"BSA: We want to know!"

At the end of the last class we were discussing how we want to proceed as this semester comes to an end and the Blackboard community topic "BSA: We want to know!" was mentioned. That night, I checked out the discussion board. I don't know if anyone else looked at it, but it's really interesting. Basically it's a discussion board area where people can post questions, comments, concerns, anything they want and can do anonymously. I think that giving the option to post without leaving your name is really positive and easy way to allow for a more honest and perhaps meaningful conversation. It's taught that the issue of race, as well as most the topics that we discussed this semester are taboo, things that shouldn't really be talked about. People know that it's not polite "dinner conversation" to bring up politics, race, religion and money. I've always struggled with this notion about what's appropriate to talk about. While I do agree that getting into a heated debate on religion and politics may not be the best conversation for a dinner party with new friends, I believe that the whole "we don't talk about that" idea is taken much too far. Instead of being limited to a rule for the dinner table, it's become a rule for society. The effects are visible everyday. Try having a conversation with a student, for example, about cost of education, lack of financial aide, student loans. Although I think that most people probably have an opinion on the issue, I believe that you would be hard pressed to find someone that gave their opinion and then backed it with a specific personal experience. I understand that, it's easier and more comfortable to talk about these issues in generalities. "The price of education is too high; there isn't enough financial aid; a lot of students don't have the resources to go to the best school they can," etc. However these types of issues aren't just "general" issues, they're personal issues (this one in particular) that directly effect the Emory population; yet it's hard to find someone that wants to add a personal aspect to the issue. While I completely understand that, it doesn't take away from the main issue. It's the touchy/uncomfortable topics that are personal, and how can such a personal topic be thoroughly discussed using only generalities?

In addition, people are more likely to connect to a personal story rather than a general one. I mean to say that if someone is talking about sexism and how it's still prevalent in society, there will be that group of people who say, "no, sexism isn't an issue any longer, no one really treats women differently than men." The conversation could end here, or it could continue with a personal example of sexism. Not to say that one example is going to change someone's opinion who doesn't want to change, it can allow the conversation to continue. No real changes can be made in our society if people are too afraid or too uncomfortable to talk about them. On the discussion board someone posted that he didn't agree with the posts being anonymous. He made a very good argument saying that it was supposed to be a setting that promoted bringing students together, allowing them to get to know students of other races or other backgrounds, so why should you hide your identity. I think it's a completely valid point, but I also think that that over looks a whole aspect of the discussion community. There are numerous posts by people (self-stated as white) asking questions which could be taken as offensive, ignorant questions; but the thing is, they genuinely don't know the answer and are interested in learning. People have been taught for so long not to bring up certain issues that a lot of people have questions that could be easily answered, but they're afraid to ask. By giving the option of anonymity, it allows these questions to be asked. It's these questions that really shed light on the areas that may be of the most interest.

I encourage everyone to check out this Emory community on Blackboard and add their opinion, whether anonymously or not, whatever you're most comfortable with-either way adds a lot to the discussion. Even in a setting where people are completely comfortable, a group of close friends, these are the issues that still cause discomfort. I also would like to challenge everyone to ask the hard questions, and then answer them. While discussion isn't enough to bring drastic change (we've talked about this a lot with the issue of activism), discussion is the first step. If people are too afraid to even discussion the issues, how is anything really going to change.