When I went to college I was a poor white kid from rural Oregon on a scholarship to a fancy East Coast private university. Everybody I met there had more money than I did.
During the summers they all went off to unpaid internships in NY or LA. I had similar offers, but there was just no way I could afford to do that, move to NYC for three months with no pay.
When my friends graduated they got jobs at these places and I ended up working at a bakery.
That's what Kyle was talking about. And as an aside he made the leap, perhaps disputed by some here, that people who are not white are more often among those who don't have a lot of money.
Maybe you don't agree, but all he was saying is that if you pay people, then you will be more likely to find class and probably race diversity on your staffs. True? False? Maybe? I don't know, but it makes logical sense, and it seems possible to agree with him or disagree with him without being a racist.
Erik Ryberg
ien wrote:
I see Kyle's point as tunnel vision. Look at other areas reliant on volunteers and you will see many females, in some cases overwhelmingly. Case in point: the local chapter of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization reported their volunteers by gender composition is 75% female, 25% male. That should shoot the theory of white boys being privileged and in positions to volunteer. It is the bike business in general that attracts males to the sport. Don't believe me then take a look at the staff at any bike shop for your random sample. Females are a breath of fresh air to the sport of cycling and bike riding in general. But look also to the junior ranks of any state cycling organization and you will find many more males than females. Credit to those that volunteer and here is wishing more would join us, especially females. bikedad
*/Andy Dyson andy@neighborhoodbikeworks.org/* wrote:
BovineOaks@aol.com wrote: > Being white gives us privileges that might make it easier to 'donate' a > lot of time to a project you love. Nice racist statement. > Some great points in your post, Christopher, but it's the first line I have a problem with. I think that if you're going to call someone a racist you should do so in a more direct and clear way, for all of our benefit. Perhaps I'm just not smart, but sarcasm like the above leaves me wondering exactly what about Kyle's post you thought was racist and why. There are various interpretations I could think of, but why people in our community are calling each other racists is not an area where I want to jump to any conclusions. I do actually want to know what you think, because I don't think that Kyle was denying that people of all backgrounds volunteer, rather that privilege exists and it makes things easier for young, white males. I think that the whole point of Kyle's post is to draw attention to the existence of privilege, something that, in my experience, is not obvious to all of us. Peace, Andy -- Andrew C. Dyson Executive Director Neighborhood Bike Works Increasing opportunities for youth through bicycling Check our Web Site: http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org Neighborhood Bike Works 3916 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104 Office: (215) 386-0316 Cell: (215) 873-6695 FAX: (215) 386-7288 _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank@bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.orgNever miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51438/*http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
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