Carolina Girls-Whitest In The World

I was downtown the other day picking the kids up from violin lessons and we all decided to get a sandwich from Firehouse Subs. They are delicious! (this is an unpaid endorsement).

Each store has local memorabilia, pictures, etc. on the wall and as I was idly scanning them, I saw this picture of cheerleaders at the University of South Carolina, 2009-2010.

I snapped a picture. Hold on, I'll get back to it in a minute.

Last night I beamed with pride as I watched Madeleine play her violin in the Honors Orchestra section of Irmo Middle School's combination orchestra/band Spring Concert. All of a sudden I nudged Roger gently, nearly knocking him off of his bleacher seat.

"Where are the girls in the drum section?" I hissed. (Due a mild hearing loss, my "hissing" can usually be heard in the next zip code.)

The drum section, the trombones, the large bass instruments--were all composed of boys.

And as you can see from the picture, there was one woman of color on the University of South Carolina Varsity Squad for 2009-2010.

What year is this? 1961?

I looked in on a class being held at the law school yesterday. There were 2 African Americans and 1 Hispanic. The rest were white with a few Asians mixed in. In the words of the immortal Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On?"



Did we give "integration" a try and decide we liked it the old way better?

Was it a coincidence that our economy was relatively stable when integration began to take hold?

Local private schools are now open to people of all color. Nobody can afford to send their kids anymore, though, and scholarship money is scarce.

A blonde coed at another USC--three thousand miles away--posted a video of her expressing her annoyance at Asians who had their "whole families swarming around her apartment house cooking dinner on the weekends" and made fun of Asians using their cell phones in the library to find out if their relatives were alive after the Japanese earthquake and flood. "The tsumani thing," I believe she said.



I worry about my own little world.

If my girls want to join a sorority at the University of South Carolina, will they be excluded because of "That Asian Thing?"

My girls' adopted great aunt and grandfather made their debut many years ago into Columbia Society, such as it is. Will they be excluded being of "That Asian Thing?" (Daddy thought it was such a waster of money he refused to even let me consider doing so. Being adopted, I'm not sure I could have anyway.

I don't know what's going on.