<p>Couldn’t stay away…</p>
<p>If students from one our nation’s premier institutions of higher education decide to publish a work of this nature, then they and you all should be willing to have it be subjected to intellectual inquiry. If indeed it is supposed to foment change, than it has to first convince. Regrettably, however, it does not entirely convince due to the method, the inclusion of chaff, and due to internal inconsistencies. However, if anyone that raises a logical argument that questions their position or requests clarifications of contradictions is maligned as in denial about their permanently ingrained racism, as not getting it because of stupidity or maliciousness, as scared of losing white privilege, as un-compassionately minimizing of the experience of others, and so on, then change is not going to come. Why? Because that attitude is dismissive and does not promote dialogue and understanding. If I were to use your tactic, I might even go so far as to say it is racist because it presumes bad motives in the challengers merely for being white, since real proof of bad motives is lacking. Indeed, I could turn the tables and suggest some of you are afraid of losing black immunity from criticism (no one can criticize the actions of a black person without being called a racist, as we’ve seen in the case of our President), and losing impunity from allegations of reverse racism (since only white people can be racist, never black people). These young people may even be afraid of losing victim status, which starts to become tenuous when one is a Harvard student. </p>
<p>It is impossible for all but the most evil to deny certain facts of history or ongoing incidents of racism. Please stop insinuating that is what we are trying to do by questioning some aspects (not all) of this particular project done in the year 2014 at an elite college. The questions that I, at least, am raising have more to do with how to move forward productively in race relations instead of always looking backward. So long as skin color always defines the black experience such that every single thing said or done to a black person must have been said or done because of skin color–no matter how many people of other races testify to experiencing similar comments themselves–then moving forward is not possible. So long as black people chose to align themselves in all-black groups based on perceived oppression due to skin color, then they can expect others to continue to view them as a group defined by skin color. If they cry foul over silly things like someone mistakenly thinking they may like rap music just because most rappers are black, then really they are not interested in moving forward. If they choose to say look at me, poor me, I’ve been abused and misunderstood, rather than taking effective steps to resolve issues directly with the offenders and campus authorities, then they want to keep looking back. </p>
<p>If they chose to form their own groups, rather than trying to become part of the existing groups in the Harvard community, then they are not seeking to foment an equitable community. They are essentially assuming racism on the part of those allegedly non-black/colorless groups. (After all, weren’t they started by slave owners?) They are saying, in the case of the theatre group, we already know that “they” will never select plays that express that elusive black perspective, select plays with black characters, or give enough opportunity to black actors and actresses. Is that actually true of Harvard? Have they ever tried? I think not, because they have a problem with figuring out which identity they want to claim in any given moment. Are they suffering in the ranks of the oppressed or are they brilliant achievers at Harvard? It’s a tough balance to manage. For example, suppose a theater group other than theirs chose to present a play like “A Raisin in the Sun,” would some black students protest that that particular play was selected? Would they claim it was a poor or even offensive choice because it could reinforce stereotypes, given the dialect spoken by the black characters? Somehow, I don’t doubt it. At D’s school, black students protested when a certain music video created by auto-tuning the actual words of a black man, became very popular and was making the rounds on campus and nationally. </p>