Open Letter to the 3 White Students Who Filed a Discrimination Complaint Against Their Black Teacher

[Scuba]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olivia-cole/shannon-gibney-teacher-race_b_4378444.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

Open Letter to the Three White Students Who Filed a Discrimination Complaint Against Their Black Teacher



Hi guys. Before you ask, I'm white too. Someone wise said social activism tastes better when the waiter is white, and while this is unfortunate, you clearly aren't listening to your professor, Shannon Gibney, so I thought I'd take a moment to clear some things up, mano-a-mano. You know, Caucasian-a-Caucasian.

Let me make something clear right up front: you have no real idea what it's like to be discriminated against on the basis of race. Neither do I. You know why? Because we're white. We're white people in America, and that means almost every aspect of the country we live in is geared toward us: 99 percent of books, television, film, magazines, and even porn, is made for us and represents us. Maybe you read (though for some reason I deeply doubt it) my article on the absurdity of #WhiteGirlsRock. It's absurd because white people don't need an extra reminder of their value... because it's reaffirmed for them (for us) every single day by the people we see in the media, by the people that run this country, and yes, even by the people that act as our educators. American education has long been under fire by people who use their brains over the continued teaching that Christopher Columbus was a great dude and a hero and someone we should all celebrate year after year. But you probably still think that, don't you?

...

Is this where things started to get uncomfortable for you? I imagine the first lecture on America's legacy of brutality and oppression left you in shock. Maybe you thought that particular professor was just a wayward nut job. But then another class discussed institutional racism, and another. And you began to squirm in your seat because whoa this wasn't just one time where your whiteness -- the thing that you might have squeaked by on for the entirety of your short life; the thing you've unconsciously relied upon to get you out of trouble with the campus police, out of detention and on the honor roll in high school; the thing that might have gotten you your consecutive summer jobs -- that thing, that whiteness, is being criticized, not just once by one random professor who your privilege enables you to ignore, but more than once. You see petitions and articles on the Internet talking about racism and bias and...gasp...white privilege. And you're sick of it, right? Because who wants to sit in a room full of people, people who don't all look and sound like you, and talk about the ways that you are flawed? That's uncomfortable. That's awkward. That doesn't feel good. It feels like being singled out; it feels like being held accountable for things you don't feel responsible for; it feels like being defined by the color of your skin; it feels like being blamed; it feels like being...discriminated against.

But it's not discrimination, boys. And here's why. Because this is one classroom in your entire life. One speck of discomfort in an ocean that is your life of privilege. Because white supremacy dictates that your skin -- and let's not forget your maleness -- will make things fundamentally easier for you than for a person (and especially a woman) of color. That feeling of being on the spot? Of being defined by the color of your skin? Of being blamed for things that other people of your color do, even if you have not done them yourself? That's not a classroom for people of color. That's life. There's no walking out of class. There's no transferring to a different professor. There is only more of the same, with the hope that dialogue, education, and activism will pull the collective ostrich head from the ground, bit by bit, until that structural racism that you don't like talking about is eradicated.

[jessie04]

1. White and male.

What could they know

[gollygee]

2. Those kids are little shits

and if one of my kids pulls a pity party stunt like that when they're in college, I will know I haven't done my job and I'll do it then.

[Luminous Animal]

3. Kudos to Olivia Cole. Thanks for the post Scuba.

[leftyohiolib]

4. great another lecture on my white priviledge

wait she's not male how can she understand anything those boys we're feeling when she isnt one, but that doesnt stop her from making several assumptions," the thing that you might have squeaked by on for the entirety of your short life; the thing you've unconsciously relied upon to get you out of trouble with the campus police, out of detention and on the honor roll in high school; the thing that might have gotten you your consecutive summer jobs" that's right cause only our white-ness provided all those things.
i didnt work to get where i am, i didnt avoid people and situations that might get me in trouble with the campus police, behave so i didnt get detention, kept my record clean so that i could get jobs i just did whatever the hell i wanted to because i knew i could just sat back and coast through on my white-ness. this is insulting

[jeff47]

8. Apparently there's one thing true in your post.

i didnt work to get where i am

Apparently not.

