Dear readers Phillip Garee, Kati Brudd and Alumnus Kevin Maves, thanks for your responses.
I am going to keep this short and simple. All writing is audience specific. As I wrote my letter to the editor a few minutes after the Thursday incident, my intention was to strongly oppose and chastise the white person who screamed those inconsiderate words and the African-Americans who resorted to violence; and also all those who view the world through these respective paradigms.
Another intention I had was to draw awareness to the fact that racial intolerance is a reality on this campus. The broad labels I used (To the White youth of NIU & To the African-American...) I hoped would serve this purpose. I apologize if, in the process, I offended anyone by making “gross generalizations and bigot statements.”
In my African culture of collective responsibility, the part is responsible for the whole and vice versa. So my hope was that if the phenomenon I illustrated did not apply to you but did apply to a friend of yours, you would correct him/her or pass the article on to him/her because your friend was my target audience, and not you.
Well, I guess I learned my lesson.
If you are an African-American and you do study instead of partying, and you tend to steer clear from violence, great job! If you don’t, the goal of the letter was to get you to reflect on your lifestyle.
Likewise, if you are white and understand the struggle of the black community and have not had life easy, thanks for your understanding and I am sorry if I seemed indifferent to your situation.
However, if you are white and have had life easy (like the guy on my floor) and tend to be nonchalant toward other people’s beliefs and feelings (i.e. the feelings of the Jena 6 protesters); please consider a change of heart.
Be well, all. Peace.
And I really mean it, Peace.
Nma Winnie Okafor

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