Hello world. This is Alex Warr writing, and, to quote a beloved editor of yesteryear, we've never met. There are several reasons for this. It could be my heterosexual life-mate Varun usually uses this space to blather on about the prominent issues of the day. Perhaps it's because I'm a level one ninja on Facebook and silence is my hot hot sex. But mainly I prefer to express my opinions through the humor of sandbox. Not so today.
Today I want to talk very seriously about two things: eggs and respect. I know that these topics seem disparate at best, but earlier this week eggs became a temporary vehicle for the expression of respect, or rather, the lack thereof. Last Monday night several students had eggs thrown at them on West Campus. Two big, white, male college students were hiding in nearby bushes and fled. While I was not personally struck (ninja for the win), I share the anger of those who were.
I understand full well that many of you will be tempted to discard the whole business offhand, or believe that I am overreacting. I respectfully disagree. The issue is not the egg itself, which is harmless enough in the grand scheme of things, but rather the disrespect it symbolizes, which is not. The simple truth is that there is a significant difference between someone who would hurl an egg at a complete stranger and someone who would not.
A lack of maturity and a selfish entitlement come to mind, but I am concerned it is something deeper. A kind of cruelty is implied as is a lack of empathy, or at the very least an indifference toward it. These are the first people to turn on the island, the ones who light the fires, the faceless weaklings who tip the scales in the 11th hour toward chaos. For such, the burning cross and the swastika are literally an egg's throw away. Anger feels right but is wasted. Pity them.
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