Kookiness from the left

As I said in my first post, I describe myself as being "left". I offer no apologies for this, and indeed am proud of it. But when I read about things like the University of Delaware's attempt to "sensitize" students, I can understand the furor of the right wing's response. To wit, the University of Delaware tried to run a mandatory program in "diversity awareness", it can be read here.

This was the part that got them in trouble: "A racist is one who is both privileged and socialized on the basis of race by a white supremacist (racist) system. The term applies to all white people (i.e. people of European descent) living in the United States, regardless of class, gender, religion, culture, or sexuality."

All white people? The right is having a field day over this, and it only reinforces their view that college campuses are cauldrons of left wing nuttiness. To be clear, let me emphasize that I recognize the long history of racism in this country, which persists to this day. I realize that much of the inequities of this country, and the persistent poverty found in the African-American community, is due at least in part to that racism. I find myself often at odds with white people who whine about "reverse racism" constantly, and pooh-pooh every person who brings up issues of racism. To many white people, racism ended in the sixties with the Voting Rights Act, and the reason blacks can't get ahead is because they don't want to. I find such thinking obnoxious and racist. To however label in blanket like fashion all whites as racist is absurd and insulting (I am white). It is prejudicial and designed to play on feelings of white guilt. And in the end it accomplishes the same thing "affirmative action" in the work place did. It tries to rectify centuries of racism by putting the burden on every day people (in affirmative action's case working class people, here college students) and engendering resentment in the process, while doing nothing to address the institutions of power and wealth that owe their status to that racist history.

A better approach, in my opinion, would be to create a program that identifies racism in our society that white people might not usually recognize. The goal should be to make people more aware, not to accost them with guilt and accusations.