Timeout: Discrimination Edition

I have read recent articles in The Dickinsonian both about Abby Garfinkle’s struggle as an Orthodox Jewish student and Sam Bellissimo’s argument that Abby (whose issue was apparently resolved according to a correction in The Dickinsonian) was downplaying the struggles of transgender people. I think that discrimination against both Jews and transgender people are awful and inexcusable, but we should stop arguing over who should be taken more or less seriously, or who gets more or less respect.

Such arguments will fragment this campus, and make it very difficult for this student body to act as a unifying voice calling for an end to discrimination wherever it is present. If we, as students, divide ourselves into all these little groups as a result of such argument, all we will be to the Dickinson Administration is distracting, yet meaningless, background noise. I honestly do not think that it is the intent of either Abby or Sam to have this be the end result, but it will be the end result if we are not careful.

But ultimately arguments over who should be jealous of whom, or who does or does not deserve respect runs the danger of downplaying various forms of discrimination. Abby’s experiences as an Orthodox Jew are awful. The experiences of many transgender students are awful. The experiences of people who have experienced discrimination based on their race on this campus is awful. The stigma against those who have experienced sexual violence is inexcusable. And other forms of discrimination that I have accidently left out of this editorial are equally dreadful. But when we have the sort of argument that we have seen in the last two editions of the paper over transgender people and Orthodox Jews, we run the danger of watering down the extent of the awfulness of these and other forms of discrimination.

Do I think that it is the intent of Abby to say that discrimination against transgender people is okay, or do I think Sam intended to say that discrimination against Orthodox Jews are okay? Of course not! But if we argue over which form of discrimination deserves the most attention, I fear that we will not be able to address any form of discrimination on this campus and in society as a whole.