On Leadership (and Darwinism)
Jewel James
Issue date: 4/20/06 Section: Op-Ed
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As I sat in statistics class recently, I learned far more about leadership than about econometrics. As we examined a study which found evidence of discrimination in Boston's mortgage lending industry, the professor asked for our thoughts. What happened next completely shocked and astounded me.
A classmate raised his hand and prefaced his remarks stating, "I might risk my reputation by saying this but…" He then replied that the study was "stupid."
I took no offense there. He's entitled to his opinion, I thought. He then continued to say, "If young people were running a race against old people and the young people won, you wouldn't say there was discrimination in the way the first place prize was awarded." Despite the many confused looks around the classroom, my classmate continued with his line of reasoning saying, "it's like comparing apples to oranges…black people live differently…there's just a difference in ability." Suddenly, his point became clear.
I thought that those who believed Blacks had an innate difference in ability than Whites died alongside those who believed that a woman's place was in the kitchen. Social Darwinism was supposed to be a relic of a less enlightened past. But, clearly I was wrong on both fronts.
As I scanned the room and noticed that I was the only African American sitting in class, I wondered if I should respond. Ultimately, I decided that his was a pre-established point of view that was unlikely to change regardless of my strongest arguments against it. There was little that I could say or do to alter his view of the world. Nevertheless, I left class that day feeling deeply disturbed by what took place.
What disturbed me most wasn't that my classmate articulated a point of view that was utterly offensive. After all, this is an academic environment where all points of view are welcome. It was the deafening silence of my classmates and most of all me that brought me to tears. We silently conspired to write my classmate off as an anomaly and his viewpoint as ignorant without taking into consideration the presence of others, maybe even in the classroom, who might share his point of view regardless of its fallacy.
A classmate raised his hand and prefaced his remarks stating, "I might risk my reputation by saying this but…" He then replied that the study was "stupid."
I took no offense there. He's entitled to his opinion, I thought. He then continued to say, "If young people were running a race against old people and the young people won, you wouldn't say there was discrimination in the way the first place prize was awarded." Despite the many confused looks around the classroom, my classmate continued with his line of reasoning saying, "it's like comparing apples to oranges…black people live differently…there's just a difference in ability." Suddenly, his point became clear.
I thought that those who believed Blacks had an innate difference in ability than Whites died alongside those who believed that a woman's place was in the kitchen. Social Darwinism was supposed to be a relic of a less enlightened past. But, clearly I was wrong on both fronts.
As I scanned the room and noticed that I was the only African American sitting in class, I wondered if I should respond. Ultimately, I decided that his was a pre-established point of view that was unlikely to change regardless of my strongest arguments against it. There was little that I could say or do to alter his view of the world. Nevertheless, I left class that day feeling deeply disturbed by what took place.
What disturbed me most wasn't that my classmate articulated a point of view that was utterly offensive. After all, this is an academic environment where all points of view are welcome. It was the deafening silence of my classmates and most of all me that brought me to tears. We silently conspired to write my classmate off as an anomaly and his viewpoint as ignorant without taking into consideration the presence of others, maybe even in the classroom, who might share his point of view regardless of its fallacy.
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