I could not help but be moved by your words. As a "white American, I felt
what a Korean Professor at Indiana University, Choi Kyung Hee, described to me
as, "the white man's burden". The definition of this means that as an Anglo-
American, I am aware there are elements within my race that discriminate
against people and pre-judge agaist others simply because those individuals
are not "white" Americans. And because I abhor racism, and because I always
try to set the example in terms of my behavior toward Americans of other
cultures, I felt a tremendous amount of guilt when I read your words.
Even though I personally have not treated you disrespectfully, I feel
responsible for the actions of misconduct against you and your people by
people that are of the same race as me. This is the best way I can describe
the "white man's burden" to you.
I must, however, point out to you that there is no absolute security for any
given ethnic group in America. In your posting you say that you long for
greater cultural unity, but some would say to you that this is only a
catch-phrase for isolationism, and polarization. Polarization only leads to
more cultural misunderstanding between the many various ethnic groups in
America. By no means am I advocating that the Korean-American society be
assimilated. You have an extremly rich heritage that dates back 5000 years
ago; you should feel justly proud of your people and the achievements thereof.
the main point that I'm trying to make to you is that we, the citizens of the
world, need to start looking at people as what they truly are: fellow
inhabitants of the same planet.
No country need to take my advice more than the United States. We need to
stop looking at people as African-Americans, Korean-Americans,
European-Americans, and so on, we need to start looking at each other as
"HUMAN-Americans.
I just want to say to you that most of the truly great friends that I have at
Indiana University are people of Korean decent. I have many times witnessed
racism against Korean students and Korean-American students here, and each and
every time it has happened I have felt great saddness and guilt. I try every
day to let my behavior serve as an example to other American students with
regard to the way that they treat foriegn students. I experience racism and
hostility directed at me by Korean and Korean students every single day, for
no other reason than that I'm white.
I wish that I had all the answers for you, I don't. All that I know is that
we have to start caring for one another and stop worrying about what race
someone is. I hope you are not angry at me for sticking my nose in where it
doesn't belong. I feel that this is the first step toward understanding:
communication.
Thanks for listening,
Tim (Hoosier)