I am sure that I don't know everything and though I may not always know what is right, I occasionally find myself feeling like I'm certain that I know something isn't.

Today's focus lies on:
1.) the difference between being an exemplary example and the dangers of being noticed;
2.) the idea that diversity can be taught from a standpoint of authoritarianism;
3.) questioning whether or not authoritarianism can allow for freedom of expression

two and three deal specifically with a class I'm taking to fulfill my diversity requirement @ university. The teacher stated that the classroom as "not a democracy" in the first twenty minutes of a two hour course. This was said in regards to whether or not recording class was permissible, and as a response to my statement that in the state of Wisconsin, only one person has to know that a recorder is on - and it doesn't have to be the person being recorded. In the end, her answer was ambiguous.

Her reasoning had to do with statements being taken out of context, put on youtube, and also to promote "freedom" to speak and do as any given individual requires. Meanwhile, I don't see what's wrong with having all of that recorded for posterity. How often does foolishness result negative attention, how often should it? Seems like a natural repercussion of this modern age of the all encompassing microscope vision of a globally connected humanity.

Context. She gave a story about an educator who emulated the dancing of Kanye West by grabbing his crotch, waving his hands and singing out, "hey, ho" repeatedly. Her allusions to his fate were as ambiguous as her ruling on recording class. The context of the story was that the educator was a male, who had/has a propensity for making fat jokes and possibly black jokes. Apparently his picture was taken mid-dance. Apparently his actions were deemed offensive enough for some sort of action against him. The story was super vague, and the context was just as limited.

The implication was that he was a white racist? I don't want to spend a semester discussing whiteness and blackness, because the concepts are meaningless to me. I see people, and their merit isn't judged on anything but exactly that - their merit. The more we focus on race, ethnicity and gender as concepts that form and separate us the longer they will persist. The longer they will separate us from the real "other" the silent minority (10%ers) that dictates life to the acquiescent, majority (85%ers).

I guess I hope that I find myself in the 5% that isn't included - otherwise, I guess I'm just another clueless, closet racist white guy.

"Most white people don't think racism exists," she says. Oh no, it exists, I think to myself while sitting on my hands and biting my tongue, and maybe classes like this help the tragically left behind racists of a bygone era's mindset, but they don't do anything but further a thought pattern of western bias as universal truth and keep perpetuating the ingloriously aging idea that people are to be told what to think.

Isn't diversity something that has to be experienced? Step outside of the familiar and explore the unknown - that's where the ideas that lead to progress can be found, that's where the future is hiding from the present. History is important, respect is also important, but by golly do I despise working withing the constraints of a context where social conjecture is preached as a fact-set.