It's not "divisiveness" that's the problem. Racism is not a mindset, a belief, or a property of an individual.

Certain individuals might act racistly, but racism, like fascism, is lodged deeper, in the unconscious. It's in our language, our ideology, the very way we see the world. The stolen land beneath our feet becomes home, the slaughter of black bodies by police becomes the rule of law, imperialism in the Middle East becomes human rights. In every one of us lurks the ghost of a colonial authority, a proto-fascist, inhumanity in all its horror and force. You can't be not-racist.

You have to be anti-racist.

Remember Eichmann, the boring, unexceptional, petty bureaucrat who did his job. Eating your lunch quietly won't stop history. You cannot satisfy yourself with merely abstaining from racist thoughts and behavior when the world around you bleeds black and brown blood. Inaction is a meager virtue.

When every institution of our state is penetrated throughout by racial violence, from schools to immigration to drug enforcement, it cannot be enough to satisfy yourself with personal virtue. That is the first lesson of History: that it is not about you. The humanity of those who suffer, have suffered, will suffer, demands something greater of us.

And that something greater might not be SWN. However, SWN, issues of efficacy, tact, or tactics aside, has brought to light the extent to which we still cling dearly to this fragile notion of non-racism. If we ask ourselves why five minutes at dinner have provoked such a response, what nerve they touched, what sort of answer do we find?

"A splinter in the eye is the best magnifying glass available"

We find that it attacks our ego, the illusions that allow us to function day-to-day despite the crushing universal violence of our world. It offends us because we want to believe we're already good enough, it insults us because we we are too proud to admit that we too, like everyone else, are racist. The challenge of moving the world forward lies not only in confronting the institutions of stone and flesh, but those of the mind as well. No matter how many of the correct positions you hold you must confront the racist in yourself.

We cannot shy away from self-criticism, history will not let us.

I've had sex in a dewitt private study room

Props to whoever made the black girl magic poster at the bodacious showcase. It was needed

Hot dogs are not sandwiches

If a meme offends you, how are you gonna live once you graduate and leave mac? The outside world is harsh so face the reality

Can y'all talk about something besides Stop White Noise? Who cares. Honestly. It's no KWOC.

I just really want to settle down with a gorgeous Russian man far away from here

I'm a highschool Senior and I visited Macalester during the spring sampler...I really enjoyed the school – but after seeing Mac confessions...YIKES! I think I made the wrong choice.