[The Soap Box Takeover: continued from the previous page] 
      

So, like I said, it's the Takeover, and it my turn to step up to the mike up 
in this piece. Let me start off by saying that I have little sympathy for the 
injustice this cat feels he experienced. Do we really need a guy like this 
as a college professor. Its really sad how oppressed the white man is 
now a days. With all the blacks, Hispanics and women filling all those 
professorship slots, there's no room for the white man. I know that those 
of us who were lucky enough to get to go to college feel this way, 
because I never had a white male as a professor. (NOTE THE SARCASM). 
The reality is that even now, in the 21st century, minorities are still 
underrepresented in many areas of society. Some would have you 
believe that equality has been reached and that reverse discrimination 
is our most pressing concern, but in most, if not all major facets of power, 
white males hold a disproportionately large amount of the positions (has 
anyone seen a Senate meeting lately or an NFL owners meeting for that 
matter). 

Let me touch on a few of his comments point-by-point. With regards to 
the assault on America's borders, language, and culture…what is the 
definition of American culture and who gets to define these concepts? 
It seems to me that this is a complex issue. When I think of the word 
American culture, I think a diversity of cultures, a culture of many 
cultures. Travel around the country and you know what I mean. 
American culture is not just a culture of European ancestry, as Savage 
might want you to believe. Yours truly here is part of American culture 
and I do not define myself as Savage sees fit. And that is what it comes 
down to folks…who gets to define these terms? Up to just recently, its 
been white folks. That is why blacks were enslaved and other minorities 
have been oppressed, because hegemony in the country, much like 
today, was the privilege of a few white males. And it starts with definitions. 
If blacks were not considered men, as was the case during slavery, why 
grant them rights? That was the logic of whites back then. Definitions 
matter and that is why it's important to step up to the soapbox and take 
control of these definitions. It's about damn time that we start defining 
ourselves instead of leaving it up to others. 

The crazy part is that even within communities of European ancestry, 
there is still much diversity. Think about it…the people of European 
ancestry that decided to settle in Utah for religious reasons known as 
Mormons are a different community that the Italians who settled in New 
York or the Irish that Settled in Boston or the Russian Jews who arrived 
after World War I. So which one of those four communities constitutes 
American culture? All of them! They are all a part of what makes up 
American culture…which, let me say, also includes blacks, Hispanics, 
Asians, Native Americans, etc. We are all part of American culture and 
we all get to define what American culture is by just our very presence 
in this country. More and more, we have to take control of our identity, 
our diverse American culture.

But Savage would never see his own country in that way and would 
never want to. In his world, only his opinions matter. And that explains 
all of his ignorant comments, ranging from his berating of those film-
makers to his views on SUVs. He only wants to see the world through 
his narrow lens. Those of us with a wider lens know that it is important 
to keep a check on police, because of their track record of abuse in 
our communities. I have respect for law enforcement, but since they 
are employed by my tax dollars, I feel I have every right to make sure 
they are doing a good job and policing the country evenhandedly. 
Those of us with a wider lens know that the SUV issue must be 
considered from all angles, including one that consider those in smaller 
cars and one that considers the environment. (Contrary to popular 
belief, SUVs are not safer) Those of us with a wider lens know that 
stereotyping is unnecessary and counterproductive, what we need is 
more understanding. And those of us with a wider lens know that 
American is not a euphemism for European, but rather a mosaic of 
diverse individuals whose background reflects the whole world. 
But hey, that is just me shouting from my soapbox, maybe you should 
get up on yours…


                                                                                [Back] 



TUNE IN FOR PART TWO OF THIS ARTICLE, COMING YOUR 
WAY SOON. 



- Tuesday, February 11, 2003

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