I need to share a story about an incident that took place last weekend, to prove to those who still may doubt that racism still exists in America, and not just in Jena, Louisiana.
Last Saturday, after delivering a car to my niece in Santa Cruz, we decided to attend the Stanford-Oregon football game at Stanford Stadium. I spent a few too many years at Stanford in the 70’s and enjoyed going to football games (My partner graciously joined my brother, his wife and myself even though she is a Cal graduate). Sitting above us was a group of lively Oregon alums, cheering their team on. While annoyed at the strength of their yells and the fact that Stanford was losing, we didn’t pay them much attention and were having a great time. At the beginning of the 4th quarter, I noticed that my partner, sitting behind me, seemed quite upset. I asked what was up and she asked if we were going to stay the entire game. I wasn’t sure what she was suggesting, and asked her why. She said that if we were going to stay, she would probably get into a fight with the people behind her, saying, “If they make one more racist statement, I’ll go off on them.”
What upset my partner was that while Anthony Kimble was rushing through the Oregon defense, the white Oregon alumna screamed out, “Stop his black ass!” When this didn’t work she screamed, “Hang him!”‘
Did this group of Oregon fans, numbering about 15 people (including a young child), all of whom appeared to be in their mid-30s, not attend college? Did they never encounter any black people other than from afar on the football field? Did they not learn anything about race while in college? Did they not even consider that others might be offended by their statements, even if they weren’t black? Not one of the Oregon fan’s companions said anything to suggest that she had gone over the line.
We sat through a few more minutes of the game and left, and were then left wondering why we hadn’t confronted them on their racism. The best we could figure is that perhaps we have been conditioned too long to accommodate, to not create a scene. I must apologize to my black colleagues, friends and family for not standing up on their behalf.
It is amazing to me that in the year 2007 we still have to be confronted with public displays of racism. It is also amazing that a group of college-educated individuals would make such statements or would allow one of their friends to make such comments without calling them on it.
When I shared this story with my brother, who had not heard the remarks, he remembered a story that my mother tells. When our father was away fighting in Europe during World War II, my mother needed to enroll my sister into a day care program. When she phoned the center, they eagerly told her that space was available. When she arrived to fill out the forms, however, they realized she was Mexican-American, and advised her that there was, after all, no space available. This was in 1944. My mother humbly accepted this transparent racism, and moved on without confronting them.
Sixty years later, we still encounter blatant racism. In this case, I too quietly moved on without confronting this group. I will have to live with that. I hope that others will have the courage to confront, or to recognize themselves as a counterpart to the rabid Oregon fan and work to address and change their discriminatory ways.
Robert M. Vargas,
Lemon Grove, CA