I was reading an article in a nursing journal about racism in nursing. Apparently, there are nurses associations specifically for different racial and ethnic groups.
So, would it be a good idea for White nurses to band together in this way? Is that a taboo because it's construed as being as racist or is it just that Whites don't have the need for a group identity because of their majority status? Will that be changing as the demographics of the nation change? After all, in some areas White people are a minority.
No, ProLogic, I read the statistics I cited as they were written. 18% of white children live in poverty, as do 30% of black ones.
I do not deny, nor have I denied, that there are more poor people of color than there are white ones in the US. I do, however, object to the misapprehension that most black Americans live in poverty.
Too many people, period, are poor. That number is certainly disproportionately higher among ethnic minorities. (I am trying to stop using the term "race" as if has very little scientific meaning.)
I am really not quite sure about what you are arguing with me.
18 percent of all children ages 0–17 lived in poverty, unchanged from 2004
In 2005, 10 percent of White, non-Hispanic children lived in poverty
I think you misread it. No doubt that too many people are poor, its a shame to read that there are still people in this country who are still under the poverty line. There is so much that can be done yet there are little efforts to fight poverty in our own country.
I'm not arguing, I like debating. I'm heavily into politics.
This is a topic that I hate because it's always automatically assumed that the only people who can be racist are white. I think black people or hispanic people or whoever can be prejudiced against white people or even each other. In fact, to assume that I have a problem with someone just because they are different from me is being prejudiced anyway. I have several good friends who are not "European American", and I actually get offended when people treat me as if I have a problem with them or can't understand how they feel because they are a minority. I have no problem with other races - go ahead and have your association if you want to. I also would not join a white nurses association, because I just don't join stuff, haha. This whole area is very touchy in general because as soon as you say "there is a group for black people", some people take that to mean "black people vs. white people vs. hispanic people" etc. I think the whole thing is just stupid and we shoulld all get over it. I think it's been long enough and that there is plenty of diversity in this country now that we should all be used to it and quit paying so much attention to it. But it looks like it will be awhile until that happens. Hope I don't get flamed for this one!
No flames here. This is an excellent post. The idea of a white nurses association does seem somewhat disturbing. To me, race doesn't matter, and it should never matter. Character does matter.
This, as you all well know, is a very hot topic. Staff have been discussing the posts and for the most part, they've pretty interesting and educational as well as thought-provoking.
One staff member said the following:
That was a pretty cool statement.
Please, let's not turn it into a racial issue with one-on-one arguing back and forth. Let's not be divisive. Please, let's all unite as one.
All nurses.
All of the human race.
United.
Please keep to the topic of "White Nurses Association?", but w/o interjecting remarks that will only serve to hurt feelings, cause the staff members' coronary arteries to squeeze, and result in the thread being shut down. It's just not worth it.
Yes, I really like the color-blind aspect of the internet. We don't know if the person we're talking to is fat, thin, in a wheelchair, or anything about how they look, or what family they came from, if they have an accent, or what their ethnic background is. Isn't that cool?
I don't think its about holding people accountable for something their ancestors did. I think its more making sure that those legacies of racism, hatred, and discrimination are not continued in the next generation. Even after slavery, which really wasn't that long ago, only a few generations when you think of it, you still had women and minorites being discriminated legally until the 60s. I think itsw great that you know that your family were abolitionist and I am proud for the part that they played in shaping our history. As a black person, I can't trace my history that far back, so thats a big part of why blacks bind together now. It shouldn't be taken as discrimnation. I do agree with you on the golden rule thing. I also think we all could do so much if we just tried to understand each other and then we would realize that we aren't so much different after all!
