Dear fellow Cards,
Do you ever wonder why it is that those e-mails from Maria Cruz-Saco address issues of racist rhetoric or racial insensitivity, yet they are extremely vague about exactly what was written or said? I noticed long ago that these e-mails simply stated, “racist statements were yelled from cars,” “racist writings were found on a door in Clark,” “or intolerant statements were seen on sidewalks around campus.” Addressing specific (and, importantly, isolated) racist statements as examples of a broader “racism” does not help our community become more tolerant or understanding. Race (even without mentioning the questions of what “race” means or whether “race” even exists) is a fickle issue, both at Wesleyan and (MORE IMPORTANTLY) in the world at large; however, here at Wesleyan there is *extreme* sensitivity towards racism as a whole. Here, this sensitivity is followed by an open discourse about racism as whole, of which I am very thankful for. For outside of the liberalized-Wesleyan bubble that we all live in, this sort of discourse is hard to achieve.
However, despite my appreciation for our ability to address racism as a community, I feel as though the way that this school deals with race and racism is completely unproductive. It fails to address the root of the problem, and therefore is incapable of offering a solution. Cruz-Saco’s e-mails are a prime example of this failure. They consistently avoid giving the specifics about racialized or racist events. Such e-mails view racism as an overarching evil, yet fail to address the community that is subjected to such hatred. If these e-mails fail to give the specifics to the Wesleyan community, how can anyone offer a solution to the problem? Although certain members of our community will be sensitive to some words that were written or stated, everyone must be aware that they were used. The words are the evidence; a vague synopsis fails to convey anything about anything to anyone.
Certain words are socially unutterable, such as nigger or gook. But if we students are too hypersensitive to hear these words formally addressed in an open discourse here at Wesleyan, where almost everyone tries to avoid racist outlooks on the world, then how can we expect to get by in an overtly racist “real world”?
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