Club hatin'
 

Was talking about this with someone the other day and wondered what you guys would think about it.
When I was in college two things happened that really pissed me off.
A group of guys got together and decided to start a club celebrating Celtic/Gaelic/Welsh heritage. We were told that it would be considered a hate group and were given a world of shit about it.
About the same time an all male gym was sued by a woman to allow her membership because they "excluded" her and she cited that it was sexist... but no one was suing Curves or even bringing them into it at the time, or since as far as I have seen.
Nor did anyone state that the NAACP, which had a huge presence on campus, was a hate group... and we never stated that we wanted to "further" anyone in any way, over anyone else the way they do.
We just wanted to celebrate the heritage of a few people, some, I might add that would be black Irish, Jimmy Hendricks would have been eligible.

After they gave you shit about it, were you allowed to start your club?

I was not the person starting the club, but was wanting to be involved... I have discussed in since & have had, pretty much, the same reaction.
No, we did not, we were told that there would be no school support and active resistance.
Basically, any members would be punished.

At first I thought this was a screed against "clubs" as in nightclubs/ danceclubs/ etc.

I was ready to jump in and say that basically since I hate people, it would naturally follow that I'd hate clubs.

Only this is different. Not being allowed to form any kind of club on a campus is exactly why I hate people, though in this case since I am part Irish, English, Welsh, Scotch, and 7up, I'll say I like this club.

Um yeah, I heard of a guy who sued "Curves".

What a dick.

OK I forgot another thing. When Iwas in the ci-tay last month seeing Les Paul, I stopped at nat sherman tobbacconist to pick up some of my favorite pipe tobbacco and tax them with questions about weevils.

They have a lovely smoking lounge upstairs, lots of leather and mahogany, etc. Very civilized. I enjoyed a nice pipe and relaxed. But the point is, they wanted to do it and they did it.

I don't know what the point is. Who the fuck am I kidding?

God Bless The National Lampoon Radio Hour
 

"The Middle Class Liberal, Well-Intentioned Blues"

I wish I was a Negro, with lots of Negro soul,
so I could stay true to my ethnic roots and still play rock and roll.
If I was a funky Negro, eatin’ soul food barbecues,
then I wouldn’t have to sing the middle class liberal Well-Intentioned Blues.

I wish I was an Indian, a grown-up Sioux papoose,
so when I get drunk on a beer and a half I’d have a good excuse.
I’d be a noble savage, wouldn’t ever wear no shoes,
and I wouldn’t have to sing the middle class liberal Well-Intentioned Blues.

I wish I was a wetback on a strike in a lettuce patch
or a slant-eyed peasant with Viet Cong stashed underneath my thatch.
I’d only ever cross a picket line to pay my union dues
and I wouldn’t have to sing the middle class liberal Well-Intentioned Blues.

But I am not a Negro, not a red man nor a Mex. (Join me, kids!)
I’m a member of the oppressing color, language, age and sex.
I sympathize with the Arab cause; I feel for the put-upon Jews.
And I keep singing –
the middle class liberal –
humanitarian –
meaningful dialogue –
we are all responsible Well-Intentioned Blues.

For those of you who are/were unfamiliar with this outstanding piece of 70's history, check this out.

Pull the tregroes, negroes! We're with you all the way.
(just across the bay, whether it's in Oakland or Marin, we're with you all the way across the bay)

Evertime us Germans want to form a club, people get pissed.

I thought this thread would be against a suit of playing cards. I was going to jump on the band wagon. Spades, hearts, and diamonds are way better than clubs!

I've always felt that equality is equality. That means if you can't have an all-male gym, you can't have a Curves. If you have a NAACP, there should be a NAAWP. Even-Steven, fair playing field. I acknowledge that the feild has been slanted in the European-American favor for a long time. So make the playing field flat, not slanted in anybody's favor!

Unfortunately, in current society, only white Protestant males are capable of discrimination. Everyone else is a victim.

I don't know what the deal is with Curves, but one doesn't have to actually be Black to be eligible for NAACP membership, I don't think. That might've been the problem your school had with the club--eligibility based on ethnic background. Though it doesn't sound like they were very clear about it, and overreacted instead.

Incidentally, my college has a school-sanctioned German Club--but you don't have to be German to join.

There is a NAAWP.
However, it is a "White Power" association.

Um, everyone discriminates. It's just to what amount you do it.

From what I understand, Curves is a weightloss 'clinic' (for lack of a better term) that caters to women.
NAACP - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People - I believe being black is a prerequisite. But, everyone is 'colored'. Some are brown, some are pinkish, some are caramel colored...
Incidentally, if you don't need to be German to join a German Club, what is the reason for the club? And does that mean my blood rune tattoo is for naught?

This political correctness shit has gotten out of hand. (This is primarily a U.S. phenomenon, no?)

These kinds of situations keep nipping people in the ass is because, well, relatively few people give a shit. The world is racist and there's nothing that can be done about it. We all discriminate in our own little ways. No amount of education or experience could overturn our inherent social behaviorial patterns.

What do you think would happen if the courts refused to hear discrimination cases?

You always hear about these "landmark" court cases ... but many of those cases affect such a small population. They fade from the spotlight and poof, who cares.

Like the guy who sued Hooters for hiring only women. The guy who sued Curves. Shannon Faulkner, the girl who sued to get into the Citadel.

All individuals wanting to make a point. Sure, from a technical/legal/constitutional perspective, it may be ... educational ... to highlight these situations. But why do these people want to put themselves in those situations? Would it be possible for us to simply accept that there are exceptions and not waste time/money arguing cases that benefit only 0.005% of the population?

I do not want to work at Hooters. I do not want to join your club. But I do recognize that not having the choice to do so goes against democratic ideals. Still, do we have to be so damn attentive to everyone's bitching and moaning?

Something everybody should know about Curves: the owner and founder is the most intensely right-wing radical that a woman would ever hope not to meet. The money that women pay Curves goes to sponsor abortion clinic shutdowns, religious right programming, the defeat of ERA legislation, and the election of ultra-conservative candidates. This person actually has a Texas ranch next to George Bush! His greatest inspiration is The 700 Club. He talks like a televangelist and spends like one too. The person who gets the money you pay to Curves uses it for the REPRESSION of women and the elimination of their hard-earned rights in today's society. Boycott Curves!!!