Newspapers / The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.) / April 3, 1998, edition 1 / Page 15
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The Guilfordian April 3,1998 Letter to the Editor To the Editor: Currently, the air is warm here. Today is a bit more overcast than yes terday. I am starting to notice that spring is filtering through winter and making her presence known. The mountains, the vineyards, the quaint German villages and countless bottles of wine, all persist as they have for centuries, thick and full of their de served tradition. Bluntly, from my perspective, ev erything is constant and full. To you folk who know what I am speaking of already, I can assure you that the hill up to the Dorf is still as steep as it ever was...it will continue to be steep for a very, very long time. The hill and the wine and the people have been work ing at this Sudtirolian way of life for an eternity. To this day it is not perfect, yet it exists... after many hard rains and subtle battles beneath its surface, Dorf Tirol and Brunnenburg, Italy still stand firm and thick in their traditions. The question I have for all of you is "Does Guilford College still stand firm and thick in its traditions?" For a Categorizing is a double-edged sword BY ROB MAGGARD Guest Writer On Tuesday, March 23, I went to the forum given by Future Leaders Fu ture Changes. This is a group that edu cates and mentors students on issues con cerning racism. At the forum I asked a question which was dismissed as white privilege by the group's lead speaker, Ervin Brisbon, and others who backed him up. I would like to explain the question because I do not believe I was heard. In the forum, Brisbon explained that we are all confined by a "race construct" which is a structurally racist and Eurocentric system that divides us by our skin color, giving the most power to white people and taking power away from black people. This is an idea with which I firmly agree, and the question I asked is a logi cal follow up to the idea: "Since everyone's world view is limited and in fluenced by this race construct, then how is your theory of this race construct lim ited and influenced by it?" The purpose of this question was not to undercut the theory or the forum but to strengthen it with some critical thought. If question ing a system of thought is not permitted couple of centuries Guilford College has prided itself on its traditions. Its strong, vital roots of Quakerism, community, diversity, and acceptance have lived throughout all of its many processes as an institution for an eternity. However, in the last year, it seems to me—an aged, wisely sophomore —that these prided roots have been challenged from all sides simultaneously. I don't know whether this recent challenge is a "rou tine checkup," so to speak, or if it is something that the gods of fate chalk up every fifth year, but from my per spective (one that is young and naive) Guilford College as a fan, just sprinkled all of its grounds in a moist, thick, brown substance. Alas, I am an on-looker. I am a student from abroad on a satellite cam pus. I don't see things as they happen, just as they come through in the monthly Guilfordian supplement which we receive two weeks late (which, by the way, looks very healthy, I applaud the staff). Guilford College for me is a sunlit, grassy, tree-filled community many eons away. It is a by the system, then critical thought is not possible, and the system is dangerous. Here is the answer for which I was look ing: Since the dominant social system divides us by race, class, and gender, to understand that oppression, we must be come aware of those divisions. When we do we see that white people are in herently privileged within this system. The term "white privilege" empowers us to understand and fight a racist sys tem, but categoriz ing is a double edged sword. Though labeling can empower, it can also limit. lam more than a white male; I am a human being, and I am Rob Maggard. Seeing me as a person with white privilege limits your understanding of me as well as deep ening it. But reacting against an oppres sive system that divides us by color, re quires viewing the system along those same dividing lines. It must be horrible for Brisbon to view everything in terms of black and white, and it is my white privilege that enables me to ignore that Forum place where people smile whether they know you or not, and where improve ment is the constant goal for everyone. These are manifestations of Guilford left in my memories...they are roman tic, given my distance and nostalgia, yet they do hold to be strong truths. They are the evidence of Guilford's age-old roots; they are its mountains and its wine. They are what persist, out of necessity or nature in the unique, sepa rate, involved and splendid Guilford College community...so I plead with you...from afar: remember these con ' distinction. Instead of answering my question, Brisbon told me that I was using my white privilege to dodge the issues and that I was wrong for asking the question. That by theorizing, I was allowing room for complacency and stalling their move ment forward. I was told to shut up and listen, as were many in the room. Other views, besides the group's own view, were not understood or permitted. One Though labeling can empower, it can also limit. I ~^i~~ — COURTESY OF THE USBIC EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION sue waters down the issues that are rac ist (or sexist) and enables complacency. This is certainly true, but I could have turned the tables around and said, "This group is working within the race construct of the dominant class by categorizing people by their skin color, thus they are perpetuating the problems of racism. The humanist is struggling for equality by re fusing to use those classifications. Since Future Leaders Future Changes are not student asked if oppression might be a human rights issue rather than a racial issue. The response to him was that making it a human rights is- stants when you next find yourself in a heated debate and you begin to per sonify and manifest someone's idea as the person themself. Remember the community to which you belong. Be happy to be there. Remember the sup port that the Guilford College values re tain/create. And lastly, remember Guilford's existence and eternity relies on whether or not these strong and pre ciously delicate roots of living, caring, and loving exist or do not. David Jester part of the solution, they are part of the problem. Thus, they are the enemy" My point is this issue is more com plex than a "race construct" or a single solution. The humanistic view and the understanding of structural racism are both valid and necessary. I believe in being led by an oppressed group. The victims know what is best for them, not I. But I don't believe in victimizing my self by throwing away all of my ques tions, beliefs, and experiences with the package of white privilege. The attitude at the forum was that white people are inherently morally handicapped. "I am a recovering addict of Western society," was the way one student phrased it. Such a limited understanding of ourselves is dis respectful to everyone. Viewing minori ties only as victims who must teach us "Western addicts" is patronizing and dam aging, just as the belief that I know what is best for minorities is damaging. This experience has made me think critically about my own belief system, which says that it is always appropriate to ask questions. I am still grappling with that, but I think I value tact more now than before. Now bring on your ques tions and criticism. Let's talk about this. 13
The Guilfordian (Greensboro, N.C.)
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