only blacks allowed: students seek 'non-white' roomate

a decision based on skintone is pretty dumb. it may be preference, but I would think mindset is far more important.

If I was transported back to off campus university house building days, things like nerddom preferences, articulation, habits, etc is far higher up the list than racial preferences.

just my opinion. its off campus. who cares.

I don't see it as racist.
It's just someone being honest about who they feel comfortable sharing a room with.

White kids should be allowed the same basic rights too.

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed
I wonder if a white person wearing a hijab would be acceptable ...?...On a slightly more serious note i really do not see this as a big deal.....people are free to feel anyway they want if this person wants a colored flatmate why should they not be able too ?...This just looks to me to be another attempt to fire up some faux outrage .....

That's all very well if the same freedom of choice would be 'allowed' for white people too. Which would be unthinkable. Therein lies the injustice.

Who cares about all this? Makes me wish I was back in school, I would run my own ad:

Seeking roommates, must be white, blonde hair, blue eyes, approximately 5'7", 36-24-34 and like the smell of chloroform. Please apply in person to white van parked behind sorority houses.

This story illustrates what I have been trying to explain to people since the very first day I joined ATS. I shut up after a short time because I got tired of being labelled a 'racist.'

The only way to remove systemic racism from society is to allow it to exist.

We tried the opposite approach. It worked for a while. During the Civil Rights movement, the systemic racism was so deeply ingrained into society that laws were needed to combat it. Once attitudes began to change, those laws should have been repealed to allow society to embrace equality. They were not, and soon began to cause resentment.

There is, IMO, absolutely nothing wrong with a group of blacks wanting a black roommate. There is nothing wrong with a bunch of whites wanting a white roommate. There is nothing wrong with Asians wanting an Asian roommate, or Texans wanting a Texan roommate. These are personal preferences. Life will punish anone who wants to segregate themselves from others in its own way: a lack of multicultural knowledge. Life will make a fair decision on the severity of that punishment, based on the attitudes held by individuals. Our silly little 'anti-discrimination' laws can't perform on that level.

If I were to advertise that I wanted a white roommate, I would be labelled, shamed, punished, and ostracized under our present system. Yet I harbor no desire to prevent anyone, of any color, race, or creed, from doing anything they choose with their life. That is not racism. Another white guy could as easily find friends so he wouldn't need to advertise, while quietly living a life believing that black people were inferior and should not be allowed the same freedoms he enjoys. He would never receive the attention I would, nor would he be subject to legal repercussions. Yet, he is the racist, and would actually have his racist beliefs legitimized by a complete lack of interaction with other cultures.

The proper solution would be for us both to be able to freely choose who we wished to live and associate with. I would not be harmed by that solution, since I do try to interact with others. He would be harmed by a smaller social network and an inability to communicate and work effectively with others.

I say we need to repeal 90% of the anti-discrimination laws we have, and simply allow people to be people again. Anything which requires taxpayer money can still be covered by laws preventing discrimination. Any public business can still be required to keep their doors open to all races. Organizations should be exempt... keep the Society of Black Engineers, but allow the Society of White Engineers (which would not happen anyway). Pretty soon, neither one will exist, because no one will who matters will care.

We did our job in the 60s... Dr. King can look down on that with pride. Now let's take the next step. Then the next. Then the next. If I fall and break something important, I might need to see a doctor, get a cast, and use crutches for a while. As the bone heals, I can lose the crutches. Then the cast can be exchanged for a brace. Then I can lose the brace. Then I can train the muscles back. Finally, I can function wholly again.

Or I can walk around on crutches in a cast the rest of my life.

Can we get the cast off yet?

But what do I know? My skin is not dark, so i'm a racist...

TheRedneck

a reply to: odzeandennz

Well, of course, because they were brought up under CRT (Critical Race theory) which says that only the race that suppsodely has the power can actually be racist. Therefore because America is "white" (don't you feel that way?) it is racist and so are whites whether we actually are in our actions or not.

So every white is racist and no other person of color can be.

It's simple really and why they all think America needs to be destroyed and remade into whatever it is they want to make it into.

It's why they chant about losing their chains.

And what it truly is is a bunch of subversive BS.

a reply to: odzeandennz

first and foremost this in my opinion violates the fair housing act.
from the wiki, because it's fast.

The Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968) introduced meaningful federal enforcement mechanisms. It outlawed:
Refusal to sell or rent a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin in the terms, conditions or privilege of the sale or rental of a dwelling.
Advertising the sale or rental of a dwelling indicating preference of discrimination based on race, color, religion or national origin.
Coercing, threatening, intimidating, or interfering with a person's enjoyment or exercise of housing rights based on discriminatory reasons or retaliating against a person or organization that aids or encourages the exercise or enjoyment of fair housing rights.
Fair Housing Act

second, imagine the hell that would be raised if three white males advertised for no poc. the cries of racist's would race the skies, all over the country.

Im am an Englishman living in Australia.

Only about 30 years did Australia stop having 'none aboriginal zones' kind of like the whites only. I have been here 10 years and in that time, the government made an apology. Only last year did one of the top 10ASX companies I work for create a RAP - Reconciliation Action Plan.

We drill and mine resources from the Aboriginals land to make billions a year and yet the best our RAP can deliver is a few minor scholarships and a recognition of the land owners before each meeting.

I asked at a CEO Conference why we dont give a percentage of our income to the traditional landowners we take from, a completely muddled response followed by my career free fall.

Now I dont know about America and you BLM stuff, but here in Aus we have not even begun to make amends. I have even has, as an Englishman, Australians blaming me for the abuse of Aboriginals and a distancing from the problem by Australians.