So how 'bout showing us just how smart you are by actually using capitalization and punctuation? See, one fantastic example of your sense of privilege is believing other people would want to wade into that poorly-formatted pile of goo to find out what you are thinking. Understand that, and you'll start to find out all sorts of things.

[HangOnKids]

10. Boo-Hoo

Poor you.

[uponit7771]

15. So basically your complaint is white privilege doesn't exist? REALLY?!

[eqfan592]

19. Actually, I think three posters problem stems from the assumptions made.

Mainly that the only reason white males succeed is because they are white males.

And to be very clear, I'm in no way implying while privilege doesn't exist, as it clearly does, but there are certain assumptions made in the article in the op that are just a tad over the top.

[Blue_Tires]

26. The fact that the boys were butthurt enough to file an official complaint

tells me all I need to know about them...

[hfojvt]

34. clearly she seems to feel

that white people only get on the honor role because they are white.

[defacto7]

5. It's her "Bottom line" at the link

that really sums it up. That's the best part.

Great post.

[Blue_Tires]

6. kick for truth

[marble falls]

7. White privelege is real.

[Marrah_G]

9. applause!

[HangOnKids]

12. LOL

What an absolute hoot.

[B Calm]

16. Oh well he's gone!

lol

[davidpdx]

17. This might be why

Juror #6 voted to HIDE IT and said: Hide for trollness. Needs to be reported to MIRT.

[HughBeaumont]

18. One said "It’s like people are trying to say that white men are always the villains, the bad guys."

Wow, just LOOK at all those LED light bulbs!

Hey, welcome to the conversation!

You know, because THAT'S EXACTLY what YOUR version of the history Ms. Gibney's trying to teach you about says: that ALL white men sucked and have always sucked and are out to get everyone who's not them!!

. . . . or, you poor trod-upon victims could just read this:

[Orrex]

20. I'm mildly annoyed at the white male students because they're just loud-mouthed assholes

But I'm very troubled by the school issuing a formal reprimand. WTF?

A trio of jackasses doesn't like a small dose of truth, so they file a formal complaint and the school acts on it? What a load of bullshit! Also, she'll face heightened scrutiny for giving them poor grades when they invariably fuck up in her class.

I knew assholes like this in college, the type who threaten to sue if the cheese isn't spread evenly over their entire pizza. I'm so relieved to have these brave souls crusading for the rights of oppressed white men everywhere.


Assholes.

[Blue_Tires]

24. +1

[gollygee]

27. I know!

Stupid college kids need an education obviously, but what's with the school taking them seriously?

[lightcameron]

21. She mad.

[Blue_Tires]

25. The truth hurts, doesn't it?

[JustAnotherGen]

22. Discussion in the African American Group last week

On the initial REPRIMAND of the Instructor . . .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11874627

[justanaverageguy]

23. My two cent (and that might be all it's worth!!)

I'm a white male, let's get that out of the way because it matters to some.

I don't disagree that white privilege exist, of course it does. But that doesn't mean that my life is automatically just a walk in the park. I still have to get out there and bust my ass as hard as I can to get ahead. I work with enough non-white people in my industry to know that success is available for them as well. Do they have an extra burden to carry? Quite probably yes. Beside acknowledge that white privilege exist what is it exactly that you want me as a white male to do about it?

While I would have never even considered filing any sort of formal complaint, there were times when I was in college when the professor was going about this or that social injustice (commonly centered on race) that I would feel some frustration because it had no apparent association to the subject matter of the class. It wasn't that I felt uncomfortable discussing the topic, it had more to do with the fact that I knew I was ultimately going to be tested on the subject matter of the course, not whatever cause the professor was championing that particular day.

[jeff47]

29. It's not something for you to fix.

What we have to do is realize we have that privilege, and thus not make stupid arguments from that position.

For example, there's plenty of people who believe "If you haven't done anything wrong, you don't have to fear the police". That argument comes from white privilege - there's plenty of minorities who have done nothing wrong, but are still arrested or otherwise mistreated.

