Caucasian Club

[Dreadsox]

[Q]Girl Wants To Start Caucasian Club At High School

POSTED: 8:41 a.m. EDT September 18, 2003

OAKLEY, Calif. -- Lisa McClelland says she isn't a racist. She says her campaign for a Caucasian Club at her California high school is a move toward diversity, not bigotry. SURVEY
Should a California high school student be allowed to start a Caucasian Club?
Yes, if there are other clubs like the Black Student Union and Asian Club she should be allowed to.
No. There should be no clubs targeting any ethnic group.
No. Only minorities should be able to have clubs targeting an ethnic group.

She says everyone is invited -- and nobody will be excluded.

McClelland's ethnic background includes American Indian, Hispanic, Dutch, German, Italian and Irish. She says she and her friends feel slighted by other clubs at Freedom High School in Oakley, such as the Black Student Union and the Asian Club.

McClelland says she's collected 245 signatures of support from students, adults and others since announcing her plans three weeks ago.

One person who won't be signing up is Darnell Turner, first vice president of the local chapter of the NAACP. Turner says he thinks the club will create racial tension. [/Q]

 

[DaveC]

YESSS!!! I love this girl!!!

I loathe affirmative action. It steals opportunities from white folks just because they are white. It makes no sense.

I also firmly support the creation of WET, the White Entertainment Television channel. Although I suppose it'd never get to air. It'd be branded as racist before it ever got on.

I hate how minority groups are entitled to everything these days simplly because they are born as a minority. I think that along the way someone for got what equality really means, everyone on a level playing field, everyone with the same opportunities. I hate how a minority group can get away with something that, if a white person were to try it it would be "racist".

And another thing...

I hate it when someone calls a black person "African-American" or "African-Canadian" or whatnot. It's a totally false name thought up by some jackoff dumbass PC idiot who thought it appllied. Bullshit. That means that 40% of the world's Arabs, who live in countries like Egypt or Libya or Morocco are African-American. Hey, what if someone who is "African-American" moves to Jamaica? That makes them "African-American-Jamaican" doesn't it? This is the stupidest term ever thought of. If blacks are going to be called African-American, I want to be called an Irish-French-English-Scottish-Indian-German-Canadian. It's only fair. Get rid of this stupid term. I'm white. Black people are black, and I for one have never met a black person who takes offense at being called Black. They're damn proud of it. Don't go shitting on Black pride with your dumbass PC terms.

And another think that makes my ass-hair stand on end:

Indian people being called "First Nations". The term "Indian" is not derogatory at all, people. It's not cause Chris Columbus was a dumbass and thought he was in India. The term Indian was used by Columbus when he wrote his report on his voyage to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, and he wrote of the native tribesmen that they were "una peupla in Dios" (A people of God). It's actually a compliment to be called an Indian! Columbus was praising the people by calling them that! I for one am one person who will call Indians, Indians. Those who know the true meaning of the word will respect that. Those who don't should learn their history, and that's not my problem. Fuck "First Nations". It's a stupid, misleading term.

Sorry for going off on a bit of a tangent there, I just wanted to say that. No offense is intended to anyone at all.

Back on topic...

I LOVE that girl! She is my new hero!

 

[deep]

Girl Wants Caucasian Club At School
Club To Mirror School's Asian Club, Black Student Union

POSTED: 5:24 a.m. EDT September 18, 2003
UPDATED: 6:35 a.m. EDT September 18, 2003

A Freedom High School freshman in Oakley, Calif., has run up against opposition in her quest to start a Caucasian Club for white students.

A local NAACP leader said Lisa McClelland's proposed club smacks of racial division, a charge the 15-year-old denies. McClelland said she and some of her friends simply feel a bit slighted since other school clubs cater to specific cultures and races, such as the Black Student Union and the Asian Club.

"It's not racist because we're not excluding anyone, and we're just trying to solve the issues of racial disparity," McClelland said. Her ethnic background is American Indian, Latino, Dutch, German, Italian and Irish.

So far, McClelland has gathered 245 signatures from an array of students, adults and others on and off campus in support of the formation of her Caucasian Club. She's looking to gather additional signatures before submitting the petition to Freedom High principal Eric Volta this week.

The high school has dealt with thorny racial issues in the recent past. In 2001, a black teacher found a noose made out of a shoelace hanging on the doorknob of his classroom. Tensions mounted again last year when a roped noose was found dangling from a redwood tree on campus.

