Times have sure changed. When I arrived at my freshman dorm over 40 years ago there were posters all over the place; advertisements for clubs to join, dorm parties, don’t do drugs, the dangers of STDs, etc, But as Campus Reform is reporting:
New students at Pomona College were welcomed to campus with posters in their dorms giving instructions on “How to be a (Better) White Ally” and stating that all white people are racist.
Here we go again! Hillary Clinton’s liberal supporters complain that as a Jew I control American foreign policies, Muslim apologists call me a Xenophobe, my non-observant family call me a religious zealot, my wife says I don’t take out the garbage because of laziness, and now I am a racist on top of it--gee whiz!
The posters claim white people should “acknowledge your privilege” and “apologize if you’ve offended someone,” adding that offensive language includes words like “sassy” and “riot,” which are “racially coded.”
Oh wow–it must be true! Because in honor of Gene Wilder, I watched “Blazing Saddles” for the 97th time over the weekend. When my son asked me if I still enjoyed it, I told him it was a laugh riot. I didn’t know it was a word of privilege. Heck just a few weeks ago I wrote about Al Sharpton and the anniversary of the Crown Heights riot er...pogrom. Gee I not only used the word, but used it to refer to a riot…er incident involving an African American. Even though Sharpton incited other Black people to commit violence by telling a crowd to “kill the Jews, two times, and then leading a charge across the street to Utica,” I now realize the error of my ways I was a closet racist (bull sh*t).
The poster went on:
Everyone is problematic and even the most educated and well-intentioned people will screw up,” the poster states.
The sign then gives three steps for white allies to follow:
“1. Be prepared to make mistakes.
2. Listen and apologize.
3. Make sure to change.”
“Remember, just because POC [person of color] #1 isn’t offended by something, does not mean that POC #2 will not be offended by it either,” it says.
I guess if I am not a POC, I am a WBJO (white bald jewish oppressor)
The poster goes on to states that “social justice is about BOTH elevating oppressed groups and simultaneously unpacking the privilege of dominant groups. These aspects are equally as important!”
Additionally, the sign claims that all white people are racist.
“Understand that you are white, so it is inevitable that you have unconsciously learned racism,” it asserts. “Your unearned advantage must be acknowledged and your racism unlearned.”
Gee that part of the poster makes sense. I bet that when my grandfather was with his parents and siblings were escaping from the Cossacks by running across roof tops in what is now Odessa, Ukraine, they were thinking, we should escape to America then we can teach our descendants to oppress people of color.
When my Father went to the Philippines during the second world war, he was probably thinking, “If I get out of this place alive I am going to unconsciously teach my kids racism.”
What CRAP! This is what our once-great educational system has come to, everyone is oppressed, except of course white people–they are the oppressors.
The purpose of college is to teach people to ask questions, explore the unknown and stand up for ourselves–only then can we to learn how to live in the real world. Today our universities our colleges are teaching people to become whiners and victims. I am not saying there is no racism in America of course there is— but saying that all whites are racist is just as bad as saying all blacks are criminals.
Further, the poster claims that white people should “just listen!” rather than explaining their own perspective. “Comparing a POC’s situation with some experience of your own is not helpful. You do not & can not understand our oppression!” The guide recommends that white people should “listen to a diverse selection of marginalized voices” and notes that “POC will always understand racism in a way that you cannot—you need to listen to them!”
I would never claim to understand the black experience in America. Nor would I ever claim that the Jewish experience was anywhere near as difficult as what African Americans when through. That said, I would also say that non-Jews could never understand the Jewish experience in this country, where anti-Semites like Al Sharpton and Pat Buchanan are given TV time. Where I have been attacked in NYC because I dared to walk the streets wearing a yarmulke. Does that mean that all gentiles in this country hate Jews? NO. This is still the greatest and freest place in the world. America has a few bad apples but overall it is the most tolerant nation ever created.
Pomona College and many other institutes of “learning” in this country have forgotten their mission, instead of education they are institutes intent on creating a nation of Peter Pans, boys and girls who will never grow up. They graduate young adults dependent on emotional “blankies,” who when they hear an opinion disagreeing with theirs need to escape to a “safe room.”
That doesn’t really speak well for the future of our great nation (oh wait..is future a racist word?)
