Last weekend, Berkeley students staged a days-long protest demanding that they be given additional "spaces" on campus -- and took to specifically targeting people based solely on the color of their skin.
The protest were centered around demands that "spaces of color" be provided, as well as the creation of safe spaces for transgender students. A human chain was formed across Berkeley's Sather Gate, refusing to let white students cross.
One student was quoted saying, "I agree with the right to protest, but disrupting the peace of others is not OK." In a video of the protest, the so-called anti-racism protesters were seen denying passage across the bridge to white students — shouting “go around” — while allowing students of color to pass through.
Are these demonstrations truly raising anti-racism awareness, or is it plain disrespectful and counterproductive to the fight against oppression? The marginalized groups of our society have experienced horrendous oppression and setbacks throughout history. As far as equality for everyone, to this day we are nowhere close to having a country where every single person feels safe from persecution or injustice. We will never overcome systematic oppression unless we acknowledge it. But how do we change it?
We want to make the world a better place for everyone, but do we improve things by retaliation? The current movement claims to promote emotional well-being and free speech, yet seeks to punish anyone who interferes with its aim, even accidentally. This creates a toxic culture where everyone must think twice before speaking up, lest they face charges of insensitivity, aggression, or worse. It's hard not to see the mechanism of privilege at work on college campuses. As a white person, I have the privilege of not having to worry about this kind of stuff very often.
Berkeley has already discussed plans to convert the campus’s Andres Castro Arms co-op into a “person of color theme house” by this fall semester. And in what may be seen as a regression from the progress this nation has made since the dark days of segregation in this country, black and minority students appear to have successfully convinced the UC school system to consider building separate housing for black students on some of its campuses. Although this does seem like a step backwards, we have to ask ourselves why we haven't actually taken many steps forward in regards to racism and oppression in our society.
What the Berkeley protesters did make clear was that the more privileged members of society need to listen up. It is up to white people to rescue white people from our worst selves, to be able to look your neighbor in the eye and preach against our distorted idea of race we have in this country. We can't hide from the truth of race, and we can't hide from ideas of white supremacy that create monsters out of good people. What we can do is foster critical thinking in our institutions, in part by encouraging students to question their own unexamined beliefs, as well as the received wisdom of those around them. Such questioning sometimes leads to discomfort and anger and even protests, but ultimately it leads the way to better understanding.
I have faced the mild to almost non-existent oppression that a privileged, straight, white, hippy girl from the Northwest would face. I and every other white person who has let the racist jokes go unchecked, looked the other way, allowed acts of bigotry, who has not taken the time to listen to the Hispanic/black/queer experience, is in some sense responsible for what went down at Berkeley.
We must organize ourselves, educate ourselves, and come together as one to fight against racism and oppression in our country. Let's try and break down the walls that keep us apart, not build them.
