Monday, February 10, 1997
Race shouldn’t decide identity
I would like to say a few words in response to J. Jioni Palmer’s
Feb. 5 column, "Don’t neglect the power of your voice." Jioni, I am
glad that you are active in politics and that you are expressing
yourself. We need voices like yours on campus and in our community.
I want to wholeheartedly encourage you to continue to be active in
politics and never neglect the power of your voice.
At the same time, I was taken aback by your belief that your
personal identity is tied to the legacy of the group. Jioni, is
there any room left to just be Jioni? Is there room for you to live
your life under such constraints? Is your identity really tied up
in what other members of your group do? If another African just
happens to be a bum, does that make you a bum? If another African
steals something, does that make you a thief? If O.J. Simpson
really is a murderer, does that make you a murderer? Of course not.
You are who you are, an individual, separate from the group. Your
identity is defined by who you are alone. Your life is yours to
live for your own sake.
Jioni, I want to encourage you to be active in politics and at
the same time to have the courage to see yourself as an individual.
I hope you can just be yourself. I hope you can live your life for
your own sake and be happy. I believe that the freedom to be an
individual is your birthright, regardless of the color of your
skin.
Jesse Choplin
Graduate student
Cognitive psychology