Columnist's Viewpoint On Racism Clouded by Being Atop `Ivory Tower'

My knee-jerk reaction upon reading Linda Chupkowski's column in The Daily Tar Heel ("Racism Can Be Difficult to Notice," Feb. 19) about "only white people are racists" is to respond, "Is that what they spend their time teaching students at UNC with our tax dollars?"

Actually, it probably is.

I always cringe every time I hear white liberals speak against racism, mainly because I know they are in such denial of their own racism; purporting otherwise, while spending a great deal of time point fingers at others.

White liberals, like the ones in Chapel Hill, work for "open borders," integration and marches against racism while having severe zoning restrictions (so much so that an old cat can't walk across a neighbor's yard without being euthanized at the pound hours later), as well as overpricing all housing.

Also, how many poor or poor minorities can afford to live somewhere in Chapel Hill?

That's just a loophole to keep the poor and poor minorities out of town.

"If we don't see it, it doesn't exist."

I think they do this because they don't want to see their true prejudices.

To apply Chupkowski's theory, any white person living in an area that has another racial majority besides whites cannot be guilty of racism.

That means whites can't be guilty of racism in almost every city in America as well as the world.

That's an automatic out - they can do no wrong. I think we both know this is not true.

If we really wanted to apply hyperbole to this, then on this planet whites can never be racist since they are not the majority and only Asians can be, since they are by far the majority.

I would like to see Chupkowski walk a few steps in my shoes.

Then she will experience racism directed at her.

She should work as a food server earning tips to live off of in an inner-city restaurant or an inner-city school system for a few years so she can apply some real-world experience to her columns, not ivory tower commentary from far above the crowds below.

Personally, I think Chupkowski will have a great future in journalism.

That's because she will be exactly in sync with the rest of her colleagues in the media and entertainment industries in their denial of their own racism.

Steve Ghent

Raleigh