Stop searching for ideal unity

Everyone in UM is racist. We sit in the dining hall according to race, even in lecture hall you can see clumps of people arranged according to race. When the students go out for social activities, they do so in groups according to races. When we room, we room according to race.

Then again, even within the race, there are cliques of best friends. You will notice that when people go for class, it is in groups (unless alone). Even when they sit in lecture hall, it is with their best friends (unless alone). Even when they go out to eat/watch movie/what not, it is still with their bloody best friends. But somehow no one faults them for that. Why? - Because everyone has an understanding that you are part of that clique because you share the same interests and beliefs.

My point is, the whole reason why people go around by race in the first place is because they are more comfortable with people with similar culture and background, just as each race has subgroups with people arranging themselves with people they like, who have the same/complementing personalities, beliefs and goals.

So what is the big deal with division of the races within campus?

People can see that the lecture hall is divided into races, but does no one care to see that we are all in the same lecture hall? Does no one care to see that we sit in the same dining hall and eat in peace without fuss at why another race is sharing the place? And does no one realize we go to class and interact well without getting at each other’s throats everyday?

What we need is a different perspective on unity and racism. Everyone’s talking about unity as if they expect everyone to gel in together as a homogenous mix of people. But in order to have a homogenous mix of people, you need everyone to be (most importantly) of a single culture and a single language. But how are you going to do that when people insist on keeping to (and only to) their own language and culture? I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing. What I’m trying to say is this – If you expect to stick to your own language and culture for most of the things you do (which is natural because we are all most comfortable with the way we were brought up – I repeat, I’m not saying it’s bad), don’t expect an ideal, unrealistic form of unity! Just be thankful we are all here, in the same place coexisting harmoniously, albeit within our own subgroups and race or whatever!

(Note: For those who would like to rebut and do see a group of people of different races hanging out, as in REALLY going out together often, eating and watching movies together, stop and observe – don’t you think they share the same language, culture and mindset? Even groups of mixed races do go out once in a while which I feel is overlooked a lot of the time, because it’s “only” once in a while, which makes it sound more trivial than its significance)

In conclusion, we are only racist because we have a strict definition of the word, blindly adhering to it without taking into account the factors I have mentioned above. I think we should stop sticking to the perfect idea of unity, taking into account how much we love to adhere to our own native languages and cultures, and take on a new concept of unity – living together with respect, in a friendly atmosphere without intentionally condemning or harming each other. Isn’t that unity in itself?

-adapted from Wai Cheng's note