OPINION:
A Harvard student, Ruben Reyes, who serves as editorial chair of the Harvard Crimson, whined in a recent written rant that he prefers to stick with his own “students of color” kind and ignore whites because — get this — whites are “exhausting” to befriend.
Racist? Let’s take a look.
He couched his views in context of looking at television shows that feature mostly white casts, with dotted scenes of minorities who are cast as “one-dimensional figures.” He then poses the question: “What, then, happens when people of color attempt to make white friends who’ve been nursed on media that depicts non-white people in such narrow ways?”
This is what happens, according to the world of Reyes.
“Often,” he wrote, The College Fix reported, “students of color like me end up in a precarious position. We want to make the most out of our time at predominantly white institutions like Harvard, which means making white friends that we might not have had at our segregated high schools. But we also want to avoid the racial insensitivity that can be a burden on our mental and emotional health.”
Hold on; here comes the pity party.
“Navigating this fine line,” he went on, “reveals a truth that makes people scream ’reverse racism.’ Having white friends, as a person of color, can be exhausting. It’s much easier to make friends with other people of color who already understand the way the world pushes against you because of the melanin you carry in your skin. As Erin White argues, ’in one way or another, White friends, largely, just aren’t safe to have’ because of ’their unconscious but blatant biases against and misunderstandings of Black People.’ “
Hmm. Wonder how’d that go over if, say, a white guy said similarly — if Joe B. White explained, in oh-so-even-tones, that he’d very much like to have black friends, but black people were so gosh-darned exhausting to deal with ’cause they’re always tossing out that race card.
Apparently, though, contemplating that scenario is just making Reyes’ point. In his mind, it’s: “There whitey goes again, reversing the situation so it shows blacks as potentially racist.” But hold on; we’re not done yet.
Reyes then takes it a step farther and blames whites who try to befriend blacks and other minorities for creating “uncomfortable social situations” and becoming a “burden” to minorities.
Did he just tell white America to stay with their own kind?
Yep, pretty sure he just did. Interesting. And his point is even more interesting when he reveals: “Although I’ve experienced this exhaustion in many social interactions with white people, my two best friends at Harvard are white.”
His white friends, however, are different than other whites because one lived in South Africa and one grew up in an immigrant household and therefore, understands the black experience. Unbelievable. Quick question: What makes Reyes able to understand the white experience?
His intellectualized rhetoric is a good example of why racism still exists and spreads. Here’s a thought: Maybe whites think it exhausting to listen to blacks cry about racism and victimhood, the inherent racist tendencies of America, the utter lack of opportunities for blacks in the face of White America — and so on, and so forth, ad nauseum, all against a backdrop of a Barack Obama White House, a Clarence Thomas Supreme Court, a Condoleeza Rice State Department, an Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch Justice Department, a Ben Carson Housing and Urban Development Department, etc. The list goes on — but doubtless, Reyes and his ilk don’t want to hear.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.