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Double Standards Printable Version PRINTABLE VERSION
by Lindsay Smith, United States Dec 27, 2002
Culture   Opinions

  

Martin Luther King Jr. once dreamed that his children would not be judged by the color of their skin. Although we have come far towards equality, this is not yet the case. They will be judged by the color of their skin. I am white, but so will I. How do I know this? College admissions. There is a question, a dot to fill in on the scantron, about your ethnicity. Why? If we are striving for equality, why do they need to know? The answer, is that so they can continue to discriminate. In some cases, the old stereotypes are likely followed. In others, the opposite it true, as colleges attempt to boost their percentages of minority students. I propose that ethnicity needs to be completely removed from applications. In a society where people are considered equals regardless of skin color, there can be no place for considering it when deciding who gets a spot at a college. Very few people can hear this information and not make some sort of judgement on it, so they should not know this information. Also, in the matter of racial equality. There is a double standard regarding the media. For example, BET, Ebony magazine, and Hispanic magazine. If a WET, Ivory magazine, or Caucasian magazine were to be created, many people would be extrememely upset and call the these media outputs racist. Yet no one says the same of BET. I think it is wonderful when all people can find a television station or magazine that caters to their interests. I do not think that it is wonderful however that their is this distinction made regarding ethnicity. Minority groups do not want to be excluded,and in their strides towards equality, have excluded those outside their groups.
Also, religiously there is a double standard against Christians





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True, and yet...
R Kahendi | Jan 2nd, 2003
It would be extremely hypocritical of me to deny that there is some truth in your words, and yet the matter is not quite as simple as it appears. While, in an ideal world, skin colour or ethnicity would not matter, ours is not an ideal world. It is true that Ebony magazine, and the other media you have mentioned do not reach out to the wide American population. It is true that creating such resources for a specifically caucasian community would be met by calls of "racist". But let's think about it carefully. What role does this media actually serve for minority communities? I personally had no idea what it meant to be a minority before I arrived in the US. Believe me, I still don't fully understand its implications. But I have stopped taking my background (growing up in a community in which I form part of the majority) for granted. The so-called caucasian race is the majority in the US. Being in the majority usually means growing up surrounded by people with whom you share an essential defining societal characteristic. Almost automatically, that means that one's own kind dominates the media, the job market, the educational systems... Imagine growing up in a country where you and your kin are looked down upon as inferior to the mainstream population. You may have been born there, maybe even your grandparents were born there, but your community still has the status of "outsiders". You may be a successful individual, but wherever you go, images and words remind you that you're the exception in your ethnic group. Even if you integrate into this mainstream society, there's still a line that cannot be crossed. You may share alot with the people (love, tragedy), but you are not quite one of them. When your children watch the mainstream media or look at magazines, they unconsciously learn that their "kind" play minor and stereotyped roles in society. The good-looking successful men and women portrayed within tend to belong to the "other", ie the majority. "Maybe", your children might dream, "if we learn to dress, talk and look like them, we can become like them." How do you reverse the psychological effect that this has on you or on your people? Many have opted to create special interest groups, groups that ensure that, in certain ways, they get the equal treatment that they've been yearning for. This equality has a flip- side to it though, and that you have already described. Civil rights movements have vastly improved the lives of several communities. But do not be deceived that equality has been achieved today. In my own country, there are minority groups, but their situation is somewhat different: They tend to have economic might when compared to the majority population. That definitely makes their situation different from that of most American minorities. But they do have something in common: The need to preserve their identities and the values associated with them. Naturally, schools, places of worship, media and other resources have been set up to cater for these communities' unique needs. The double standard that you mention against Christians exists too. I can also attest that in communities with significantly large Christian population, the same kind of discrimination is shown to non-Christians. Unfortunately, these problems that characterise our societies, are not as easily solved as they are recognised.



not true at all
Genie Fly | Jan 5th, 2003
the point of such magazines and information services is to provide MINORITITES and disadvantaged groups with information and/or a creative outlet...the reason why there is no "WET" etc. is because all the mainstream media is made for the mainsteam, the majority -- which in western countries is white people...that's the point of ethnic media to provide a voice and service to the minority who would otherwise not be heard...so no there is not a double standard



Recognize the barriers
Melody Mc Neil | Jan 15th, 2003
An important reason that colleges work to include minorities is their very real marginalization in the public education system. Most of the worst public education in the United States is in densely populated minortiy areas. Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, LA, NYC, St. Louis, need I go on? If we want to achieve true integration we need to give opportunities to everyone. Until we provide an equal caliber of primary and secondary education to whites and minorities, there is a need to make higher education available to students who have shown potential, even if they have not been able to shine.

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