*VENT* I feel..disgusted. "Quota-filler" Im so sick of this racism BULL****

[Fran101]

I was talking to a bunch of people today, Americans.. it was a group of high school seniors and I met them while I was doing some shopping, they are on their class trip here in London and we were having lunch

So the teacher asked me to share some first hand stuff on first year of college.. I was telling them about my college experience so far, what I did as far as applications go, how I got in, what its like, how to choose and some fun special experiences lol like the freshman 15 etc..
we were laughing and just having fun, talking about highschools. Their highschool is in the south.

I then mentioned that I didn't make the right choice when I chose my college (UCONN) and that I feel some of the other schools I had gotten into would've been a much better fit, even though they didn't offer me full scholarship plus perks. but that I kept my grades up and now I got into NYU and will be transferring

and this random boy was just like
"well, life must be so easy when you're a quota filler"
I thought I heard him wrong and was like EXCUSE ME?

and he said that I wouldn't have stood a chance at ANY of these schools if it wasn't for affirmative action. because
"people like you need your own set of standards to get in or else none of you would be able to go to good colleges"

which frankly is BULLSHIT, total and complete bullshit

So I finally hit this stupid kid with the truth. I didn't even put my race on my college applications. My mom is black (haitian) and my dad is white. so regardless, I would'nt even count towards the quota.
These schools accepted me for who I am, my grades, my scores, my essay, ME. not for the color of my skin!
and that I hope universities see him for who he truly is, a useless little ****.

The one and ONLY school he applied to just happens to be the ivy league school where my father not only attended, but also is a chairman on the board (he started back peddling after I told him this..)

"Oh.. I had no idea. I just thought, Im sorry, I just didn't know your dad was like..umm.. look, I didn't know."

luckily that kid was wearing a name tag. hes NEVER getting in. Its being taken care of as we speak. that little piece of trash probably wouldn't have gotten in regardless but none the less.. hes certainly not getting in now. his application is being thrown in the garbage.

I can't even wrap my head around people that STUPID even still existing, its frikin 2010!
I can't even imagine how people with darker skin than me must deal with this, because as it is, I don't even know what to think

I walked away. I hope that kid stays up all night long thinking about the consequences of his big mouth. and he might as well get some community college applications done.

My family has worked incredibly hard for EVERYTHING we have. Educationally and career wise.. but no matter what, its like people try to make it seem "less" like we obviously had it easier.
SINCE WHEN?!
One woman told my mother that she should marry her "own kind"

OWN KIND?! She married someone of a different race, not species! we are all PEOPLE
its makes me sick to my stomach.

Its 2010. Im half haitian and half white. I certainly don't see the big deal. Everybody else seems to me MUCH more concerned than I am.

People have even asked me how I "coped" having a father that was so "different".
My father is not "different". He is a lot like me if you would take your eyes away away from the color of my skin and SEE IT
We have the same brown eyes, same nose, and the same hair.. but people don't see that. They don't care that we watch the same movies, or like to eat after midnight, or are horrible at sports...there just MUST be some racial tension.

When I was a 5, I asked my dad why me and him were different colored, why I got the same caramel color as my mom and if this meant me and him weren't the same. He told me that of course we were the same, and that although I got the pretty skin from my mom, I got other things from him. and that ALL people are the same... color, shape, size, age, all people. Even purple people with pink hair

I understood this at AGE 5. why cant ADULTS UNDERSTAND?!

instead, my dad gets comments saying how great it is that he chose to adopt.
IM NOT ADOPTED! is it really that hard to believe?!

Oh and then the look of pity
"what happened to the girls mother?..."
Umm.. shes at home making dinner!

I love my parents. and both sides of my family, and they love me.

Both sides have their differences.. but it has nothing to do with race!

It has more to do with the fact that.. to put it in its simpler terms.
My moms side of the family watches the world cup, and they watch the superbowl lol

Football vs. American Football lol thats usually where the most heated arguments are..

Its just frustrating. Dammit, I like the color of my skin. I like that I don't burn like a lobster in the sun like my dad does and im glad I look a little bit like both my parents.

The whole race thing is pretty dumb really. In the words of my father himself
"We all eat, breathe, and poop" lol

*VENT OVER*

 

[xpaeanx]

Fran, I'm sorry he said that to you.... It was horrible. But you really should have left it off at the fact that you didn't fill in the race part.

I know you're angry, but to have someone purposely denied entry to college based soley on the fact that they said something to hurt you is equally wrong. If he gets denied because he is not as good in school as you, then fine. But if he would have been accepted otherwise... that's not a very nice thing to do. Espeically considering that you said he only applied to one college.

Again, it was wrong of him to say that to you. And I'm really sorry he did. But you should stand up and be the better person, not try to make the harder jab.

 

[~Jessie~]

Wow, what an ass! The nerve of him to say that right to your face... :yikes:

I don't understand how people can be racist... it's really ridiculous. It's a skin color... who cares? It's just mind boggling how a skin color can make people uncomfortable.