In Australia, no matter how you cut it, we owe the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders reconciliation until we wipe out the massive prejudice we created and give them a level playing field.

If you have 'black hoods' what we do is bulldoze them, take 40 suburbs where 5 have 100% black populations, 10 have 50% and so on until you have 40 suburbs with equal ethnic populations.

I am not saying this is the solution, but the current course of action or inaction is not making the situation any better, it seems to be getting worse?

There will always be racism, there will always be idiots.

You can't legislate intelligence.

a reply to: ketsuko

You're one of the few that actually "gets it". Congrats!

What I've learned is that, for white people, even discussing the issue of racism in the US is pointless because it just feeds the narrative.

This type of reverse racism, which is actually just racism by another name, happens far too often. One of my kids was assigned a black roommate during freshman year of college last year. My kid was fine with that and looked forward to getting to know this kid. After two weeks the roommate moved out of the room without a word said about it to my kid. When my kid asked housing what was going on, they said that the roommate "wasn't comfortable with a white roomate". My kid has dated someone who isn't white for over 2 years and also has black, Hispanic and Asian friends...so no racism there! It was a lost opportunity for this other kid who came from Ferguson MO--yep you read that right--to actually broaden horizons which is a big part of the college experience. Without a doubt there are white people who are racist, but there are also black people who are racist. We can no longer blame ALL of the racial problems and tensions in the USA on "bigoted white Americans", there is blame to go around.

a reply to: odzeandennz

What? You think a non-white can be a racist? What kind of human being are you? (sarcasm)

It's been like that for ages now. We now live in a time when if you're white you have to have the following things hanging from your neck:

"White guilt" - "Slavery Guilt" - "Job Guilt" - "Location guilt" - "Historical guilt"

And those are the only ones I can be bothered to write down. The fact that this surprises or shocks anyone is well a shock to me. And as time goes by, as young non-white children, mostly black kids are brought up in this state, with parents constantly brainwashing them with the "white devil" things are only going to get worse and worse. I fear for the future. I'm thirty years old, do not have or plan to have children but do have a couple dozen nieces and nephews and fear for the world they are going to get.

My perspective...

Being black, on one hand I understand. Despite all the kumbaya attitudes towards integration, the reality is that people have different cultures and like different things... food, music, language, etc.

When you are a black student at a largely white institution, it can be tough because you sometimes feel like you are on an island. I can kind of understand the desire to have another black person as a roommate.

With that said, college is also a place to gain exposure to different people, cultures, etc. A big part of doing that is interacting with people in all kinds of different environments.

Often times I think we as black people can be closed minded and as such we get trapped in this mentality that the world is out to get us. I know this sometimes can stem from our experiences, but at the same time I've found that the vast majority of white folks I've encountered in academia, professional settings, and as neighbors all want the same things I want in life. We often have a lot more in common than we do differences.

a reply to: Edumakated

oh yea... not a good enough excuse. when minorities are always calling for DIVERSITY, and unification etc.

now diversity is ambiguous and is just a personal choice? is that going to apply in other situations....

how can some be allowed to not allow housing to a group of people because of their skin... whilst violating fair housing act, and it a good thing because...

this isnt just an add for people who are in the same major programs, or like the same music, of are older or more mature. this was just , we dont care what kind of person the person is, as long as they are not white. its no about what they have in common, its more about what they dont have in common.
there are white males who know more about black culture and social interactions, music, style, etc.. i guess those wouldnt be allowed either because of their skin color.

discrimination and racism should not have any asterisks next to their meanings in the dictionary (if white bad, non white..acceptable and defended)

thats absurd...

next there's a protest about how the school is not diversified...

Why does it matter? He's not picking out bread, he's gotta live with this person. I'd like to reserve the right to not live with a smelly roommate or a drug addict roommate as most I'd assume. What if a woman only wanted another woman as a roommate? Would that make her a sexist?

One, the implication what one would want in a roommate is based on skin color rather than a host of other things, morality, schedule, seriousness of academia, clean vs dirty,etc, is quite racist.

Two, how would they feel if it's a white kid adopted by black parents or a kid with one white and one black parent, or maybe a white kid who's brother/sister was black and adopted? They'd be forcing that person to deny part of their heritage as they wouldn't be deemed "black enough".

Also racist.

a reply to: xtradimensions

It's easy to generalize....for all of us....I'm guilty.

That black person doesn't represent all black people...maybe the kid of color was just an a**hole. I guess racism comes in many flavors but a kid moving out of a college dorm room doesn't rate very high *when people are being jailed and shot for being brown.

*edit to complete thought

a reply to: TheRedneck

You're right of course. If people want to use certain criteria for choices, I have no problem with it. Some of those criteria are irrelevant bordering on dumb, but whatever.

Left handers only. Only those born north of the Ohio river. Only green eyed people. Only people whose family has been in the US for 3 generations or more. A lot of stupid stuff, and none of it is under anyone's control.

But if that's the way someone wants to roll, it's no skin off my onion. I'd prefer the idiots find a way like this to self-identify anyway. Saves a lot of trouble determining who you're dealing with or time answering ads for things you will never be considered for.

I guess in a world that would allow freedom of association, this would be allowed for anyone to do. The implication is pretty sad, but it should be allowable. Honestly, why should we force someone to live with people they simply don't want to tolerate "for their own good?" What is the value in that and what good does it do for either party?

"Our people are being killed. Every which way, through every which angle. Our people are being killed. Our housing arrangements are not racist. They are not exclusive. We are simply fighting to exist and we are fighting to exist in whatever way we can."

Being a little over-dramatic, aren't we?