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09/27/2003 Entry: ""Caucasian club" racist?"

I found this story, about the row over a US high school student's attempt to set up a "caucasian club", fascinating. She says she has no racist intentions and seems bewildered about the fuss she has caused."Without a Caucasian club things at school are kind of segregated and I think if we have a Caucasian club it will go along with the rest of the race clubs so the school might be a little bit more diverse." At best that seems naive -- but then, I'm one of naivete's biggest fans. The final decision about the club rests with the school Principal, and that seems entirely proper to me. It seems to me that this is one instance where a person in authority has to weigh the thing in the balance and make a decision. But the student in the story (and, incidentally, her mother) threatens the use of litigation if the decision does not go her way. I've got no idea whether such a case would ever get to court in California, but it does seem to me to be another instance of legal action being used entirely inappropriately. There's a lesson for the student to learn here: sometimes those in authority make decisions we don't agree with. We can discus, argue, lobby and cajole but in the end some decisions have to be lived with. That's why we pay people to make them. Those with the authority of a School Principal won't always be right, and they'll be agreed with even less. But to challenge their authority in a courtroom is no trivial matter. Even the threat of it is corrosive of the community.

And it rarely benefits anyone but lawyers.

Posted by Ivan The Crank @ 09/29/2003 02:12 AM CST

You're so right Ivan - thanks for a helpful contribution. I don't really understand how the Church came to be so "monocultural" - except of course for the human instinct to be with people like ourselves. Recognising the problem is one thing though. Addressing it is another...

Posted by Richard @ 09/28/2003 08:43 PM CST

Either Ivan is right and it's a calculated political move, or it's the mark of someone completely missing the point.

Posted by Wood @ 09/28/2003 03:16 PM CST

Unless the girl is part of a minority in her school, then the attempt to create a caucasian club is probably not so naive and much more calculated. If she is in a minority and wants to preserve her heritage and celebrate her place as a caucasian in a diverse setting, which is probably unlikely, then MAYBE there is a point to be made. But, the fact that taking this to the courts has already been raised as a possibility says that there is another agenda here, and it's probably not just the girl's.

While we don't have separate drinking fountains, bathrooms and eating establishments anymore, we are still a nation divided by race or simply differences of any kind.

The church that I am now serving provided me a written description of itself before I came here. Among all the things that it lifted up about ministries, worship, history, etc. was a very stark statement that "we are all caucasian." And, that they are. It's sad, but while society in general has come a long way in recognizing and even celebrating differences, the mainline churches (many independents I've witnessed don't have this problem) are very much the same color here in the States. Either they are White, Black, Hispanic or other. We use the excuse that we have different languages or worship styles to explain why we are not more diverse and representing the communities where we find ourselves. In many cases, a lot of mainly all white congregations have allowed themselves to die altogether rather than change with their communities. The irony of this is that a lot of former all White churches have been bought by ethnically diverse congregations and are doing wonderful ministries. What would have happened if we had adapted to our communities instead? Just a string of thoughts, I know, that have taken us far from your original post. Ivan

Posted by Ivan The Crank @ 09/27/2003 11:22 PM CST