By: Barry Nickerson, Managing Editor
Issue date: 4/22/08 Section: Opinions
Hate crimes, repressed races and genders, discrimination-who is really to blame? It seems that when we search for answers, each side is blaming the other for reasons of being too "accepting" or too "strict." Radical right-wing folks blame the left for being too "liberal" and allowing people to express themselves in ways the right deems "inappropriate;" the radical left-wing folks blame the right for stifling their creativity and allowing backlash.
With all these old white men in suits bickering over the fate of America's youth, what are we, the Rhode Island College student body, supposed to do? Should we express ourselves freely or silence the ones who do so?
The gap between these two extremes is widening; now more than ever, this student body is dichotomizing, and we are seeing signs.
We see these signs when we walk to class and see things like "Fags suck" and "Die fags" written on walls in Gaige Hall. We feel the fear our ancestors felt when we find swastikas scribbled all over a bathroom in Craig-Lee Hall. When people shout racial slurs as we walk through the Quad, we feel stifled and shunned. When banners are ripped down, an entire campus community is erased from the big picture.
I had always considered myself to be one of those "in-between" sorts; I don't overtly advertise my diversity and I believe in full freedom of expression for those that do. However, my mental blocks and restrictions were called to question last Friday when the Rainbow Alliance held their annual Drag Show.
Dressing up as a woman and performing on stage? Me? It felt surreal and like something I just wasn't ready to do. Stepping into someone else's shoes-literally-seemed like a step farther than I was willing to go.
In a way, I was afraid. I am not afraid to put on a dress (why should I be?), but to go into public in front of a sold-out crowd as a drag queen and face this school's student body seemed very intimidating.
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