I, too, am a minority

The ‘I, too, am Harvard’ campaign has sparked off similar campaigns in elite English Universities – namely the ‘I, too, am Oxford’, ‘I, too, am Cambridge’ campaigns, and also the ‘I, too, am SOAS’ one. And this article focuses on the English manifestations of this movement.

No doubt some of the grievances are serious, but as a minority living in this country I can’t help but be frustrated. So many of the statements written indignantly on white boards are devaluing and misrepresenting both the effort against racism, and the position of minorities themselves. Racism of the sort worthy of this kind of publicity is a non-issue in today’s educated circles.

I can already hear the sounds of a thousand saddles being placed upon the high horses of the offended legions, as they prepare to charge home their comments of ‘institutionalised racism’ and other misplaced ‘butthurt-jargon’.

Before I’m deafened by the whining let me be the voice of the silent ones amongst the coloured – there are multiple reasons why the current campaigns are making me, as well as other minorities, feel uncomfortable and embarrassed by the fog horn placed in the hands of the sensitive few.

Of course I can’t judge when people should be offended or not, or definitively declare when one is being ‘over sensitive’, however I can have an opinion on the asinine orgy of self-righteousness.

Here’s why the whiteboards should be put away.

I’ve wept for days not knowing where to go!

1) Unintended ignorance and stupidity should not be branded as racism

The heart of the issue is the word racism itself. It seems inappropriate to have a word which encompasses both baying mobs lynching someone for the colour of their skin, and the assumption that someone brown must study medicine.

I can’t go through every single whiteboard which made coloured people look like fragile, abused petals, cowering from the hordes of racist people daring to ask if it’s hot under their burka – however every humorous example used (two so far) was written by someone in all seriousness to illustrate how much of a struggle their life is.

Why portray common ignorance, stupidity, and at worst someone being a bit of a dick, as a continuation of the racist narrative of those perpetually oppressive English.

Bitter at losing their naughty ex-colonies they are now being SECRETLY racist – those sneaky imperialists –  asking us where we’re from just because we look different! They’re colonising our faces with tears!

Sri Lankan’s are so bloody racist

It’s not that I don’t understand where the claims are coming from, I get it, I grew up in a white working class town.

Whilst not condoning racism of any kind, the racism which deserves pouty faces with white boards going viral, is ‘hate’ racism. Admittedly some of the examples were – but their minority only further damns the validity of the entire tirade.

Was it a shortage of serious grievances that led the organisers to put up an Asian Cambridge student disgusted at being mistaken by a porter for a tourist? During tourist season Cambridge could be mistaken for a Harry Potter theme park in Beijing for Christ’s sake!

Ignorance and stupidity leads people to try and touch your hair, assume you speak Nigerian or be surprised you speak English so fluently – not hate. It’s human nature to bracket everything into groups and stereotypes. It’s one thing to be told to ‘swim back to Muslim land’ – although can you really take some saying that seriously?

If they’re implying you know pirates because you’re Somali or assuming you’re from Brixton because you’re a black Londoner – gently untwist your knickers, tell them that was pretty stupid, and get on with your life.

One hurtful assumption led to years of therapy

White British people proudly speak of their Irish and continental European backgrounds without feeling any less British, so if you don’t want others to put you in a box due to your origins, don’t do the same to yourself by being overly offended at “but where are you really from?”. It would be strange if no one was curious in a nation that is still predominantly white.

Life is hard enough without always feeling people are purposefully attacking your culture and identity. Feeling offended is tiring, and only breeds hate and disdain where there was none aimed at you in the first place.

2) Minorities are given only one voice on racism

The answer to ‘I, too am oxford’ – ‘We are all Oxford’ – came under immediate fire by various blogs and even the Guardian – the voices of the minorities claiming racism isn’t an issue in their lives are throttled and put down, whilst the shrill voices of those proclaiming their woes, are amplified.

It only leads to the highest capacity for sensitivity to racism becoming the most represented. A normalisation of the highest factor, instead of a median of the spectrum of opinions.

Palvisha Nahasapitamal shares her story

3) Making people afraid of accidentally being racist is not the way forward

The complaints are so widespread that practically every person will be able to gasp at at least one whiteboard and spend the next hour gazing tragically into a mirror, brows furrowed, muttering “so this is the face of a racist”.

This country doesn’t need any more political correctness, and we certainly don’t need to be plagued with white guilt like the US.

I increasingly have people speak to me and then suddenly dissolve into fits of gaping mouths and flittering eyes as they try to formulate a sentence in the most race sensitive way possible. Everyone having to walk on egg shells around me makes me feel more an outsider than a few idiots booking me a ticket for ‘MuslimLand Airways’.

Mathias just wants to raid our shores in politically correct peace

Creating a society over-sensitive towards race could also stifle conversation about it in a increasingly multi cultural society, alienating people who feel they can’t air their views, leading to dangerous consequences such as more radical movements. Already the a liberal swing in society can be seen to have created a right-wing backlash.

Do we really need more social outcasts?

Why not aim to educate rather than instil politically correct fear into the hearts of those unable to filter their words to the level you desire?

Our predecessors went through the real hardship to get us to the place we are in now, and I am filled with a sense of thankfulness at my luck, rather than bitterness at slightly annoying comments.

Accidental racism should be an oxymoron, not an excuse to give Tumblr another reason to exist.