Dear Editor,
I am positive that this is only one of countless written responses to the op-ed piece on Mar. 14, "No one at this school is racist." It goes without saying that the title of this opinion alone could spark a debate that could rage endlessly. However, since I only have 450 words or less to say my piece here, let's define "racist."
Racism is an institution. There's a difference between being something (racist) and doing something (prejudiced). For instance, if I say "I hate white people," that is a statement of racial prejudice. However, I can hate white people all day and it will have no effect on them unless I'm in some position to hurt or prevent them from progressing in society. If I were, I'd be a racist. Understand? Therefore, hating black people is not racism. Keeping them back or hurting them because of your position of power is. Disliking old people is not ageism - being in position to hurt them and doing so is. Thinking women are inferior is not sexism - unless you're a man who is in position to hurt and hold them back, which most of us are. And even though I want to say, "I'm not a sexist," I can't truly recognize my privilege as a man and how I may have used that in the institution of sexism. I may have done it inadvertently. It does not have to be conscious. I'd still be part of a sexist system. Therefore, it is very possible for me to be sexist and not even know it or acknowledge it.
Which brings us to the problem with the opinion, "no one at this school is racist." Because the institutions of racism, sexism, ageism, etc. are byproducts of prejudice, there is no escape from them - even within the "artificial, idealized microcosm" described as Tufts University. There is no escape, because wherever there are people, there is prejudice. Prejudice is human. However, fighting prejudice is human too. It's only when we accept both truths that progress will be made - not by denying the existence of one or the other.
Of course there are racists at Tufts, whether they are self-aware of their role in racism or not. However, that should neither be a surprise nor a condemnation. It is at great schools like Tufts that we should be able to face "isms" head on, acknowledge them, and intelligently figure out how to battle them when we leave and return to the "real world."
If we fool ourselves into believing that we are free of our own capacity for prejudice, we actually perpetuate it. So what's the best way racists have been able to go unnoticed in communities? We deny they exist.
Sincerely,
David Coleman 01
GSAS Lecturer in Music
Director, Tufts Third Day Gospel Choir
