Letter to the Editor: Defending Sigma Chi

Before I proceed with my defense, I want to state something outright: I am not a racist. Yet inevitably, whenever an offensively-labeled incident regarding race or any minority receives attention, those who argue along lines somewhat divergent from the mainstream, dogmatic protests against discrimination are smeared with the searing tar of racism and feathered with the abhorrent labels of "Nazi," "Hate-monger," or "Ignorant White Trash."

 This reaction reveals the dangerous phenomenon perpetrated by multi-cultural, diversity and race advocates, particularly at Duke. We have completely distorted the real meaning of racism and discrimination.

 Essentially, these advocates have created a society at Duke where anything remotely tied to a minority or race is instantly condemned for its "hateful" insinuations. They are pushing a brazen Orwellian tactic of cracking down on any event or expression remotely related to race or minority, and consequently endanger the very existence of "free speech and expression,"--two hallowed concepts of American democracy which I applaud Larry Moneta for rightly defending at Sigma Chi's discussion last Sunday night.

 Those that hurtle baseless and endless accusations of racism at Sigma Chi, or any organization that chooses to express itself in a light-hearted party atmosphere with a cultural theme, obfuscate the true implications of racism and discrimination. Real examples of racism and discrimination are the Jim Crow laws used to segregate Black Americans from society for almost 80 years after 1877. The blatant racial discrimination that persists in job-hiring within the corporate world is another example.

 These are the true elements of racism and discrimination that need to be remedied. Organizations like Sigma Chi, whose sincere apology was ignored, and moreover, issued by a Latino President, Marc Mattioli, who explicitly declared that Sigma Chi had no racist intentions should be left alone.

 I was at the Sigma Chi party. Granted, some elements were culturally offensive. But all of this righteous energy should be redirected toward the genuine, intentional cases of discrimination and racism and not be employed to harp on a group of guys who erred while exercising their constitutional right to free expression.
Daniel Kennedy
Trinity '05
The writer is chair the Duke Republicans and vice president of the Duke Conservative Union.