Blogger Andrew's Dad rips into the Seattle School District's definition of racism, which among other things, includes
having a future time orientation, emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideologySeriously.
[I found the link to Andrew's Dad's post at Orbusmax, but I'll be making Andrew's Dad part of my daily read because it's a darn good blog]
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at May 12, 2006 10:20 AM | Email ThisWow. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
Posted by: disgruntled IT guy on May 12, 2006 10:46 AMI Believe... The proper function of government is to do for the people those things that have to be done but cannot be done, or cannot be done as well, by individuals, and that the most effective government is government closest to the people.
and they say:
having a future time orientation, emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology
So if we envision a future where individualism and personal responsibility are valued over the collective "nanny state", doesn't that label us as exibhiting "cultural racism"?
I would laugh were this not so sad. How many kids will be taught this definition of racism? It's just another attempt to create more Democrat "sheeple".
R
Posted by: Randy Mueller on May 12, 2006 10:48 AMRace
A pseudobiological category that distinguishes people based on physical characteristics (e.g., skin color, body shape/size, facial features, hair texture). People of one race can vary in terms of ethnicity and culture.
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/equityandrace/definitionofrace.xml
I am horribly offened by this. Who is responsible for this and who do I contact to end it?
Posted by: ap on May 12, 2006 12:06 PMExamples of these norms include defining white skin tones as nude or flesh colored; having a future time orientation, emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology; defining one form of English as standard; and identifying only Whites as great writers or composers.
And I am NOT commenting on grammar. I genuinely want to know what "having a future time orientation" means... is it as opposed to "having a past time orientation"?
- Disgruntled
Posted by: Disgruntled on May 12, 2006 12:09 PMGroan! They don't even try to hide it anymore!!! So now only socialsim/liberlism is the accepted way to think, according to their propaganda. All others towed away! (so to speak)
Posted by: Misty on May 12, 2006 12:33 PMTo the Seattle Public School Superintendent:
I just read the following web page and am outraged.
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/equityandrace/definitionofrace.xml
Everyone is capable of racism you narrow minded bigots. For you to use my tax money to imply that only "Whites" are capable of racism is truly insulting. To insinuate that only "Whites" can be racist shows that it is YOU who are racist (and lack the most rudimentary acquaintance with history).
Regarding your definitions of "Cultural Racism"
1) What the heck is "future time orientation"?
Do you sit around in a 60's haze dreaming this stuff up?
2) "... emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology... ".
What country are we in? Have you not read the Constitution? Are you such a product of the Public School system that you haven't read the Founding Fathers? Individualism is one of the defining principles of this country. It is OUR culture and by your definition isn't it "cultural racism" for you to denigrate it?
"Collective ideology" is Socialist/Communist and if you hadn't noticed, this is a Republic. There are other countries on this planet that are based on Socialism and Communism. If you believe they are superior, please emigrate. (Good luck finding a job though).
3) "... defining one form of English as standard... ".
Using standard well accepted English is not "Cultural Racism" it's what gives our children the best chance at a productive future. Because being unable to communicate well impedes advancement, success and happiness. For you to provide counter messages implies that you wish students to remain mired in dependence: unable to communicate, unable to succeed.
Your message here seems to advocate that the "targeted racial groups" not learn the language of the land and blame their resulting state on being "racially oppressed". Are you insinuating that these "oppressed" peoples are incapable of learning to communicate well?
Pathetic.
Posted by: lee egg on May 12, 2006 12:51 PMIf you go to the Seattle Public Schools | Definitions of Race website, you'll see that THEY say it:
"Definitions of Racism
Racism:
The systematic subordination of members of targeted racial groups who have relatively little social power in the United States (Blacks, Latino/as, Native Americans, and Asians), by the members of the agent racial group who have relatively more social power (Whites). The subordination is supported by the actions of individuals, cultural norms and values, and the institutional structures and practices of society.
