Racism still exists.
Shocking, I know. But there are still people out there who wish to bury their heads in the sand and pretend this isn’t the case. In fact, some would argue that by bringing up any mention of racism, I’m in fact, perpetuating racism or prejudice.@@don’t do it, andrew! nooooooooo!!!!!@@
By its mere acknowledgment, I have now brought up these unpleasant notions, and it’s my fault for continuing to do so.
Wrong.
Last Wednesday, Lindy Mabuya@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Lindy+Mabuya@@ wrote an excellent letter @@checked@@displaying how — within our own student government — oppressive behavior exists. I guess it’s not shocking that it exists given the political nature of the ASUO. It’s just that, in 2012, at a university that likes to think it’s “progressive,” it is surprising that it is oppression due to racism and sexism and not simply due to a difference in political thought.
It’s clear that the nation is still very much obsessed with race. The biggest story buzzing around water coolers nationwide is the incredible rise of Jeremy Lin,@@http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/4299/jeremy-lin@@ the first Asian-American basketball player to start for an NBA team.
Over the weekend, one ESPN employee lost his job and another was suspended for an unsightly and unfortunate use of a popular phrase that, when taken into the context of discussing people of East Asian descent, could be construed as racist. Other popular athletes have even taken jabs at Lin over his race.
Such disgusting and repulsive behavior isn’t limited to professional athletes in the national spotlight, as Mabuya has demonstrated.
I’ve already covered @@checked@@how Sen. Mabuya was ignored during a previous meeting on stipends, but I never could’ve imagined at the time that it was due to her appearance, that it was her fellow Senators — people thought to be allies — who were shunning and ostracizing her.
But, much to my dismay, I shouldn’t have been shocked.
Years ago, in the far-flung past of 2007, I was a wide-eyed, naive freshman moving into Collier Hall of Hamilton.
I thought to myself, “Man, I’m finally here. Out of the tiny, crab-bucket of a town I grew up in.” I was ecstatic, nervous even.
“Things would be different here,” I thought. “The awkward and hostile race relations that made up my high school days are all behind me now.”
How very, very wrong I was.@@think of the kitties, andrew!@@
It didn’t take long for people to make me feel as if I didn’t belong. The first day, one of my hall mates was visually engaged in one of the most uncomfortable conversations I imagine he ever had. His face said it all, “What are you doing here?”
The first year went more or less like that. I reflected on my position, alone from most people except a few friends. I wondered what was wrong with me? Why did I have all these feelings of isolation? I hated myself for not knowing and used my job at the time to escape from campus where I could see and talk with people just like me. A place where I didn’t feel ostracized or alienated.
It wasn’t until the spring term of my sophomore year that I finally had an answer to all my questions. I took an Asian-American literature class where I discovered the notion of internalizing racism.
To say it was a profound watershed moment in my life is an understatement of the grandest proportions.
I realized, then and there, that I wasn’t going to let other people’s notion of what a Mexican-American should be rule my life.
It hasn’t since.
But it doesn’t stop others from trying. That is what is startling about Sen. Mabuya’s letter that angers and saddens me: Others are still being subjected to some stereotypical idea of what a person of color should be.
The feeling of filling a “quota” or being the token minority has its toll on a person, and that toll will always win out regardless of the character and disposition of the individual. It speaks to the severity of hurt these feelings can evoke.
To promote this type of behavior@@what behavior? asuo? filling a ‘quota’?@@ is no better than posting signs excluding minorities from businesses or certain activities. Yet it continues to happen here at a university that prides itself on open-mindedness and acceptance.
If anything, the only thing my and Sen. Mabuya’s experiences point out is the University’s acceptance of the status quo.
By not addressing the elephant in the room, the University has done its students a disservice. It has left them alone to deal with the emotional pain that stems from such ignorance and downright bigotry.@@i am lost at this point: what exactly are you referring to at this point?@@
The conversation is unpleasant and for many undesirable, but it is one that still matters and still directly affects all of us today.
Like many things in life, doing the hard thing and the right thing are one and the same.