One of my best friends as a little kid was my father's god daughter... her name was Victoria and she was black. She used to always sleep over at my house and we'd argue because she wanted to watch Alice and Wonderland over and over again. lol. Our families were very close when I was growing up and I am SO happy I never heard any racist remarks made about them.

I also lived in Maine for a couple of years, and almost everyone at my school was blonde hair/blue eyed. At one point I wanted to DYE my hair blonde because it was dark brown and I felt so different. I had darker hair and skin than almost everyone at my school, except for a couple of kids who had been adopted. It's just such an uncomfortable feeling when people make you feel like you have issues because you look different.

Dark skin is awesome! You burn less easily so you can enjoy being out in the sun even more and always look like you have a nice year round tan.

I bet they were just jealous and felt like being jerks.

 

[HayleyMarie]

Augh what a freaking little SH**. That was so terribly rude, but I have to agree on what EX said.

I know how terrible racism is. Its a terrible, hurtful thing. I know. My father is Native American and my mother is Metis. I got the white side of things as I am fair skinned, green eyes. Although I do have dark hair lol.

But alot of times people don't even realise what my heritage is and will start spewing crap in front of me, which at that point I pipe up and that usually shuts them up right away.

I will not toletate bull Sh** like that its not approprite ever!

 

[eddieq]

I'm really sorry you have to go through that. It's unfortunately true that racism is alive and well here in 2010. I see it from people with all different skin tones and all different cultural backgrounds.

I don't get hating people simply for the color of their skin. Get to know them first. I'm sure they'll give you plenty of reasons to hate them that have nothing to do with their skin color

 

[~Jessie~]

I don't get hating people simply for the color of their skin. Get to know them first. I'm sure they'll give you plenty of reasons to hate them that have nothing to do with their skin color

Seriously! :rofl1:

 

[xpaeanx]

I don't get hating people simply for the color of their skin. Get to know them first. I'm sure they'll give you plenty of reasons to hate them that have nothing to do with their skin color

Truer words were never spoken. :yikes: :lol-sign: :rofl1:

 

[Pam111]

I am so sorry people are that rude to say something like that to you. How ignorant and ridiculous.

Unfortunately, in law school, people did make comments like that about the minorities, as though they had any clue what their GPAs/test scores were. It's disgusting

 

[HayleyMarie]

I don't get hating people simply for the color of their skin. Get to know them first. I'm sure they'll give you plenty of reasons to hate them that have nothing to do with their skin color

:rofl1: So True!

 

[drmom777]

I am so sorry this happened to you. It must be a horrible feeling going through life knowing that people think you are where you are because of something other than your abilities.

I know it is different, but when I was at MIT there were less women there than there are now, and people would periodically have conversations about how the admission standards were different for women, and how our SAT scores were lower. Well, mine weren't and I would always let these people know that I was at least as qualified as them.....But I was a kid, and I now know this didn't change any minds.

I don't know whether you were exaggerating about having ths kid's application thrown in the garbage, I hope so. On the other hand, a note attached to the app about your experience would accomplish the same thing while being simply more information not contained in the original app. Notes are attached to apps all the time.

I killed someone's app that way once. I interview kids for MIT admission and I interviewed this girl who was practically perfect in every way...and told me MIT was her absolute #1 top choice school.

In the next weeks Sunday paper, she was featured in an article about early admission, holding a Penn shirt up, and was quoted as saying that Penn was her top choice school. I sent a scan of the article to the admissions committee with a note. She was rejected, not because she wouldn't have gone to MIT anyway, but because she lied.

As far as the race thing goes, people are stupid, and I suspect you will love New York. It is one of the reasons I love New York. People tend to judge you on your competence, not on all of the other things that don't matter. It makes life so much better.

 

[Laurelin]

Fran, I'm sorry he said that to you.... It was horrible. But you really should have left it off at the fact that you didn't fill in the race part.

I know you're angry, but to have someone purposely denied entry to college based soley on the fact that they said something to hurt you is equally wrong. If he gets denied because he is not as good in school as you, then fine. But if he would have been accepted otherwise... that's not a very nice thing to do. Espeically considering that you said he only applied to one college.

Again, it was wrong of him to say that to you. And I'm really sorry he did. But you should stand up and be the better person, not try to make the harder jab.

I agree. It was awful he said that, but I agree that is too much.

Also, most racist people I've met grew up raised by people that were racist. I hold out hope that maybe for a few of them going out into college in a new environment with many people of many different cultural backgrounds and nationalities will help them get out from under their parents' shadows. He may never have had the chance to meet and talk with people that were of a different race.

A lot of my extended family is very racist. They live in this miserable town that was all white until just a few years ago when the first black family moved there. This place just breeds racism. My cousins that have moved out of there have come to be SO much more accepting but the older generations (and some of the cousins) just stay there and they are never ever exposed to non-whites. So all they know is what the older generations tell them. I hate that place so much, it's just so ass backwards.