Oh hon, I wasn't trying to generalize and say that all black people act like that. I was talking about the minority of people who, when things don't go their way, drag out that old argument about how their great great great Grandma was mistreated, so they deserve preference. Please don't think I am saying that all black people try to blame me for the actions of white people 2 centuries ago. That would make me just as bad as anyone who makes any other kind of statement based solely on race, sex, religion, etc!
i understand where you are coming from, but you have to realize many minorities are very disadvantaged and need the help. i am not saying you didn't, i am just saying that if you were born into a situation where you were middle class, you are so much better off then not only the majority of blacks, but the majority of the world! and affirmitive action works in reverse as well. i attend an historically black university and there is a good percentage of whites who benefit from aid, and its still a good education. i think some people look at aa and the like as a free ride when really its purpose is just to make things more fair. i think it needs work for sure, but if the legislation that came out of the civil rights act didn't exist, would things be better for all people?
note what i said: "i'm also not saying it is unfair. but as more and more companies are striving for diversity, it does get harder for your everyday average white american to get into school, get jobs, etc."
all i was trying to do is point out that it goes both ways. i was working a full time job that paid about 13k a year while i was in school, and my tuition was around 7k a year. not eaxactly rich, and my parents, while they did okay, just didn't have the extra 7k laying around (really 14k because they had 2 of us in school at the same time). just saying we all have our challenges, and trying to point out that we should all just treat each other as equals and realize that, while your struggles may be different from mine, we all have them, and should just respect each other and give each other a break! :nuke:
As to scholarships, my upper middle class white brother found them.
Maybe you were wait-listed because your grades weren't the best. You are making these claims based solely on assumptions that are very liekly false.
You are looking for scapegoats, and that is racist.
Why are you attacking me? All I am trying to do is point out that we are all people, and that we all deserve respect. My challenges in life are not the same as yours, but we all deserve the same respect and consideration. I was not looking for a scapegoat, and for your information, I had a 3.83 when I applied to nursing school, with 105 credit hours complete (compared with traditional students who apply in their first year of college and have about 30 complete at the time of application - at least, at my school). I also didn't say I didn't get financial aid - I had loans. I was talking about scholarships. All that were available at the time I applied were for minorities. Does that mean that minorities didn't deserve them? No. I didn't say that it didn't did I? Do not assume that you know anything about me, and if you can't say anything nice or constructive, there is no need to say anything at all.
Specializes in Dialysis, Long-term care, Med-Surg.
OK. All of us that are in nurses or in nursing school, did we not learn that all persons have the same amount of Melanocytes, and the ACTIVITY of these cells determine our color. TREAT EACH OTHER AS INDIVIDUALS, NOT AS COLORS!!!! I am bi-racial, and I must admit I like being with one side of my family better than the other, but that's not because of color, it's because of behavior. :argue:
OK. All of us that are in nurses or in nursing school, did we not learn that all persons have the same amount of Melanocytes, and the ACTIVITY of these cells determine our color. TREAT EACH OTHER AS INDIVIDUALS, NOT AS COLORS!!!! I am bi-racial, and I must admit I like being with one side of my family better than the other, but that's not because of color, it's because of behavior. :argue:
I am also biracial and also prefer a certain side of the family. It seems that the other side of the family is troubled with that genetic disease we call ignorance.
As a side note, if Obama being where he is isn't a good barometer of how things are going in this country then I don't know what is.
I dislike racially based groups because I feel they are inherantly divisive. However, I do understand that it does help bolster minorities' power and voice. So it would be overly simplistic of me to say they should not be formed based on race. Clearly there is a need and a desire for such groups. And probably for alot of reasons I wouldn't understand. Do I think there is a need for a 'white group?' No. Why? What exactly could be gained by it? Frankly, I never have understood what it is that is so powerful about one's skin tone. I was lucky enough to grow up in a virtual melting pot of cultures and races. I was fascinated. And it was clear for me to see how much we had in common despite our 'classifications'. And that we were just as different as we could be as well even being of the same 'race'. I think differences are to be celebrated and our similarities cherished. Human beings are after all, amazing. Who else knows this better than a nurse?
I was reading an article in a nursing journal about racism in nursing. Apparently, there are nurses associations specifically for different racial and ethnic groups.
So, would it be a good idea for White nurses to band together in this way? Is that a taboo because it's construed as being as racist or is it just that Whites don't have the need for a group identity because of their majority status? Will that be changing as the demographics of the nation change? After all, in some areas White people are a minority.
ProLogic
121 Posts
I'm not arguing, I like debating. I'm heavily into politics.