To the Editor:
The decay of urban Black culture. Rational discrimination. Cultural standards. I beg for a definition of these terms used to describe aspects of Dinesh D' Souza's argument in Kishan Putta's letter to the editor [Jan.11, 1996]. Once again an attempt is made to describe the condition of African-Americans as if they are unable to conceptualize the oh so complex world in which they live.
The oxymoronic rational discrimination notion is a poor excuse for urban cab drivers hesitance to pick up African-Americans as opposed to whites. What about the African-American professional in a business suit on the way to work? Why do they get passed by? Maybe it's because they look like gangsters? But of course, all of them look the same. The cab driver example is a poor one as many cab drivers in major U.S. urban areas are of nonwhite persuasion. This shows that the idea of prejudice is more subtle than the clearly defined white on black racism to which D'Souza alludes.
The decay of Black Urban Culture: Did someone leave the culture out of the refrigerator too long so that it is now mildewed? What makes up this distinct urban culture? It seems that every African-American must subscribe to the same urban culture if it can be blamed for scaring cab drivers away, whether you are dressed in a suit or jeans, have natty dreads or a natural. The idea of cultural standards and urban decay imply that all African-Americans are so similar that they must suffer from some all-encompassing ill which can so easily be defined by someone outside the African-American community looking in. Moreover, it is the decay of American culture which can be attributed to the center of many of society's problems.
The three causes for discrepancy outlined by D'Souza: racism, genes, and culture may as well be the three blind mice, for besides being words, they do not relate directly to the discrepancy in test standards, illegitimacy rates, savings rates, etc. First, race is a social construct based on phenotypic differences, not biological facts. There are non-phenotypic similarities between so-called races such as blood type. Therefore race and genes are not biologically connected.
The problem is too complex to narrow the solution down to group cultural standards. Instead of adhering to the so called politically correct idea of "different but equal" cultures, why not attempt to avoid putting differences first and instead work on equality and the celebration of our differences.