Darnell Turner, vice president of the East County, Calif., chapter of the NAACP, spoke out against the 2002 incident and said McClelland's Caucasian Club sounds like a bad idea at a time when the campus is trying to heal fresh emotional wounds.

"It will not allow us to heal that divide that we've tried to overcome in the past couple of years," Turner said. "If her motivation is to bring harmony, as she alleges, this is not the way to go."

 

[Angela Harlem]

There's excellent pro's and cons to this kind of debate and neither is more right than another I dont think. I feel, if any group is disadvantaged then every action must be taken to raise the bar. Never though, at the detriment to another group in society.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

Not touching this with a ten foot pole.

Surprisingly, yes I do have one.

~track.

 

[iacrobat]

Not touching this with a ten foot pole.

Surprisingly, yes I do have one.

~track.

This is my instinct too.

But I have been known not to do what I think is best. If that makes any sense.

So. I have always been troubled with types of things. I never know what to think.

It irks me when white people want to form a group becuase the black people or asian people are doing it. But on the other hand I see the problem with minority groups that don't allow membership anyone outside their group.
Why can't a white person show solidarity with a minority group by joining. Isn't that, after all, the point of a minority group? To get the white people in power to recognise them? To have a voice?

It seems to me that a white "minority" group is...well, an oxymoron. It should be called a "majority" group I suppose. It doesn't acknowledge the power dynamic in America, and if it does, that's even worse.

Maybe a more authentic response would be for the girl to push for membership by white people in the minority groups.

 

[melon]

I also firmly support the creation of WET, the White Entertainment Television channel.

It's called NBC, CBS, ABC...etc.

You don't need a separate channel, because you already have the rest of it.

Melon

 

[iacrobat]

It's called NBC, CBS, ABC...etc.

You don't need a separate channel, because you already have the rest of it.

Melon

I hadn't thought of this...completely true.

 

[Basstrap]

Dave...I think you need to chill out. people will make certain assumptions about you hearing you talk with such anger

aside from the White Televsion thing which just sounds like segregation, I can kinda understand what you are saying. But is it worth it to get so angry over a term African-America? Some black people find pride in that term as it recognizes their home country, a place they were before we fucked up their lives.

same idea with First Nations.
I don't think anyone would get angry if you called them black or indian, so why get so angry over alternate names?

 

[Basstrap]

as far as th club goes...I don't like it one bit.

it seems to be a step towards segregation.
do we, as white people, need a club? what for? I don't understand the need. There's so many of us, there is no need to have a club to join us all together.
and what would they do in the club? fight for white history month? fight for white rights?

I don't care if people think not allowing them to have a club is setting up a double standard. haveing the club is just asking for trouble

 

[Saracene]

I understand where she's coming from, but there's way too much thorny stuff involved to say that forming a Caucasian Club is no different to the others.

I'm curious though as to exactly what percentage the caucasian population takes up at her school.

 

[verte76]

I wouldn't call the club the "Caucasian Club". What do they want to do? It really depends on that.

 

[Dreadsox]

as far as th club goes...I don't like it one bit.

it seems to be a step towards segregation.
do we, as white people, need a club? what for? I don't understand the need. There's so many of us, there is no need to have a club to join us all together.
and what would they do in the club? fight for white history month? fight for white rights?

I don't care if people think not allowing them to have a club is setting up a double standard. haveing the club is just asking for trouble

As a teacher, who tries very hard to teach about equality in the classroom I find that there is a double standard here.

Why when someone wants to form a "caucasian group" is that considered a step towards segregation? The other groups have already segregated themselves with their groups! Why is it alright for other groups to segregate themselves and not "caucasians"?

See, I do not like groups based on this in either direction. White/caucasian people are not the majority in the world, nor will they be in the United States within the next twentry years.

 

[DaveC]

The White Entertainment Television thing was a joke, people.

I firmly stand by every word of what I said before.

To let you all know, I'm not a racist. I totally and enormously support the inclusion of ALL ethnic backgrounds into every aspect of society. But not to the detriment of white folks. Yes, our ancestors fucked up. Majorly. But don't punish us for it. We should all be working together for this.

One last thing...

Fuck colour. A person's a person. So they have a little extra, or less pigment in their skin. They're the same inside. And if you can't understand or accept that, you have no place whatsoever in my society.

EDIT: For those of you jumping on my ass over the whole "names" thing, realize that that was me going off on a tangent about how much I despise political correctness.

