Brenden Nemeth-Brown Nemeth-Brown is an
economics and political science student who enjoys long walks on
the beach. E-mail him at bnb@ucla.edu.
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The most depraved, twisted and demoralizing species to inhabit
this glorious Earth are “knee-jerk” liberals. By no
ways do I mean to laud conservative ideology, for that is an even
greater evil. A large majority of this campus, however, seems to
fall into this well-intentioned but terribly naive group.
With the recent press of SP-1 and SP-2 spewed over this
newspaper, consider this mantra: We need more diversity on this
campus. Our present system neglects minorities and perpetuates
existing social inequalities. What an amazing piece of
rhetoric. Well-intentioned, elegantly worded and oozing with
compassion. But, these words spread an infectious disease that
permeates the minds of all who listen. It would seem that as long
as one acknowledges existing social inequalities and supports
legislation to overturn it, everything would get better.
Sadly, this is nothing more than lip service. Let’s just
say that Ward Connelly has an epiphany and decides to stick a
dagger into SP-1 and SP-2. More minorities will be admitted and
more diversity will be the final result. Mission accomplished. But
who cares?
Looking around this campus, I can honestly say that nothing
would change. My first day of high school forever supplanted any
idea that affirmative action programs inherently aid the scholastic
experience. Walking into a 2000-square-foot cafeteria, I saw a
“diverse” school. It’s just that mine had all the
African Americans, Asians, Latinos and Persians sitting in
exclusive groups, apart from each other, and even farther apart
from the white majority. What was the point of a diverse
school if races didn’t mix? It was as if my high school was a
cup of vanilla ice cream with multicolored M&Ms scattered
about.
Not that I blame the minorities. I don’t for one second.
When you are thrown into a new institution that demands you wear
Abercrombie, and you don’t, you’ll try to find anyone
who can empathize with your plight. But it’s not the
minority’s role to reach out; it’s the
majority’s.
Don’t get me wrong, there needs to be communication by
both parties, but the white majority is in the unique position to
lend a helping hand. Minorities should not have to compromise their
own sense of cultural identity to assimilate to a more dominant
culture. And yet, many criticize minority groups as being
“exclusive”.
 Illustration by JARRETT QUON/Daily Bruin You would think
that self-professed liberals would want to experience diversity,
but they do not. Nothing angers me more than the knee-jerk liberal
who supports minority rights but has never once had a close friend
who wasn’t white. Just saying that you hang out with your
token Asian or African American sorority member does not cut
it.
What needs to happen, more than the passing of ineffective
affirmative action legislation, is the complete and merciless
overhaul of the status quo’s consciousness. Those who believe
their social responsibility to minorities ends with the passing of
pro-minority legislation have completely missed the point.
Do you feel better seeing more African Americans on campus? Can
you sleep easier now? You should give yourself a pat on the back
for being so socially aware. If only we could all be more like
you.
Thinking of my present English teacher, I should probably define
my terms now. A “knee-jerk” liberal is someone who
adheres to all liberal social policies, most notably affirmative
action, abortion and redistributive wealth, but is completely
dependent on party rhetoric. If one were to step back, it would be
nearly impossible to agree with the Democratic Party on all of its
platforms, no matter how liberal you may be. Thirty years ago, this
same party was against the death penalty. Now you can’t think
of running for president without supporting it.
Maybe I am missing the mark by talking of diversity on this
campus. Most whites reading this right now are racking their
brains to find a person of color they could consider one of their
best friends. I will return to this later, but I now need to weed
out those who are “knee-jerk” liberals and those who
are not.
Consider the revolting display of party propaganda exhibited by
both the Democrats and Republicans in Florida just two short months
ago. Thousands of mindless souls were walking the street,
reiterating propaganda like a broken record. You stole the
election. Why can’t we just count the ballots. Because we won
first, and you just want to keep counting until you get the result
you want.
Etc, etc, etc”¦
Not to sound presumptuous, but that whole debacle was an
exercise in futility. No one would deny that political
corruption exists in probably every state in this country. Gore may
have even won Florida, but it does not matter. Why pick on a
single state, a single district, a single hanging chad, when there
are thousands to choose from? The system is fallible and we must
accept that, and its fallible winner.
But no, that would be too easy. Political ideology is an
obsession, like that beautiful girl who’s just out of your
reach. As much as you know you’re fooling yourself, you
insist on lunging forward anyway.
So, are you fooling yourself here at UCLA? Do you care enough
about diversity that you go out of your way to assimilate with
minority groups? If you don’t you might as well go to an
all-white liberal arts college in Vermont. The whole point of
affirmative action is to breed interaction between students of
different colors. If everyone fends for themselves, we should
forever arrest legislation that aids minorities.
So what can you do if you honestly care? This campus is flooded
with diverse groups that meet every week. Â Just because
you’re white doesn’t mean you can’t go to an
Association of Chinese Americans (ACA) meeting. Today, at 6 p.m. in
Royce 156 there will be a meeting you can attend. Just because
you’re white doesn’t mean you can’t go to a
Conciencia Libre meeting. At 6 p.m. Thursday in Bunche 3175 there
will be a meeting you can attend.
Diversity is an important component of the educational
experience. Whether it be as simple as sampling a new food, diverse
experiences aid tremendously to the evolution of the individual. So
with the plethora of resources available to the majority of this
school, I feel saddened that no one takes advantage of
them. Hopefully I’ve sparked some interest in those who
care.
But I must hang my head and shake it slightly, for I know every
time I get this silly optimistic feeling I am let down. Perhaps I
am lunging at the girl of true racial parity. What a fool I
am.