
So. I know DU gets a lot of flak for being a rich white-kid school, and I do joke about it sometimes when I overhear crazy conversations in Sturm. (I feel that that isn't the majority of the population; they just happen to stick out a lot!) Perhaps it is class-ist, but I've found that the 3 (kind of) immediately apparent parts of identity - 1)gender, 2)ethnicity, 3)sexual orientation - aren't things that anybody ever has to feel endangered by, which is the way it should be ALWAYS. Here's my point though - I didn't realize how inclusive the DU community is, until I found out about how it is in other colleges around the US.
I've overheard some rather disturbing conversations my American friends have had about race and how it is viewed, especially with respect to greek life. For context, they go to school in South Carolina, Indiana, and Texas. (Okay, shush, Coloradans with your Texas jokes - the Texan university is actually the most liberal one described out of the three of them!) I will acknowledge that greek life is not necessarily the most accepting, embracing group that everyone can or wants to be a part of - for example, you will be far more likely to find a libertarian in a fraternity or sorority, rather than an anarchist.
They were talking about RACISM in fraternities, and what was surprising was the nonchalant way they were talking about it. It's not that they agreed with it, it's just that it would seem that nobody in these universities of 20,000+ undergraduates thought it was necessary to challange this system at all. Warning: Some of what I'm quoting is going to be very offensive. "Yeah, I know you have fraternities, but can the black kids get in?" "Well, the black kids have black sororities, so yeah. " "No, but can the black kids get into the other ones?" "No, mostly just the white kids. But white kids can't get into the black fraternities either."
At this point, I was shocked. "EXCUSE ME?"
"Asian kids can get into the sororities, though. I know this one girl, and she got into XYZ, which is actually a good sorority. Asian guys, though, can't get into good fraternities."
HELLO? That doesn't help. Am I supposed to care that racism against Asians is less than racism against blacks in their universities? That might possibly make it worse, because it means that they actually THOUGHT about their bigotry!*
What the heck? I'm mad, and where do you channel such feelings and thoughts?
I don't know how sheltered I've been. I'm not sure how I should feel - am I that ignorant about social problems? I always associate bigotry and terrible things with middle-aged and old people, and I take comfort in the fact that new thoughts have to work themselves into to society with generation-shifts. I know that there are many good, sane, moral older people, and I'm glad they're arround. But when things get bad, I always think - well, the racists, the homophobes, those who believe global warming doesn't exist, anti-evolutionists etc., - they're all going to DIE eventually, and we'll be one step closer to goodness. Seeing young people so wilfully EVIL takes this coping mechanism away from me.
I've spent TWO WHOLE YEARS living in the US, and I've been insulated from this STUPIDITY, which is apparently not uncommon. I'm glad I live among who I do, but as for these other people - what is wrong with them?!
GRAH!
It's bullsh** that we should ever have to fight for EQUAL RIGHTS. Yet, look at all of history - labourers vs. landlords, slaves vs. free people, women vs. men, LGBTQTIAABCDEFG;) vs. society....and these strugles still continue. When will people learn not to be absolute bigots?!!??!
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*I would like to think that Greek life at DU is above this. I'm going to hold back all my usual snark and have some faith in humanity (surprise!).