop could be soo resourceful and infiltrate the U.S.A. government, you're talking about people (which the corporate media says) scream at the top of their lungs 'JIHAD!' and blow themselves up with small IEDs wedged into their rectum whenever they see someone they don't like, and no matter where they go wear their headresses. You and so many others have fallen for such an incredulous lie that, this whole world situation we're in right now, rivals the 1200's during the Inquisition and all that other Vatican crap.


BTT: "Black people can't be valedictorian" so the school says right? So it really shouldn't matter then, as it's their opinion (freedom of speech? or not). It doesn't matter unless they start toting around like it's a fact.

yarLson

  • *
  • Posts: 708
  • spr nrd
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #20 on: 2011-08-05 17:30:03 »
My school had a black valedictorian. Hell, my town is so mixed, they might have gotten flak if the valedictorian was white

Racial discrimination can go any way. It seems to be inherently in almost every weak minded fools behavior

I fixed your sentence up a bit ^  :-D

Jenova's Witness

  • Right Wing Safety Squads
  • *
  • Posts: 471
  • I ♥ SCIENCE
    • View Profile
.
« Reply #21 on: 2011-08-08 19:45:45 »
.
« Last Edit: 2015-11-16 10:16:28 by Jenova's Witness »

hurricane

  • *
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #22 on: 2011-08-19 07:39:12 »
I can attest to the fact that racial diversity has a lot to do with racism. I live in California where you would expect there to be less racism than in middle America. The town I live in is about 50% white, 40% Mexican, 8% Asian, and 2% black - I am just guessing at these numbers, but there is a large Mexican population in this town. A few years ago, a black mother had to sue the school district because her children were being harassed at the high school and the school wasn't doing anything about it. The kids who were doing the harassing were Mexican. I find this interesting because it wasn't that long ago that the Mexicans were in the minority and were probably experiencing discrimination; yet once they became a large enough group, they felt it was okay to discriminate. A lot of the Mexican mothers wouldn't let their kids play with my kids because they are white.
My husband went to a school that was 90% black, and as a white, he was called names by the blacks.
So any race can and will discriminate against any other race. If this area were more diverse, so there wasn't any race that dominated the population, I think everyone would be more likely to get along.
« Last Edit: 2013-12-14 14:20:01 by hurricane »

random_npc

  • *
  • Posts: 57
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #23 on: 2011-08-19 11:47:06 »
From Wikipedia: The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition, was a tribunal established in 1480...
...at least you should read wikipedia more carefully.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition

Inquisition started in France, and was first used against Cathar Heretics, in the XII century. It's not a Spanish invention. However I do fail to see the link with modern Djhadists.   


About 'mexicans' vs 'white', it always make me wonder. The descendant of the inhabitants of Spanish California, would you classify them as 'white', or 'Mexicans'?... If you qualify them of 'Mexicans', which is supposed to refer to a different country, does that imply that the moment all those former-Spanish territories, from California to Florida, entered the U.S., the people who lived here and whose skin wasn't white enough should have left for Mexico, or does that imply that all those territories should be rightfully Mexican, and the U.S. stole them? (beware everybody, Santa Ana is back! I thought we had shot the bastard dead in his pyjamas?!)   

hurricane

  • *
  • Posts: 2
    • View Profile
Re: Black people can't be valedictorian
« Reply #24 on: 2011-09-22 07:14:28 »
...at least you should read wikipedia more carefully.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition

Inquisition started in France, and was first used against Cathar Heretics, in the XII century. It's not a Spanish invention. However I do fail to see the link with modern Djhadists.   


About 'mexicans' vs 'white', it always make me wonder. The descendant of the inhabitants of Spanish California, would you classify them as 'white', or 'Mexicans'?... If you qualify them of 'Mexicans', which is supposed to refer to a different country, does that imply that the moment all those former-Spanish territories, from California to Florida, entered the U.S., the people who lived here and whose skin wasn't white enough should have left for Mexico, or does that imply that all those territories should be rightfully Mexican, and the U.S. stole them? (beware everybody, Santa Ana is back! I thought we had shot the bastard dead in his pyjamas?!)   
When the white settlers mated with the native Indian population, the race that is called Hispanic was created. Mexicans are people that were born in Mexico or are citizens of Mexico. Most of these people are Hispanic, although some of them can be pure Indian, a race that is now called Native American, and it is possible that some of them have only Spanish blood. When California became a state, the people that were in Mexico were Mexicans. Anyone north of the Mexican border was considered a Californian. However, most of these people were white. The people who were descendants of the original population, the Native Americans, were rounded up and put on reservations, which are considered sovereign nations in some regards.
When I refer to the population of my city being 40% Mexican, I am referring to 1st and 2nd generation Mexicans. These people were either born in Mexico and came to the US, in almost all cases illegally, or are the children of these immigrants. They consider themselves to be Mexicans. Most of them are not citizens of the United States. About 1/3 of them don't speak English. If there were a war between the US and Mexico, these people would support Mexico. During Independence Day parades, these people carry the flag of Mexico.
Mexico was originally land that was conquered by Spain. After Mexico achieved independence from Spain, the territory of Texas fought for independence from Mexico and sought annexation to the United States. The Mexican American war was fought, and as a result of that war, the current boundary between Mexico and the United States was established by treaty. Therefore, I don't think that the US stole those lands from Mexico. There is hardly a country in the world where the borders weren't established as a result of war. If you believe that the US should give the land back to Mexico, then Mexico should in turn give the land back to those who are pure descendants of the original occupants of the land, the Indians. Anyone of mixed blood would be left without a country.
Being Mexican has nothing to do with skin color. There are Mexicans with red hair and blue eyes. From the moment Mexico became a sovereign nation, the people with lighter skin got the better jobs and controlled the government. The people who had more Indian blood in them, and therefore had the darker skin, were relegated to more menial jobs and poor living conditions. This is why the Mexicans who try to enter the US illegally in search of a better life are the ones with the darker skin. The lighter skinned Mexicans have no need to - they aren't suffering.
There are some people of Mexican heritage in our town, primarily 2nd generation, who do not share the prejudices of the others. These people are citizens, they speak English, and they often socialize and intermarry with the white population. This goes back to the original point I was trying to make. The Mexican population has become so big in our town that there is no reason for the newer immigrants to learn English or participate in activities with people of other races. There are many businesses that cater to the Mexican population and it is very hard to get a job anywhere in town if you aren't fluent in Spanish. When a culture isolates themselves and doesn't try to assimilate, that is when prejudice is most likely to occur.