Individual Racism:
The beliefs, attitudes, and actions of individuals that support or perpetuate racism. Individual racism can occur at both an unconscious and conscious level, and can be both active and passive. Examples include telling a racist joke, using a racial epithet, or believing in the inherent superiority of whites.
Active Racism:
Actions which have as their stated or explicit goal the maintenance of the system of racism and the oppression of those in the targeted racial groups. People who participate in active racism advocate the continued subjugation of members of the targeted groups and protection of “the rights” of members of the agent group. These goals are often supported by a belief in the inferiority of people of color and the superiority of white people, culture, and values.
Passive Racism:
Beliefs, attitudes, and actions that contribute to the maintenance of racism, without openly advocating violence or oppression. The conscious or unconscious maintenance of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that support the system of racism, racial prejudice and racial dominance.
Cultural Racism:
Those aspects of society that overtly and covertly attribute value and normality to white people and Whiteness, and devalue, stereotype, and label people of color as “other”, different, less than, or render them invisible. Examples of these norms include defining white skin tones as nude or flesh colored, having a future time orientation, emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology, defining one form of English as standard, and identifying only Whites as great writers or composers.
Institutional Racism:
The network of institutional structures, policies, and practices that create advantages and benefits for Whites, and discrimination, oppression, and disadvantages for people from targeted racial groups. The advantages created for Whites are often invisible to them, or are considered “rights” available to everyone as opposed to “privileges” awarded to only some individuals and groups.
Source: Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, 1197 eds. Adams, Bell & Griffin"
Posted by: SouthernRoots on May 12, 2006 12:55 PMOf course someone has to manage that money, so the government must grow ever bigger to manage a problem that for all intensive purposes does not exist on an institutional level.
I believe that growing up biracial gave me a great perspecive on racism because I experienced it from both sides. I'll be the first to tell you that racism is not exclusive to whites. When you grow up knowing that you're not white, and for some will never be black enough, you learn that individualism, not collective ideology is the key to overcoming racism.
It's like I tell folks all the time, nobody give's a s*** what color you are anymore. Black, White, Yellow, Brown; none of it matters. The only color that matters these days is green.
I used to get crap all the time from my black peers for "trying to act white" because I spoke standard english. Well, one - they didn't have to live with my mother who wouldn't even acknowledge you if you spoke to her that way. Two, I learned from their examples what not to do to get ahead.
Posted by: Robert on May 12, 2006 01:24 PMOh hold a sec -- I just read in the Skedaddle Slimes where the bolsheviks at UW hid Scoop's bust away back in 1985 because of the political climate in the middle of the cold war -- ha ha ha -- they were afraid that the frat boys would come over and paint it red if they displayed it publicly -- what a goddaammm loada crap -- Scoop was one of the last of the real American democrats who was a strong anticommie. Now they are trying to rewrite history -- ie - read whole article and if ya did not know any better you would think that Scoop was one of the leftwing liberal whacko's
Posted by: Bill on May 12, 2006 01:32 PMScoop was a great man-Hell-I used to be a democrat back in those days-which leads me to what I say far too much-I haven't moved to the right-the bloody dems have moved to the left-
Scoop we need you again-and Harry Truman too!
Opps don't trip over that prayer rug on your way to get those white kids outa the classroom after all they must think they are superior just by being WHITE (ohmygawd get them shouts Ron Simms get whitey now their presence offends me!!!)....my suggestion all white kids in Seattle grow Johnny Jihad Beards or put on a Barbie Burka in Basic Black then you will be safe...
Absolutely incredible how far we have fallen.
Still can't believe what I just read....that is the ground work for justification of so many state on citizen violence...
Don't call them the deathocrats for nothing.
God what do we do?
How about an old troll - Where is Headless Lucy Shouting from the Mountain tops how great her employer is!?!?
BTW if National TV and Radio had any real effect this would have never been written.
