Girl Wants To Start Caucasian Club At High School (now known as "Portugal MNT Sucks")

Dwight Yorke.

 

There's a box of blueberry Pop-Tarts in my cupboard as I type this. I've eaten them all my life.

Not in the same sense that I do, no. Mind you, I don't think it's quite as much a "Black=worse" thing anymore, but the "Black=different=not quite as American" is very much up and running. And that's the case because a lot of Black culture is categorized (first by Whites, and then Black folks began to help them out) as just that, rather than considered part of "Americana". That's why I see a White cultural studies club as bizarre. It's not necessary. Most schools have a band based on the European orchestral model, an English curriculum based on European literature, and art studies with emphasis on European standards. Foreign languages are almost always European. When there is an attempt to broaden the scope, it's almost always given what I call the "auxilliary treatment"- that is, it's called Black art, Black literature, Black music (BTW, Jazz studies still isn't universal in the secondary schools). It isn't regarded as part of the core curriculum. And that marginalizing of this part of American culture is just as racist as the redneck hurling epithets from his confederate flag-adorned truck.

I doubt that the organizations (business, educational/fraternal, religious/social) which designate themselves as Black/Asian/Latino/whatever would exist if the original organizations they base themselves on had not only welcomed Black membership from the start and treated those Black members exactly as they do each other, but welcomed some of the non-Europeanness they'd bring with them.

Sure, it happens. It has to. The Black people who do it have had the experience that color still matters. The difference is that they didn't make the rules, and they'd be taking a great risk by ignoring them (see the "wall" comment in my earlier post).

 

I personally like the idea of ethnic/cultural clubs, and I actually think the club mentioned in the initial post would be just fine... if it weren't called a "Caucasian Club".

"Caucasian" is a race, not a culture. And while there certainly is no single European culture, creating a "European Culture club" (uh... no relation to a music group from the '80s), might be a good thing. There should be nothing wrong with recognizing the impact European culture has had on the world and on history.

One could argue that African-Americans have developed their own culture within American society. For example, the focus of Black History Month tends to be less about Africa and the dozens of cultures on that continent, but rather the contributions of African-Americans to this society.

 

this is all very strange. We don't have any such clubs over here. The biggest non-white enthic group over here are Indians/Pakistanis and you don't hear of them setting up clubs to embrace their culture, or being annoyed that the standard school history curriculum doesn't cover the indian subcontinent, or the contributions of Asians to British society (although saying that, as the British standard history curriculum ends at about the industrial revolution, there hadn't been a huge non-white contribution up to that point anyway).

One very good reason for orchestras (do you really think Mozart is any more appealing to the average white 13 year old American than a black one?) is they allow a large number of kids to take part. There are also a wide variety of nice and slow orchestra arangements, which when you have an orchestra of kids with negligible talent, is quite important.

Foreign languages are usually European, that is true, but what other languages would you like to see taught, and more importantly would you be likely to get enough students together to make a class worthwhile. I'm sure learning Tamashek or Makua-Lomwe would make you stand out from the crowd, but if only 3 people in your school want to take it is it really viable?
Our school also taught Chinese (badly apparently) but could only do so as the teacher was also a chemistry teacher.

when you say that "black" subjects aren't part of the main curriculum, do mean mean that they are something that is tagged on, but does not form part of any exam? If so then yes I'd agree that's bad.
If on the other hand your only complaint is that they don't get equal class time devoted to them as mainstream or white culture, certainly in a subject such as history, then I'd ask why yo'd expect it to be different. If you were preparing a curriculum for American history and had to prepare a list of the 20 most important events in the country's history to form the basis of the curriculum, then race shouldn't remotely come into it. It should be on merit only. If a lot of the most important events happen to feature dead white men that's too bad. At least you'll know that any black figures, of which there'd certainly be decent number, wouldn't be there as tokens, which is what "black history month" sounds like. We covered jazz at our school, but there was certainly nothing made about it being a study of "black music" or any rubbish like that - it was just taught as being an integral part of the move towards modern music.

 

Not true. NASCAR is the biggest white gathering on the planet. No crosses being burned there (although there are some rebel flags).

This boiling down of many disparate peoples into a single "Asian-American" club (as an example) is preposterous. A Korean and a Filipino are about as similar as an Eskimo and an Arab. I think it's the kind of racial segregating (although done in a benevolent way) done by school administrators that is the problem. Most of them being white of course. I mean, what's discussed at these meetings? "Hey cool - we're both 'Asian'! Let's do some typically 'Asian' things together."

