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<p>Speaking of stereotyping…I have rarely read a post so full of it. </p>
<p>I disagree with this on so many levels that I don’t even know where to begin.</p>
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<p>Now Now…let’s not denigrate those with multiple personalities who have every right to consider themselves as more than one. So there really are 108% in attendance…(sigh and snark)</p>
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<p>So by “American,” you mean “white,” right?</p>
<p>I could do this all day.</p>
<p>oldmom, I would venture to guess that the poster is using the term used by the people in question, not making it up. </p>
<p>Consolation, I am sure the Chinese-American parents talk about “white” kids and “black” kids, not “American” kids.</p>
<p>“The last time I looked, the white/caucasian population at Harvard University was about 48.7%. So, I would not classify it is a “primarily white” institution.”</p>
<p>Speaking as a white person there, I would. I do agree that they are doing a good job working to overcome the institution’s history as a place solely for and about white Protestant Americans. (Faculty diversity is the big weak point there.) The official embrace of this project is part of that ongoing work.</p>
<p>No one has said ignorant and racist comments happen only to black people. THESE students happen to be black, so they are sharing the comments made to THEM. OTHER students at other schools have shared similar things about THEIR racial experiences. That doesn’t make it ok for ANYONE to make comments like these, nor does it mean we should marginalize their impact.</p>
<p>EVERY.SINGLE.TIME something like this comes up, no matter where, some people feel it necessary to blame the recipients and say they’re seeing race where there is none, walling in self-pity and playing victim. How about just recognizing there’s a need to stop making comments AND assumptions. </p>
<p>And goldenpooch-I can assure you it isn’t just kids at Harvard who get such comments and you have no idea if any of them ALREADY have worked with or for lower income communities. It’s also not self-absorbed to call attention to an insult. </p>
<p>And I could do this all day too, especially when people are eager to be offended. I stand by my use of the term American–not because I wouldn’t view these Asian students as Americans, but rather because they don’t. The Chinese kids we know (S’s GF of 5 years, other of my children’s good friends) consider themselves to be of Chinese nationality despite having been born here. They root for the Chinese Olympic athletes to beat the Americans, and speak of themselves as distinct from “Americans.” Even if they do view themselves as Americans, they are Chinese first and foremost. Among the Indian kids born here that we know, I would guess that most self-identify as Indian first rather than American, but it’s less adamant. This feeling could result from the fact that these groups express pride in being academically and professionally more accomplished than the average non-Asian American (more doctors, engineers, CS folks, and PhD scientists). </p>
<p>No one mentioned wailing, self-pity, or playing the victim. But if you want me to, then I will go out on a limb and say that if being asked to play Dora the Explorer is the best example she could come up with of ignorant expectations related to being Hispanic, then I’d contend she’s had a pretty good life. My friend’s D has long blond hair. A lot of people ask to touch it too. So again, if someone asking to touch your hair is a great offense in your book, you’ve also not had it too tough.</p>
<p>Actually, several posters have mentioned playing the victim, and not far up thread self-pity was mentioned. But everyone is free to interpret the young people doing the project as they see fit.</p>
<p>About the hair thing-it’s not uncommon for people to just reach out and start patting/stroking D’s hair without asking. There’s such a thing as personal space, and she likes hers, would prefer for total strangers NOT just start touching it. Also, these hair-touchings are often (not just for my D, but for other black kids) attached to ignorant assumptions and questions. THAT is the problem. And no one is saying that hair-touching is a “great offense” but how about respect for personal space? How about assumptions that black hair is sharp, or unmanageable or that braids make your head bleed, or that a black person with long wavy hair has extensions or is asked if it’s “real”? </p>
<p>Can these women just be tired of it all without being told that their feelings don’t matter, whether or not it’s “tough”? </p>
<p>Yes they can be tired of it, but they also may not have their complaints met with the same level of consternation and outrage people would show if their signs had said, “I get stopped by the Cambridge police every time I walk or drive through the downtown after 10 PM.”</p>
<p>I’m convinced that the root of much of our racial discomfort in this country is the American “tradition” and legacy of strictly characterizing persons by race and ethnic categories, which in this day and age are foggy if not essentially groundless. For example, the debate over the term Hispanic. In much of the U.S. it’s ingrained that the image of a “Hispanic” person should look like the Emperor Montezuma or the military leader Geronimo, apropos the George Lopez joke. And so, it remains in many minds that “American” or “mainstream” equals white. A comically outdated idea but one that more than a few people subconsciously hold on to, including the U.S. media. So it’s not surprising that immigrants retain this idea as well.</p>
<p>Getting back to Harvard, these kids have given voice to the reality that some of their classmates don’t consider them to be part of the “mainstream” of the Harvard community, or that if they are truly Harvard-esque or truly “American,” it’s because they are the rare exceptions in their stereotypical racial/ethnic “tribe.”</p>
<p>“eager to be offended” is a judgment.
