Race: blurred beyond recognition

Friday, February 20, 1998

Race: blurred beyond recognition

ENCLAVES: Grouping by race does not assure any sense of
belonging

By Catie Bailard

Ethnic enclaves, hmmm … you’re kidding, right? Should the
United States be divided into ethnic enclaves? That is the
question, right? Wow, are you sure this isn’t the show platform for
a future Jerry Springer 60-minute tirade of ignorance and idiocy?
In fact, I seem to remember a Jerry episode that touched on this
proposal. It was something along the lines of "Klanfrontation! When
Racists Attack: Part 4!"

OK, maybe I’m wrong. But you are catching my drift, yes? Now
where should I begin with my own tirade ? Let’s start with the
enclave part. No, we’ll get back to that; let’s start with what the
Einsteins who support this solution most likely believe the problem
is: racial pride, racial exclusion, and to sum it up – race. Not
their own of course, but all those other pesky races that
incessantly rear their multi-pigmented heads. All right, I have to
admit that when the kids sitting next to me in lecture were drawing
the flag of their country of origin on their body parts, followed
by nationalistic slogans, I found myself growing a little
perturbed. But you know what I did? This is revolutionary: I
stopped myself, and I took a long look into the darker corners of
my mind. You know the ones, where all those little,
not-so-enlightened nuances skulk around in trench coats. And then I
opened a window, and let me tell you … the sunlight was
refreshing.

Boo hoo, my feelings are hurt … they’re in America, goddamnit.
You know, America the beautiful, the melting pot and all that jazz.
Hey, if they don’t love it why don’t they leave? Well, if they
won’t leave let’s just divide up the country so we don’t have to
listen to all that cultural crap. I just hate feeling left out. So
you stay on your side of the line and I will stay on mine.

But the truth is, one of the few things I think America, Land of
Hypocrites, has going for it is our unique mix of races and
cultures. Often I have looked around my lectures and enjoyed the
ethnic diversity of the students sitting around me. Where else in
the in the world can you have the privilege of savoring the
disparate beauties of so many different ethnicities in a space as
small as a single lecture hall? How many countries can boast such a
diversified list of well known authors including Toni Morrison, Amy
Tan, Kate Chopin, Sandra Cisneros, Leslie Marmon Silko and John
Steinbeck? Personally, I have taken a quasi-Aristotelian approach
in my examination of various cultures, and there is not a single
culture that I do not believe could teach me something of
value.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not asserting that the racial
atmosphere in the United States is picture perfect and
tension-free. We all know this is far from the truth. The fact is
that separatists, zealots and paranoids aren’t racially exclusive.
This is a human vice, not a racial one. In fact, anyone who has
taken Anthropology 7 knows that the concept of race cannot be
genetically identified. Each race has within it such diversity it
is impossible to find a DNA standard from which to categorize
races. Race is cultural; race is how you were raised. I don’t know
about you, but I know that culturally, I identify myself more
closely with my American-raised Colombian roommate than I do with
the Australian who lived downstairs, or than I do with the pig
farmers I visited in Nebraska. So if you go with that whole ethnic
enclave plan, I would really like to know where you are planning to
put me.

The fact is, if you feel like getting back to your roots and
enjoying the company of your own culture, you’re in luck. There are
places each of you can go. But the great part about this country is
that if you feel like delving into a culture other than your own,
you can do that too. You can take an Asian-American history class,
attend a reggae festival, go to a powwow, watch a gay and lesbian
pride parade, study Buddhism, visit a Cinco de Mayo celebration,
and you can always attend a Phish concert to name just a few
ways.

The beautiful part is that we are pretty much free to expose
ourselves to as many, or as few of these various expressions of
culture as we want. Sure, there may be a few people who give you
dirty looks to bring attention to the fact that you’re on their
turf, but there will also be many who do not, and there will also
be those who appreciate your attendance and interest.

So what if there are people who are proud of their own cultures;
why shouldn’t they be? There is beauty in every culture, just as
every culture has a few of its own skeleton-filled closets. As long
as you are not being attacked, why feel threatened? Do you
seriously believe that defining more lines and drawing more
boundaries will really improve race relations in this country?
Wasn’t that the pretext that fueled the government’s original
treaties with the Native Americans which called for the creation of
an "Indian Country" where all those "pesky, dangerous" natives
could be segregated from the settlers? It may interest you to know
that these treaties failed miserably, and when they did fail, the
United States embarked on a brutal military campaign of genocide
and forced removal. This was in the interest of preserving the
peace, of course!

Ethnic enclaves already exist in America, and if you’re
interested in living in one, be my guest. I understand that there
are many who feel more comfortable living in an area where they are
surrounded by their own culture, and to others it may seem natural,
and yet to others it is a matter of where they ended up. There is
nothing wrong with this, if this is your choice. But I implore you
not to make these choices for everyone else. It might be shocking,
but not everyone may feel the same way as you.

If you are really afraid of being offended, of not being
accepted by everyone you meet, or if you are angered that not
everyone around you looks and acts just like you, by all means take
refuge in an enclave of your associates. But much to your dismay, I
assure you that this enclave will not consist of a single skin
color or a single culture. It will be a conglomerate of
narrow-minded, ethnocentric, suspicious, ignorant souls whose skin
may not look like yours, but whose neuroses do.

And seriously, if this ethnic enclave thing ever does come about
do you really think you’ll have an easy time finding a decent
burrito, or udon for that matter, or fried rice or linguine? And
don’t forget those falafels, and I do love fry bread. Do you really
want to get up in the morning and not have an English muffin?
C’mon, are you really willing to risk that?