UNFORTUNATELY, in Laura Parcells' attempt to straddle the fence in her March 25 column "No steps forward, two steps back," she fell off and bumped her head on Anthony Dick's "imaginary wall of racism" ("Phantoms of racism," March 20). While many of her points were valid - for instance, we need to "find a new way to approach the problem of racism" - Parcells also lets elements of racism manifest themselves in her column. The effect was that in Parcells' attempt to neutrally stand on that thin line between who's "right" or "wrong," she topples over and judges. That said, I do not make any claims to stay "neutral" with regard to the recent opinions and rebuttals presented in light of the infamous A-school party. This is not my attempt to point a finger, but rather it is an attempt to point out the problems with some of the views expressed by Parcells and Dick.
The "bottom line" in Parcells' column, in which she proclaims that "there is no difference between black and white," is incorrect - there is in fact a difference between "white" and "black." The difference, however, does not lie in stereotypical notions that this difference implies superiority - or, for that matter, inferiority - but that there is, in fact, an extremely recognizable distinction between whites and blacks that goes beyond the variant colors of our skin. Although there is no biological difference between black and white, there is a difference in our cultural and historical experiences. These culturally recognizable differences are most often exploited through music, which Dick alluded to in his column. Of the A-school party's intent, he writes, "if [it] was 'mocking' anything. . . it was mocking the aspects of drugs, violence and ignorant decadence that are an integral part of hip-hop culture."
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The problem with this statement is that knowing how intimately intertwined the black community is with hip hop - not to mention the fact that it is a product of the black community - others interpret narrow-minded comments like those expressed by Dick as derogatory or even as an attack on the black community. Thus, it is easier for people like Parcells to sing the song of cross-racial homogeneity and advocate sharing the blame, instead of demanding the more necessary sharing of the wealth which would help to eradicate the "aspects of drugs, violence and ignorant decadence" of which Dick speaks.
Many defenders of what seem like "questionable" instances of racism love to stress "original intent." Simply put, when an act is committed and is hurtful to an identifiable group, the focus needs to shift to the effect it has on that group. Dick and others like him seem to believe that racism only can manifest itself in the form of "horrible church burnings and blatantly racist violence." However, what they do not realize is that crosses and churches do not need to burn for actions and ideas to be incendiary, regardless of intent. But Dick was right about one thing - people of our generation no longer have to fight "blatant racist violence," we now have to combat covert racist acts and viewpoints.
These arguments started to spin out of control over Tim Lovelace's labeling of such acts as "racist," despite how innocent people may honestly have believed their acts and intentions to be. When someone or their acts are called "racist," people get scared, as they should. But instead of being a die-hard supporter of intent, move beyond that self-righteousness and analyze its effect - that is, how your actions and words made a whole group of people feel.
Similarly, Parcells goes on to state that, "historically, white people were 110 percent to blame for racial problems. . . slavery has been gone for 150 years." In her hasty attempt to warehouse racism and slavery in history, she forgets that the "past" also includes last week and yesterday, when articles like hers were written - not to mention her disregard of slavery's legacy, which still persists mentally even though physical chains have been removed.
Contrary to Parcells' opinion that "the structure that supported this is now gone," the structure to which she refers is still functional and potentially dangerous in the form of racism. Although Parcells claims "great strides have been made," that does not mean that the finish line is in sight. More work has to be done - collectively.
Lastly, I propose that instead of hiding behind smiling faces and black and white print, come out and interact with the "self-segregating" black community. Take a class on black culture, read a book on blackface minstrelsy, and rent "Bamboozled." Most importantly, stop accusing minorities of "self-segregating" and leave Rugby Road for five minutes to visit Copeley, Faulkner or Gooch. That way, the next time you decide to diagnose or interpret a problem of how a "thin-skinned" community should react and feel, you will have at least some historical data coupled with a little experience.
(Keonna Carter is a third-year College student.)
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