Student Responds to Whitman's Criticism

[kpete]

Student Responds to Whitman's Criticism
by: Robert Cruickshank
Tue Oct 05, 2010 at 10:35:55 AM PDT

At Saturday's gubernatorial debate in Fresno held by Univision, an unidentified and undocumented honors student at Fresno State asked a question about the DREAM Act that, I argued, offered the most important moment of the debate. Whereas Jerry Brown made a strong moral defense of all California's children getting the chance to succeed in school and become citizens to contribute to our society, Whitman attacked the student and essentially told her she didn't belong in school and was taking the place of a California citizen.

Today the student has spoken out about the way her question was answered, in a press release from the California Young Democrats:

*****In an anonymous statement provided to CYD the student said, "Ms. Whitman's response made me feel undeserving of my academic success... until I realized that I was not admitted into universities because I was undocumented but because I was a hard-working student who maintained great grades, got myself involved, and did countless hours of community service. My education is the only thing I really have in this country, besides my friends and family, and I don't understand why she would belittle my hard work and that of all other students in my situation. If Ms. Whitman cannot support young successful immigrants, how can she claim she will serve the Latino community?"

more:
http://calitics.com/diary/12650/student-responds-to-whitmans-criticism

[habitual]

1. k+r n/t

[MindandSoul]

2. I hope these comments by Whitman send her rolling further down the hill!

[ThomCat]

3. One of many, many reasons why Whitman does NOT deserve

to buy the Governor's job in California. Any who would be hostile to a hardworking, intelligent and successful student with a (hopefully) bright future ahead has absolutely no business in the business of representing the people. She obviously doesn't represent people who are different from herself. She obviously has no empathy or respect for others.

Her response drips with obvious racism. Whitman treated the student not as a person, not as an individual, but as "one of those people." All the student's individual achievements were wiped away and irrelevant in Whitman's mind. All that mattered was that, as an undocumented immigrant, that student was taking up space, and someone else who belongs here deserves that space instead.

How much do you want to bet that the "someone else" Whitman was picturing in her mind was someone white?

After all, that idea that someone is taking up limited space that rightfully belongs to someone else is THE Classic Argument made by white-rights bigots trying to overturn Affirmative Action. That's where Whitman got the idea from. If she's borrowing the idea from the white-rights movement, it's not a stretch to think she's a not so closeted racist.

Whitman only represents herself and the select few people who are as financially elite as she is. No good can come from putting her in charge of California. :(

[corpseratemedia]

4. +100

so well said!