To the Editor:
I was thoroughly dismayed by Unai Montes-Irueste's column, "Prejudice Against Whites Comes From Prejudice Originated by Other Whites." [Nov. 10, The Dartmouth] In a piece that relied on muddled reasoning and a selective view of reality, Montes-Irueste powerfully demonstrated that racism can exist toward whites.
Both in his thesis and argument, Montes-Irueste casually uses his own prejudicial assumptions to buttress an illogical, ill-contrived, and ultimately inane position (although his unstructured prose often leaves one to wonder what his position actually is). He first sets the stage by making references to books from the Western Canon (including a few incorrect references to Marx). He then posits that white Americans have no culture, claiming that nearly every American "socio-cultural symbol is the product of a non-white group."
If Montes-Irueste believes his own agitated clap-trap, his objectivity is surely in short supply. Non-whites have made great contributions to American society. It is unfortunate that Montes-Irueste, in his stillborn attempt to defend himself against charges that he is prejudiced against Whites, cannot recognize that the proverbial "Dead White Male" actually may have contributed something to our cultural treasury.
Montes-Irueste has done the Dartmouth community a great service by exposing the prejudices of his tired world view. As, I go home to enjoy my cultureless, stolen Thanksgiving dinner with my extended, sexually-repressed family, I will do so with the knowledge that prejudice is a two-way street.
