Letter to the Editor re: Kersten & noose article

link to the Kersten column http://www.startribune.com/kersten/story/1559420.html Katherine Kersten: Noose outcry is a new entry in the campus hall of shame"

Here is the letter I submitted to the Strib on 11/19, but it was not published, so I'm posting it here.

Dear Editor,

I, a “real adult” would like to respond to Katherine Kersten’s most recent column, “Noose outcry is a new entry in the campus hall of shame.”

We see the dialogue that has resulted from “the noose incident” as part of an important and ongoing public discourse on the power of American symbols. A noose is not only a symbol of course, but the thing itself—a tool of murder, a tool with a bloody and racist history. Whether Keith is racist or not is not the issue. The fact that his noose was made of sweatshirt string and was posted for a few minutes is not the issue. The issue, thanks to people like Kersten, is the racist backlash. Kersten seems so proud of herself, so smug--doesn't she know that the KKK has already "been there, done that"?

Newsflash to Kersten: people of color have better things to do than to label individuals as racist. Honestly, we're quite busy living our lives. Yes, some of us are busily engaged in structural analysis of institutional oppression—within, across, and outside the borders of the

United States

. To borrow from another loudmouth, Bill O'Reilly, it seems that she wants us to "just shut up." Apparently only she and Mr. Keith--two white people--understand the nature of "real racism." I think even most white people would find that idea laughable.

In her article, Kersten strains to turn Mr. Keith into a victim, a martyr who sacrificed for his country in

Iraq

. She even played that extremely tired alibi—he has a black friend, a fellow soldier, therefore he cannot be racist. Hasn’t Kersten taken Logic 101? And surely, racism doesn’t exist within the military. Apparently, to Kersten, it’s unthinkable that a black solider would have the professionalism to associate with a white soldier whether or not he thought the white soldier was racist. It’s a weak and specious argument that Kersten makes only because she has no substance behind her argument, only name calling.

We don’t remember seeing any sound reportage that proved that people at MCTC were out to make Keith the “arch racist.” In fact, I can think of several people with significantly more institutional power who might wear that tag.

Star Tribune, shame on you for printing such shoddy journalism and hate mongering. Be careful, or you’ll be next on the list of “laughingstocks” of the “larger community.”

Sun Yung Shin
co-editor of Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption