Poll: Are scholarships designated for African-Americans racist?

[HentMas]

IMHO: I believe that they are aimed to help a "minority" not a "race"

they already have thoudsands of Scolarships aimed to everyone, and obviously if 100 guys apply, the higher number of race will win (in this case being caucasian) i dont know the rating of "caucasians" vs "African americans" but i do know that if its over 50%, the caucasians will have more oportunities to "win" the scolarship, seemingly people from an outside point of view will believe that "african americans" are being "set aside" by race, when that is not the case

BUT, creating this kind of scolarship ensures that the "minority" haves a standing chance, they are trying to make the "oportunities" equal to both sides, i do believe there should be no "both sides" but seeing that the predominant "race" is "caucacian" unless there is a 50/50 number of people living in the United States i think its ok, for now

being Mexican i have no idea how the system works or how people see the issue over there, but from where i´m standing it seems as a "regular" way of evening things out... untill they reach a 50/50 quota for both races (giving people the same rate of oportunities in normal scolarships)

 

[nothinghere]

I think it's racist to a degree, there isn't anything really "hateful" about it.

If your sayings its only slightly racist because theres nothing hateful about it then you may want to look up the definition of racism.

To you it may seem like a positive grant specifed to a racial minority or it could be taken as saying that the certain minority needs extra help in order to achieve success then others.

Theres a positive and negative to everything, and besides that, Racism is where you discriminate and define superiority based on race. Saying Black people are great at basketball is racist.

Side note:
When there is superiority there is inferiority

 

[lokun489]

Yes but at the same time not all racism is bad, only most of it.

 

[RN7]

By its sheer nature, yes, it is racist. It is excluding all members that do not fall into a specific group based on ethnicity. By that sheer definition, in the respect of the American legality system, it is kind-of illegal to do something like that. You'd technically have to let members of all races apply for said scholarship for it to fall in line with the rights imposed upon American citizens

In this light, the scholarships should be changed. When they were created, whites pretty much dominated the American society. That isn't the exact case now. Their are whites who could use opportunities like this just as much a black, which is why the scholarships should be changed to analyze merit entirely. Just because one student was black, doesn't mean he or she should get an advantage over a hispanic, caucasian, asian, etc. student in the same exact position. It has to be earned on the whole-scale.

 

[KoSTHB]

the majority of african americans need scholarships to have an equal chance not to say some don't just like other races may need to also so what's the big deal?

 

[manythings]

Actually, it's not purely based on race. It's based on the treatment of a specific race within a culture.

Racism as a concept stands more primarily on the notion that a race is inferior or superior simply due to their race, or that negative (or positive) traits can be associated just by birth into said race. The idea that whites are superior or that blacks are all violent are racist; a scholarship aimed at black people is not inherently so.

At worst, this is a response to racism. It is not racism by itself, though.

Similarly, feminism by itself is a response to gender bias. It's nice to say that everyone should be "equalitarian," but the notion of gender bias notoriously swings one way.

To place a person ahead of another for a reason based on skin colour is inherently racist because it is a decision focussed on race. You can try and rationalise it and call it add it to an affirmative action list but it's not because that black guy was of greater merit than that white guy, it's because he was a black guy.

On the subject of feminism it started as equalitarianism because women wanted to be equal members of society, feminism promotes the advancement of women just because they are women not because they are more able than men.

 

[thenoblitt]

yes because it give it to one race and none other

 

[Labcoat Samurai]

And now she's some $12,000 in debt because none of the scholorships her school offered she was eligible for.

Hold on. All that drama for 12,000 dollars? She got off easy. If I owed 12 grand in student loans, I'd cut a check for 12 grand. Today. And put it in the mail. As it happens, I owe 0 dollars in student loans, but I know people who owe six figures or more. I reserve my sympathy for them.

Let me see if I can find my world's tiniest violin

 

[Labcoat Samurai]

And, my personal favorite, if you're dumb as a motherfucking rock but you can play football like nobody's business, then you can go to any college, anywhere in the entire country, for absolute free!

Ain't it the truth? I was.... exceptional... by the standards of my high school. I was awarded an academic merit based full ride scholarship that no one at my school had gotten in 11 years. That *same year*, there were two students in my class who got full rides for athletics. In ELEVEN YEARS, two people get full rides on merit, and in ANY GIVEN YEAR a couple or so will get it for sports. Ridiculous.

