Ignorance is reason enough to pop the bubble one lives in

As I was skimming the Thursday, April 8 edition of The Equinox, I was shocked when I came across the staff commentary titled, “When applying duct tape to the mouths of radicals, freedom of speech isn’t maintained”, in particular the section where Mr. Miracle wrote, “It’s because of this crap that, hypothetically, if I were to write a 760-word column about how women take all of their social advantages for granted, it wouldn’t get printed anywhere”. I am curious as to just what “social advantages” he is referring to.

Is it the “advantage” that a woman cannot walk back to her dorm alone at night without wondering in the back of her mind whether or not she will be attacked that night? Is it the “advantage” that women have in the workplace, where a woman makes 78 cents to every dollar a man makes? Or perhaps he is referring to the double standard that pervades her sexuality; she must be sexually pure, but prepared to give up her sexual rights when going out on a date, in order to “pay up” for what her date has done. In my mind, these are not advantages, but just part of the sexism (yes that evilism) that dominates our entire society.
Mr. Miracle also wrote, “I’ve also been told that I’m supposed to be ashamed of my own skin color and gender because white males hold all the privilege in American society”. (White males hold the power throughout the world, not just in the United States.)

Although no one should be ashamed of her or his gender or race, it is imperative to recognize how these factors have increased or decreased your educational and economic options in life as this will allow you to see yourself in not just personal terms, but in political terms as well. It is only when we see the larger political picture will any progressive work be accomplished regarding societal problems.

Mr. Miracle seems to think that political correctness is overrated and extreme, but I would argue  he views it as a negative because it requires a higher sensitivity level to others. This higher sensitivity challenges you to see the world outside of your relatively uneducated sphere and to learn from those differences you see. Although it can be irritating when forced to look beyond your personal experiences and see how others relate to the world, it is better to be politically correct than ignorantly wrong.

Sincerely,

Hannah Walker
A concerned feminist