[Peter Brimelow writes: The education industry seems to gear up earlier every year—the brainwashing described here is happening in a college near you right now! Unexpected consequence: When I met Kevin Carter a few weeks ago, he kindly gave me an envelope containing cash for VDARE.COM that he had raised from his band of brothers (see below). Goodness knows we need the money—I will be making another heart-rending appeal soon—but the more usual thing is to get a tax deduction by clicking here.]

It's not exactly a secret these days that college life isn't what it used to be. Gone are the days when learned divines would lecture students on the evils of atheism and free thought.

But if the old religion has long since been banished from ivied halls, the faith that has taken its place is no less dogmatic.

I refer, of course, to the religion of anti-racism, or the cult of multiculturalism, or whatever you want to call the poison that is now regularly injected into the minds of young people these days.

On my first day of college, I received formal instruction in the new religion. The university administrators who managed our freshman orientation thought it would be a good idea to show us a video on the Matthew Shepard murder, followed by a lecture from a supposed expert on "hate."

I don't remember much of the video or the lecture. But when our honored guest finally finished his lengthy harangue, he asked everyone in the audience to stand up. He then asked all of the women in the room to sit down, followed by all of the blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and so on until all of the "protected classes" had taken their seats.

"If you think hate crimes don't matter," he sobbed, "think again. After all, the only people left standing are a bunch of white guys."

He then reached into his pocket and took out a thimble. After everyone in the audience had been given their own thimble, he said that if we ever felt the urge to hate, "take this thimble, and fill it with love."

As if all of this were not enough, we were then sent back to our dorms to break up into focus groups so that we could have a "dialogue" on how to fight "hate."

The leader of our group was a lady with close-cropped hair and a degree in Women's Studies. Although we all tried to be polite at first, it did not take long before the meeting pretty much fell apart.  

When our group leader suggested that we confront our friends whenever they use "offensive" language or tell "insensitive" jokes,   one of the many white guys in the room stood up and said that the "confrontation" she had in mind was not only a good way to look ridiculous in front of your friends but also a "good way to get your ass kicked."

A few moments later another white guy said that he didn't appreciate how he and all his kind were singled out during the presentation.

The meeting stopped short of becoming a shouting match, but it didn't last much longer after these bombshells hit the floor.

Of course, once our "dialogue" was finished, the real discussion could begin. Most of the white guys on my floor (myself included) crowded into the hallway and let out a collective sigh of relief. Everyone was glad the ordeal was over, and soon everyone was ranting to each other about how insulting and ridiculous they thought the whole thing was.

I would say that that night I probably heard more "offensive" language and listened to more "insensitive" jokes than at any other time in my life.

Thus, in a way, our freshman orientation did end up becoming a bonding experience—but not in the way that the university administration had intended.

At the time I didn't think much about race or immigration, or about how they were related to the humiliation I was made to endure. I was a fairly conventional Republican and was content to support President Bush in pretty much anything he did.

All of that began to change, however, when Bush announced his amnesty plan. After reading Pat Buchanan's searing indictment, I did some web surfing on immigration and soon enough I stumbled upon VDARE.COM.

It's probably not much of an exaggeration to say that this website saved my life. The more I read, the more I felt like I was falling down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland. I had always been cynical, but even I was unprepared to find out just how criminally irresponsible the people running this country really are— as story after story on VDARE.COM made painfully clear.

I decided to take action. I started debating immigration enthusiasts. I told liberals about the impact of immigration on the poor and the environment. I explained to libertarians about how open borders would only swell the underclass, and hence the federal government.

Of course, falling wages and urban sprawl were not the only things that I read about on VDARE.COM. Steve Sailer's frank discussion of racial differences obliterated whatever egalitarianism still imprisoned me. Sam Francis's powerful and penetrating mind quickly converted me to paleoconservatism.

I wanted to share these revelations. But I knew I would have to tread carefully. There are few institutions as repressive as universities. Enforcing racial right-think always seems to be their top priority.

Moreover, many in my generation have been so thoroughly brainwashed that they have difficulty even thinking about an issue tinged with the ultimate taboo of race. Peter Brimelow's recent baffled reception at Davidson College is a case in point.

Nevertheless, I went out to spread heresy inside the belly of the beast.

I began by trying to explain to some of my close friends, ever so carefully, exactly what the country's shifting demographics mean.

I did have a few instant converts. But others took much longer to face the facts. It isn't always easy for people to abandon an entire worldview, especially to exchange it for one that is much grimmer. Young Republicans accustomed to being on the winning side are hard to win over to a movement that rarely scores a victory. It is harder still to convince them that many of the leaders, magazines, newspapers, and organizations that they grew up admiring are really the enemies of all they hold dear.

The plain fact is that some people simply do not want to believe. Despite the evidence around them, they do not want to admit to themselves that they are losing their country, that it is becoming a land of barbed wire fences and bodyguards, a Blade Runner world where a few fabulously wealthy people live in luxury while the great mass of the population live in desperation.  

They simply prefer to believe the fairy tales about how immigrants will assimilate and how we will all some how "get along." Sometimes an ugly truth is no match for a beautiful lie.

Yet I don't think that anyone will forget the things that I tell them. I suspect that as they grow older and start paying their own bills they'll come around.

Indeed, many of them already have. Because of my efforts, there are about a dozen more people as committed to immigration reform as I am (some of them read VDARE.COM even more than I do!) and a larger number who are much more aware and sympathetic than they ever were before meeting me.

Some are helping to spread the word. A friend of mine gave Buchanan's Death of the West to a friend of his, and apparently the book changed his friend's life. Another friend of mine wants a signed copy of Alien Nation. (Mr. Brimelow, do you think you can oblige?)

I only distribute Sam Francis and Steve Sailer to those I can trust. Even so, the ranks, though invisible, are growing. While I started out virtually alone, I now have a number of close confidants who understand full well what is happening to America—and the West. None of them have any love for President Bush.

One thing's for sure, this "bunch of white guys" isn't going quietly.

The brainwashing has backfired!

Kevin Carter [email him] is a college senior majoring in economics