That isn't something you can directly fix. But raising your own awareness leads to changes - "stop and frisk" goes from minor inconvenience to something abhorrent because you have a better understanding of what others are going through.

[Scuba]

32. Nicely done! Thanks.

[HangOnKids]

31. Every college course I attended allowed for students to talk to their professor

If you were so frustrated why not go directly to the prof? Exactly what class did you take that a prof would go off on a racial tangent when it had no bearing on the curriculum? Your post is quite confusing.

[justanaverageguy]

37. Because it wasn't that frustrating

Maybe the my choice of the word frustrating was too strong of a word. That would imply that in my early twenties that I cared enough to be "frustrated". Let me assure you.......I didn't LOL!!! Certainly not enough to go and complain to anyone about it. A better way to phrase it would have been to say that at times I would wonder why we were having this conversation given the course subject. As far as what class....I don't remember the exact class, but it was a computer class. And in all honesty I'm sure often that the conversation with the professor was started by students and then it would just grow from there. Many of my professors let their political beliefs be known, but I never felt like I was being indoctrinated or any stupid thing like that.

[HangOnKids]

38. Pure Comedy Gold

Press on.

[justanaverageguy]

39. Thank you...thank you....I'll be here all week !!!!

[gollygee]

28. I don't understand how anyone here at DU

read this article and thought anything other than that these students are victims of nothing other than ignorance and that it is pure bullshit that the professor was disciplined.

I don't understand the whiny responses about how difficult life is for white people. Why would you respond to this story with that?

[HappyMe]

33. It is bullshit that the professor was disciplined.

Maybe the school felt that they had to do something. If these kids are whiny enough to do this, I'm sure (in this litigious society) they -or their parents would have cooked up a lawsuit of some sort.

I didn't see what the disciplinary action was. Since there was a formal complaint, they have to stuff a 'yeah, we talked to her' piece of paper in the file.

[Number23]

35. Welcome to our world, gollygee

I don't understand the whiny responses about how difficult life is for white people.

Most people of color don't either. And never will.

[Gothmog]

30. MHP had this professor on her show this weekend

It was a great segment

[Number23]

36. This letter needs to be pinned to the top of this forum

And every single clueless, ignorant, insensitive and willfully blind cretin that loudly pines for The Good Old Days of days gone or screams "it's not color, it's CLASS1!" by should be forced to recite this segment at will:

I imagine the first lecture on America's legacy of brutality and oppression left you in shock. Maybe you thought that particular professor was just a wayward nut job. But then another class discussed institutional racism, and another. And you began to squirm in your seat because whoa this wasn't just one time where your whiteness -- the thing that you might have squeaked by on for the entirety of your short life; the thing you've unconsciously relied upon to get you out of trouble with the campus police, out of detention and on the honor roll in high school; the thing that might have gotten you your consecutive summer jobs -- that thing, that whiteness, is being criticized, not just once by one random professor who your privilege enables you to ignore, but more than once. You see petitions and articles on the Internet talking about racism and bias and...gasp...white privilege. And you're sick of it, right? Because who wants to sit in a room full of people, people who don't all look and sound like you, and talk about the ways that you are flawed? That's uncomfortable. That's awkward. That doesn't feel good. It feels like being singled out; it feels like being held accountable for things you don't feel responsible for; it feels like being defined by the color of your skin; it feels like being blamed; it feels like being...discriminated against.

But it's not discrimination, boys. And here's why.

Because this is one classroom in your entire life. One speck of discomfort in an ocean that is your life of privilege. Because white supremacy dictates that your skin -- and let's not forget your maleness -- will make things fundamentally easier for you than for a person (and especially a woman) of color. That feeling of being on the spot? Of being defined by the color of your skin? Of being blamed for things that other people of your color do, even if you have not done them yourself? That's not a classroom for people of color. That's life. There's no walking out of class. There's no transferring to a different professor. There is only more of the same, with the hope that dialogue, education, and activism will pull the collective ostrich head from the ground, bit by bit, until that structural racism that you don't like talking about is eradicated.