6 ms·

It's in the section defining cultural racism: Those aspects of society that overtly and covertly attribute value and normality to white people and Whiteness, a

by ddinh 13y ago

It's in the section defining cultural racism: Those aspects of society that overtly and covertly attribute value and normality to white people and Whiteness, and devalue, stereotype, and label people of color as “other”, different, less than, or render them invisible. Examples of these norms include defining white skin tones as nude or flesh colored, having a future time orientation, emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology, defining one form of English as standard, and identifying only Whites as great writers or composers.

arrrg 13y ago
I do think schools shouldn't emphasize either collectivism or individualism over each other and I don't think the text you are quoting here advises that, either. Only a pretty narrow-mindes reading of that text would suggest that in any way. At any rate you would have to look at the actual implementation of that policy to really criticise it. As is this text is quite tame. Please also note that schools can hardly be idiologically neutral. That is not possible - they have to find a way to spproach how they depict individualism and collectivism no matter what. To connect this in any way to the linked situation is downright absurd.
- emiliobumachar 13y ago
  It's one thing for an institution to position itself against emphasizing individualism. It's a couple steps further to define emphasizing individualism as a form of racism. Is there somethig that I as a non-american don't get that makes this newspeak palatable? Have american racists historically been more individualistic or something? EDIT: this comment from elnate nails it: "They're conflating racism with enthnocentrism, the idea that one culture (usually yours) is better than others."
  - jlgreco 13y ago
    > Have american racists historically been more individualistic or something? Not to my knowledge. As far as I can tell they are doing nothing more than using existing strong negative connotations of racism to slander an unrelated ideology. It doesn't make logical sense, but it doesn't have to; they are counting on the strong emotional response it evokes to be sufficiently persuasive.
  - philwelch 13y ago
    If anything, individualism and racism are incompatible since individualism considers people as individuals and not as members of groups such as races or nationalities.
  - arrrg 13y ago
    That’s not conflating something with something, that’s having a different definition than you have.
  - hga 13y ago
    "s there somethig that I as a non-american don't get that makes this newspeak palatable?" Not a chance; I was born and raised in the US in the consolidation period of the Civil Rights struggle (came of political age in the '70s) and it's just as unpalatable to me.
eli_gottlieb 13y ago
having a future time orientation What does that one even mean?
- jlgreco 13y ago
  Here is a wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronemics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronemics I am not going to pretend to be able to understand it, but this part seems to be the most lucid explaination: "Just as monochronic and polychronic cultures have different time perspectives, understanding the time orientation of a culture is critical to becoming better able to successfully handle diplomatic situations. Americans, for instance have a future orientation. Hall indicates that for Americans “tomorrow is more important" and that they "are oriented almost entirely toward the future” (Cohen, 2004, p. 35). The future-focused orientation attributes to at least some of the concern that Americans have with “addressing immediate issues and moving on to new challenges” (Cohen, 2004, p. 35)." So... maybe a "future time orientation" is a "What's done is done."/"Let's do better in the future." attitude? I am guessing that the connection between this and "racism" comes up when discussing reparations.
  - yummyfajitas 13y ago
    Future time orientation is also used to refer to a person having a low discount rate. I.e. suffering the pain of school now is worthwhile if it helps me avoid the pain of being uncredentialed in the future.
    - eli_gottlieb 13y ago
      So... thinking that people should think ahead is racist?
      - elnate 13y ago
        They're conflating racism with enthnocentrism, the idea that one culture (usually yours) is better than others.
    - 13y ago
prutschman 13y ago
The issue they raise is not that future time orientation or individualism are per-se racist, but rather that the "attribut[ion] of value and normality" to those positions, treating other views as "different, less than, or render[ing] them invisible," constitutes what they are referring to as cultural racism.
penrod 13y ago
It had never previously occurred to me that people of color lacked a "future time orientation", but thanks to Seattle Public Schools I have an exciting new racial stereotype to add to my quiver of prejudices.
- lutusp 13y ago
  > to add to my quiver of prejudices. Interestingly, in the history of our language, a quiver sometimes holds the ammunition for a crossbow, each of which is called a "quarrel." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarrel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarrel Quote: "A quarrel or bolt is the term for the ammunition used in a crossbow." Just thought you would want to know. :)

