BlogHer - Caucasian American Men's Group at Arizona State University - Comments

As an ASU alumnus, I would

extremezone — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:13:24 -0500

As an ASU alumnus, I would support an Alumni chapter at ASU for Caucasian-Americans that emphasize on political activism and community service. Particularly the group could be focused on various issues such as Irish culture, Italian culture, British culture, and so on. We will have to see what response we could get for Caucasian Alumni at ASU. I might also suggest emphasis on American Pioneer history, Colonial History, and East European immigration of the 20th century, who knows. I am taking this approach because of concerns that some Caucasians today may feel disenfranchised, as a lot of energy and emphasis is put towards every minority group except the Caucasians. While many cultural minoity groups prove to be beneficial for those who participate in them, Caucasians may feel that sometimes these groups can promote a sense of hostility and animosity toward Caucasians. While minority groups are needed for many reasons, the same is so for Caucasians. As a Caucasian-American, and while I was a student at ASU, I supported minority ethnic groups, but had always felt disenfranchised that there were no groups that I could belong to in which I could share the same cultural understanding with others like me. We are in a changing society and many Caucasian people feel, as of late, that we now need organizations and student organizations that focus on Caucasian American culture and way of life. It’s always a two-way street, you cannot say on one hand that having Hispanic groups and Asian groups are beneficial, yet on the other hand say that having Caucasian-American student groups promotes supremacy. We just have to stop this hypocrisy. Caucasian Americans need a place in which they can assemble in the same way as MEChA (student group), Los Diablos, and other groups. As Arizona becomes more multicultural, Caucasian students at ASU need a place to discuss their shared experiences and to help preserve Caucasian history and culture; Alumni’s should have this as well.

We are in a new era of equality- what is fair is fair. Because our nation has come far in regards to getting along with one another over the past 5 decades, and have put aside its divisiveness, together we are ready to face new challenges such as the economy, the war on drugs, poverty, and so on. Caucasians are no longer an elitists group and society must stop stereotyping us that way. This is not to say that racism still does not exist; we have some work to do. Never the less, we need to put aside our differences and come together to work as a unified America rather than a polyglot society, with each ethnic group having its own agenda. To put it delicately, many white Americans have felt a push beyond equality and feel that the system has taken it too far, and now argue that whites, as much as minorities, are on the receiving end of discrimination and racism. This needs to stop. We just cannot have African American chapter, an Asian American chapter, and so on, and not have an Caucasian American chapter. This ideal is discrimination no matter how you want to look at it.

Debunking whiteness, or a front?

Liz Henry — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:13:46 -0500

It sounds like it might be sincere and an anti-racist group in intention. Like "white guys learn how to educate each other and themselves, step back from entitlement, and be good allies to everyone else".

On the other hand it could be a nasty joke, or a front for scary white power types who are hijacking the language of identity politics. The article doesn't really give enough information for me to tell!

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Liz Henry
lizzard@bookmaniac.net
Badgermama - personal & mommyblog
http://liz-henry.blogspot.com

Caucasian American Men's Group at Arizona State University

lainad — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 11:14:12 -0500

Students at Arizona State university have a new organization on campus. Despite the name, the group, whose aim is to "examine their own histories and composition and their unique capacities to contribute," is open to anyone, regardless of gender and ethnic background (why a person of colour would want to join this group is a mystery to me, but hey...).

What could have been quite an ugly debate has been handled in a delicate manner - almost too much, but hey, I'm a cynic - and a realist. In his commentary, Moving on from a culture of conflict writer Matt Bowman, who supports the organization poses an interesting,yet troubling argument as to the validation of this group:

In the past, when universities were first being removed from the control of dominating social and cultural elitists, many barred and underrepresented groups admirably stepped up to make their voices heard.

Their efforts reshaped university culture and institutions. Curriculums were changed and expanded. Cultural climates were broadened and made deliberately inclusive. Frameworks for representation in administrative bodies were reworked.

Universities have since become an open forum for diverse groups to get involved and invest in the environment of higher education. More so, universities have been reoriented to rest on this involvement and depend on it for their further growth.

Working against this are the efforts of those who want to continue to define diversity along lines of struggle and opposition to a toppled institution. The lasting effects of past, oppressive systems deserve attention, but fixating on it denies the product of past labor: a place of open exchange.

What troubles me with this view is that it infers that the ongoing problem of oppression and discrimination is simply a figment of the 'oppressed' imagination, and those who work for inclusion are somehow to blame. Also, the writer's use of the word 'fixation' is troublesome. The writer is assuming that because universities are more culturally diverse than they were 40 years ago means that institutionalized racism and oppression have simply disappeared, therefore anyone who wants to continue a dialogue about wanting equality are somehow supressing the "open exchange" that is expected in insitutions of higher education.

This mindset is unfortunately, nothing new. Simply another method of shooting the messenger, of denying the fact that racism is still an issue.

But on the other hand, I understand the resentment that the younger generation might feel, those who were raised in a culturally diverse community and perhaps never questioned the experiences of others. Do they have to take ownership for the ills of what they percive as past injustices? That other campus organizations for cultural communities are still a necessity?

But an "open exchange" will not happen with the emergence of this group. It will only happen when people acknowledge that while some conditions have improved for people of colour, the barriers still exist. Acknowledging that white privledge still exists is a start, and I hope that eventually the members will address that (crossing fingers).