Hannah, I am offended that you felt the need to be so rude, condescending, and mean to me in a public Wespeak (“A Necessary Response to Grassian,” Feb. 27, 2009, Volume CXLV, Number 9). Not only do I have no idea who you are, I am unclear why you think you have every right to tell me my life is doomed “for disaster.”

Despite your rude tone, I will respond to you, because I think that your Wespeak reveals many of the problematic ways in which oppression is talked about at Wesleyan. First of all, to imply that no one should use identity labels is ludicrous. The problem is not that Grandma was labeled “black” (although Dermont should have written Black) but why her race was mentioned. The races of the other workers Dermont speaks of were not mentioned. This contributes to conceptions of non-privileged identities being used to describe people while privilege can go unnoticed. People rarely describe people as “white” and if someone is a person of color it is extremely likely that their race will be used to describe them. It is not that race cannot be a useful way to describe someone, but that white folks often describe people of color simply by their race, erasing their existences as people who are Black, Latina/o, Asian/Asian American, etc. I have the privilege of being allowed to be a full person, rather than simply “a white.”

Masius writes, “Oops, your privilege is showing!” to imply that I am trying to hide any privilege I have. In my Wespeak I directly called attention to the privileged environment that is Wesleyan. Masius implies that privilege is something that should be hidden, not discussed, similar to how Dermont only labels race when the category is one understood as “different.”

I am white and although I am not proud of the privilege or the history of racial violence and oppression that racial category carries, I am not going to drown in white guilt or in the privilege of not acknowledging my race. I instead recognize the important to acknowledge my whiteness and the history of whiteness in the United States. I would never be embarrassed of being white, only of not using my whiteness and the privilege that comes along with it to break down and analyze my own societal position and the way race is constructed in our society.

Masius also implies that I referred to Dermont as “a racist.” I never used that word, nor is it one I find useful in any context. To imply that some people are racists is to not only stifle dialogue but also allows all other people to be understood as existing outside of our society’s systemic racial prejudices and discrimination. I call attention to the way that people on this campus and in broader society talk about these identities. Race is primarily used when referring to people of color and often in exotifying and/or demeaning terms.

Masius, I am saddened that you so honestly do not recognize the systemicity of oppression on our campus and in the world. The liberal mindset of ignoring identity except when referring to “minority” categories allows for people to label others “racist” and therefore imply that they have no personal work to do. We all need to work on examining the way we have internalized the structures we live in. I’ll never forget the day I said, “American names” referring to names that were stereotypically white. I messed up and although I was horrified by the words that came out of my mouth, I am not ashamed to admit that I am continuously working on examining the way I am affected by my whiteness and the privilege that comes with my race.

The point, Masius, is not that some people are racists while others are not. The point is that we all “mess up.” We have all internalized some really fucked up shit. What we need to do is acknowledge when we or someone else says something that furthers the systemic oppression of our society. By systemic, I mean that these oppressive forces are built in to the structures, societies, government, media, and every other aspect of our lives. To confront this reality is not to set me “up for disaster” as Masius writes, but to allow me, and all others doing this work, to be more productive citizens. Just because something is less obviously wrong does not make it any more right. Acknowledging this is not crying “wolf,” but trying to break down and disrupt the internalized biases that lead to violence and discrimination on our campus and elsewhere.