This Wespeak is addressed to David Scardella, with many others in mind. I think it’s important that we, as a largely white, largely middle-class community, start to address why many of us felt that Jose Chapa’s words were so offensive, and why many others understood exactly where he was coming from, and were glad to finally see someone writing from a place of raw, unfiltered anger. To David Scardella and others, while these words are a direct response to your Wespeaks, I beg that you make every attempt to hear what I’m saying, and not get defensive. You are not the root of the problem. You are just one of the many people in this community voicing something I find fundamentally problematic and deeply saddening.
I’d like to break down this issue of racism. I’m not going to use the Oxford English Dictionary definition because I think that the overvaluing of standard, formalized English—much like the demand that one speak from a place of intellectual rationality instead of emotional knowledge—is often a way to legitimize what certain communities say, while discrediting and further marginalizing other communities. Part of the reason I found Chapa’s Wespeak to be so powerful is that he chose to forgo these conventions, even though they’ve been beaten into us more and more as we’ve proceeded further into the socialization of the academic world. Of course, as Meggie Harvey pointed out, some people chose to try to de-legitimize Chapa precisely for this reason. And you’ve succeeded, in making me try to communicate in your language to make you understand.
So what does racism mean, and can it really be directed at “Black, Hispanic, Asian, and even White people?” In my understanding, the term racism suggests a systematized, structurally-supported oppression of a people based on race. While prejudice can happen against any group, racism is a term reserved for the oppression of ALREADY MARGINALIZED groups, most often by the group who ALREADY BENEFITS FROM THEIR OPPRESSION. While you may have found Chapa’s words to be offensive and hurtful, there is no overwhelming structure behind them that works against you, and therefore epistemic violence will never do any real harm to your life.
There is a reason that if a white person used similar language as Chapa to address students of color, they should be kicked out of this university. Racism actually affects the life of students of color every day, whereas Chapa’s words will not have any actual effect on yours. There is also a reason that you should feel attacked by Chapa’s words as a white male. Racism is not just about whether you consciously oppress people of color. It’s about benefiting from a structuralized system of oppression without ever critically examining your place in that structure. Did you ever think it might be easier for you as a white male to make enough money to buy your own laptop than it is for someone who is not white?
That said, fuck every one of you who read Jose Chapa’s Wespeak and responded with defensiveness, anger, or some bullshit rationalization instead of trying to understand his fury. Black History month can never oppress you. Gay Pride banners can never oppress you. And if you feel silenced, fine. You will graduate from this university in the next four years and you will find your voice again in your position of unearned privilege and ignorance.
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