White House directs federal agencies to cancel race-related training sessions it calls ‘un-American propaganda’

[LeafByNiggle]

Considering the fact that we are perhaps the most diverse country in the world, the amount of racism is tiny.

Diversity does not imply lack of racism.

The average black family income is about $58k, about what I made as a teacher.

I said the average white family’s wealth is nine times the average black family’s wealth. This comment about income does not address the huge wealth gap at all. In fact, it totally ignores it.

 

[meltzerboy2]

While the intentions of these training sessions may be good, the extremist views proposed are disturbing to many Whites as well as some people of color. Furthermore, in my experience, most of these training sessions, including also those on sexual harassment, microaggressions, workplace violence, and cybersecurity, which are now mandatory on a yearly basis in most colleges and universities for faculty, staff, and administrators, although interesting from an intellectual point of view, are, in practice, more or less a waste of time.

 

[meltzerboy2]

But do you think these training sessions and workshops are going to remedy the situation, or do they, rather, give certain administrators a raison d’etre for their professional existence?

 

[JonNC]

Diversity does not imply lack of racism.

Neither does it imply a plethora of racism. The fact is racism represents a very tiny percentage of the population is clear.

I said the average white family’s wealth is nine times the average black family’s wealth. This comment about income does not address the huge wealth gap at all. In fact, it totally ignores it.

How is wealth acquired other than by income.
Unless the proposal is reparations which, if determined by race, is racist.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

But do you think these training sessions and workshops are going to remedy the situation, or do they, rather, give certain administrators a raison d’etre for their professional existence?

I think I was pretty clear that I did not think the training sessions, as they are currently designed, were very effective. So, no, I don’t think they will remedy the situation.

 

[meltzerboy2]

Sorry, I had not read your previous comment.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

LeafByNiggle:

Diversity does not imply lack of racism.

Neither does it imply a plethora of racism. The fact is racism represents a very tiny percentage of the population is clear.

Racism that is systemic is not just racism of individuals. It is racism in the system itself. So talking about the percentage of people that express racism is not the point.

I said the average white family’s wealth is nine times the average black family’s wealth. This comment about income does not address the huge wealth gap at all. In fact, it totally ignores it.

How is wealth acquired other than by income.

You tell me. This is not 20 questions. But one of them surely is the appreciation in value of real-estate, which is still largely owned by whites. The fact is that the average white family has nine times the wealth of the average black family. That screams systemic racism.

 

[meltzerboy2]

Where do other ethnicities and races fit in to these training sessions, or do they? I’m talking about Hispanic, Asian, indigenous peoples, and so on. We are not, and never were, just a Black and White nation.

 

[ATraveller]

You know what really inflames racial tensions? Ignoring disparity based on race.

Who’s ignoring disparities? The average person isn’t. The vast majority don’t. It’s easy to depict people as ignoring them. It’s harder to do something that actually works.

The “pseudo-intellectual nonsense” you mentioned is proven in hiring, housing, college admissions, and profiling – people may claim to be “color blind,” but their subconscious choices and actions say differently.

It is pseudo-intellectual nonsense.

https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/psychologys-racism-measuring-tool-isnt-up-to-the-job.html

Not only that, implicit bias doesn’t automatically translate to biased behaviour:

The meta-analysis estimates the heterogeneity of effects within and across 2 domains of intergroup bias (interracial and interethnic), 6 criterion categories (interpersonal behavior, person perception, policy preference, microbehavior, response time, and brain activity), 2 versions of the IAT (stereotype and attitude IATs), 3 strategies for measuring explicit bias (feeling thermometers, multi-item explicit measures such as the Modern Racism Scale, and ad hoc measures of intergroup attitudes and stereotypes), and 4 criterion-scoring methods (computed majority–minority difference scores, relative majority–minority ratings, minority-only ratings, and majority-only ratings). IATs were poor predictors of every criterion category other than brain activity […] These results have important implications for the construct validity of IATs, for competing theories of prejudice and attitude-behavior relations, and for measuring and modeling prejudice and discrimination.

Predicting ethnic and racial discrimination: a meta-analysis of IAT criterion studies - PubMed

This article reports a meta-analysis of studies examining the predictive validity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and explicit measures of bias for a wide range of criterion measures of discrimination. The meta-analysis estimates the heterogeneity of effects within and across 2 domains of...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Using flimsy research to create solutions can be counter productive. You’d think in an age of empiricism the “experts” would understand this.

 

[pnewton]

A few years ago, I would have agreed with this. Yet today I am startled by the ignorance people have of the racial disparities that still remain. There are a lot of areas where race, for one reason or another, statistically matters. In my own opinion, the BLM movement has made a serious mistake by incorporating elements of socialism, anarchy, and even what a family should be. They have give levers to the movement whereby others can discredit the main objective.

