On one level, it is understandable that when white students see other students celebrating their cultures and participating in activities that recognize their backgrounds, like Cinco de Mayo or the Chinese New Year's Parade, those students might feel some degree of resentment. They wonder if they, too, have an ethnicity. But almost everything else, though it's not named as a celebration of white people and white culture, is just that. Most of U.S. history glorifies the experience of individuals and groups of people who are white. That is the norm.
- Pedro Noguera
At almost any high school in the country, you'll find clubs and organizations that are based on racial or ethic groups: Black Culture Society, Asian Club, etc. No one doubts the efficacy or value of having a place where those who belong to minority groups can get together and share experiences or merely commiserate. Of course, this all goes straight out the window if you happen to be White and decide that you want to start a Caucasian Club. Just 15-year-old Lisa McClelland.
Her push to start a Caucasian Club at her predominately white school -- in predominately white Oakley, population 25,000 -- has made national headlines, causing harassment, she said, from fellow students. She hasn't been at school in nearly two weeks and doesn't plan to come back. With her parents' consent, she has decided to transfer to La Paloma, a continuation high school in nearby Brentwood.
"Some people would say words like 'racist' when they see me," said Lisa, noting that a group of boys, standing too far for her to recognize, called her that word. "Some people would give me a look. Some people would whisper something. "
The news got to Eric Volta, principal at Freedom High, but it first got to the local press. Volta said he took appropriate actions and dealt with two specific incidents that McClelland reported, one involving the group of boys, the other involving an acquaintance of McClelland's.
Her problems began in late August with a petition on a piece of binder paper, the words "Caucasian/White Club" printed on top. Lisa passed it around her classes, and, three weeks later, collected more than 300 signatures from classmates and town residents.
There's a Black Student Union for African Americans, a Latinos Unidos for Latin Americans, and an ALOHA Club for Asian Americans at Freedom High -- as is the case in most, if not all, Bay Area high schools. So, Lisa wondered, why not a Caucasian Club?
She had planned for the club to be open to everyone, "a kind of comfortable place," she said in an interview late last month, where students of all backgrounds could talk about race -- with an emphasis on European history -- and how her "whiteness" affects those who aren't white.
So, the obvious question is why this sort of thing is acceptable for "minorities", but not for students who happen be of the Caucasian persuasion? I'm not advocating racism or racial insensitivity, but this is not about those things. This is about a student who decided that she wanted to start a club that would bring together people like her. Latinos can do it. Asians can do it. African-Americans can do it. White students cannot do it? How is this version of political correctness run amok even remotely close to being fair?
The East County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said it vehemently opposed the name of the club, calling it culturally insensitive.
So what would be an acceptable name for the club? "The People Who Look And Speak Like Me, Though It's Politically Incorrect To Admit That We Really Want To Continue To Facilitate White Power" Club?? If McClelland were proposing a club where White Folks goose-stepped to Nazi propaganda songs, I could understand the uproar. In this case, the NAACP is every bit as guilty of the racism they are accusing McClelland of.
The myth that this country is about celebrating White America is a crock. Have we become so politically sensitive on the issues of race and racism that this sort of backlash against White Americans has become not only the norm, but the acceptable norm? Having racially- or ethnically-defined clubs available to students is either good for EVERYONE, or it should be good for NO ONE.
The idea that celebrations of "White America" are superfluous because this country is about white America is patently absurd. Those who would deny Lisa McClelland her club are the real racists here, not McClelland. Of course, it is easier to pick on a vulnerable 15-year-old girl than to admit that you are guilty of the very same thing that you are accusing her of. Sometimes, being a demagogue is it's own reward.
Reverse racism is every bit as deplorable as any other flavor of racism. Those who oppose McClelland's idea on racial grounds should be ashamed of their naked hypocrisy. I'll tell you what...ban the Black Student Union, the Latinos Unidos, and the ALOHA Club for Asian Americans, and then we'll talk. Until then, wake up and smell the cat litter, willya??