by ddinh 13y ago

arrrg 13y ago

I do think schools shouldn't emphasize either collectivism or individualism over each other and I don't think the text you are quoting here advises that, either. Only a pretty narrow-mindes reading of that text would suggest that in any way. At any rate you would have to look at the actual implementation of that policy to really criticise it. As is this text is quite tame. Please also note that schools can hardly be idiologically neutral. That is not possible - they have to find a way to spproach how they depict individualism and collectivism no matter what. To connect this in any way to the linked situation is downright absurd.

emiliobumachar 13y ago
It's one thing for an institution to position itself against emphasizing individualism. It's a couple steps further to define emphasizing individualism as a form of racism. Is there somethig that I as a non-american don't get that makes this newspeak palatable? Have american racists historically been more individualistic or something? EDIT: this comment from elnate nails it: "They're conflating racism with enthnocentrism, the idea that one culture (usually yours) is better than others."
- jlgreco 13y ago
  > Have american racists historically been more individualistic or something? Not to my knowledge. As far as I can tell they are doing nothing more than using existing strong negative connotations of racism to slander an unrelated ideology. It doesn't make logical sense, but it doesn't have to; they are counting on the strong emotional response it evokes to be sufficiently persuasive.
- philwelch 13y ago
  If anything, individualism and racism are incompatible since individualism considers people as individuals and not as members of groups such as races or nationalities.
- arrrg 13y ago
  That’s not conflating something with something, that’s having a different definition than you have.
- hga 13y ago
  "s there somethig that I as a non-american don't get that makes this newspeak palatable?" Not a chance; I was born and raised in the US in the consolidation period of the Civil Rights struggle (came of political age in the '70s) and it's just as unpalatable to me.

eli_gottlieb 13y ago

having a future time orientation What does that one even mean?

jlgreco 13y ago
Here is a wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronemics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronemics I am not going to pretend to be able to understand it, but this part seems to be the most lucid explaination: "Just as monochronic and polychronic cultures have different time perspectives, understanding the time orientation of a culture is critical to becoming better able to successfully handle diplomatic situations. Americans, for instance have a future orientation. Hall indicates that for Americans “tomorrow is more important" and that they "are oriented almost entirely toward the future” (Cohen, 2004, p. 35). The future-focused orientation attributes to at least some of the concern that Americans have with “addressing immediate issues and moving on to new challenges” (Cohen, 2004, p. 35)." So... maybe a "future time orientation" is a "What's done is done."/"Let's do better in the future." attitude? I am guessing that the connection between this and "racism" comes up when discussing reparations.
- yummyfajitas 13y ago
  Future time orientation is also used to refer to a person having a low discount rate. I.e. suffering the pain of school now is worthwhile if it helps me avoid the pain of being uncredentialed in the future.
  - eli_gottlieb 13y ago
    So... thinking that people should think ahead is racist?
    - elnate 13y ago
      They're conflating racism with enthnocentrism, the idea that one culture (usually yours) is better than others.
  - 13y ago

prutschman 13y ago

The issue they raise is not that future time orientation or individualism are per-se racist, but rather that the "attribut[ion] of value and normality" to those positions, treating other views as "different, less than, or render[ing] them invisible," constitutes what they are referring to as cultural racism.

penrod 13y ago

It had never previously occurred to me that people of color lacked a "future time orientation", but thanks to Seattle Public Schools I have an exciting new racial stereotype to add to my quiver of prejudices.

lutusp 13y ago
> to add to my quiver of prejudices. Interestingly, in the history of our language, a quiver sometimes holds the ammunition for a crossbow, each of which is called a "quarrel." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarrel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarrel Quote: "A quarrel or bolt is the term for the ammunition used in a crossbow." Just thought you would want to know. :)