 

That's what I mean. These subjects are as American as what has been placed in the mainstream.

You won't find anything in my posts suggesting measures be taken to assure that so-called Black studies are given equal time. I didn't make that argument, tho some have. What... I... said... is that certain aspects of America's history have been left outside the mainstream, and taught as side issues, if at all. The point, again, is that the topics covered in Black Studies are every bit as American as those covered in the mainstream curricula, but they aren't always regarded as such by the people who determine what students should be required to learn.

You're absolutely right. But it does (despite efforts on the part of some honest educators to keep it out). That's how certain parts of American history were tabbed "Black" issues rather than "American" ones, as though the color of those involved somehow makes the event/issue less relevant or important to the American picture.

While I agree with this statement in principle, I hope you understand that the "merit" (you really should have used the term "popularity" for purposes of this discussion) you refer to is awarded in this case on the basis of arbitrary values held by the majority, nothing more. That's how we arrived at what we learn in school today, not because it somehow innately deserves coverage.

Black History Month came about because some figures/events in American history were ignored/marginalized by those who plan curricula as well as by the mainstream, not because those events/figures didn't "merit" study. The fact that they involve Black people is important only because that's probably why they weren't considered important enough by the mainstream to cover in the first place.

Glad to hear it. See you on the (other) boards.

 

A Dave Matthews Band concert is the whitest gathering on the planet. The only three black guys there are in the band. (Springsteen's a close second. Thankfully, Clarence has a big family.)

Speaking of NASCAR, how's Bill Lester doing on his sponsorships? Hopefully, better than Wendell Scott.

They are all united by their hatred of the Japanese.

 

Why does this always go down this way? In my high school we had a thing called spectrum that was supposed to display cultural diversity. Awesome. Neat idea. Except during its run, there was a never a single instance of culture from Europe. I got to see the chinese yo yo kid 11 times, but i didn't get to see any traditions from Europe. Don't get me wrong, that was cool seeing the yo yo presentation, but it just became obvious that there would never be anything talking about European traditions

They pretend its about diversity, but when you want to do a thing about Swedish christmas traditions or something, the bells go off in their head. You see, whites don't have culture, and even if they were allowed to display it, it would be racist and unfair to the others even if they are the focus of the program.


And the notion that any white person who wants to celebrate his/her culture does so with seig heil salutes is *#*#*#*#ing ridiculous. You are the racist if this is what you believe.

My family came here around 80 years ago to discover the American dream, and i hope that they found it.

They came from Germany, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark. I see no reason why i can't take pride in who i am.

Everyone should be allowed to celebrate their heritage, whether they hail from India, Japan, Cameroon or Germany.

 

I agree that trying to lump different European cultures together isn't the best idea, becuase they in themselves are diverse. However, it is probably the best shot for a school club because "italian history club" is a little too specific.

My point is that a program that was to promote cultural diversity lacked tradtitions from Europe.

 

Actually, if my hearing in still of use, I could swear that they have been calling it "The College Fund" for a while now.

 

The problem with society is that celebrating anything that is "white" or "European" is not PC.

We have an annual event here in Edmonton called "Heritage Days", each nationality in the city is represented by a kiosk with displays that nations culture. Most of the kiosks are from European nations (Isn't hard to figure out why).

Yet some people would still consider that as racist.

 

I guess you're right. Open it up to each nationality.
i just think that there is a movement out there to deny Europeans their heritage.

That comment about all whites doing the seig heil is really gross and tasteless and only highlights my point.

 

I'm not sure how I feel about this, but the counter-argument I can think of to that is that most white Americans are of mixed heritage (for instance, I'm Scottish, Irish, German, English, and Welsh).

 

Righto. I'm not sure how i forgot i'm a mut.

Yea so how would you handle kids like me?

Break it down into region? Like Central Europe, Iberian, Balkans, Scandinavia?

 

This doesn't surprise me - it's been coming for a long time. I just wonder if someone put her up to it.

As a genealogist, I agree. My genealogy is no better nor worse than anyone else's - it's just mine. I see nothing wrong with learning more about your ancestors & ancestory - whatever the culture.

 

It's not like the school places you in a club when you enroll. You are free to choose which club you join and how many you join, whether you have that ancestry or not.

