You sure are sensitive and easily offended for someone complaining about people who are sensitive and easily offended. I guess it’s, like, a million times worse to be a white person accused of racism than a minority who’s actually been victimized by it, huh?
You do realize that the sacred traditions of the Fiji people are more than three thousand years old, right?
I don’t think the name is necessarily the issue, since FIJI is a pretty sensible abbreviation of the frat’s Greek letters. I think mostly people are upset by a bunch of white kids wearing their culture’s traditional costumes, many of which have religious significance, to look sexy and get wasted.
I don’t think this is such an outrageous request. Members of Phi Gamma Delta obviously don’t intend to be disrespectful toward people from the island of Fiji, but if these people feel disrespected, they deserve to have their feelings taken seriously. That doesn’t necessarily mean bowing to all of the demands being made here, but it does mean being willing to engage in a thoughtful dialogue instead of instantly going on the defensive and screaming about the persecution being visited on Phi Gamma Delta by the jackbooted PC Police. Greek life is close to 90% white and I think we need to acknowledge that sometimes this racial homogeneity leads us to make insensitive decisions without necessarily meaning to. It doesn’t mean we’re racists. It doesn’t mean we’re bad people. It means that sometimes we don’t think enough. Thankfully, that’s entirely changeable. We need to engage with complaints like this instead of shutting out criticism of all our traditions. Sometimes traditions honestly do need to be adjusted.
“Of course, no one sees it this way. Every theme will soon be considered “offensive.” That’s not conjecture, it’s fact.”
This is absolutely conjecture. There are plenty of theme parties that don’t rely on stereotypes of other races and cultures: celebrities, 80s/90s, nerds, stoplight, ugly Christmas sweaters, hippies, Kentucky derby and togas, to name a few. (And before anybody comes at me crying that wearing togas could be considered offensive to Romans — that civilization’s been extinct for more than a thousand years. It’s very different from dressing as a stereotypical member of a living culture.) Anyone who thinks it’s impossible to have a fun theme without drawing on racial stereotypes is exposing their own lack of creativity.
It’s very sad that you think this way, but you — thankfully — don’t represent the opinions of all men. I hope someday you learn to view women as more than potential sex partners.
Steve Holt!
You sure are sensitive and easily offended for someone complaining about people who are sensitive and easily offended. I guess it’s, like, a million times worse to be a white person accused of racism than a minority who’s actually been victimized by it, huh?
You do realize that the sacred traditions of the Fiji people are more than three thousand years old, right?
I don’t think the name is necessarily the issue, since FIJI is a pretty sensible abbreviation of the frat’s Greek letters. I think mostly people are upset by a bunch of white kids wearing their culture’s traditional costumes, many of which have religious significance, to look sexy and get wasted.
Eat and drink whatever you want, girl. Nobody owns the concept of coconuts.
I don’t think this is such an outrageous request. Members of Phi Gamma Delta obviously don’t intend to be disrespectful toward people from the island of Fiji, but if these people feel disrespected, they deserve to have their feelings taken seriously. That doesn’t necessarily mean bowing to all of the demands being made here, but it does mean being willing to engage in a thoughtful dialogue instead of instantly going on the defensive and screaming about the persecution being visited on Phi Gamma Delta by the jackbooted PC Police. Greek life is close to 90% white and I think we need to acknowledge that sometimes this racial homogeneity leads us to make insensitive decisions without necessarily meaning to. It doesn’t mean we’re racists. It doesn’t mean we’re bad people. It means that sometimes we don’t think enough. Thankfully, that’s entirely changeable. We need to engage with complaints like this instead of shutting out criticism of all our traditions. Sometimes traditions honestly do need to be adjusted.
“Of course, no one sees it this way. Every theme will soon be considered “offensive.” That’s not conjecture, it’s fact.”
This is absolutely conjecture. There are plenty of theme parties that don’t rely on stereotypes of other races and cultures: celebrities, 80s/90s, nerds, stoplight, ugly Christmas sweaters, hippies, Kentucky derby and togas, to name a few. (And before anybody comes at me crying that wearing togas could be considered offensive to Romans — that civilization’s been extinct for more than a thousand years. It’s very different from dressing as a stereotypical member of a living culture.) Anyone who thinks it’s impossible to have a fun theme without drawing on racial stereotypes is exposing their own lack of creativity.
It’s very sad that you think this way, but you — thankfully — don’t represent the opinions of all men. I hope someday you learn to view women as more than potential sex partners.