Not looking to start an online fight but …

[Stephon Devante]

Well if black people have their own section, and gay people should..why not straight people? Why not republicans? Why not Christians?

It amazes me how everybody hates on segregation/discrimination until it is beneficial to them.

Either we are all the same, or we are all very different...there can really be no middle ground.

[veg]

At least black people have their own section. What do gay people have? Every gay thread gets taken over by str8 people flirting with each other...!

We need a new section called, "The Gay Bathroom."

SECONDED!  Let's ask the ambiguous duo.


DAAAAAAAAVE! BRAAAAAAAAVE! Can the gays have a "special place" too?

[jnc18]

Well if black people have their own section, and gay people should..why not straight people? Why not republicans? Why not Christians?

It amazes me how everybody hates on segregation/discrimination until it is beneficial to them.

So explain to me again what your point is...  Do you have an issue with ethnic/social groups having their own forum?  Do you feel there is a need for a straight forum?  Do you see a need for a white forum?  Has there been any real discrimination in these forums?  Do you think people should stop "hating on segregation/discrimination"?

And I think it's pretty damn lame to even imply that a comparison should be made between a forum for specific groups and the very real discrimination/segregation that has occured in the past and continues to occur today.

Either we are all the same, or we are all very different...there can really be no middle ground.

What does this even mean???  Isn't that the opposite of the truth?

[redemption]

The OP's post has some problems with tone and spirit, but the question, I think, as to why there is a BLSD is a valid one. There is too much segregation in society as it is; this segregation is being reproduced here, on this board, even as we are applying to schools one of whose principal stated objectives in the admissions process is to create a diverse environment.

That there is a BLSD is a very sad thing; and that there is apparently a need for a BLSD is a very sad state of affairs. I don't see anything wrong with asking an (emphasis here) open-ended question about it. The answers provided so far are unconvincing. For specific issues relating to specific groups there are threads that deal with them - an example that pops into my mind is the thread labeled "Homosexual PS"; the great majority of the threads in BLSD are not specific to particularly "black" questions regarding the admissions process; etc.

It seems to me that we have chosen, either deliberately or through apathy, to reproduce social segregation here, among the very people on whom an end to such segregation in the future relies, which is ironic and a bit dismaying. There should be more discussion about this issue, I think, and not less.

my .02

[lawstudent3]

A troll is someone that starts deliberately inciting threads. This one falls under that category.

I don't know about that.  The OP was genuine and wasn't trying to start anything.

I'm also moving this to meta-discussion.

[jnc18]

I'm as unconvinced by your comments as you would be of mine.

I just find it a bit hard to understand how one can be dismayed by people of similar experiences and/or cultures wanting to have an inclusive forum to discuss topics of interest.

Are people just bitter that black people get to have their own forum, feeling that it's unfair or are they genuinely concerned because they'd like the "black" perspective discussion topics mixed in with all the others?  Since we're applying it within a broader social context, is it a problem that a "black culture" exists?

Do you take similar issue with organizations such as BLSA, LBGT, Presbyterians, Alcoholics Anonymous, NOW, Native American tribes, mosques, Telemundo, the Boys and Girls Club, etc.?

[pass36]

I'm as unconvinced by your comments as you would be of mine.

I just find it a bit hard to understand how one can be dismayed by people of similar experiences and/or cultures wanting to have an inclusive forum to discuss topics of interest.

Are people just bitter that black people get to have their own forum, feeling that it's unfair or are they genuinely concerned because they'd like the "black" perspective discussion topics mixed in with all the others?  Since we're applying it within a broader social context, is it a problem that a "black culture" exists?

Do you take similar issue with organizations such as BLSA, LBGT, Presbyterians, Alcoholics Anonymous, NOW, Native American tribes, mosques, Telemundo, the Boys and Girls Club, etc.?

There is no forum/board/thread whatever for left-handed people applying to law school.  This is, presumably, because "handed-ness" is not an identifying characteristic of 21st century American culture. (It has been an identifying characteristic in other times/places/culture).

What I think people are saying is that they wish race was like handed-ness. 
I wish black culture was more like left-handed culture and less like a reaction to 400 years of evil, slavery, genocide, lynching, hatred, etc, etc.  Not because I am against black culture, but because I recognize the pain and sorrow of the history behind it.

But we are lawyers, not economists.  We do or should live in the real world.  In that world, black folks should get a LOT of leeway, IMO, because as Malcolm said "we didn't land at Plymouth Rock, Plymouth Rock landed on us."

[veg]

“A troll is someone that starts deliberately inciting threads. This one falls under that category.”

Whoa! Veg! It was a genuine question and I received a nice mix of answers. Sorry for voicing a question.

Right at first when I read it I was taken aback, and I assumed others may have the same shocked reaction that I did. Also my definition of what trolling is, is probably broader than others'. I'm not big into being mean or hateful in ANY sense of the word, especially without provokation. There've been plenty of REAL trolls that come around here asking questions they say are "genuine," so my tolerance is low.
Sorry I misjudged.

[veg]

It's hard to judge someone's intention when they have so few posts, is all. I mean, you're new - and you jumped right into a post about race. I didn't know what to think.

[Nemesis]

The OP's post has some problems with tone and spirit, but the question, I think, as to why there is a BLSD is a valid one. There is too much segregation in society as it is; this segregation is being reproduced here, on this board, even as we are applying to schools one of whose principal stated objectives in the admissions process is to create a diverse environment.

That there is a BLSD is a very sad thing; and that there is apparently a need for a BLSD is a very sad state of affairs. I don't see anything wrong with asking an (emphasis here) open-ended question about it. The answers provided so far are unconvincing. For specific issues relating to specific groups there are threads that deal with them - an example that pops into my mind is the thread labeled "Homosexual PS"; the great majority of the threads in BLSD are not specific to particularly "black" questions regarding the admissions process; etc.

It seems to me that we have chosen, either deliberately or through apathy, to reproduce social segregation here, among the very people on whom an end to such segregation in the future relies, which is ironic and a bit dismaying. There should be more discussion about this issue, I think, and not less.

my .02

I think it depends on how people choose to look at the issue. You see it as a sign of enduring segregation.

However, I see the BLSD as a affinity group that has been organized around a particular shared interest or dimension (in this case race). I think it is intended as a support mechanism and a way to foster open discussion of issues that may be unique to the people within that group. As someone else duly noted, there is also a separate child board for non-traditional applicants, etc.

Your criticism of the group fostering segregation seems to ignore the fact that you do not have to be black to post on the BLSD board, nor does it seem to take into consideration that black posters frequently post on other parts of the board.