I'm not trying to excuse what he said or did, but having met a lot of those people and been around them it's all just fear of the unknown. I remember being in third grade when my cousin started dating a black guy. They were in college and met at pre-med. But my family was arguing about it and how wrong it was. I just didn't get it. But then again I was lucky enough to be raised in a town that had a lot of cultural diversity and by parents who were fair and open minded. Anyways I ended up telling them what I felt about what they were saying (I was about 9 or so) and I remember just being talked down to about 'not understanding' things. No, I understood things perfectly.

 

[filarotten]

Sorry that kid treated you that way, what a jerk.

It has been several years since I was in London, but while I was there, I was amazed and shocked at the way that many of them perceive Americans. I had several English people stand near us and start whistling or singing yankee doodle dandee. Rather funny now, but it wasn't then. They also made a lot of snide remarks about Americans. I guess some are still sore about all that lost tea.

 

[Fran27]

Oh wow that's awful. I hope the next generation will be better

About quotas though, seriously, I wonder if they are not enforcing racism sometimes...

 

[Baxter'smybaby]

Fran--bottom line is that people are constantly judged--by many things, not just skin color. People make assumptions about others based on the clothes they wear, if they have tattoos and piercings, their body size (under and over weight), hair color...it goes on and on. You are not alone in being unfairly judged--I may be lily white, but I have had my share of comments in my lifetime. Use your anger to educate--not retaliate.
I think informing this boy of the inaccuracies of his assumptions was great--but disagree with getting his application thrown out.

 

[-bogart-]

now i am sure that you are fully qualified for alll that you have accieved , but the sad reality is that the quota schools have to fill so they are not in default with the goverments anti-"isms" do affect people entry.

say if a school is at the limit on admissions and have to filll the spot with a person whose only diffrence is there skin color , i will guarntee they will decide due to where they are at in there quota of having to have so many people who fill this________ discription. now no matter what the ______ is. color/sex whatever.

reverse racism is what it is called and just as disgusting.


now that boy was way beyond rude and you defiantly did right setting him in his place for assuming so much.

 

[sparks19]

Fran, I'm sorry he said that to you.... It was horrible. But you really should have left it off at the fact that you didn't fill in the race part.

I know you're angry, but to have someone purposely denied entry to college based soley on the fact that they said something to hurt you is equally wrong. If he gets denied because he is not as good in school as you, then fine. But if he would have been accepted otherwise... that's not a very nice thing to do. Espeically considering that you said he only applied to one college.

Again, it was wrong of him to say that to you. And I'm really sorry he did. But you should stand up and be the better person, not try to make the harder jab.

I agree with this post.

he's a mean little prick... but I dont think his life should be ruined because he's a stupid kid who doesn't think before he talks.

I have a feeling this episode isn't going to make him think twice about his racist attitude... now he's going to be pissed because not only are the "quota fillers" (as he so ridiculously put it) taking up the spots he thinks he deserves but now they are calling their daddies to get his application thrown out. I think that action probably just set his racism back even further.

and I do agree with Fran that I think this whole idea about quota filling is fueling more racism than it's preventing.

I'm certain that you got where you are by your smarts and your hard work. that much is obvious. But you should have left it at that and let your success speak for itself

 

[Fran101]

I called my dad again. told him to forget it. He told me he never called or did anything in the first place.. he knew id change my mind. I hate when parents do that but blah, I know id feel bad after.
the kid is a douche but kharma will be a bitch, I dont need to be one.

I was pissed and just kind of enraged.

blahh today was just a mess. whatever.

Im just trying to get into my "twilight eclipse" happy place lol

 

[sparks19]

the kid is a douche but kharma will be a bitch,

:hail::hail::hail:

 

[Taqroy]

I called my dad again. told him to forget it. He told me he never called or did anything in the first place.. he knew id change my mind. I hate when parents do that but blah, I know id feel bad after.
the kid is a douche but kharma will be a bitch, I dont need to be one.

I was pissed and just kind of enraged.

blahh today was just a mess. whatever.

Im just trying to get into my "twilight eclipse" happy place lol

I'm sorry that kid was such an asshat. Honestly...if that had happened to me (and it has to a much lesser extent, being a female in IT) I probably would've called my super influential parent too lol. And I don't know if I would've called back and cancelled either. So many kudos to you for being the bigger person even when it sucks. Lol.

 

[Renee750il]

I agree with DrMom's method of handling it.

Why not make room in the admissions lottery for someone who might be a bit more mature -- or worthwhile? It's not going to "ruin his life" to have to apply to other colleges -- might even do him good to have that arrogance checked.

Fran, what can I say? They're out there, and harder to get rid of than an army of zombies and twice as ugly.

The sad truth is, though, that there are quotas that have to be met to keep accreditations, grants, etc. It's an ugly business all around. Good on you for making it on your merit, without any race issue; you will always know that YOU EARNED YOUR PLACE. But it's no more than I'd expect from you