Divide and Conquer


Articles Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine Other Authors Contact Us! Letter to the Editor Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine	Divide and Conquer Dante Alighieri Segregation is no longer a problem. With the efforts of the Civil Rights leaders of the 60s, among others, it has been outlawed - it's no longer an issue. Bullshit Take a walk: down the street, through the mall, in a park, down the halls of TN, and you will see that segregation is alive and well. So why isn't it an issue? Why aren't there demonstrations or riots like those of days past, no calls for boycotts or marches? The only reason there are no cries for integration is that today's segregation is not the segregation of the past. Laws and rules don't state that we must be separate; we choose to separate ourselves. The reality is that a vast majority of people limit their friends, lovers, and acquaintances to those of the same background, taste, class, religion, age, and, let's not forget, race. Why? Because it's safe. However, limiting ourselves based on demographics reduces our chances of getting to know people who could, potentially, change our lives. It's hard enough to connect with people in this world of six billion without reducing your options to a mere fraction of what they could be. Yet people do just that. Just look at Terra Nova at lunch: we all go off into our little pocket of friends where everyone is a mirror image of everyone else. The hip-hoppers, the punks, the "weird kids," the "smart kids" - each group has carved out its own niche, and there they remain. With the exception of days it rains or days kids go out to lunch, no one decides where they'll eat on a given day - it's assumed, and woe to anyone who tries to change the social structure. Our students are fiercely territorial. Perhaps not to the point where they'd break into violence if someone who doesn't fit the mold should cross into their space, but absolutely to the point where they would make that person feel so unwelcome that he/she would undoubtedly wish to escape the quiet animosity. As a freshman, it took me several attempts to find out where I "belonged," and I know I'm not alone. Even adults are guilty of "sticking with their own kind." Many have preconceived notions about teens being minions of Satan, and most would never choose to get to know one as an individual (and even if they did, their motives would be questioned). But we're no better. We automatically assume that anyone over the age of twenty-five is a member of another species; we obviously have nothing in common. Ageism. Yes, it's a real word and an all-too-common phenomenon. People often self-segregate based on ignorance of other races, which breeds fear, misunderstanding, skepticism, and sometimes even hate. Most people are guilty of some sort of prejudice. (Note: "most people," not "most white people." Anyone is capable of pre-judging others.) These arbitrary prejudices equate to judgment: throwing people into categories based on the color of their skin rather than the content of their hearts. These judgments divide us. They make us think we know enough about others to make further investigation unnecessary. So we stick with our clones. Pretty white people hang out upstairs. Black people hang out in front of The Jungle. The Asian kids dominate the 3rd floor East hallway. Liberal Hippies stand out front. And everyone else, in some way, splits off from the rest, choosing what's safe over what's different. We quarantine ourselves because it's comfortable. However, if we take steps to get to know people outside our figurative boxes, we have the potential to make some deep connections, to be introduced to new thoughts and ideas, to be opened up to new possibilities, to gain a fresh perspective on life, or perhaps even to learn something - and what a shame that would be. Of course, no one can be expected to branch out overnight, but one can always try. The next time you have the opportunity to speak to someone you normally wouldn't, take it. Give others the benefit of the doubt; don't just assume that they have nothing to say. People have given their lives so that we wouldn't have to divide ourselves. The great leaders and human-rights activists of the past must be rolling in their graves over what we've done with the gift they tried to give us. It has been said that "America's a melting pot that never melted." Let's turn up the heat.	Archive Back Issues Why? Cartoons Poetry Random Rants Disclaimers Losers and Kudos of the Week Letters to the Editor Editor's Notes Picture of the Week
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Dante Alighieri

Segregation is no longer a problem. With the efforts of the Civil Rights leaders of the 60s, among others, it has been outlawed - it's no longer an issue.

Bullshit

Take a walk: down the street, through the mall, in a park, down the halls of TN, and you will see that segregation is alive and well. So why isn't it an issue? Why aren't there demonstrations or riots like those of days past, no calls for boycotts or marches?

The only reason there are no cries for integration is that today's segregation is not the segregation of the past. Laws and rules don't state that we must be separate; we choose to separate ourselves. The reality is that a vast majority of people limit their friends, lovers, and acquaintances to those of the same background, taste, class, religion, age, and, let's not forget, race. Why? Because it's safe. However, limiting ourselves based on demographics reduces our chances of getting to know people who could, potentially, change our lives. It's hard enough to connect with people in this world of six billion without reducing your options to a mere fraction of what they could be.

Yet people do just that. Just look at Terra Nova at lunch: we all go off into our little pocket of friends where everyone is a mirror image of everyone else. The hip-hoppers, the punks, the "weird kids," the "smart kids" - each group has carved out its own niche, and there they remain. With the exception of days it rains or days kids go out to lunch, no one decides where they'll eat on a given day - it's assumed, and woe to anyone who tries to change the social structure. Our students are fiercely territorial. Perhaps not to the point where they'd break into violence if someone who doesn't fit the mold should cross into their space, but absolutely to the point where they would make that person feel so unwelcome that he/she would undoubtedly wish to escape the quiet animosity. As a freshman, it took me several attempts to find out where I "belonged," and I know I'm not alone.

Even adults are guilty of "sticking with their own kind." Many have preconceived notions about teens being minions of Satan, and most would never choose to get to know one as an individual (and even if they did, their motives would be questioned). But we're no better. We automatically assume that anyone over the age of twenty-five is a member of another species; we obviously have nothing in common. Ageism. Yes, it's a real word and an all-too-common phenomenon.

People often self-segregate based on ignorance of other races, which breeds fear, misunderstanding, skepticism, and sometimes even hate. Most people are guilty of some sort of prejudice. (Note: "most people," not "most white people." Anyone is capable of pre-judging others.) These arbitrary prejudices equate to judgment: throwing people into categories based on the color of their skin rather than the content of their hearts. These judgments divide us. They make us think we know enough about others to make further investigation unnecessary.

So we stick with our clones. Pretty white people hang out upstairs. Black people hang out in front of The Jungle. The Asian kids dominate the 3rd floor East hallway. Liberal Hippies stand out front. And everyone else, in some way, splits off from the rest, choosing what's safe over what's different. We quarantine ourselves because it's comfortable.

However, if we take steps to get to know people outside our figurative boxes, we have the potential to make some deep connections, to be introduced to new thoughts and ideas, to be opened up to new possibilities, to gain a fresh perspective on life, or perhaps even to learn something - and what a shame that would be. Of course, no one can be expected to branch out overnight, but one can always try. The next time you have the opportunity to speak to someone you normally wouldn't, take it. Give others the benefit of the doubt; don't just assume that they have nothing to say.

People have given their lives so that we wouldn't have to divide ourselves. The great leaders and human-rights activists of the past must be rolling in their graves over what we've done with the gift they tried to give us.

It has been said that "America's a melting pot that never melted."

Let's turn up the heat.