A Letter They Didn't Print
June 3, 2004
Dear Editor:
Recently, a friend of mine was describing the home which was purchased for the new “Black Bishop” here in Lake Charles. I thought for a moment and then asked him, if the bishop was Caucasian would he have described him as the “White Bishop?” He reflected for a moment and replied, “Of course not.” “Then why, I would like to know, do you find it necessary to use the adjective and point out the fact that he is black?” No answer.
Last week a parent who had attended their child’s high school graduation was describing the ceremony and remarked about the wonderful speech given by the “Chinese girl” who was class valedictorian. Once again I could not resist the temptation to ask if the young girl was Caucasian, would they have described her as being an “American girl?” I knew the answer would once again be “No.”
Just the other day a neighbor was describing a traffic accident he had seen and pointed out that the “Black driver of the second car…” was at fault. What, I wanted to know was, what did the fact that the driver was black have to do with the accident? Absolutely nothing.
We hear stories like this all the time. People use adjectives like these (black, Chinese, Mexican, Jewish, etc) to describe, differentiate, divide, and downgrade others without even thinking of the effect of what they are saying. Of course they say that it has nothing to do with bigotry (God forbid they should think of themselves as prejudiced), but rather just describes “others.” Who are they kidding? Maybe in polite society they no longer use the words nigger, kike, wetback or slanty eye, but they still mean the same thing, that they are different and not as good as “us.”
Prejudice takes many forms, some not as obvious as others. Until people start thinking of “others” as just people, and referring to them as such, bigotry will stay strong, and we as a community will suffer.
Dear Editor:
Recently, a friend of mine was describing the home which was purchased for the new “Black Bishop” here in Lake Charles. I thought for a moment and then asked him, if the bishop was Caucasian would he have described him as the “White Bishop?” He reflected for a moment and replied, “Of course not.” “Then why, I would like to know, do you find it necessary to use the adjective and point out the fact that he is black?” No answer.
Last week a parent who had attended their child’s high school graduation was describing the ceremony and remarked about the wonderful speech given by the “Chinese girl” who was class valedictorian. Once again I could not resist the temptation to ask if the young girl was Caucasian, would they have described her as being an “American girl?” I knew the answer would once again be “No.”
Just the other day a neighbor was describing a traffic accident he had seen and pointed out that the “Black driver of the second car…” was at fault. What, I wanted to know was, what did the fact that the driver was black have to do with the accident? Absolutely nothing.
We hear stories like this all the time. People use adjectives like these (black, Chinese, Mexican, Jewish, etc) to describe, differentiate, divide, and downgrade others without even thinking of the effect of what they are saying. Of course they say that it has nothing to do with bigotry (God forbid they should think of themselves as prejudiced), but rather just describes “others.” Who are they kidding? Maybe in polite society they no longer use the words nigger, kike, wetback or slanty eye, but they still mean the same thing, that they are different and not as good as “us.”
Prejudice takes many forms, some not as obvious as others. Until people start thinking of “others” as just people, and referring to them as such, bigotry will stay strong, and we as a community will suffer.
posted by Sam Schoolsky | 1:06 PM
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