Can I get a "What-what!?" from the Colored Section

People of color at Evergreen suffer from the effects of serious white guilt and misguided attempts at cultural understanding. The road to hell, we all know, is paved with good intentions, and some people are going to dig themselves a grave.

Cultural appropriation is a serious problem at Evergreen, for it doesn't create a true sense of diversity of cultural awareness. In the end it only creates a diluted caricature of the culture it seeks to represent. It's also something that is inherently dishonest and self-serving.

Much of the problem stems from the fact that white guilt is driving it, and not a true interest in the culture at hand. I don't believe in "white guilt," and think that its a trivial construct that only furthers the cultural gap. Compensations are not in order, and no one in my age groups needs to make up for the ills of those past. If that is the state of mind of too many, then a post-racial society cannot begin to be a reality. Wearing African patterned clothing is not going to make people take you more seriously, or look at you with less enmity. One doesn't need to broadcast their tolerance of other cultures to be taken seriously and not viewed as racist. Let your mind and you words speak for you, not horribly misplaced attempts at looking worldly.

The flip side of this is that many people are not proud of their culture. Somehow they have decided that it is a single homogenized and inherently evil entity. It seem that they have replaced European cultures with all the bad aspects of American history and culture. Poles no longer exist, Italians no longer exist, Germans no longer exist. There is only the tyranny of the white man: a faceless, greedy horde devoid of heritage or morals. They think they have nothing to be proud of, nothing to call their own. Unfortunately, appropriating Asian or Latin American practices aren't going to help them at all.

People of European descent, be proud of who you are. The fact that a person has little melanin doesn't signify a lack of beautiful, interesting, and influential culture. Be proud of the accomplishments of European minds, and of European artists. It's not their fault that they discovered the steam engine first. It's also not their fault that unelected rulers, or those voted in by wealthy landowners, stole diamonds from Africa.

I'm not the most politically correct person out there at all. I'm careful with what I say but sometimes one has to be blunt to get to the point. But I digress. Too often I fall victim to political correctness that is simply unnecessary and counter-productive. In many ways it can feel belittling to have someone of another ethnicity (particularly whites) explaining to me how I should feel about my background. As a Mexican person, I don't need people to let me know what is an appropriate way to address my ethnicity, and I don't need someone to let me know when I should find something offensive. I don't need someone to explain to me the difference between chicano and latino and hispanic and how I should feel empowered by one and offended by another. (FYI, I use all three with pride.) Take pride in your own heritage, and stop trying to use and define mine.

Bake your pies and wear your bonnets with pride!