 

[verte76]

Dave, I can understand your anger at "politically correct". I studied medieval history in school, and the politically correct police in history departments all over the U.S. want to abolish medieval history and put in "African studies". This "African studies" agenda is often just politics. They'll insist that Cleopatra was African, not Greek. Unfortunately for this argument, the name Cleopatra and her family name, Ptolemy, are both Greek. The dynasty was founded by one of Alexander's generals from Macedonia. The Ptolemaic government was dominated by Greeks and systematically excluded native Egyptians from government affairs. I don't know why in the hell they have to pick Cleopatra for this sort of treatment. The Ptolemaic government of Egypt sucked big time. It's a combination of romanticism and, quite frankly, racism. This stuff annoys me, and politically, I am a liberal who votes Democratic and even demonstrated against the recent war. Yes, even liberals can get pissed off over the excesses called "political correctness". Fortunately at my school these people had not taken over the history department, but they sure have at some universities. Ugh.

 

[iacrobat]

As a teacher, who tries very hard to teach about equality in the classroom I find that there is a double standard here.

Why when someone wants to form a "caucasian group" is that considered a step towards segregation? The other groups have already segregated themselves with their groups! Why is it alright for other groups to segregate themselves and not "caucasians"?

See, I do not like groups based on this in either direction. White/caucasian people are not the majority in the world, nor will they be in the United States within the next twentry years.

It could be concieved as a double standard. Though I think minority clubs have their place as long as that minority doesn't have the same political voice as the white majority (whether that majority be in numbers or in power). Though minority clubs ought to admit people of all races. Men march in solidarity with women and heterosexuals march in solidarity with homosexuals, so why can't whites and blacks join an asian minority group?

No, white people aren't the majority in the world, but I think this is about the struggle in America. And white people may not be the majority in twenty years, but that may not change the power dynamic. The people who occupy positions of power don't represent a cross section of the American population. Most postions (corporate and political) still belong to white men.

 

[ILuvLarryMullen]

all i'm gonna say is that "white clubs" don't exactly have the best track record

 

[Saracene]

Though minority clubs ought to admit people of all races. Men march in solidarity with women and heterosexuals march in solidarity with homosexuals, so why can't whites and blacks join an asian minority group?

Well, when communities like that are formed they're often formed for the purpose of people being among their own ethnic group. So being all-inclusive would defeat the minority club's very purpose, from that perspective.

 

[sue4u2]

all i'm gonna say is that "white clubs" don't exactly have the best track record

I have to agree with this. Can I join in somewhere else?

 

[melon]

White clubs don't make sense, merely because whites, in general, don't seemingly have a unified identity, preferring, rather, to be Irish or Italian or British or French or (insert White nationality here). The only reason "white clubs" seem to exist, however, is to put down minorities, so, yes, that's probably why the NAACP has worries--not so much about the girl who wants to start the group, but for the white supremacist groups that do exist to take advantage of such a situation. And, yes, it probably would happen.

Melon

 

[BVS]

I hate how minority groups are entitled to everything these days simply because they are born as a minority. I think that along the way someone for got what equality really means, everyone on a level playing field, everyone with the same opportunities. I hate how a minority group can get away with something that, if a white person were to try it it would be "racist".

Do you see a level playing field? I don't, I still think we're far from it. Minority groups are there to try to create unity and solve this problem, granted some of them don't go about it the right way. But there's absolutely no reason for a "caucasion group" in this day and time. What the hell would be there objective? Could you tell me how they would better the cause of equality?

 

[iacrobat]

Well, when communities like that are formed they're often formed for the purpose of people being among their own ethnic group. So being all-inclusive would defeat the minority club's very purpose, from that perspective.

Looking at it that way, I suppose you have a point. It still irks though, that members of other ethnic groups can't join? It's an excellent opportunity to teach and educate about different customs and beliefs.

