[1495] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Re: response to "Ghetto Party" incident (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard J. Barbalace)
Wed Oct 8 19:02:07 2003
Date: Wed, 8 Oct 2003 15:54:53 -0400
From: "Richard J. Barbalace" <rjbarbal@MIT.EDU>
To: MIT-Talk@MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.55L.0310081056180.15055@scyther.mit.edu>
Pius and Jacob have given a well-thought response, and they should be
commended for taking a stand on this party incident. It may seem rare
that a case of racism on campus is brought to everyone's attention, but
there are more subtle incidents that go unnoticed by most people quite
often; it is harder but just as important to counter such subtle, even
unintentional, insults so that everyone may feel respected and welcome.
I do, however, find fault in one point the student leaders make:
> Unfortunately, an argument of this sort ignores the fact that satire is
> completely contextual. Consider two siblings who jokingly chide each
> other privately about a wayward family member. Now consider their next
> door neighbor who publicly mocks and derisively imitates that family
> member within the confines of their neighborhood. When the family
> members are talking to each other in private, the chiding is harmless;
> when the outsider, the neighbor, does it in public, the mockery becomes
> hurtful and offensive. It becomes very difficult for the family to
> remain in the neighborhood and maintain its dignity and self-respect.
Whatever respect, or lack thereof, shown within a family will be made
manifest outside of the family. A community would be wise not to
perpetuate its own stereotypes within itself. Doing so is just as
harmful as having "outsiders" slur the "insiders". There are no real
boundaries between inside and outside, except in stereotypes.
+ Richard J. Barbalace '97
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