Sure, it would have been effective to spread this out among a variety of categories. But saying or implying that they are “eager” rests upon preconceived notions. “They.” Does suggest some posters would like it all just to go away, “if only ‘they’ wouldn’t bring this up.” </p>
<p>It’s true some people are hyper-sensitive. Assuming this should shut up the rest isn’t very open-minded. (It just isn’t.) Saying, well my neighbors don’t like the townhouses or people slurred my Irish grandfather is really a way to dismiss or diminish other’s issues. Without considering. You think it’s innocuous. So it must be “them.” And the cycle continues. Because if we can just proclaim it’s “them,” we’re somehow absolved. I don’t see it that way.</p>
<p>Also, some here are being the very “defensive” they complain “they” are. Do you see it?</p>
<p>@TheGFG, remember “American Beats Out Kwan” headline when Lipinski beat Kwan in figure skating years ago? That headline was from a major news outlet. Lipinski was Russian American, but she is white, while Kwan was not white. This implies that the society has a long way to go before every american citizen is recognized and treated as an American.</p>
<p>That headline was an online mistake by a liberal news outlet where some human guy screwed up for a second. </p>
<p><a href=“Asian Groups Attack Msnbc Headline Referring To Kwan -- News Web Site Apologizes For Controversial Wording | The Seattle Times”>Asian Groups Attack Msnbc Headline Referring To Kwan -- News Web Site Apologizes For Controversial Wording | The Seattle Times;
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<p>I’m going to venture out onto that limb and say…these hair touchers probably have other inappropriate social behavior.</p>
<p>I don’t know, dietz. The most recent time was last week in about as professional a setting as you can imagine. Worse, it was in an elevator and D couldn’t really move out of the way. The person in question has the kind of job where inappropriate touching of her peers would probably get her fired, and if she did such to her superiors, might get security running after her. There was extensive training even for D’s volunteer position about behavior, one would assume that FT paid people are trained even more extensively.</p>
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<p>The hyper-sensitive are probably a small, but very loud, minority. Unfortunately, they tend to create a “crying wolf” effect by turning up their outrage and anger to the maximum for things that are merely innocent ignorance that cause no or little actual harm (though certainly annoying to those on the receiving end) rather than reserving their maximum level of outrage and anger for wilfully malicious and harmful actions while treating the innocent ignorance as more of a teachable moment.</p>
<p>Is there “maximum” “outrage and anger” in this project? I’m not seeing it.</p>
<p><a href=“ash beckham youtube - Bing video”>ash beckham youtube - Bing video;
<p>Not sure if I’m allowed to post a youtube video, but this talk by gay activist Ash Beckham called “Coming out of the Closet” nicely addresses the issue of how to gracefully handle being a member of a misunderstood and/or persecuted minority group in a way that strongly asserts the right to respect and fair treatment, but without living too much in a defensive, hyper-vigilance about being insulted. What are relevant to this discussion are the anecdotes of Ash’s encounter with the little girl in the restaurant who asks about her gender, and also the wedding reception story. I appreciate how Ash dealt with people’s ignorance and awkward attempts to relate to her.</p>
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<p>No. Actually, these type of web pages linked here are a good way of showing people the problem without personalizing it.</p>