COLUMN: Racism's source, solution are inside us
However, the Campus Police and the administration must be complimented on their efforts to keep the campus as safe a place as possible.
In the Jan. 31 issue of the Thresher , the lead news story ("Police claim gates cut crime") discussed the benefits of improved security measures at Rice. In the same issue, a letter to the editor ("Racism pervades Rice attitudes") asserted that racism is deeply ingrained in Rice's mentality.
These two issues stand in opposition to each other -- at least from the point of view of the Campus Police.
One officer remarked in the crime article, "'During late hours, people who are going the wrong way or seem lost [have] criminal records or [are] intoxicated.'"
The point at which the conflicting goals of the Campus Police come into play is when they must determine who looks lost. Obviously, people moving slowly, making many U-turns and turning down dead ends will look lost. Who wouldn't appreciate the assistance of a Campus Police officer who will help them navigate through the campus maze to Entrance 8?
However, the fact of the matter is that police officers use more criteria than car maneuvers to judge who might need assistance or who might be a criminal looking for an unprotected victim, vehicle or building.
A study in the Houston Chronicle a few years ago showed that police officers in upper-middle class (mostly) white enclaves -- like Bellaire and West University -- consistently pull over minorities driving through the neighborhood significantly more often than whites. The assumption of the police officers is that in a white enclave, minorities could only visit for the purpose of theft, vandalism or other crimes. Not for employment, as a shortcut to a college campus (in the case of more than a few minority students) or to visit friends.
This racist attitude, proved by statistics, is not just a symptom of rich, white people who fear crime. Racism is a nation-wide problem that may never be eradicated.
On campus, our efforts to end this tension have been laughable. The manner in which the Amoko issue has been ignored by most of the university -- including the students, who have been remarkably apathetic about the entire situation -- shows that at Rice most people do not want to deal with racism.
Some sigh and think, "That's too bad -- but I'm not racist so it's not my problem." Others say, "Those people never have enough. Why do they have to be causing a problem when everything was going so well?"
When someone starts to call any group of people "those," that person is automatically setting up mental categories that cause discrimination. When one refuses to recognize a group of people as part of their own existence, racism can creep in.
Everyone has prejudices -- we could not process the onslaught of sensory data that confronts us every day without some mental shortcuts. That is what prejudices are -- mental shortcuts that allow our brain to skip a few steps of analysis. Prejudices are the result of unconscious mental activity that cannot be controlled without serious consideration. The advantage, and disadvantage, of prejudices is that they can generate conclusions that require minimal mental investment.
Unfortunately, prejudices can lead to fallacious conclusions, those in which racism can be a factor. When someone accuses us of racism, we react defensively: " Me ? A racist? Oh, no, I have lots of black friends!" Racism usually involves the interaction of strangers -- one does not usually discriminate against those whom we know personally.
How do we get these prejudices? Many of them work themselves into our psyche during childhood. A consequence of civilization is that everyone is subject to the imposition of other people's opinions and biases at an agewhen we cannot ward them off.
The positive side of this interaction is that we can benefit from the experiences of others. Racism is one of the prejudices that has been imposed on many people. However, because we are rational human beings who are capable of changing, we can overcome many deeply ingrained prejudices -- but it takes dedication and reflection.
In order for the Campus Police, the administration and the students to fight racism, we have to recognize it in ourselves. If we continue to deny the existence of this problem, we will never resolve it.
This item appeared in the Opinion section of the February 7, 1997 issue.
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