Cystic Fibrosis Support = Racist?
November 25, 2008 7:23 PM   Subscribe

A new low has been reached in Student Government: Carleton University Student Association pulls support of Cystic Fibrosis as beneficiary of their Shinerama fundraiser as only white males get it.

A student claims CF "has been recently revealed to only affect white people, and primarily men” — and therefore is insufficiently “inclusive.” From a MacLeans article:


"The vote was 17 in favour of the motion and only 2 opposed. With this, CUSA has officially declared that any disease which strikes down only white males is not inclusive enough to be worthy of resources to combat it.

(It is unclear which of the two demographic details is more important in the decision; the “whiteness” of the disease or the “maleness” of the disease.)

I’m at a loss where to start with my critique of this decision, so I’ll begin with the procedural aspects.

The motion was presented at the CUSA meeting with no prior notice. However, according to CUSA councilor Nick Bergamini, the executive were prepared for the discussion and argued in favour of the ban claiming that a former student felt hurt by the non-inclusive nature of CF.

While this may be the normal operating practice of CUSA, it is not the proper way to operate a deliberative governing council."


The problem? Wikipedia and every other bit of research on Cystic Fibrosis finds a difference between "caucasian" and "white".
posted by scabrous (29 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: this is an outragefllter post. If you really care about this topic and issue feel free to post again tomorrow with a little less epicfail tag. thank you -- jessamyn



 
My cousin had cystic fibrosis. She died on the operating table for an operation that was intended to help her breathe better. Fuck this noise.
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 7:26 PM on November 25, 2008


Outrageous!
posted by mr_roboto at 7:26 PM on November 25, 2008


Canada: Political correctness gone wrong.
posted by gman at 7:33 PM on November 25, 2008


CF is not a sex-linked disease. So they are both irrational and incorrect.
posted by emd3737 at 7:34 PM on November 25, 2008


hurt by the non-inclusive nature of CF.

I'm sure that were it possible, any sufferer of cystic fibrosis would be more than happy to have their burden transferred to anyone who feels left out.
posted by rodgerd at 7:37 PM on November 25, 2008 [5 favorites]


Wikipedia and every other bit of research on Cystic Fibrosis

Heh, that part made me laugh. Does Wikipedia do research now?
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:39 PM on November 25, 2008 [1 favorite]


All this is horrible and the idea that it might make the National Post relevant just makes matters worse.
posted by boubelium at 7:42 PM on November 25, 2008


CF is also not limited only to whites.

Carleton... what a joke of a university. People like this give progressives/liberals (of which I include myself proudly) a bad name.

Bit of an update from the Globe & Mail (with less ZOMG handwringing than in the National Post article linked to by the OP).
posted by modernnomad at 7:45 PM on November 25, 2008


ya know...this may be a bit strange, incorrect, heartless, and whatever, but this fpp is a bit editorial.
posted by HuronBob at 7:46 PM on November 25, 2008 [2 favorites]


I was thinking that I would happily donate for research on prostate cancer, and that really does only affect men.
posted by jb at 7:53 PM on November 25, 2008 [1 favorite]


Just because the student association makes a stupid decision doesn't mean the university is a joke. I went to Carleton and it was awesome. I really bloody hated shinerama.
posted by Hildegarde at 7:55 PM on November 25, 2008


That Globe article was more comforting... at first.

“I couldn't understand what could be behind this. Like, have we got the story [about Carleton's motion] right?” foundation CEO Cathleen Morrison said.

Yeah, she can't believe it either. This is crazy.

“Obviously, the information is incorrect.”

Say what?

“People need to know, whether they like it or not, it's not just a white person's disease,” said Ms. Mitchell, 44. “For anyone to say that cystic fibrosis is just a white man's disease, they're just not doing their research,” she said.

Oh. So it's not messed up that they would drop funding for a disease that predominantly affects white men. It's messed up because they were wrong about the demographics of the disease. So presumably if it did only affect a "non-inclusive" population they could go ahead and drop that funding. Good to know.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 7:55 PM on November 25, 2008 [1 favorite]


As a recent graduand of Queen's University, I would like to thank Carleton for diverting the national education press away from our ban of homecoming + thought police. We look positively wonderful by comparison!

