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Grubble Grubble
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Friday, June 20, 2003 :::
rant
Ok, I am back to ranting about issues not part of my personal life. Well, not about my personal life. I am generally liberal, but this one will piss most liberals off.
I was reading an article today discussing a course being offered at several colleges across the country called "Whiteness studies." The particular course being discussed was at UMass (University of Massachusetts).
The gist of the article was that whiteness studies do not celebrate the Caucasian race, but rather, the courses are more designed to promote white guilt. The concept is that white people created the concept of race to help promote their own superiority.
I straddle a fence here when it comes to being white. On one hand, I am white. Eastern and Western European roots are part of my ancestry. On the other hand, so are Mediterranean roots part of my ancestry. Add to this that I am of Jewish ancestry and, quite frankly, several factions of the "white race" will tell you flat out that I am not part of their race.
Personally, I do not want to be part of their "white race," but that is another rant. My point is, I am white, however, I know what discrimination is from whites.
The idea that whites created the concept of race to promote their own superiority is ludicrous. You can go back as far as the bible and see where ethnicity was used as a justification for slavery. Egyptians supposedly held Jews as slaves for hundreds of years. Neither group, at least at the time, could have been labeled white. In fact, this would have been at a time when Europeans were still not much better than cavemen.
I was raised in a time of affirmative action. The idea is that white people in America must now make up for the sins of their fathers by giving special advantages to minorities who do not have the same advantages that whites are given. I am against affirmative action. My family came to this country in the 20's through the 40's. We spoke no English. We were discriminated against because we were Jewish. We were denied the same services and opportunities claimed by other ethnic minorities in America.
Did we demand affirmative action? No. When we were denied jobs and opportunities, we turned to our own and created those opportunities within our community. The same jobs that were denied to Blacks in America were denied to Jews. I will admit that it is easier for a Jew to pretend he is a WASP or white Catholic than a black person, and some did, but for the most part, we stood proudly as Jews and made our own opportunities.
For this reason, I, as a Jew, am not part of a protected minority. I am counted as white. When it comes to many jobs and educational opportunities, I am discriminated against as a white male. To pay for the sins of my fathers. My fathers were persecuted in Europe for being Jewish. We came to America long past the time of slavery and suffered the same discriminations as blacks during the early and mid parts of the 20th century, and even still today.
Exactly what sins am I paying for? I would like to know. In fact, it is still more socially acceptable to talk about how someone Jewed you over the price of something than to make a racial comment about a black. This is not to say I am a racist, I am just noting the mentality of it.
I am tired of listening to the "disenfranchised" whine. The only opportunities a person truly has are the ones that he/she create for themselves.
/rant
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