My my. This new job and this semester of hellacious class is getting the best of my blogging self. I'm even letting LGBT History Month slip away without one measly post. But today my main concern is race. Over the past month, we've seen a lot of race debate in the CW, especially regarding race in our greek system. I've been in classrooms where greek members are outraged that they are being cast into a lump group of people who are racist on our campus. It's all very topsy-turvy and confusing when you start looking at all sides of it. I honestly don't know what to believe anymore.

On one hand it can not be denied that we have a prominently white greek system that conducts block voting to get their white candidates in offices to push their white greek agenda. In all the reporting I've seen, campus officials don't deny this uncomplicated truth, but instead wash their hands of these "private" institutions that are being handed land to organize on public property. On the other hand, the greek system can't be faulted for good organization skills (skills that produce driven students and impressive fundraising/volunteer efforts in our community.) People join these groups to feel validated. Oprah said on her final episode everyone wants to be validated. Kids show up to college and feel some kind of pressure to join these groups. It could be family, a sense of belonging in an unfamiliar social setting, promising career incentives, political gain, or just their own MTV-fed, brainwashed idea of what college is.

Based on that validation, these kids don't immediately realize that they are part of an elitist cult. Okay I said it, but they don't. I don't imagine they walk in and get handed a pamphlet of the racist agenda and how to proliferate it. It's just something that is bred and whispered through the ages because we are at the heart of a scar on American history that is centuries old. They don't look at their houses and see the resemblance of plantation houses. They don't look at their pledge brothers and see just white faces. They see faces they identify with. Just like I look at my friends and see LGBT and LGBT-friendly faces. We associate with people we have commonality with because we fear change.

The main thing to remember is that these things come from a select few. Leaders make decisions that affect the masses and hardly ever truly reflect the heart and soul of the people they are making decisions for. The nation is throwing a loathsome eye at Alabama with the upholding our newest immigration bill that make the streets unsafe for anyone of Latino descent, even if you are as legal as apple pie on a windowsill after church on Sundays. Comments on articles from people around the nation lump Alabama as a whole. We are all racist hicks even though we had nothing to do with this bill. Countries around the world have negative views on Americans because of the actions of our leaders that we as people have no hand in. The same is true for greek individuals vs. their leaders.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that the greek system is somewhat racist, but its not individuals' faults, but it is because if you're not a part of the solution you're a part of the problem, but really it's not about racism, but it is, but we're all a little elitist in our own ways already, but that's the nature of people, but there is a problem prevalent, but we don't have our finger quite on that problem just yet, but it's completely obvious to everyone what that problem is, but when do you stop playing the race card when maybe the problem is much bigger than just that.

Hate is an energy. It cannot be created nor destroyed. It can only change form. From black hate to gay hate to Latino hate to white hate to femininity hate and back and around 'til everyone gets some good ole hate. You can only hope that as the cycle comes your way, you don't let that hate become you. Pointing fingers directs attention away from ourselves. Maybe we all need to start focusing ourselves before we tell others what they need to fix?

Did I actually make a point? I think I might have. . .

Over and Out,
CampusQueer