Now, we have this reaction to the discussion of racism, which the Catholic Church teaches is sinful and dehumanizing, whereby the first response is, “Stop calling me a racist.” Look back over this thread and others. There are examples where racism is denounced, and the response is, “You are assuming I am racist.”

 

[LeafByNiggle]

BLM movement has made a serious mistake by incorporating elements of socialism, anarchy, and even what a family should be.

The movement as a whole has not done that. Just a small subset of the movement. The ones who own the blacklivesmatter.com domain name. They are not the movement, which is largely grass-roots and local. The socialism and anarchy and the criticism of the family stuff is not wide-spread in the movement.

 

[meltzerboy2]

However, many people don’t make these distinctions, especially those who get most of their news from FOX and from…CAF.

 

[meltzerboy2]

You know, the psychological research has found that young infants, even before explicit learning from their family and environment kicks in, already show an implicit tendency to focus on the faces of people who belong to their own race or ethnicity. Talk about implicit bias! This tendency is largely innate.

 

[pnewton]

The movement as a whole has not done that. Just a small subset of the movement. The ones who own the blacklivesmatter.com domain name.

I know. But the leaders and founders are the most visible. Even though the movement has grown past them, they now hold it hostage to an extreme ideology. I have no problem with the part of the movement here, because they focus only on the issue of not killing people.

 

[ATraveller]

the psychological research has found that young infants, even before explicit learning from their family and environment kicks in, already show an implicit tendency to focus on the faces of people who belong to their own race or ethnicity. Talk about implicit bias! This tendency is largely innate.

I edited that post to include a key study that looked at past research and found that implicit bias doesn’t automatically translate to biased actions and behaviour.

The meta-analysis estimates the heterogeneity of effects within and across 2 domains of intergroup bias (interracial and interethnic), 6 criterion categories (interpersonal behavior, person perception, policy preference, microbehavior, response time, and brain activity), 2 versions of the IAT (stereotype and attitude IATs), 3 strategies for measuring explicit bias (feeling thermometers, multi-item explicit measures such as the Modern Racism Scale, and ad hoc measures of intergroup attitudes and stereotypes), and 4 criterion-scoring methods (computed majority–minority difference scores, relative majority–minority ratings, minority-only ratings, and majority-only ratings). IATs were poor predictors of every criterion category other than brain activity […] These results have important implications for the construct validity of IATs, for competing theories of prejudice and attitude-behavior relations, and for measuring and modeling prejudice and discrimination.

Predicting ethnic and racial discrimination: a meta-analysis of IAT criterion studies - PubMed

This article reports a meta-analysis of studies examining the predictive validity of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) and explicit measures of bias for a wide range of criterion measures of discrimination. The meta-analysis estimates the heterogeneity of effects within and across 2 domains of...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[Motherwit]

I was in government sponsored anti-racism classes way back in the 1980s in the Army.

Bear in mind that there are a lot that the ordinary people didn’t know about the problem in part because of a media blackout on military racism during WWII. The US forces were the only forces in the world that practiced racial segregation in the field. It was quite an issue resulting in constant clashes between black and white US troops where ever they were stationed and which later became embarrassing for the US government hence the media blackout.

Incidents such as this one in Britain

Truman eventually outlawed segrated troops in 1948 but even in the 80’s issues were still occurring. It can take a couple of generations before the evil of segregation is really absorbed and it has to involve very deeply held beliefs about the inferiority of black people.

.

 

[LeafByNiggle]

But the leaders and founders are the most visible.

I don’t think so. To most people, the local chapters and their local activities are the most visible. These chapters are not beholding to any central authority for policy decisions. They are independent. The local chapters are loosely organized and mostly operate independently. The only common thread is the general ideal of achieving social justice for blacks when it has been denied.

 

[JonNC]

Racism that is systemic is not just racism of individuals. It is racism in the system itself.

There is no systemic racism. It is against the law. If you witness it, report it.

But one of them surely is the appreciation in value of real-estate, which is still largely owned by whites.

I’ve had black neighbors in the same neighborhood. I earn about the average Income of blacks. The average black has the same opportunity as I do.

 

[JonNC]

The only common thread is the general ideal of achieving social justice for blacks when it has been denied.

But let me offer you my definition of social justice: I keep what I earn and you keep what you earn. Do you disagree? Well then tell me how much of what I earn belongs to you - and why?

Walter E. Williams,

 

[WingedHussar]

With Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and other incidents, we have seen how easily the media lies. Thankfully the internet allows us to bust those lies. I wonder how much the press got away with when they alone controlled the narrative.