That being said, from CBC: she doesn't want the group to think Carleton students are switching charities for the wrong reason. I do hope nobody thinks that. Hopefully they will think that Carleton students were betrayed by a snivelling, cowardly Student Association that puts identity politics over charity.
posted by Lemurrhea at 7:56 PM on November 25, 2008 [2 favorites]


Hm, 30 seconds of Googling reveals the primary source is a right wing journalism student who's been published on the Reagan-Goldwater Society's website and has left his spoor of political ranting throughout the Net. Canada's right wing newspaper and right wing weekly rag picked this story up. I note that this is not making noise on the CBC.

Nobody with an ounce of critical understanding of the Canadian media should take this story seriously in its current form. In fact, its inclusion on MeFi right now seems to be an example of USAians not knowing the context in which Canadian journalistic bullshit is created.
posted by mobunited at 7:56 PM on November 25, 2008 [2 favorites]


Idiots.

My FEMALE cousin has cystic fibrosis.

How do these douchebags even get into college, when they patently can't even read the most basic references on this condition?
posted by Mephisto at 7:57 PM on November 25, 2008


err, ahh..........What the hell is a "Shinerama?"
posted by longsleeves at 7:57 PM on November 25, 2008


All the frosh go out into town for the day and shine shoes for money, which then goes to charity. It's got a lot of chanting an dancing and stuff. I hated it.
posted by Hildegarde at 8:00 PM on November 25, 2008


beep beep... beep beep...

Oh, sorry, that's just my bullshit detector.

Hmm, all the comments in the linked article seem to be about evil "liberals"...

beep beep... beep beep...

Never heard of this newspaper before, but I've got a sneaking suspicion.

Black established the Post to provide a voice for Canadian conservatives and to combat what he and many Canadian conservatives considered to be a liberal bias in Canadian newspapers.

BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP! BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

Come the fuck on, you guys really buy this?
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:01 PM on November 25, 2008


More from the Globe & Mail article:
"CF is a fatal genetic disease that affects males and females equally, because children whose parents both have the gene that causes the disease have a one-in-four chance of getting it, regardless of their sex.

While it affects Caucasians – a scientific term the foundation says doesn't mean whites, but rather all people of European, North African, Middle Eastern and South Asian descent – more than black or East Asian populations, the latter groups aren't immune, [Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation CEO Cathleen]...Morrison said."
posted by ericb at 8:03 PM on November 25, 2008


I was thinking that I would happily donate for research on prostate cancer, and that really does only affect men.

Misogynist!
posted by Manhasset at 8:05 PM on November 25, 2008


Hm, 30 seconds of Googling reveals the primary source is a right wing journalism student who's been published on the Reagan-Goldwater Society's website and has left his spoor of political ranting throughout the Net.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:05 PM on November 25, 2008 [1 favorite]


mobunited -- I has exactly the same reaction to the Post link. (and really, suspicion of any Post material is usually a prudent starting point)

But which is the Globe? Canada's "right wing newspaper" or "right wing rag"?
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 8:08 PM on November 25, 2008


I'm not sure exactly what happened here. Did they decided to switch who got the money from their fundraiser,? Haven't they decided simply to switch charities? If so this might not be the only reason they're doing it.

It's ethically confusing to pick what charity should get your money, but I like to think of "most lives for my buck." Perhaps they were thinking the same thing.
posted by Citizen Premier at 8:09 PM on November 25, 2008


So, I betcha that contributing to research for sickle cell anemia is not on the table.
posted by ericb at 8:10 PM on November 25, 2008


Or, perhaps they have a policy of changing beneficiaries every few years.
posted by Citizen Premier at 8:11 PM on November 25, 2008


They don't. They're just a bunch of kids who are trying to change the world, and failed miserably.
posted by Hildegarde at 8:13 PM on November 25, 2008


Never heard of this newspaper before, but I've got a sneaking suspicion.

Your suspicion of the National Post is well warranted, but to fill you in it's one of Canada's major mainstream national papers, albeit a blatantly conservative one.

As others have mentioned though, this has been covered by other less conservative outlets too.
posted by Adam_S at 8:19 PM on November 25, 2008


But which is the Globe? Canada's "right wing newspaper" or "right wing rag"?

According to Bill O'Reilly, it's the Havana Times.
posted by Adam_S at 8:22 PM on November 25, 2008


Hey CUSA! How about a nice steaming cup of harden-the-fuck-up!
posted by turgid dahlia at 8:28 PM on November 25, 2008


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