Nothing but a full scale take over of school boards from sea to shining sea and city councils and county councils will reverse the perverse. Reverse the perverse thoughts that think this is somehow even good ... Decent people we are act like we are on the beaches at Dunkirk instead of on the boats on the way to Normandy to liberate America from this utter insanity (is writing that the American equivalent of the Danish cartoons to Muslims? Therefore this website must be shut down? Do you think that? Then my friend you are an enemy of this nation and a danger to us all...no really you are.... The rest of us most go on the offensive.
What does God need to unleash a great hell on us???? Do you deathocrats not get enough?
I better dig a new tunnel?..quaking from the little lawyers with law degrees coming after me? After all I have offended someone by pointing out how perverse they are and that we should do something about it.
Translation:
We're really afraid of living in a world where merit is the only discerning factor in considering people. That will put a huge damper on our goal of implementing Marxism and other collectivist ideologies and turning the United States away from the rule of law and the concept of individual freedom. So we think it's important to publish this sham definition of racism to try and paint even success and other traditional metrics of value as racist.
Posted by: Jeff B. on May 12, 2006 02:44 PMSorry, I just wrote it incorrectly. I knew it was the Seattle School idiots.
Posted by: swassociates on May 12, 2006 02:48 PM…all the white and Asian kids will end up in private schools where they are not considered racist. The Lib/Dems will then justify their words - "See, whitey and asian have fled the SPSs because they're racist!"
Don't expect voucher programs from the Lib/Dems either. That wouldn't support the agenda.
Posted by: Jeffro on May 12, 2006 03:42 PMLooks like the Seattle City Schools need to be slapped with a racial bias suit now that they have labled a specific group (whites)as "inherent superiority of whites."
Posted by: Alicia on May 12, 2006 03:49 PMUntil color is disregarded, we will never have a color blind society. The Dems spend a lot of time and capital making sure that color is a factor in everything. In keeping color as a primary focal point, who gains?
Posted by: SouthernRoots on May 12, 2006 03:51 PMThen maybe we could find out whether that "future time orientation" refers to something along the lines of the promise of a heavenly paradise -- you know, the old "opiate of the masses" bit.
Does anyone want to add to his collection of Marxist balderdash?
Posted by: Micajah on May 12, 2006 04:03 PMhttp://msnbc.msn.com/id/12761712/
Ironically, here is an excellent description of the importance of such an orientation to educational achievement:
The most important ordering for education as well as for the economy is the "future" preference, because it conceptualizes confidence in the future. The metaphor often used for it is "banking"; we bank knowledge and we save money, both to be utilized later. People learn formally in schools, but also informally through social learning by means of sequential and anticipatory perceptions (Hansen, 1979); these are often neglected in traditional educational systems or in systems that stress only analytical reasoning. Both individuals and groups are goal and future oriented. Leadership in groups is also future oriented if related to future goals, as opposed to orientation for group maintenance stressing stability, social order, or satisfaction of psychological needs for affiliation. Skills consistent with future orientation are diagnosing trends, communication, assessing risks, problem-solving that requires critical thinking (Gagne, 1977; Kulic, 1990), reflective, inferential, creative and integrative thinking, and, as indicated, sequential reasoning (Hansen, 1979).
From my "Google" searches, I found that Latinos and people of African ancestry are thought to have cultures that focus on a present time orientation. As noted in the article linked above, this orientation has some obvious drawbacks:
The "present" time orientation is manifested by an emphasis on "instant gratification," lowered motivation due to the MINIMAX principle (minimum effort for maximum reward [Holt, 1989]); lack of understanding of the meaning of "deferred gratification," lack of attention to time budgeting for individuals and groups, difficulty in assessing the relevance of education for the future, and fixation on the past (Rosenberg, 1995).
Apparently, the Seattle School District wants to "close the achievement gap" without disturbing the cultural values they perceive to be held by non-white students.
