Empathize before you critize

Letter to the Editor of the UCSD Guardian
Dated February 26, 2010

Dear Editor,

In light of recent incidents at UCSD, I am writing to make sure we understand the greater picture before we criticize what is happening right before us. Despite the fact that the bigots behind these despicable actions are ultimately but a part of UCSD, the only reason this is still a story is because of our attitudes towards it. To say the least, there is an honest and significant misunderstanding of what’s going. This is the time to allow our criticism, particularly of the BSU’s list of demands, to take a back seat to empathy in order to allow greater objectivity through understanding.

Though I don’t claim to feel the same pain that students speak of, I understand why they say the majorities just don’t get it. A friend of mine emphasized that the Civil Rights Movement is over, but unfortunately this about so much more. This is about dignity and equal treatment on the personal level in addition to the institutional level. For many, their entire lives they’ve been looked down upon because of their heritage, something that on one level they didn’t choose but on a greater level they deserve to defend, protect, promulgate, and be proud of.

And that’s why the Compton Cookout was (and should rightly be) more offensive than any White Trash Party. The fact is that their heritage is secondary to that of white America, their speech secondary to that of white America, and even their skin color secondary to white America. The fact of the matter is that when your whole life has been something not proper and not mainstream, you get upset when more gets chipped off the old (and unfortunately) shrinking block.

If we lived in a society where we were acceptant of others and not just tolerant, such an event as the Compton Cookout would not mean nearly as much as it does today. Such a statement hitting on engrained emotions would not have had so much weight. Such a symbol as powerful as a noose would not have been so tyrannical.

So with that in mind, try to feel the real pain that they speak of. Instead of denying their emotions and the racial incidents they reference, why not realize that racism (and other forms of prejudice) still exists. I have seen it first-hand on Library Walk and heard it in too many conversations. If you haven’t witnessed it, you haven’t been paying attention. If you feel our society is too PC, think about why we’re so PC in the first place. The only reason why racism can exist is because the concept is so taboo to talk about.

Now think about BSU’s list of demands. Is their request for a safe-zone any different from our LGBT and Women’s centers? Are their demands for separate institutions different from what’s happening now de facto? All that they want is security and peace of mind, and there’s no reason for them not to deserve it, nor reason for them not to want it.

And to the Koala, if you want to keep saying what you’re saying, you are entitled to do it—just not with my money and not at the expense of our other media organizations.

—James Jee, Student, Eleanor Roosevelt College