| [ EnglishOnly ] in KIDS 글 쓴 이(By): Hoosier (Tim Ramey) 날 짜 (Date): 1993년11월03일(수) 04시21분06초 KST 제 목(Title): RE:Ghosty I could not help but be moved by your words. As a "white American, I felt what a Korean Professor at Indiana University, Choi Kyung Hee, described to me as, "the white man's burden". The definition of this means that as an Anglo- American, I am aware there are elements within my race that discriminate against people and pre-judge agaist others simply because those individuals are not "white" Americans. And because I abhor racism, and because I always try to set the example in terms of my behavior toward Americans of other cultures, I felt a tremendous amount of guilt when I read your words. Even though I personally have not treated you disrespectfully, I feel responsible for the actions of misconduct against you and your people by people that are of the same race as me. This is the best way I can describe the "white man's burden" to you. I must, however, point out to you that there is no absolute security for any given ethnic group in America. In your posting you say that you long for greater cultural unity, but some would say to you that this is only a catch-phrase for isolationism, and polarization. Polarization only leads to more cultural misunderstanding between the many various ethnic groups in America. By no means am I advocating that the Korean-American society be assimilated. You have an extremly rich heritage that dates back 5000 years ago; you should feel justly proud of your people and the achievements thereof. the main point that I'm trying to make to you is that we, the citizens of the world, need to start looking at people as what they truly are: fellow inhabitants of the same planet. No country need to take my advice more than the United States. We need to stop looking at people as African-Americans, Korean-Americans, European-Americans, and so on, we need to start looking at each other as "HUMAN-Americans. I just want to say to you that most of the truly great friends that I have at Indiana University are people of Korean decent. I have many times witnessed racism against Korean students and Korean-American students here, and each and every time it has happened I have felt great saddness and guilt. I try every day to let my behavior serve as an example to other American students with regard to the way that they treat foriegn students. I experience racism and hostility directed at me by Korean and Korean students every single day, for no other reason than that I'm white. I wish that I had all the answers for you, I don't. All that I know is that we have to start caring for one another and stop worrying about what race someone is. I hope you are not angry at me for sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong. I feel that this is the first step toward understanding: communication. Thanks for listening, Tim (Hoosier) |