My school has clubs like these, Asian, African-American, Spanish and Latin American, and then German, French, Italian, Irish. Most of the clubs don't really do much of anything. It's really only the ones that have the language being taught, German, French and Spanish that ever have events (movies, restaurant trips etc.) It's perfectly normal for soemone to join a club that they have no ancestral ties to.

 

Well maybe some people... but there were no mass protests during the last Scottish Gathering & Games here in Monterey. It was pretty much an all-white affair, but there were no complaints or grumblings from local minority populations. And why would there be?

Now if there was a KKK/Aryan Nations rally here, then you could guarantee there would be trouble.

 

Well, yeah, if you've got red hair, like haggis and your granny can still remember people in her family born in the Lothian, you have no problem in this department. You'd consider yourself Scottish, go to Highland Games, curse a blue streak every time the Auld Enemy makes it to the WC and Scotland doesn't and wear kilts to formal occasions.

Once again, though, I ask what happens to all those people whose ancestors came here 200-300 years ago? People who have no idea where their roots lay, except that it probably has to be Europe north of Danube and the English Channel. These are people who put 'American' as their ethnic background where everyone else puts German, Scottish or Japanese on a census.

In some cases, these people might even know what their ancestry is, but it's such a mix that they have a hard time identifying with a single one of those ethnicities. I myself am of Croatian, German, Hungarian, Ukranian, Irish, Welsh and Dutch background, and that's just stuff I know of.

These people would tend to share the same culture, probably what the Euros refer to as American culture. Much like blacks in this country, their ancestors came from very different bacgrounds that more or less merged into one in the New World. Much like blacks, all these different ancestral groups were linked only by skin colour.

Why, then, is a 'Caucasian' club somehow not the same thing as an 'African-American' club?

 

I'm convinced this girl should have a club.

And it should be used to beat some god-damned sense into her.

 

Let's evaluate the Y

If the club is in the celebration of or relating to the Caucasus region or its peoples, languages, or cultures, or if it is in celebration of or relating to a group of three language families spoken in the region of the Caucasus mountains, including Chechen, Abkhaz, and the Kartvelian languages, I have no problem with it.

If it's just to have a "White" club because of the combined guilt/fear of all these "Others" having all these meetings around this girl becoming so pronounced that she's becoming paranoid and thinks "well, WE'D better, uh, MEET too," then see Loney's post, above...

 

As an American historian, I would find it impossible to discuss almost any part of American history without taking race into consideration. "Race" isn't just "Black;" it's the formation of social categories based on skin color and the attribution of particular characteristics to them. "Black," "White," "Brown" are all categories formed and shaped by American history. Racial boundaries, their evolution, and challenges to them lay within almost every "important event" in American history.

Just to take a few "key events:"

American Revolution: Tension between rhetoric of freedom and maintenance of slavery. Americans' original criticism of King George in the Declaration for fomenting slave revolts.

Writing of the Constitution:
Numerous compromises to assure the Southern states that the new federal government wouldn't mess with slavery: 3/5 clause, postdating of end to slave trade.

Colonization and movement westward: the end of Indian/White cohabitation and determination that Indians could not be assimilated (as Jefferson believed) and must be removed westward. Also, the belief that Indians and Mexicans wasted good land that could properly be used by Americans.

Sectional tensions and Civil War: duh

Immigration: immigration policy's valuing of particular 'races' of northern European immigrants over Southern and Eastern European immigrants, ban on Asian immigration, the gradual movement of diverse European peoples from being considered 'other' into a single category of Whiteness.

World War I: Black American soldiers see more free society in France, push for change when they return (often resulting in lynchings). War production spurs Great Migration of Blacks out of the South into Northern cities. Largescale racial divisions of cities begins.

New Deal: deliberate policy formations leaving Blacks out of benefits: Social Security, AFDC, AAA.

World War II: tension in fighting fascism abroad while maintaining Jim Crow at home. Deliberate 'Double V' strategy of Black leaders.

Suburbanization: Racial restrictions created by FHA loan policy. White fears that interracial neighborhoods were "unstable" and would drive down home prices leads to increasing movement to suburbs.

Civil Rights Movement and the spread of 'rights language' throughout American society: women's rights, taxpayer rights, religious rights.

Etc., etc. etc.

This is not about making history more inclusive or creating Black History Month. It's about understanding that race has been a formative consideration in American development. To consider it peripheral, or just a matter of Black History, is to completely misunderstand American history.