For the longest time Westport's low income housing was a trailer park that sits off of Rt. 1 on the the border with ... Southport ..., yes, that other bastion of "poverty" to the southwest of Fairfield.
FReegards!
Posted on 01/31/2017 5:24:14 AM PST by Puppage
When the town sponsored a student essay contest on the topic of white privilege, it was intended to provoke discussion in this wealthy, overwhelmingly white community on Connecticut's Gold Coast.
It did, along with no small amount of outrage.
Contest organizers have been surprised by the reaction from some who say the question wrongly suggests race plays into the good life enjoyed in Westport.
Residents like Bari Reiner, 72, say the question is offensive because the town welcomes anybody who can afford to live here.
"It's an open town," Reiner said. "There are no barricades here. Nobody says if you're black or whatever, you can't move here."
The contest, put on by the town's diversity council, asks students to describe the impact white privilege has had on their lives, using a term that refers generally to advantages conferred automatically to whites, and not to minorities. The concept has moved into the mainstream as the nation has discussed race more openly.
The chairman of the diversity council, Harold Bailey Jr., said that in addition to the chatter in town, people as far away as Singapore have weighed in online.
"There's a lot more controversy around it than many of us expected," said Bailey, a retired IBM vice president who is black. "Just the fact it says 'white' and 'privilege,' for some people that's all they need to see, and all of a sudden we're race-baiting or trying to get people to feel guilty. That's not at all what it's about."
Like other New York City suburbs on the Connecticut shoreline, Westport ranks among the country's wealthiest places. Its median family income tops $150,000, and it is home to the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. As of the 2010 census, its 26,000 residents were also 93 percent white.
The town has a liberal streak that some attribute to its vibrant arts community, and it voted by more than 2 to 1 for Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump. It also has not been immune to episodes of racism. Dozens of students at the public Staples High School were disciplined for circulating racially offensive memes in a private Facebook group uncovered in November.
The diversity council, TEAM Westport, was created more than a decade ago to increase diversity and make the town more welcoming. The winner of the annual contest's $1,000 top prize will be announced April 3. The essay questions are developed by a committee and approved by Staples faculty members.
Some parents welcomed the discussion stirred by this year's question as a reminder for local teens that not all places are as affluent and homogeneous as Westport.
"I like the idea to get it out there so kids can talk about it and embrace it," said Bert Dovo, a white father of two who are now in college.
Janet Samuels, 60, said that her children are now grown but that she believes it is the role of parents to teach what privilege is.
"That would upset me very much," Samuels, who is also white, said of the essay question. "I wouldn't go there."
This contrived “White Privilege” caper seems so degrading to black people: white people pontificating about how superior they are?
Harold Bailey Jr. - George’s grand-nephew??
Substitute ‘black’ or ‘afro-am’, etc. every time you hear the word ‘indian’ in this audio clip - and that sums up my opinion of TEAM Westport: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88ixyp1l1hw
That’s very true.It’s why I live next door in Fairfield.
Wait, shouldn't the winner be forced to PAY $1,000 as the prize? /s
There's your problem right there.
There's your problem right there.
incredible...
anybody can paint “whites” with a broad brush based on “color” using “white privilege”, and it’s ok.
If i paint “blacks’ with a broad brush based on “color” using “thug”, and it’s not ok. I’m a racist.
Leftist philosophy rests upon the assumption that ALL differences in results between groups, is due to some sort of oppression organized against the worse-off group.
The idea that differences in culture might have something to do with differing performances, will get you banned by Leftists.
The idea that there might be genetic factors impacting performance differences between groups, will get you burned at the stake.
No one needs a ‘diversity council’.
When I was in college, I had a friend who lived in Westport. One summer, I was driving down I-95 through Connecticut and decided, on the spur of the moment, to pay her a visit. She was surprised, but glad, to see me, and we had a nice time before I continued on my way.
And all the while, I had to fight to keep my jaw from dropping at the astonishing level of wealth that was evident in my friend’s house and in her neighborhood and all over Westport. I actually felt self-conscious, parking my little used Corolla in her immaculate driveway. (Fortunately, her parents were considerate enough to not make an issue of it.)
It would certainly be a privilege to have enough money to afford to live there. I have to wonder how many of the people there are afflicted with the liberal white guilt that, for reasons beyond my comprehension, seems to stem from being successful.
Romanticizing the foreigner while demonizing the native born is as racist as xenophobia.
For the longest time Westport's low income housing was a trailer park that sits off of Rt. 1 on the the border with ... Southport ..., yes, that other bastion of "poverty" to the southwest of Fairfield.
FReegards!
Nowhere does he say what it's about.
Abolish government schools.
Government schools offer a single point of control, that control has been seized by loons, leftists, and communists. Citizens do not have control.
Every white child should learn from birth to be ashamed of himself, his skin color and his heritage. Or else.
Bkmrk
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