Opinions offensive to 'women of color' daily

Editor:

As a woman of color, I have been offended on a daily basis by the "opinions" expressed in the Wildcat.

First, the Million Man March. The various critiques I have read (not to mention the cartoon) failed to see the true purpose behind the March. I thought it was a beautiful sight to see thousands of black men standing up to claim responsibility for their families and lives. It is only too bad that many white people could not handle the fact that they were not there to ask for a handout.

Furthermore, I did not feel offended at all by not being invited to come because I am a woman. As a matter of fact, it was refreshing. Ever since white America began profiting off selling our fathers and husbands away, many women of color have been raising our children alone. I praise Minister Farrakhan for recognizing the role our women have historically played as educator, mother and father to our children. This is why he wanted to make it clear that men need to step up and play their role. To avoid misunderstanding the event and the purpose behind it, white people, particularly those in the media, should have taken the time to talk to those who went to the March or to black people in general. Then they would have realized that a lot of the "issues" they were discussing were mere fabrications.

Secondly, it doesn't surprise me that the Wildcat would pick a guest columnist (Erik T. Watkins) whose opinions simply feed into what white people want to hear. Why he continues to disrespect women of color (which includes his own mother as far as I'm concerned) is beyond me. Look, I'm sorry that he is not down with his roots, but that's no reason to drag the rest of us down with him. As a black man, he should know how hard it is to attend a school which is as dominated by white people as this one is. Trust me, he is not making it any easier by furthering stereotypes.

With as much visibility as his columns could attract, one would think the proper thing to do would be to enlighten some of these ignorant UA students. But, instead he uses it as a forum to discuss why black women don't meet his standards. Personally, I don't care who he dates (no self-respecting black woman would want him anyway), but disrespecting all the sisters on this campus in such a public fashion is unnecessary. If he was really that sure about his choice in lifestyle, he wouldn't have to smear it all over the newspaper Ÿ not once, but twice.

Lastly, why does he disrespect the sister who claims her heritage? Since the day she was born until the day she dies, she will be viewed by the world as a black woman and will be discriminated against as such. Since the days when slave masters were raping our great-grandmothers, bi-racial people have been considered black by this racist, white supremacist society. Perhaps he is the one who is clueless about his racial identity.

Shani C. Hernandez

Anthropology Senior

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