In the sixth issue of “The Loquitur,” did the front page surprise anyone else? If you haven’t heard, apparently some people have been creating derogatory racial acts around Xavier Hall from as late as 2003. These acts have ranged from a shaving-cream swastika, a black-sock puppet hanging from a noose or just the phrase “KKK” written in the Xavier foyer area.
I didn’t expect really expect to hear about something like this in Cabrini. Over the year I’ve spent here, I’ve seen drunks, potheads and crowds of smokers but no signs of racism until now. Not that I’m that naive. Mind you, I know these things happen but why?
After hearing about this, I’m left to wonder what’s the point? Do these people think it’s some kind of edgy joke in response to the meetings responding to these incidents? Of course it could just simply be a statement of hate. Actually, the reason why anyone would do something like this is pretty simple; it’s just stupid people doing stupid things.
Judging from the content of that article, it’s clear that many of the students here were upset by these incidents as well. I’ve overheard responses of anger to these events in the forms of threats to the perpetrators and complaints over the “weak” actions taken against it, although keep in mind that the administration is doing everything they can within reason.
While people have a right to be angry, the people who wrote this graffiti probably don’t deserve to be taken seriously. People who do things like this, obvious yet symbolic displays and offensive graffiti, are usually just looking for attention. In this case they used racism to spark attention and it’s worked.
It sounds like the people who committed these derogatory racial acts are more like insensitive pranksters than full-blown racists. They deserve a hard smack or two in the head, a fine and probably an expulsion. Racists tend to expel themselves from society on their own.
There’s a saying, “Don’t argue with idiots, they always drag you down to their level.” Usually remarks against a race or culture are a result of ignorance. Some people have a narrow view of the world, and unfortunately these people teach those narrow views to their children.
People need to keep themselves educated and open-minded, unfortunately that’s not possible in every part of the world. You should never stereotype a group of people. After all, there’s an exception to every rule. We won’t have racial harmony anytime soon, but ideally a quelling of ignorance would help a lot.
Thankfully, it seems that the majority of the campus is also upset over these crimes. More people were prepared to clean the graffiti, spoke out about these crimes or find the perpetrators. It’s good to know that even when things like this happen, we don’t let this kind of garbage drag us down.
Posted to the web by Brandon Edwards