 

[RavenStar]

<rant>Well coming from Scarborough, Ontario (aka S., SARSborough, Scarblackistan, Scarlanka, etc) I am unsure of what a minority is anymore. I get on the bus to go to school and 90% of the people are non-white. You look at the graduating classes in the schools here and baing white seems to be the minority. Walking down main streets half the signs arent even in english. I can understand having a translation to another language but I thikn english should be included. People of religions such as Islam, Muslim, Hinduism, etc are allowed to get a room during lunch and other times to pray at their holidays. They get excused on their religious holidays and arent just put down as skippers.
I have no problem with this.
My problem is when My friends and I have to get extra special permission to use a room for our Metaphysics club. They at first wouldnt let us use a room. Saying we had no reason to use it. Then they saw what happened when we hads our meetings in the halls. Apparently a few students got offended one day when we were meditating. And they got offended by our energy circle. Last May I had to attend school on Beltaine. I was willing to go to school but I explained to my band teacher that Beltaine is a religious holiday for me and I would like to be excused from the last 30 min of rehearsal to go spend time in the woods discussing the history of Beltaine and having other religious decussions and practising traditions of Beltaine. She wouldnt let me go. Yet a few months back she let a few kids out of rehearsal for another religious holiday. Doesnt seem fair. That rehearsal the other kids missed was actually an important one before a festival. Ours wasnt.

I went off a little their. My point is, people are sticking to traditional minority groups when new minority groups have formed. If you look close enough everyone is a minority somehow. Just because I have light skin like someone from Poland does not make me Polish. ( I have nothing against Polish people-just an example)

I am just fed up with having to tip-toe around life trying to be "sensitive" to so-called minority groups when I, myself am treated like outright crap sometimes because of my religion. I guess its a mainstream thing. If you are in a mainstream minority, you get minority "rights", but if you are in a minority that is so small people barely know you exist then such rights dont exist.
</rant>

Yes that was me ranting. I havent posted in a while. School is tiring. Just got back from Band camp too. heh.

 

[MissVelvetDress_75]

DaveC unless you were born and branded as a minority you will never understand some of the struggles one has being a minority. in a perfect world we would all live as one and not have a problem w/ people because of their skin color or heritage. but that is a fantasy and does not exist in any real world.

I call myself Mexican-American because most of my background is from Mexico. do i speak spanish? no. i tell people that i am mexican-american because it is a way to identify myself. i also state that i also have German, English, Irish, Spanish and Arab blood. so as you can see my makeup is well diverse. i have no problem calling anyone asian-american, african-american, native-american etc. i also have no problem w/ people setting up clubs to be w/ those with common backgrounds to help better themselves in their community and that is what most of the clubs are about.

 

[stagman]

I get real angry when Minority groups get all uppity!!
They are racist ones most of time these days!

 

[pax]

"Uppity" is a very unflattering and usually racist term. Please avoid using it. Thank you.

 

[nbcrusader]

Racial politics sometimes means using racism to your advantage.

 

[BVS]

I am just fed up with having to tip-toe around life trying to be "sensitive" to so-called minority groups when I, myself am treated like outright crap sometimes because of my religion. I guess its a mainstream thing. If you are in a mainstream minority, you get minority "rights", but if you are in a minority that is so small people barely know you exist then such rights dont exist.

But isn't that the point of this whole discussion? You can be a minority in today's society based on many different factors. This is the point of minority groups, to try and raise awareness, to gain a voice. These other "mainstream" minorities had to deal with the same issues. Black people wouldn't have any rights if it wasn't for the whole Civil Rights movement. Everyone at some point in their life has this problem. When you're young you try to get your voice heard over the many adults surrounding you. When you're surrounded by people who don't believe the same way you do, you try and get your point across. Some people have it worse than others. Unfortunately it's human nature to try and silence those who are different than you. People speak about diversity and unity, but many are really saying they wouldn't mind as long as it doesn't get in their way while they are on the move to the top.

 

[sharky]

The main thing you have to realize is that these minority clubs are not minority based on color of skin but rather ethnic background. Asian Americans are from Asia, African Americans are from Africa. I would support this girl if she was creating a new group based on ethnicity -- such as an Irish Students Group or Italian Students Group -- but to base it simply on skin color is not right.

Remember that not all blacks are from Africa, many different races are represented by Latino Americans and there are lots of variations in skin tones among every race.

 

[stagman]

Sorry Pax, I won't use that term again... Some groups just seem to have an ignorance to them where they only care for their own.
They don't care about or associate with other types of people.
I think that is very sad. That is a type of racist thing to do.
In Australia the minority groups are'nt quite as out there as say some American groups are from I've seen from afar. Some of em stick togethor and don't complain so much, unfortunately this is often the result of alcohol abuse... they just spend their money on grog and do nothing else.

Some European groups living in Sydney are real serial pests.. They have crime rings all over and start major brawls at the end of Fooball games. They have no concern for other people.