Racism Crosses All Color Lines

The recent attack on white people at the Iranian New Year’s festival in Irvine, apparently because they were white, underscores that racism exists in all groups. Of course, the knee-jerk liberals are in a quandary, since consistency requires them to call for a “hate crimes” prosecution against a minority group. It will be interesting to see whether they meet the challenge, or whether they abandon their principles like the feminists have done with President Clinton.

The attack is not an isolated incident, but is instead a reflection of society at large. Evidence of racism and “multicultural insensitivity” by ethnic groups exists but is frequently ignored.

How “sensitive” is it, for example, for anyone to stop speaking English around white people and to use a different language? Without realizing it, this simple shift of language evidences a form of racism against whites. Or consider the large number of religious congregations dedicated to a single ethnic group. Such groups send a strong message that division along racial or ethnic lines is not just acceptable, but preferable.

Anyone truly interested in reducing racial tension must be willing to accept that racism (and with it the desire to exclude others) exists in equal strength in all racial groups. And they must look at themselves first. If they really want communication between the races, they should consider whether ignoring English is a major cause of the friction.

STEVE McNAMARA

Orange