Spring Break
It's time to discuss race openly
Ian Bezek
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: News
The week following the publication if my "Don't Free The Jena Six" column has been a fascinating learning experience.
As expected, the column generated a wide range of responses ranging from people agreeing with me to people being hostile toward me.
In particular, the response of postgraduate student Lester Washington intrigued me.
He wrote a strongly worded rebuttal in the Collegian Monday to my article asserting my family and I were racists. My first reaction, as it would be for many of you, was anger. He was insulting me, and even my family. Those words sounded like fighting words.
However, I realized that it would be a shame to ignore his criticism and just assume I was right. His statement that I didn't understand how blacks felt about the case was very intriguing.
While I have studied the history of racial conflict in America, I didn't understand it on a personal level. I'm not from the South and I've spent large portions of my life living in places like Colorado where there is limited racial diversity.
Instead of holding a grudge against Lester, I decided to try and figure out what I had said that had provoked such a strong reaction from him. We met and chatted for awhile and I came away with a new understanding of the Jena Six issue.
I stand by the original point of my first column in saying that the Jena Six still need to be punished regardless of whether they were incited to crime. However, I learned from talking with Lester what I had said could have been presented in a fairer and less offensive fashion.
For instance, my use of the word "colorblind" struck him as offensive because he thought that I meant that he should ignore his black heritage.
However, when I said colorblind, I meant that I wished for a society where skin color was not a factor in getting a job or getting justice from the court system.
Sadly, I didn't know that I was writing from a white perspective because race is never discussed except in distorted media coverage. I was talking with my friends, and none of them could recall having a chat like the one I had with Lester.
As expected, the column generated a wide range of responses ranging from people agreeing with me to people being hostile toward me.
In particular, the response of postgraduate student Lester Washington intrigued me.
He wrote a strongly worded rebuttal in the Collegian Monday to my article asserting my family and I were racists. My first reaction, as it would be for many of you, was anger. He was insulting me, and even my family. Those words sounded like fighting words.
However, I realized that it would be a shame to ignore his criticism and just assume I was right. His statement that I didn't understand how blacks felt about the case was very intriguing.
While I have studied the history of racial conflict in America, I didn't understand it on a personal level. I'm not from the South and I've spent large portions of my life living in places like Colorado where there is limited racial diversity.
Instead of holding a grudge against Lester, I decided to try and figure out what I had said that had provoked such a strong reaction from him. We met and chatted for awhile and I came away with a new understanding of the Jena Six issue.
I stand by the original point of my first column in saying that the Jena Six still need to be punished regardless of whether they were incited to crime. However, I learned from talking with Lester what I had said could have been presented in a fairer and less offensive fashion.
For instance, my use of the word "colorblind" struck him as offensive because he thought that I meant that he should ignore his black heritage.
However, when I said colorblind, I meant that I wished for a society where skin color was not a factor in getting a job or getting justice from the court system.
Sadly, I didn't know that I was writing from a white perspective because race is never discussed except in distorted media coverage. I was talking with my friends, and none of them could recall having a chat like the one I had with Lester.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Bob White
posted 10/05/07 @ 11:47 AM MST
Ian--I'm impressed with your maturity and open mindedness. After suffering personal attacks about me and my family, I'm not sure that I, or most poeple, would have much respect for Lester or the others you refer to. (Continued…)
Joshua Covington
posted 10/05/07 @ 2:17 PM MST
I was impressed by this article as well. It takes a lot of guts to rethink one's personal opinion, especially in the public sphere. Talking to people we disagree with to find common ground is something we should all do. (Continued…)
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