Posted on 05/25/2015 1:06:52 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Last week The Ryersonian reported on an incident that involved two first-year journalism students who were turned away from an event organized by Racialized Students' Collective because they are white. Since then there has been a lot of commentary on the piece and a lot of debate -- a lot of the criticism is valid.
There are two sides to the story: 1) the media has a right to attend public events and report on matters that are in the public interest. The student media needs to cover initiatives that are happening on campus so that we draw attention to them and in turn create awareness (The Ryersonian reported that one student said he was covering the meeting for an assignment). 2) Marginalized groups have a right to claim spaces in the public realm where they can share stories about the discrimination they have faced without judgment and intrusion from anyone else.
I am a person of colour and a journalist and so there are two conflicting voices inside my head. But in this case one voice, that of a person of colour, is louder and my conscience does not allow me to be impartial. I have to take a side.
The organizers of the event, the Racialized Students' Collective, should have done a better job of labelling this event as a safe space on the Ryerson Students' Union online calendar. They should label safe spaces clearly and maybe even host events that educate the public on what they mean. Doing so will help the public and the media have a better understanding of the purpose and value of these spaces.
However, the point to note is not that two white students were asked to leave the event...
(Excerpt) Read more at huffingtonpost.ca ...
No, thats what people don’t get ... This isn’t segregation at all.
Because THEY still get to come back from their “safe-spaces” and involve themselves in general (what they might call “white”) society whenever and however they’d like.
However whites, not being an “oppressed class” don’t have that option. They don’t get any safe spaces and, indeed, must submit themselves to any discomfort that arises from POCs engaging in general society on their own terms.
IOW what we are talking about here are special rights granted on the basis of one’s membership in a “marginalized group.”
Which is utterly fascinating to me, actually. Back in undergrad I was exposed, by a couple of hard core Leftist professors, to a line of reasoning that since historic marginalization was so long and so deep that simply levelling the playing field wasn’t enough. The pendulum had to swing equally far the other way, “whites” (which usually included Jews and Asians by the Leftists standards) had to submit themselves to an environment where THEY were subjected to institutionalized discrimination. Long-term.
Given that these concepts really seem to be gathering steam right now, it’s going to be an interesting ride.
Delta has daily flights to Lagos, Nigeria for only $1,265 from LAX. What a deal!
For some reason, I can’t click on the “comments”, at link. Hmmm. Wonder why.
Its ok when progressives do it.
15% of the world’s population is white, and lives mainly in North America, Europe, Aus/NZ ...
85% of the world’s population are POC (People of Color) and that includes all areas aside from North America, Europe, Aus/NZ ... there’s your “safe space”, i.e., the whole world outside of North America, Europe, Aus/NZ.
Go. Now. Be safe.
Currently spaces without white people tend to not be very safe.
I see apartheid is back in style. The old is new again.
You know about how the P.C. Crowd demand that we call people with various handicaps “Differently Abled”?
How about we call all non-whites “Differently Melanined” ?
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