Their dogma appears to be the essence of racism -- the belief that certain personal attributes follow inexorably from one's ancestry.
If their dogma is right, all those Americans of apparent African and Latino ancestry who work hard with a view to a better future must actually be "white." Therefore, the USA will be majority "white" for a long, long, long time.
Posted by: Micajah on May 12, 2006 05:46 PMThinking = Racism
Dang, almost Orwellian ain't it?
Posted by: Deadwood on May 13, 2006 02:41 PMAnd it has a nasty, insane message for budding entrepreneurs, civil libertarians, and free market conservatives: your belief in individual rights or individual initiative brands you as a racist.
The Seattle Public Schools define individualism as a form of cultural racism, declaring that cultural racism includes emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology.
On their web site, they also define racism to include stereotypically white traits such as future time orientation, which is a pejorative word used for studying and acting white to reap future advancement, rather than devoting ones energy to being hip or cool and enjoying the moment.
It is racist for the Seattle schools to stereotype achievement as a white characteristic. Plenty of non-whites study and exercise self-discipline. No school system should disparage student studying and achievement. That is at odds with a school systems basic educational mission.
The Seattle schools also declare equality of treatment to be a form of racially-biased assimilation, favoring instead affirmative action in the form of unequal treatment for those who have been disadvantaged over time, to give historically oppressed groups special programs and benefits.
The equality they deride the notion that people who are the same in those respects relevant to how they are treated in those circumstances should receive the same treatment is the same notion of equal treatment whose infringement is the basis for a disparate-treatment discrimination lawsuit under the federal civil rights laws, under U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
In an apparent conflict with federal law, the Seattle schools deny that whites can be the victims of racism. They define racism as limited to acts against groups that have little social power in the United States (Blacks, Latino/as, Native Americans, and Asians), by the members of the agent racial group who have relatively more social power (Whites).
By contrast, federal appeals courts routinely rule against institutions that fire or harass white employees, recognizing that whites can indeed be victims of racism. See, e.g., Bowen v. Missouri Department of Social Services (2002) (racial harassment of white employee by black co-worker); Taxman v. Board of Education (1996) (termination of white teacher instead of black teacher). And the Supreme Court held that racial discrimination against whites by local governments is generally illegal in City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. (1989). Affirmative action cant be used to justify terminating or harassing an employee.
The Seattle schools racist policy, which appears to condone unlawful racial discrimination and retaliation against whites, is on the web site of its Equity and Race Relations department, directed by Caprice Hollins, a politically-correct self-proclaimed multicultural educator. Some education.
It appears that the Seattle schools would rather spend their time teaching (and practicing) racism, rather than reading, writing, and arithmetic.
http://fautedepire.blogspot.com/2006/05/culturally-competent-helping_20.html
Posted by: do on May 21, 2006 06:14 AMWhat they are saying (as far as I can see) is that the assertion that someone is inferior because they DON'T HAVE such time orientation or because they DON'T have an individualist ethos is racist, when that assertion is based on race.
A concrete example might be: native americans may be considered inferior because they don't think about the future in the same way as white americans do, i.e traditional native americans are present time oriented rather than future time oriented. This is a cultural attribute though, not a racial one as it is percieved.
Another example might be that a kid from an underpriveledged background (the majority of underpriveledged kids are from ethnic families)
might be considered stupid/lazy/uninterested by his/her school teachers because he/she tends to live in the "now" and not think about the future. In reality though, the nature of the kids life, i.e severe financial restrictions means that thinking about the long term future (which requires financial stabililty)is extremely dificult at best, completely futile at worst. So his/her thoughts and behaviour are present time oriented. Rather than understanding this, a teacher could easily attribute this "attitude" to race rather than social background.
I think that's what the Seattle Public Schools board is trying to get at. It's not how WE think that is racist, it's what we assume about how
OTHERS think that is racist, i.e that the way others think is inferior and that it is based on their race. Well that's my $0.02