Racism
rears in CSULB dorms
Barlas
F. Esin
- Unsystematic Ideas
A
scandal took place on the Cal State Long
Beach campus last weekend concerning racial
discrimination. A narrow-minded and ignorant
resident from Parkside Commons (I’ll refer
to him as ‘this person’), who had personal
issues with his African-American R.A., wrote
a highly racist statement about her on the
wall of one of the residence halls. The
statement shouted hatred for the black community
in the most explicit manner.
CSULB is one of the most ethnically — meaning
racially and culturally — diverse colleges
in the United States. I quite often get
the impression that everybody is a minority
here. Since there is a rich variation of
ethnic backgrounds, none seems to be dominant.
The cultural diversity, after all, is one
of the best characteristics of CSULB. Though
the majority of our learning takes place
in the classroom, we also learn outside
of class by meeting new people of various
ethnicities and observing their cultural
behaviors. Out of such a vast diversity
springs a unity that generates a collective
spirit.
However, some unforeseen exceptions, like
the one involving ‘this person’, can uncover
the ugly face of an age-old struggle against
racism that has been, for the most part,
put to sleep. And, if not fought against,
such exceptions may hinder the healthy atmosphere
of our campus.
How can any rational person, after all,
believe in the doctrine of racism, which
asserts the mental and moral superiority
of one group of people to another by reason
of inherited biological differences?
The fact that people inherently look different
from each other has no necessary connection
to the superiority of one race over others.
The color of our skin may be an innate disposition
of our genetic heritage but the concept
of racial hierarchy is not inherited; it
is simply learned. The genes that control
skin coloration, besides, have nothing to
do with genes that determine physiology
and intelligence. Therefore, there is no
scientific evidence that supports physical
or mental inequality among individuals of
different races.
History has proved to humanity that racism
as a doctrine stands against humanity by
drawing unethical conclusions that undermine
the value of human life. Now, how can ‘this
person’ or any person justify such an illogical
— and dreadful — doctrine?
The fact that we all belong to the same
species — homo sapiens — necessitates the
ultimate moral stance of equity among races.
Though we may discriminate, stereotype and
hate each other due to egocentric despair,
our existence as homo sapiens is mutually
dependent on each other.
However, the indoctrination of racism —
as exemplified by past events — notoriously
resulted in unimaginable crimes. The Nazis
persecuted millions of Jews, not because
Jews were intrinsically evil but because
Adolf Hitler wanted to blame someone else
for his failing regime. In the United States,
racism against African people arose in the
South, not because Africans were inherently
inferior but because the white oppressors
desperately needed to justify the inhumane
doctrines of imperialism and slavery. Thus,
they felt into the fallacy of circular argument
by using an equally inhumane doctrine: racism.
Absurdity attracts absurdity!
By using an interracially taboo word that
the white oppressors used in referring to
their slaves, ‘this person’, though he may
enjoy freedom of speech, overtly offended
many people, especially those of the black
community. And, by doing so, ‘this person’
ultimately accomplished nothing but alienating
himself from the fundamental moral values
of humanity. The hopeful part is that he
can try to unlearn the wrong beliefs he
learned!
Barlas F. Esin is a journalism major and
philosophy minor at Cal State Long Beach.
He can be contacted at besin@csulb.edu.
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