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Building bridges between our differences...

2/8/2017

6 Comments

 
by Gwendolyn M Plano
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​      ​Years back, I worked at a private university in the Northeast. Young men and women from dominantly white Catholic families populated its classrooms. There was an easiness on campus that sameness provided. Religion was cultural, since the clear majority were born Catholic. And, race was not a consideration, because more than 90% of the student body was White. All of this was true until the comfort of sameness was irreparably disturbed on one fateful day.

On a very ordinary weekday morning, students of color and non-Christian students awakened to swastikas and death threats on their dormitory doors. “Go back to Africa,” “Puerto Ricans not welcomed,” “Jews killed Jesus,” and other such comments were scrawled across dormitory walls. 

Understandably, the targeted students were terrified and trusted no one; and, the general student population was horrified. In one stroke, everyone became aware of the invisible, non-majority students.

Local police and the FBI quickly responded. The entire campus was put on alert.

Because of the nature of my work in student affairs, I was deeply involved with the victimized students, as well as a campus of several thousand white Catholic students who grieved lost innocence and the prejudice displayed. 

Eventually, the perpetrator was identified and appropriately prosecuted, but not before there was considerable campus-wide soul-searching and intervention. My dissertation grew from this incident.

Without belaboring all that occurred, there is one point that I wish to share today. Prejudice hides in the best of people. It often is not recognized, because there hasn’t been an incident or occasion for it to be elicited. Once seen, though, it is not resolved with simple words, like Black Lives Matter or White Lives Matter or whatever; because, these words separate more than they educate.

Bridging the divide requires recognizing that we share one humanity. It requires rubbing shoulders with people who do not look like us or think like us or worship like us. And, it ultimately requires forgiving those who fail to see us as we are.

I was deeply moved by the video below, because it powerfully captures the dynamic I’ve tried to explain. I hope you have a moment to watch it, for I am pretty certain you’ll love the featured heroes. They have a message for all of us....

6 Comments
john howell link
2/10/2017 10:07:51

The sad part about a minority person perpetrating a hate crime is it brings up old memories of past prejudices and hate. Generalization rise out of whisper conversations and that lone lawbreaker has achieved the purpose they set out to accomplish and this social destruction. This is the current danger in the path the current administration has taken. Trust usually begets trust. Mistrust always begets mistrust. Super post, Gwen

Reply
Gwen Plano
2/10/2017 10:13:25

So true, John... Shoulder to shoulder, we learn to trust. I admire these two young men...they've achieved something miraculous.

Reply
Jan Sikes link
2/10/2017 11:50:48

What a moving video, Gwen. I love how when we open our hearts and minds, miracles can happen.

Reply
Gwen Plano
2/10/2017 13:22:33

These days we seem to hear more of the negative side of life, but there are miracles all around us. These two guys are amazing...

Reply
John Fioravanti link
2/11/2017 14:44:39

An incredibly important message beautifully scribed, Gwen! I would have loved to watch the video but instead, I got a message that the uploader didn't make it available in my country. Not your fault, of course, but I get tired of the YouTube discrimination because I live in Canada. Sigh...

Reply
Gwen Plano
2/12/2017 17:57:52

Oh John, I'm so sorry the video can't be seen in Canada! You would love it!! Thank you for stopping by....

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Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. ―Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning


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