Posted on April 19, 2007
The phrase from my childhood used to work so well: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, while the “sticks and stones” aspect of racism may no longer be as prevalent, the “words will never hurt me” part has magnified to make up for the loss of the surface-level part of racism.
This week there are several campaigns to help raise awareness about issues of racism, ethnic hatred and sexism. ERASE-ISMS is a week-long event sponsored by the Multicultural Women for Change that focuses on “erasing –ISMS” that many on campus may have silently endured. Hillel is also sponsoring events in accordance with Holocaust Remembrance Week to educate students about the Holocaust.
Our society has come a long way since the time period of the Holocaust, American slavery and other historical events that have subjected groups to persecution because of ethnicity or religion. Instead, racism in its inherent form has become more confined to less obvious tactics than previously witnessed, and it is these methods that are even more difficult to eradicate.
For many students, ERASE-ISMS might seem unnecessary because JMU is a very friendly campus where racial slurs and physical attacks could never happen. However, I am sure several people have had the displeasure at some point in time of hearing racist jokes or comments spew out of the mouths of students who think they are funny, while joking around with those who are not of the targeted culture.
Oftentimes, individuals who make racial slurs or comments usually defend themselves by stating that they are in fact not racist, but just fooling around, and their friend so-and-so is black, Jewish, and so on. This defense is completely absurd given that anyone who would even conceive making racial jokes in one group and then claiming to have a friend of that race is a phony. Whether the criticism is made directly to a black person or said behind his or her back, whether jokingly or seriously, you are a racist to even allow those thoughts to cloud your ignorant mind.
Other situations where racism seems to have become more widespread are the examples of Michael Richards and Mel Gibson. While Gibson claims to have been intoxicated and Richards claims to have lost his cool, the fact that either of these two individuals even had those thoughts in their head shows that inside they actually thought them to be true. Anyone who is going to justify using racial slurs or comments during a heat-of-the-moment ordeal is simply attempting to conceal his or her real inherent prejudices. If you aren’t truly racist towards a group or culture, then you won’t even have those thoughts — drunk, angry or otherwise.
Given the recent Don Imus incident, a lot of debate has been revolving around the issue of free speech. What everyone seems to confuse is the notion of free speech notion in the Constitution. When the Constitution was written, the idea of free speech was simply to protect citizens from criticizing their government openly, without fear of autocratic repercussions. Free speech is not a license to yell fire in a crowded theater or to say any racist remarks when you want to; there is a decency issue that many seem to forget.
It is everyone’s responsibility to not sit back and tolerate instances of religious or racial hatred when it is seen or heard. While those who engage in these types of acts are atrocious individuals, I feel those who sit back and remain silent when they know it is occurring are even worse. It was those who sat back and did nothing while people were being persecuted because of their religion or race who were partly responsible for the Holocaust and other instances of massive genocide because nothing was done to stop it. Everyone can do his or her part to stop the violence before it ever becomes anything more than the words we speak.
Craig Finkelstein is a senior international affairs major.
