Can't we all get along?

Race and race relations are my favorite subjects, and as I’ve mentioned before, there are problems with race relations on this campus and nationwide. Fortunately, I’m not only one who thinks this. According to Purple’s campaign, race relations is one of the top five important causes to students. So of course it’s only natural that I attended Purple’s discussion on race relations.

When I first walked into the room, I was impressed by the racially mixed audience. When I attended such events in the past, the audience was dominated by minorities with only a few white students. I was late but when I arrived the conversation seemed to be stuck on the inevitable question of self-segregation. I sighed wondering if this discussion would be like so many other race conversations I attended in the past, with everyone throwing around politically correct terms like self-segregation.

But this discussion was different because a white student from the audience asked why there was no white representative on the panel and then nominated himself to become that representative. I chuckled with the rest of the audience as the guy roller-bladed to the front of the room but I was slightly shocked. The topic of race always seems to be a topic for racial minorities. In my experience, whenever the question of race arose, or a conversation about race occurred, it was either sponsored or dominated by racial minorities. So I was surprised but happy that for once I would get a chance to hear a white student’s perspective.

As he fielded a variety of questions about his perspective on being a white student trying to navigate duke’s interesting racial dynamic, I began to wonder why this was the first time that I was actually hearing from a white student about race. Too often in our politically correct society, race is a topic that is glossed over particularly in interracial settings. Campus leaders and other prominent members of society talk about diversity and the need for tolerance but we never actually talk about race and racial concerns. With my non-black friends we are willing to talk about classes, relationships, parents anything and everything but race.  Race has become yet another taboo subject, like politics or religious beliefs that shouldn’t be discussed in mixed company.

But if race is a subject that we can’t even bring up with our friends how will we ever fix the racial dynamic on campus or even nation-wide? Too often, race doesn’t become an issue until an incident occurs and then pundits and newspapers speculate on the myriad racial questions and concerns that always permeate our society but remain ignored until the next racial scandal.

The most recent incident occurred on Sept. 9, 2009 when in the middle of President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-N.C. shouted “You lie.”  As usual, everyone was outraged and Wilson did call Obama to apologize. But people have now begun to speculate that Wilson’s outburst was racially motivated. As former President Jimmy Carter said, “There is an inherent feeling among many people in this country that an African American ought not to be president, and ought not to be given the same respect as if he were white. “

So people believe that racial discrimination has caused many of the disrespectful attacks against Obama such as Wilson’s outburst and even the birther’s scandal from this summer when people challenged whether or not Obama was actually born in the United States.  Of course, other people completely disagree and believe like Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican Party that “this isn’t about race but policy.”

As usual we are talking past each other, continuing these constant arguments that get us nowhere. As usual one side is determined to believe that race is not a factor, and as usual the other side is trying to show that race is still an important factor. As usual, race is rearing its ugly head revealing problems and questions that everyone seems so eager to ignore.