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Show 4 to be violent Racial issues continue 3 s Continued from page I say that I wont apologize and that this punching bag punches back. Im tired of having fingers pointed at me for racial injustice and for being blamed for every problem suffered by blacks because "my ancestors dragged them over here in slave ships. Dont lay that line on me, folks, ' because the only ancestors of mine' who lived in this country when blacks were slaves were Apache Indians. Go tell them about discrimination! I resent suffering this type of blame mainly because the people pointing the fingers know nothing about me. All they see is that Im white. Conversely, I also know that all minorities, blacks included, dont take that opinion. Maybe even the majority of them dont, but those who do are extremely vocal and extremely militant in their stands. Im proud to be white! Im proud to be Italian! Im proud to be Irish! And Im proud of anything else that got tossed into the genetic melting pot Im made of! As I said, these people know nothing about my people, my history or my personal views. If you want to look at discrimination, lets talk about my ancestors, who were forced to anglicize their last name from Maviano to Mavin so they could get jobs, instead of being turned away as greasy wops. Lets talk about oppression with my Irish ancestors, oneof the poorest groups of people in all of Europe. Lets talk with my American Indian ancestors about the dark side of racism. Nobody knows destruction of culture any better than they do. Slavery comes in may forms: social, economic, institutional and political. I saw something really hilarious on the Jay Leno show one night. A hispanic comedian was harping about racism and referred to Leno as a member of the f community. Being half Italian, Leno took exception and compared skin tones with the comedian. Leno looked at least four shades darker than the fool whod just referred to him as white. I found myself in a similar circumstances on many occasions. In one case a hispanic student on campus smirked when I referred to myself as Latin. I asked him if Italians werent in fact Latin people? He replied that the only people who were truly Latin were those who spoke Spanish. In retrospect, I definitely should have included that one in my article about stupid people. Im also terribly confused when I hear Malcolm X quoted as saying that "blue-eye- d blond-haire- d people were grafted devils. Malcolm, my eyes are definitely blue, but the rest of me sure doesnt fit your stereotype. Concerning Malcolm X, let me state that I have read his biography by Alex Haley and I know he claimed to have changed his view of whites after his pilgrimage to Mecca. I find Malcolms view of whites offensive, but I cant stand in judgement of him. His father was brutally murdered by whites and I know if a racist mob killed my father and victimized my family, Id be prejudiced as well. But I do wonder why blacks and whites alike are so quick to accept Malcolms change of heart, yet they cannot accept David Dukes claims of change. I should state that I dont mean to draw a comparison between Duke and X, just to contrast societys willingness to believe in their philosophical changes. find both Malcolm X and Actually non-pigment- ed J David Duke to be offensive. Theyve both held to the belief that has resulted in every large-scal- e act of evil that this planet has ever known: the ends justify the means. The same mentality as "By any means necessary or "If we lynch a few, thatll keep era away from our women. In contrast I also felt threatened when I saw the beating of Rodney King on videotape and the brutalization of Reginald Denny during the riots. When I saw King being pummeled by those cops I was outraged. All the verbal images Id been hearing in the rap music were now visual and painfully real. I wanted justice and I felt an urge to beat those cops as theyd beaten King. The feelings were nearly the same when I saw Reginald Denny jerked from his truck and nearly killed. Only this time, along with the outrage, I also felt fear. Fear because Reginald Denny was beaten for no other reason than the color of his skin, and on the comer of Florence and Normandy, Id have looked white too. I gained an incredible deal of admiration for Denny when I heard him explain why hed stopped and let the attackers drag him from his truck. He said he felt a sense of responsibility not to injure any innocent people with his gravel truck. Personally Id have run over the entire community before Id have let them beat me. Denny is a better man than I am, but I dont envy him. The other night while watching "Night-lin- e, I saw Ted Koppel interviewing a group of young kids from various racial backgrounds. Theyd just seen a screening of Spike Lees "Malcolm X. What I saw disturbed me and inspired me to write this article. The white kids sat back and apologized while the black kids rationalized each of Xs blatantly racist stands. One kid even answered accusations of racism by announcing that blacks could not be racist because they did hot hold the power in this country. White kids agreed with him. My dictionary says racism is "hatred or intolerance of another race, usually stemming from the belief that ones own race is or anyone superior. To say that blacks else are incapable of being racist is a poor way to rationalize hatred. The funny thing is that I believe in and stand up for many of the opinions that these minorities hold true, only I wont stand up for the beliefs at the expense of my own I wont sit in with a safety or group of people who refer to me as a "white boy. Im not a white boy. Im a white man. I have only one response to anybody who calls me boy: I hope you remember that when your next kid has my eyes. I want to be able to stand up for equality and real freedom in this country without having to apologize for my own race. Whites like me want to join the fight of the oppressed no matter what color they may be. The cause of racial equality is a real struggle and the more people behind this cause, the better. . We should deal with people on an individual level, not lump each other into just groups because it aids in avoiding thought Im probably sounding overly idealistic at this point, butlike the headline says, nobody in this country needs a racial war. If battle lines are drawn, I wont be the one with the but I sure as hell know what color chalk I am, and Id rather stand up and fight than apologize for something I never did. Westminster experience enlightens felloworstudent tell a woman what she can cannot do with 2 Continued from pa ge these issues. It just means I now understand that other people have the right to an opin- . ion, too. . . And just because their opinions differ mine, does not mean we cannot get a conversation. In fact I m along have a different opinion, it grateful they allows me to broaden my horizons andto get a different view other than the traditional conservatism that is such a common factor orcon hereinUtah. I now understand degree why s ace.nnotncccssar- pcPle are prohoice. It docs - ily mean that they believe in atomonasa means of birth control, but rather thatno one, especially government, has the right to her body. The other obstacle I ve overcome is that homosexuals are people, and not some dreaded monster you should teach your kids l0 bate The sexual preferences of individu-froajs do not dictate what type of persons they jn mjn(j is is coming from a career pCrson wbo ed t0 bash gaysJustJor icks. j dont condone homosexuality, nor do I dwa s condonc abortioilf but now j allow someone the right to vote, think, or choose. fcel an'd done Icank)ok back wh'n aII'is here at Westminster and Qn my was an education, to prepare know k mjjy mc for the real world. m jp Source image by Temmie K. Fleming Ellipsis Literature and Art self-estee- Debut reading Fall 1992 issue Thursday, December 10 7 p.m. Nunemaker Place published by the Associated Students of Westminster College with generous support from the Utah Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Ellipsis is December 8, 1992 fForum Page 9 |