A Response to Hateful Language
This is addressed to whomever posted on the Wesleying blog on May 2, 2009 at 3:07 AM (#26) in response to the Wespeak that I signed and helped to organize and that requested the university to diversify its faculty (“Diversify the Faculty of ‘Diversity University!’” May 1, 2009, Vol. CXLV, No. 20). I have chosen to respond via Wespeak, because I do not want this to get lost amid the many comments on the blog and because I think it is important that this type of language is called out publicly.
First, my colleagues and myself are not “negroes.” While some may believe that I am reading this with a “hyper-critical eye,” that word is loaded with a deep racial history, and I am going to go ahead and assume (whether you like it or not) that another word was on the tip of your tongue. Some of the people who wrote and or support the Wespeak in conversation are black people; we are not “negroes.” We are here for a reason. We are intelligent. We have “natural” talent. As Lani Guinier, the only black woman tenured at Harvard Law, stated at the State of the Black Union 2009, “Talent is equally distributed among all groups, if there are some groups that are not showing the true measures of their talent there is something wrong with the metric we are using not the group we are measuring.” I believe your statement that we are “just not smart enough” and that “it isn’t our fault it’s just natural” is more than hurtful, it’s also false.
I understand if you disagree with some of what we said or all of what we said. In America, we are told we have the right to be opinionated (some of us more so than others it seems) but I would appreciate it if responses to the Wespeak were intelligent and the language used appropriate (which some were even when individuals disagreed with what we said). Some of the other comments have suggested that the writers and supporters of the Wespeak are starting some sort of war. War was never on our minds, but with the language and attacks directed at us on Wesleying and the ACB it sounds like some people’s intentions are to start some sort of war. Well, I am sorry to say this but I am non-violent. We did this to create a dialogue, not to start a battle, and racial slurs only perpetuate violence. If anyone would like to sit down and talk about this in a respectful manner, feel free to contact me personally.
With love and understanding,
Melanie Nelson
I don’t mean to be insensitive, but why does an anonymous comment by a cowardly internet troll necessitate a Wespeak? You have every right to be dismayed, Melanie, but if you allow morons to control you (and by writing this lengthy and needless Wespeak, you have), then the morons have won. One other point: You cite Lani Guinier’s claim that talent is distributed in all groups. If you truly believe this statement, then why shouldn’t the University’s hiring process should based on ‘talent’ alone, not talent + color? By advocating racial discrimination, you’ve betrayed the very ideal you’re seeking to defend. And yes, Melanie, when a skin color is given a plus or minus, that *is* racial discrimination by definition.