As most have probably heard by now, there have been some racial concerns around our campus as of late. In an oddly appropriate coincidence, the backdrop for all of this has been Asian American Awareness Month. The article "A month of Asian inspiration" in the Nov. 1 edition of the Daily News kicked off a month chock-full of events aimed at promoting awareness.
In the article, Lily Tsay, president of the Asian American Student Association, noted the month of awareness events can "become an open forum" between cultures, as well as "show there is a middle ground."
This is an idea that many adhere to: Awareness and greater diversity are the keys to improved race relations. Problem is, diversity is a pretty vague idea - but not half as vague as awareness. What exactly is one supposed to be aware of?
I decided I would show my awareness by nicknaming one of my Asian coworkers "Little China." It was, of course, in fun, but it didn't really answer the question. So when Little China invited me to go to Melanie Castillo-Cullather's speech about awareness, I had to go.
Castillo-Cullather talked about issues facing the Asian community here in the United States. She also talked about her experiences with racism in Indiana and something she called "everyday racism." To be honest, I was taken aback for two reasons.
First, some of the things that Castillo-Cullather described as racially offensive and even downright racist were things that happen often - like an Asian person being mistaken for someone else because, to some, Asians look alike or the fact that Asians are often thought of as foreigners or outsiders because of the way they look, even if they grew up in the United States.
Suddenly, all I could think of was Little China and that nickname I'd given her, but what surprised me most was that anyone would call such things racism in the first place.
Don't get me wrong, racism does exist and raising awareness about cultural issues can help defeat it, but too often, this drive for awareness leads to sensitivity levels disproportionate to the situations. Too often, things are read into a person's intent that simply are not there. And so, everyday racism becomes something of a self-perpetuating cycle.
People become reluctant to speak their minds for fear they might offend someone, or they feel the need to qualify what they really want to say with "I'm not racist, but ..." This isn't an improvement; the fear hasn't been eliminated, it's merely changed places.
This isn't the solution, it's part of the problem.
When it's all about race, sadly, it's all about race. This sounds a little redundant, but if it's all about race on one end, it tends to become so on the other end as well.
The point is: Awareness is a two-way street. Maybe Little China was just a nickname, but had I taken the time to be sure it was all right? Had I even thought about it?
Similarly, this "everyday racism" charge can pigeonhole even well-meaning people. Disproportionate sensitivity leads to suspicion - and suspicion is the beginning of fear, anger and hostility.
The true path to racial harmony lies not in diversity or over-sensitivity. The true path lies in understanding one another from a human perspective - that's one thing we all have in common, our shared human experiences. That's where the focus should be.
And cutting each other a little slack can go a long way in making that happen.
Write to Andrew at apbalke@bsu.edu
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