Grinnell has a long history of political and social activism, and the recent march against hate and accompanying discussions are a powerful testament to that heritage. The campus-wide outrage regarding the swastikas scrawled in Lazier bathrooms and on Nollen House was appropriate. Such a symbol represents a horrific time in history and has an undeniably hateful connotation.
Such symbols should never be ignored, lest we forget the tragedy they represent. Speculation as to who drew the swastikas has been offered—a drunken student, a bored high-schooler, a Grinnell student trying to provoke apathetic peers, or, worst of all, a neo-Nazi intending to express the hatred and prejudice the swastika implies. Whatever the motive, the swastikas brought up issues that desperately need to be addressed, and many on campus are trying to address them.
But the activism this event triggered should not stop. The hatred a swastika represents exists before, during and after someone draws one on a bathroom wall, and we should not just address this hatred and prejudice when a tangible event draws our attention to it.
CBS held an open forum on race at Grinnell last Thursday, and as was pointed out at Monday night’s meeting at the Forum, the event did not draw as large a crowd as did the forum after the swastikas were found. It is easy to get caught up in friends, homework and trying to catch up on sleep. We know the newspaper staff was too exhausted from newspaper layout to attend the forum on race.
On a campus that is generally more open-minded and accepting than the average campus or town, however, it is also too easy to forget that such ignorance and prejudice exist. But it does, as we were reminded by the stories shared on Monday about acts of discrimination students have experienced on- and off-campus. The swastikas make it even more obvious that we need to have a sustained conversation on these issues again.
Forums, meetings and marches have always helped, and will always help, address such emotional and pervasive problems as anti-Semitism and racism. But it is unfortunate that next week, most of us will likely stop doing anything to address the problems we need to be addressing. We haven’t tackled the cause of hatred, only the expression of it.
There are no easy and tangible solutions to such difficult issues, and sometimes remaining silent about them is easier than trying to address them. But lack of dialogue leads to ignorance, which can quickly degenerate into subtle and overt racism and discrimination. We need to be talking about prejudice and racism on a microcosmic level—in our dorm rooms, over dinner and in class. We need to look each other in the eye and admit that, with or without swastikas, there are silent tensions and prejudices on campus that we need to discuss with one another.
Activism on this campus should be more than just a sudden reaction to specific events. The outrage these swastikas triggered contrasts sharply to the apathy generally so pervasive on campus. It’s good that we were angered by this, but there are countless other things that we need to be fighting against—not the least of which are the underlying prejudices that permeate our lives in more ways than swastikas on a bathroom wall.
The presence of swastikas reminded us of how strong symbols can be. But symbols of resistance and hope can be just as powerful—such symbols can remind us that prejudice and racism can only be overcome with unified activism. If we truly want to address the problems these swastikas represent, we will have to do much more than have one march and one meeting. We need a movement.
Arts | News | Opinion | Features | Sports | Archives | About Us