We throw around the word "culture" as if it were some kind of magic word. Saying culture is the excuse for not trying to understand. If it is too much work, say culture. If you do not want to talk about an issue, say culture. Blame it on culture. Then have one big "cultural event" to attract tons of students and say we are sharing our culture with them. Dancing, skits, food, traditional clothing, Asian tea? Is that all that it is?
People say that we are different. They say we have different cultures. What does that really mean? Does having a different culture mean we eat different food? Does it mean we smell different? Does it mean we think differently? Does it mean we have different goals?
We talk about ethnic groups. Are Caucasians an ethnic group, also? Does an American belong to an ethnic group?
At a meeting for Asian students with Dean of the College Lee Pelton, someone said we should educate others about our culture. I am tired of feeling like I have to go out there and enlighten those around me about my culture. I am still trying to figure out for myself what that is. Am I American? Am I Korean? If I am Korean-American, does that mean I am not a full-blown American or Korean?
I know many Koreans who have never been to Korea and who cannot write or speak in Korean. Should they educate you about their culture? For me being Korean is more about how I am treated because I am Asian, or how I was brought up at home. Everyone has a different story though.
I am happy to share stories about my family, where I grew up, what it was like to grow up in Korea. But if you want me to educate you about my "culture," I am at a loss for words. Someone who thinks they can learn about my culture by learning how to say a word here and there in Korean is sorely mistaken. Will a course in Asian studies remedy people's stereotypes?
What I am trying to say is that we can go out and try to educate others, but do education and understanding necessarily correlate? If it is as easy as sharing some bulgogi dish with my next door neighbors, I am already doing that. However, that has not changed individual actions, as evidenced by the words "Chinks" scribbled on a door belonging to Asians. I think it is time we stop trying to educate the same people who have already learned and instead take action for ourselves.
I am tired of thinking about educating others; I want to do something for me for a change. I want to feel empowered. I am tired of hearing others tell me that I need to go out there and educate others. It implies that what the hate crime doers did was my fault. It implies that my failure to educate everyone, my inability to fulfill that duty about teaching them about my culture somehow makes me responsible for his or her actions. It implies that I have not already made an effort in that direction. We naturally teach each other with our everyday actions and words. It is a privilege for me to talk about my background, not a lifelong responsibility that I have towards everyone who is non-Korean.
It is time we empower ourselves to come together and let the Dartmouth community know that we are hurt and angry. We, as members of the Dartmouth community do not tolerate racial slurs and acts of injustice. We need to realize that we have the power and ability to speak out against hate crime. If you neither approve or appreciate scrawled racial epithets, then speak out in challenge and rally in opposition. It is time we educate ourselves.
