Wednesday, September 28, 2016

I would be problematic as fuck, apparently.

And am.  I'm gonna stick with Chris Rock on this one.  "Get your Dre on. Get your Jay on.  Get your Kanye on.  It's alright.  It's all good.  It's OK.  It's got to be in the song though.  It's got to be in the song."

Campuses Cautiously Train Freshmen Against Subtle Insults - The New York Times: "Microaggressions, Ms. Marlowe said, are comments, snubs or insults that communicate derogatory or negative messages that might not be intended to cause harm but are targeted at people based on their membership in a marginalized group...

Some graduates have curtailed donations, and students have suggested that diversity training smacks of some sort of Communist re-education program. The backlash was exemplified recently in a widely publicized letter sent to new freshmen at the University of Chicago by the dean of students, John Ellison. He warned that the university did not “support so-called trigger warnings, we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual safe spaces where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own.”

Ms. Marlowe said she questioned the validity of the concept of reverse racism, arguing that racism is a system in which a dominant race benefits from the oppression of others. But some students appeared slightly confused. “When you use the term ‘self-identify’ as a white woman, are you saying that you can choose your race?” one white male student asked. “I’ll give you an example,” Ms. Marlowe said. “I went to a conference. I was talking to this man. I thought he was black. I was talking about diversity and social justice.” “He said, ‘I’m Cuban,’” Ms. Marlowe told the crowd. “I assumed he was black because he was the same skin complexion as me, and the same type of hair.” But, Ms. Marlowe said, while it is sometimes difficult to identify a person’s racial or ethnic background based on appearance, she does not believe that gives license to people like Rachel A. Dolezal, the white woman who claimed to be African-American while working for the N.A.A.C.P. in Spokane, Wash. “You can’t say you’re black if you’re not, historically.” The student still seemed confused. “Maybe we can unpack it afterward,” Ms. Marlowe told the student. “You want to come see me afterward?”

From the comments: "Perhaps it would be better to teach students not to mine every innocuous comment for microaggressions. Not every comment is meant to be hurtful and if you're so sensitive that the phrase "you guys" makes you feel inferior, perhaps you're not ready to take your place in the adult world. "

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