Students need to think and question their thoughts and values

"Poor black people who are uneducated..."

Yes ladies and gentlemen, that was said by an Oberlin college student. A senior, as a matter of fact, who was once an R.C. This person was referring to Oberlin Town members that live in his neighborhood; but that should not dull this statement. "They are just a bunch of poor black people who are uneducated..."

How am I suppose to react to that? Should I be the good little South Asian girl, nod and smile, and not care. After all, you would assume I would not be concerned because he/she didn't say anything against me, right? Is that what you're thinking?

You better believe I would be concerned. If he/she can make such a blatantly racist statement like that in front of a few people, think about how many times they have referred to me as a "sand nigger" or a "cow-worshipping bitch" behind my back. An ignorant and hateful mind will target anyone who is an "other", and in this case, it would be a person of color or a low-income student.

Regardless of that, everyone should be disgusted with what he said. His statement is appalling, and racist. This is EVERYONE'S issue; every person, regardless of their race, should be concerned. It's racists like them that expalin why there so many problems today, even in Oberlin.

The basic principle I follow is that I have the freedom to pick my friends, and chose the people that I am associated with. And I do not associate, respect, or consider a racist. A racist will look at a person of color and dehumanize them. That is, they will not see that person as a human being, but as a color or a race. If this racist dehumanizes me because of my ethnicity, I'm going to dehumanize him for his hatred.

Every time I see this student and think about this statement, I get so angry. Oberlin provides a safe space for people of color (even though it may be a facade), and this space is threatened when I see that this person can make such statements, while having no fear of racial discrimination (where I do). What also bothers me is the fact that people know of this student's opinions of people of color and don't confront them. This action basically says to me, "Yes, I know they're a racist, but they're still my friend." What kind of friends do you have?

How can you be at ease knowing that you have a racist for a friend. I make it seem like being a racist is the most hideous thing in the world; that's because, in my opinion, it is! There is no way I can respect someone whose thoughts are that I am a terrorist or a dirty Indian. And if I react, I am breaking the mold of the stereotypical docile South Asain woman, and I am labeled as "unacceptable" and "inappropriate" for expressing my anger. No one has the right to tell me how to express my anger.

How do you think I feel? If people expect me to be civil and quiet about my opinions, then they are wrong. I will not be silenced; if you hate me for the color of my skin, stand by it. Don't keep your opinion hush hush just because you are in Oberlin. Sooner or later the truth will come out, and it will come back to you.

"Ay c'mon, they have feelings too."

Well fuck their feelings! Why should I consider their feelings when they couldn't care less about mine? It is obvious in this statement that this is not an issue of ignorance alone, but of hatred as well. You can say that he/she didn't know any better, but why is he/she so priviledged to be so ignorant of issues I am forced to deal with everyday (especially when it is them that make me deal with it.) How can they expect everyone to cater to their needs and their damn "issues". If I did the same, I would be known as a militant Arab terrorist who is asking for too much (even though I'm South Asian). But as we see on this campus, Mr./Ms. White Person from rich suburbia has a sense of entitlement to everything he/she wants which is no where near as outrageous. "I'm not a racist. I have friends that are Black, South Asian, Latino, and so on."

Well, I feel sorry for them. Have you told them of your little statement? Have you explain to them "what you really meant"? How long do you expect to play this charade until your true opinions come out? Are you friends exotic and entertaining to look at just because they are "oh so different". Or are you using them as the token "person of color friend".

Yes, what I am saying is not proactive; it's a gut-level reaction to what this student said. But the act of writing my feelings down and submitting them to the Review is proactive. Anyway, why is being proactive a burden for people of color and why don't white students take on? How many white people out there have ever thought about their friends' opinions on racism? How many have made the above statements? How many of you stopped reading this after the first paragraph? How many perceive people of color as exclusive and segregated by program houses and so on? Does a white person ever think about how many times he/she has been the only white person in a room? Funny, because the situation where I am the only person of color in a room happens to me every day.

If you're here at this college for a number of years, do one thing before you leave; THINK. Question the thoughts and values you have, and how you developed them. Who influenced the mind set that you posses right now? Your parents? Religion? Your friends? Educators? Think about how statements like "Native Americans are drunks" or "Ethopians are sometimes uncivilized" and the impact that they make. Think about why you express the feelings that you are walking on eggshells yet you never attend programs like Kuumba or Coffeehouses at Third World House (at the same time attack the validity that these programs exist). After opening your mind, then only can you attempt to be "educated in the liberal arts".

Farheen Hakeem is a College junior