Accept it
Stop saying this is no place for hate. Accept it: Hate happens here. It persists with and without subtlety. It happens everywhere as a manifestation of prejudice. It is an extreme that proves racism isn’t a problem of the past. Racism has been here and it shapes every facet of our society.
Stop being so naive. A few days’ worth of activism may dispel the rash of hate crimes and incidents of bias, but it won’t fundamentally alter the truths we know: Racism persists.
Even if we aren’t white, our university education imbues us with a kind of whiteness that makes us excellent candidates for jobs. We speak correctly, we understand references to white culture and we aren’t overly concerned with the fact that most of the nonwhite people of this world are impoverished, illiterate, and immersed in hunger or disease.
We are so removed from the reality of violence and poverty we are shocked by its arrival on our pristine campus.
Stop feeling so angry. Anger impels us, but it does not change anything on its own. If you’re concerned about the spate of racist incidents, you can do at least two things. One is to change your career goals. To stop the hate you must work to change the system that fosters hate.
In education that means advocating for a public schooling system that doesn’t install high-speed Internet in every suburban classroom when inner-city students don’t have decent textbooks. In medicine that means working to provide health care to people who can’t afford it. In every field opportunities to disrupt racism and its consequences exist because racism influences every field.
Or you could work everyday to confront your own constricted view. Understand different perspectives and your ignorance of much of the world. Create a new self, the kind that isn’t shocked by racism but that understands how you benefit from it. Acknowledge your limited view, then learn from others and reconsider what you always thought you knew to be true about the world.
Naureen Shah
Medill senior
Member, ASG’s hate crimes task force
Ignore it
Everyone has been more conscious of racism on this campus lately. However, it is just this obsession with it that is fueling the fire. Congratulations Northwestern, you’ve given these hatemongers exactly what they want. Hate groups are usually fringe groups and realize they don’t have a chance of convincing the better part of the intelligent people around this campus that their message of hate is one of truth. Their only hope at getting their message heard is through bullying and scare tactics. All they want is attention paid to their cause, be it good or bad.
When swastikas first appeared in dorms Winter Quarter, everyone flew off the handle and made it front-page news, giving those guilty exactly what they wanted. For every front-page story on a hate crime, more appeared.
Just like bad pop music, artists the only way to make these people go away is to ignore them. They don’t affect our lives and we know better. We have to show them they’re not scaring us, and the highest regard we give them is one of indifference.
Jason Konik
Weinberg senior
Change it
With last week’s rally fading into memory and final
