Embracing Multiculturalism: Rerouting our thoughts about Columbus by Geoff Serra Westerly Sun October 18, 2023 I was the fourth of five boys, a twelve-year difference between the youngest and the oldest. Our house was always noisy – some lots of fun, some not so much. As in many large families, there were disagreements, confrontations, arguments, and fights among us and with our parents. In those moments, my mom, like my grandmother, used a favorite line: “There’s always more than one side to the story.” As a child, I found that line infuriating. How could both stories be right at the same time? One side had to be right – mine; and the other had to be wrong – my brother’s. Mom’s answer was just not fair. All my life that line has remained with me, and as an adult, I have often reflected upon its meaning. With age and experience came an understanding that I do not always have to win or be right. I know now that there can be validity in opposing points of view. Today, I know there can be accuracy in the experience of different people of the same event. There can be space for us to embrace opposite or various perspectives simultaneously, and, more importantly, doing so is a sure route to greater understanding. So, then, let’s talk about Columbus. Can I be proud of my Italian heritage, simultaneously knowing that the historical Columbus was a violent and genocidal force of exploration and colonialism? Can I be a faithful Roman Catholic, simultaneously acknowledging that a bloody arm of Christianity played a significant role in decimating entire civilizations of indigenous peoples? Can I know (sometimes firsthand) the bias, discrimination, and inequity leveled at Italian immigrants and Italian Americans and not embrace a mythic Columbus to represent the goodness of my people and the pride of their accomplishments and contributions to our town and country? Can I attend and support a holiday and a celebratory parade endorsed by many in town while knowing that for others in our community, the holiday and parade represent the origin of a painful history of suffering, massacre, and death for their people? Can I understand that a statue can be an icon of a people’s ethnic pride, but, to others, be an unwelcome reminder of the horror of their people’s annihilation? Can I listen, tempering my emotional responses to different views, to understand, acknowledge, and accept those different from mine? And can I do so without resentment, rancor, or worse? Yes, I can. But not easily. It is an active, conscious choice and a struggle of mind and heart to do so. I must reject the superficial world of the tidy, compartmentalized, absolute answer to embrace the nuanced world of the uncomfortable, sometimes messy, gray. I must know that “there is always more than one side to the story,” and both sides can be valid. Lowering my defenses, I can allow empathy and compassion to deepen my understanding and sharpen my respect. And I can choose to act and advocate that others do the same. In the American classic To Kill A Mockingbird, which many of us have read (and taught) in high school (and which, unfortunately, today too often appears on banned book lists), the penultimate scene depicts Atticus Finch teaching his daughter Scout about bias, respect for differences, and community. He tells his daughter she will “get along a lot better with all kinds of folks” if she learns empathy and compassion. “You never really understand a person,” he says, “until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” It is seemingly simple, folksy advice. In truth, it is the most challenging life lesson any of us will be graced to learn, embrace, and act upon. It is about belief and action guided by rerouting our thought processes and adjusting our mindset. As my mom and grandmother knew, our family’s survival and well-being depended upon it. It did. And so, too, does that of our community and nation. This column is written by members of the Westerly Anti-Racism Coalition, which embraces multiculturalism to address racism. A community coalition unaffiliated with any state, national, or international organization, ARC meets on the steps of the Westerly Post Office each Sunday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. All are welcome. This Sunday, meet the author and join the discussion about this column. Learn more and subscribe to ARC’s newsletter at westerlyarc.weebly.com. Contact them at [email protected]. |
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This website is a publication of the Westerly Anti-Racism Coalition. ARC is a community coalition unaffiliated with any state, national, or international organization. ARC embraces multiculturalism to address racism.
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