OPINION & EDITORIAL
Race does, should, and will continue to matter!
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Wednesday, December 5, 2001
This article is a direct response to Benjamin Thompson’s article entitled, “Skin Color Should Not Matter.” If all people were like Thompson, race would not be an issue that continually plagues America. However, the reality is that this country has a substantial amount of progress to make regarding racism, discrimination and America’s history of racial turmoil
Although I commend Thompson in his effort advocating a more harmonious society, there are three major problems I have with his arguments. First, his article is terribly euphemistic, stating that the events from Constitution through Affirmative Action represent a “few examples” of America’s history of racial strife. They are America’s history of racial turbulence. Please tell me, what other examples are there? He also underemphasizes the degree of racism in America today, asserting, “A good deal of racism needs to die off.” Second, Thompson’s claim is extremely na•ve and universalizes everyone, denying individuals their cultures and other parts of their personal histories that make up who they are today. Thirdly, Thompson needs to realize that his lack of prejudice and ability to see people for who they are, and not what they are, is not a trait everyone possesses.
Thompson is correct in concluding that America has never escaped the shadow and shame of slavery. However, he gets the other parts wrong, claiming that the atrocities of Jim Crow and segregation “were still rampant” 50 years ago. Thompson’s language suggests that the issues are history and deserve to be spoken of as past historical events. Personally, this is appalling. My grandparents, their siblings, and parents were all sharecroppers in the twentieth century rural south. Their tasks included working on plantations, in cotton fields, earning $100-150 for the entire year.
Can America every repay blacks for enslavement? While there is no clear answer to this question, I will answer it with another. Is America wrong for attempting to solve the problems it created? I would like to know why “attempts to make up for past atrocities are ultimately fruitless.” Another inquiry I have is what constitutes “good” and “bad” segregation? What many whites fail to understand is just because blacks desire to be with each other, at times, does not mean they dislike or hate whites. Thompson faultily assumes that blacks want to be treated differently. The overall theme of the civil rights movement was not special rights but equal opportunity. Until I can walk down the streets of Madison and not be called a “Nigger,” I want insurance that some bigot is not going to countervail my hard work with the refusal to hire me because of my race, because there is nothing that protects me from such action. My theory is that whites have a hard time comprehending this concept because, at least here in Wisconsin, they are always around their own.
Lastly, before anyone wants to argue a case regarding race, it is important to know the history. Thompson stated that slavery was justified “only” because whites felt that, due to physical characteristics, blacks were inferior. Although part of the formula, there are numerous other reasons that complicate the issue of slavery and not enough room to explain them all in this article. Furthermore, Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech has been adopted by popular culture as a crystallization, or definition, of the desires of blacks in America. At this point in our lives we should all understand that no movement, ethnic group, race, or group in general, can be treated as a monolith. Within concentrated groups there is always complexity. Dr. King stated that we should not be “judged” on the color of our skin. However, this does not mean that we are supposed to ignore race or disregard it. It simply means that, although we all come from different backgrounds, skin color, or any other uncontrollable attribute should never be a tool to oppress and hold any group in an inferior position. To conclude that skin color has no impact on a person’s character is ridiculous. Similar to minorities, whites are shaped by their race. However, this is not a negative realization. Differences are beautiful and are what is supposed to make America what it aims to be. Our differences provide for divergent physical, emotional, spiritual and countless other contributions to society.
In closing, we are not all the same, as Thompson asserts. We need to realize that we are all different. In addition, it is essential that we respect people, even if we do not understand them. Our inabilities to empathize with certain aspects of others’ characters do not weaken the validity of the particular trait. I don’t expect every white person to understand how I feel or what I go through. I also will never claim to understand what whites experience. However, I respect our differences, and progress can only be made when we all realize that it is OK not to be able to dissect everything and every person we encounter.
John Adams (jladams2@students.wisc.edu) is a Senior majoring in English and History.
