Editorial: Absence of malice does not excuse racism

Last week, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Phi held what was undoubtedly a racist event, a near shot-for-shot remake of the film “Dear White People,” which, in a certain sad irony, was partially filmed on campus.

News of the “Kanye Western” themed raid exploded across the campus and the nation.

Emotions understandably intensified in the university’s black community, and cries of anger and resignation responded to the blatant confirmation of what people already knew – that not so much has actually changed.

In the discussion and social media chatter that has swirled around in the wake of the raid, one specific defense of the groups’ actions seems logical, but when pinpointed, identified and examined, fails to hold water and is indicative of complacency with a racist status quo.

Intention. That concept seems to be the buzzword that buttresses much of the public defense of the party.

The argument of “They didn’t mean to be racist,” in some way is thought to absolve the two organizations of the responsibility and the outcome of what they did. But the reality is that in a week that was meant to welcome black Bruins to a fresh start on campus, new students were instead faced with a familiar picture.

Jerry Kang, the university’s vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion, said in a speech following the party, “We should always consider in addition both the impact and the social meaning of any action.”

Intention. The “Kanye Western” party was reprehensible, but not in the same way as when the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oklahoma was caught on video gleefully singing a song rife with racial slurs and references to lynching, while happily encouraging other members to never allow a black member into the organization.

It is unlikely that the fraternity sat together and methodically planned to to offend the black community; however, the amount of thought that failed to occur past that point led to the approval of an event that gave attendees a platform to indulge in some of our campus’ – and our country’s – worst impulses.

What a group means should only be the starting point of the conversation. Organizations need to make an effort to be more aware of the larger cultural and political context of their actions. Doing so will have ramifications past initial intent, and create a more inclusive and sensitive community, specifically at UCLA where underrepresented voices are often ignored.

It’s certainly true that what people mean by their actions should hold some weight, that careful consultation of facts should precede extreme action.

Intention. In truth though, it implies a benefit of the doubt often not given to more marginalized groups. The idea certainly wasn’t assigned much merit to 12-year-old Tamir Rice when a report characterized his fatal shooting as “reasonable.”

The fact that Rice did not actually have a deadly weapon, a history of violent behavior or a desire to hurt anyone, did not buy him the smallest opportunity to explain himself. What he meant by his actions as an agitated preteen black boy in the midst of an emotional outburst meant little to the police officer who almost immediately shot him dead.

Intention. As a society we can be better.

We must continue to try and understand the original meaning of actions, but that cannot and should not be where we stop. Going past initial reactions to intentionally treat each other with respect and make attempts to understand each other’s diverse narratives would mean a small but necessary step towards progress.