 

[bz316]

These are scholarships specifically from African American groups being offered to African American students. And since I don't yet oppose the same things being done by hispanic groups or italian groups or whatever, then I don't oppose them for African Americans. They are private groups, free to offer their money to whomever they want based on whatever criteria they want.

 

[likalaruku]

They're reverse racist, just like scholarships for wmen are reverse sexist. A tiny way of excluding white men from something as a form of ancient payback I guess.

 

[Labcoat Samurai]

It blows my mind that you could possibly consider these scholarships to be racist. Let me explain it to you this way:

Imagine a big race (the kind with a start and finish). Now imagine that all of your competitors are being weighed down by oppression and genocide.
As the race starts you fly to the lead. Everyone is so very far behind you that you can hardly even consider them a competition anymore.
Then when you finally reach the end, you realize that killing and enslaving and generally shitting on everyone else probably wasn't the nicest way to win a race. But since all the people you were racing are dead, you decide to help out their kids by giving them a leg up here and there (cause let's face it, people are still shitting on them and they've earned a break).

Well, the obvious problem with this analogy is that it neatly hides the problem of blaming children for the sins of the father. Imagine your grandfather borrowed 50,000 dollars from a mafioso and skipped town. Whatever he did with the money, it's long gone now and your grandfather too. Now the grandson of that mafioso comes to you and demands 50,000 dollars, possibly with interest. That's fair, right? I mean, you're responsible for the choices your grandfather made. And if you don't have the 50,000 dollars? Well, I'm sure it won't be a problem with you if the guy breaks your legs. You *did* owe him money, after all.

 

[manythings]

it doesn't matter who these scholarships favour, if they favour because of race then its racist. so i'm gonna go and tick the top option k thx bai

Agreed. Racism is anything that discriminates purely based on race, be it positive or negative. Equalitarianism is one thing but Feminism is inherently a sexist point of view.

Do not drag feminism into this discussion (I'm not sure female only scholarships qualify as feminism).

No, my point was that if race is the only criterion used to decide if someone is benefitted or handicapped it is racist just like deciding to give or withhold something from a woman purely because she is a woman is sexist.

 

[Sovvolf]

"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man." - Morgan Freeman

Spoiler

NEW YORK ? Morgan Freeman says the concept of a month dedicated to black history is "ridiculous."
"You're going to relegate my history to a month?" the 68-year-old actor says in an interview on CBS' "60 Minutes" to air Sunday (7 p.m. EST). "I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history."
Black History Month has roots in historian Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week, which he designated in 1926 as the second week in February to mark the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.
Woodson said he hoped the week could one day be eliminated ? when black history would become fundamental to American history.
Freeman notes there is no "white history month," and says the only way to get rid of racism is to "stop talking about it."
The actor says he believes the labels "black" and "white" are an obstacle to beating racism.
"I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man," Freeman says.
Freeman received Oscar nominations for his roles in 1987's "Street Smart," 1989's "Driving Miss Daisy" and 1994's "The Shawshank Redemption." He finally won earlier this year for "Million Dollar Baby."

I agree with this quote. The point of the quote is that, the more we continue to look at each over as separate races... The longer we are going to have racism. If we stopped looking at each other as separate races, then racism would cease to exist. I'd prefer to just look at everyone as man and woman instead of black man, white woman. Though it seems like there are always things in the way to stop this from happening. This is one of them.

The problem is that there is racism on both sides of the fence and it eventually turns into acceptable racism or acceptable targets. White people become just that. Acceptable targets for others... I think neither should be accepted. A black man who says "cracker" is just as bad to me as a white man saying "******". Yet its allowed and generally seen as okay... Hell remember the fight between Joe Calzaghe and Bernard Hopkins? "You're not even in my league! I would never let a white boy beat me. I would never lose to a white boy. I couldn't go back to the projects if I let a white boy beat me." - Bernard Hopkins... If Joe Calzaghe would have changed that but replaced the words white with black... He'd have been kicked from the sport permanently.

Yet again, its accepted. These kind of things just breed more and more racism and stops use from letting go of our prejudice. You can try and justify this with Slave Trade all you like but it doesn't stop it from being racist and shouldn't factor in what is accepted.

So when it comes to this... Yeah I believe its racist and I believe it should be shut down or they should allow any other ethnicity in. I also believe it might take us one step back from racism. Though I'm a little idealistic.

I imagine my thoughts will be unpopular and I guess I better take out a shield for the flames I'm about to receive. However this is how I feel, I'd like to have a world where we don't have to look at each other as different races. Though both sides seem to be doing there best to stop that from happening.