So in the case of a biracial person like Obama, do they teach them how to overcome the discomfort of just half of themselves?

Quote:A two-day professional development conference held recently at the University of Michigan included a training session that aimed to help white employees deal with their “whiteness” so they could become better equipped to fight for social justice causes, according to organizers.

Participants who took part in the “Conversations on Whiteness” session, held December 5 during the university’s Student Life Professional Development Conference, were taught to “recognize the difficulties they face when talking about social justice issues related to their White identity, explore this discomfort, and devise ways to work through it,” the university’s website states.

The goal was to help participants in “unpacking Whiteness” to support students and staff with issues and efforts “related to identity and social justice,” the website added.

The “Conversations on Whiteness” session was one of more than a dozen workshops offered at the conference, held Dec. 4 and 5. The whiteness session utilized the “Privileged Identity Exploration Model” to help white participants explore the “discomfort” of their “white identity,” according to organizers.

First introduced in 2007 by University of Iowa professor Sherry Watt in a College Student Affairs Journal article, the model purports to be a method for understanding how people react to stimuli that alert them of the privilege they hold. The model is to be used by “facilitators” to “engage participants in discussions about diversity,” according to Watt.

Watt states there are eight defenses people use to avoid recognizing their privilege. Examples of defenses include “denial,” where someone simply refuses to admit their privilege, and “minimization,” where someone trivializes the impact of their privilege.

The College Fix reached out for comment to the three university staff members listed as facilitators of the event: Abby Priehs: associate director of residence education; Steve Bodei: associate director of Student Life Leadership Education; and Nick Smith: director of campus involvement.

When asked why the “unpacking Whiteness” event was created, and whether or not students at the University of Michigan had complained about the quality of racial discourse on campus, Smith responded: “This is an internal training for U-M Student Life staff.” A subsequent query to Smith was not returned.

Neither Priehs nor Bodei responded to phone calls from The Fix on Monday night.

The Student Life Professional Development Conference was based around the overall theme of “Identity, Wellness, & Work: Healthier, Happier, & More Efficient,” according to the University of Michigan’s student life website.

Additional sessions were titled “Building and Strengthening Your Assessment Muscles,” “Empower, Safety and You,” and “Making Meaning: the Role of Spirituality in Higher Education.”

Keep reading here.....

who is uncomfortable about being white? I'm certainly not

If, for instance, one snorts “We don’t *dare* judge all Muslims by the activities of a few terrorists”, but these same people consider whiteness a “discomfort ” and all whites have to "unpack their whiteness," I'm not going to call you irrational and illogical. Because I don’t have to. It’s a self-evident fact that doesn’t need me to state it.

These things are tiresome and on their way out. Sooner than later a symposium on "How to overcome the discomfort of being white" will have the same reputation as healing crystals, moon beams, and eugenics.

Just give it time. Until then, just smile and nod whitey, smile and nod.

(12-20-2017 09:24 AM)Lord Stanley Wrote:  If, for instance, one snorts “We don’t *dare* judge all Muslims by the activities of a few terrorists”, but these same people consider whiteness a “discomfort ” and all whites have to "unpack their whiteness," I'm not going to call you irrational and illogical. Because I don’t have to. It’s a self-evident fact that doesn’t need me to state it.

These things are tiresome and on their way out. Sooner than later a symposium on "How to overcome the discomfort of being white" will have the same reputation as healing crystals, moon beams, and eugenics.

Just give it time. Until then, just smile and nod whitey, smile and nod.

Isn't the goal to not judge any person by the color of their skin.

(12-20-2017 09:26 AM)usmbacker Wrote:  Isn't the goal to not judge any person by the color of their skin.

For conservatives? Yes, clearly.

For liberals? Based on their actions like this symposium above the answer is clearly "no."

crap like this is a big part of the reason of why trump won. lol

I am pretty F'ing comfortable with my whiteness.

(12-20-2017 09:50 AM)ECUGrad07 Wrote:  I am pretty F'ing comfortable with my whiteness.

Yep. All good here too.

I'm german/polish with blue eyes and blonde hare [sic]......

screw the yooper pooper.....there's a reason some moved to the 'sip

I am still waiting for the SJW whites to give up their Prof positions, admission acceptances, teaching positions to people of color. What is taking them so long?

Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I know when I was a kid I wished I was white.

(12-20-2017 11:07 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I never have nor have I ever wished to be another race

(12-20-2017 11:09 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:07 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I never have nor have I ever wished to be another race

Are you white?

(12-20-2017 11:10 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:09 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:07 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I never have nor have I ever wished to be another race

Are you white?

yes

(12-20-2017 11:07 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I know when I was a kid I wished I was white.

So are the minority staff being asked to attend "unpacking" sessions to deal with what *they* can do better?

(12-20-2017 11:10 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:09 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:07 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I never have nor have I ever wished to be another race

Are you white?

Why would it matter, you said "Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are."....

(12-20-2017 11:11 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:10 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:09 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:07 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I never have nor have I ever wished to be another race

Are you white?

yes

Well then that explain it. If I was white, I probably would have never felt discomfort either.

(12-20-2017 11:24 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:11 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:10 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:09 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:07 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I never have nor have I ever wished to be another race

Are you white?

yes

Well then that explain it. If I was white, I probably would have never felt discomfort either.

You are not white caucasian? 80% of El Paso identifies as that.
Race Population % of Total
Total Population 649,121 100
White 524,764 80
Hispanic or Latino 523,721 80
Some Other Race 71,415 11
Black or African American 22,006 3
Two or More Races 17,547 2
Asian 7,723 1
American Indian 4,757 Below 1%
Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander 909 Below 1%
Three or more races 876 Below 1%
Native Hawaiian 153 Below 1%
https://suburbanstats.org/population/tex...in-el-paso

(12-20-2017 11:09 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:07 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I never have nor have I ever wished to be another race

Never felt discomfort about my race. Not one time.

(12-20-2017 11:48 AM)usmbacker Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:09 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  

(12-20-2017 11:07 AM)Fitbud Wrote:  Who hasn't felt some discomfort about being whatever race they are.

I never have nor have I ever wished to be another race

Never felt discomfort about my race. Not one time.

Me neither. No one is ever going to make me feel discomfort about me being me. People choose to be offended. I choose to neither offend or let others offend me. I live day to day and let the idiots fight amongst themselves.