Recently the Gates Foundation made a substantial contribution to an organization known as the Educational Trust, Inc., whose website decries the emphasis on accuracy in math teaching. Specifically aimed at 6, 7, and 8th grade teachers, the object is to expose the “white supremacy culture” inherent in insisting on getting the right answer.
The “concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false,” which perpetuates “objectivity” and “fear of open conflict.”
Enter the Oregon Department of Education and its Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction toolkit where “math equity” can be achieved by “visibilizing the toxic characteristics of white supremacy culture with respect to math.” Two of the “toxic characteristics” include: (1) Focusing on the “right” answer, and (2) Independent practice valued over teamwork or collaboration.
The Oregon DOE states: “The concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false.” Tracy Castro-Gill, the ethnic studies program manager of the Seattle Public School, suggests that the problem is “how math is used as a tool for oppression.”
Completely ineffective on Asians
Or this guy:
If someone makes the claim that they’re a privileged racist, I believe them.
If someone makes the claim that all people of a skin color are racists like them, they’re the one being racist. It doesn’t matter if you call your racist beliefs “anti-racism”. Modern racists seem to engage in their racism with the approval of their own consciences.
Well it’s important to note that those criticisms are leveled largely at (business) organizations in America today, not at the entire history of white people globally. The focus lies there because that’s perceived as the primary area for economic advancement. If you cite areas that are decidedly more objective (STEM) or subjective (arts, philosophy) then of course it doesn’t fit, but that’s also not where the propensity of the focus rests.
@doogie those are both opinion pieces that cite the example I gave up-thread, dawg. If your point is that a person can selectively combine the wokest, wackest shit into a single article such that it’s impossible to take anything other than incredulity away from it, then I suppose I agree with you.
All this said, I’m wildly uninterested in getting in to a knife fight over the accuracy of definitions. I didn’t cite those examples to convince anyone of anything other than it’s not always total looney toons when you go to the source and put your preconceived notions down for a half a second. There’s not much hope for mending any societal rift if all we do is use the most inflammatory examples of an opposing ideology as an excuse to avoid confronting points that may have some validity.
Bringing it back to @marine77 original question, my opinion is simply that a slower, contemplative approach to the question is worthwhile even if you choke on the term “white supremacy”, and that it’s not synonymous with white guilt, underwriting 100% of an agenda you don’t like, or even acceptance of the notion that white supremacy exists at all.
I think it depends where you’re from. Australia had a “white Australia” segregationist policy until the mid 70’s. We also commited genocide against our indigenous population until the early 70’s (stolen generations)
Much of Aus is very “anti immigrant” (particularly Asians), anti aboriginal etc. Supremacy is a stretch to call common here, but racism is very abundant. It isn’t uncommon to hear caucasian men and women haphazardly throw around racial epithets you’d never get away with using in the USA.
Granted we also use the word “cunt” a lot and have far less of a PC culture. We are a nanny state though… But closer to right wing soft authoritarian with some liberal societal policy enactments as opposed to the “California” type nanny state.
Is white supremacism common where I live? No… But it exists and I’ve seen it before. anti-semitism is also quite common within (mostly) Islamic neighbourhoods (sUpRiSe).
Authorities understandably have a zero tolerance policy to religious extremism. Hate speech is ok so long as it isn’t publically flouted (Nazi flags etc)
Well
Boom (kidding, I know you were joking)
Students here bombard the USA with criticism over systemic racism, but any “systemic” element of racism in Australia is currently 100x worse than the USA… Look up the detention centres we have, look up the conditions and restrictions imposed upon Aboriginals that are sole to that demographic etc.
It is leveled at white people culturally and socially. The fact they use terms like white shows that they have no clue about white people globally since they are only aware of what they see in America, and that’s with a limited exposure to white people (hence why they seemingly are unaware that there are poor white people in America). It’s why white people bear the burden of slavery as if they are the sole perpetrators and inventors of it. Africa is some magic land where it takes a village to raise a child (a saying that no one has actually proven is African in origin).
I mean the piece I quoted literally directed it at modern American organizations, but ok. Regardless, yes - some people who champion these viewpoints are uninformed - I agree with you
The only form of white supremecy I see in the US is the white woke people telling everyone what to do and deciding for everyone what to think, how to think and how to live.
White supremecy = white whoke people
These are the people who exhibit the subtle racism of lowered expectations. They think Blacks can’t obtain valid IDs, can’t do math, need affirmative action to succeed.
Zero self awareness, too.
Interesting read on the situation. Why is that in your opinion and what do you mean?
I think that when the media says white supremacy people immediately think of things like David Duke and white separatists. Whether that is what the media intends for them to think about or just that people have it ingrained is another question, but I think that they are doing a disservice to the topic by articulating it as “white supremacy” because it will immediately jump into people’s minds.
Can you explain the apathy comment?
I’ll try to address both questions in combination. Disclaimer - what follows is my attempt to articulate the logic in a clinical fashion, not a recital of my opinion on the matter:
So if you wanted, you could package it as “white people with assets are apathetic towards systems that make it difficult for poor non-whites to elevate themselves” or just “white supremacy”. That’s my take on what’s being referenced in most mainstream situations. Agree that tagging it as “white supremacy” conflates it with notions of hatred, and that’s counterproductive for all the reasons already described. Like I think most people would accept some version of 1.-3. taken by themselves, but once “white” appears with any attribution the conversation usually devolves entirely.
More whites are “impoverished” than black. Why don’t these mythical privileges apply to them ?
And why are so many other ethnic minorities killing it here ?
Is there ANY RESPONSIBILITY to be had ?
As an absolute number - sure - but not as a percentage of their respective demographics, which is the meaningful metric. And your question illustrates my point: there’s a leap between reality (which does involve racial disproportionality) and blanket terms like “white supremacy”, which causes people to bail out on the entire notion. So if calling it something else that’s more descriptive and allows people to actually think about the issue without getting hung up on the name, I’m all for it.
In the world in general, no.
But then, this discussion about “races” is myopically focused on the US and advocates of privilege like to speak in sweeping absolute terms supposedly applicable to the whole word but in reality deeply ignorant and parochial.
Chances are, that school in a poor area spends as much, if not more, per pupil than the more affluent area. And given that the residents there don’t pay as much in taxes as the more affluent areas, that money for their kids is coming from the affluent.
Even though poor white kids don’t get as much government money as poor black kids.
