LETTER: Prime Candidate

What the hell is his problem? I am referring of course, to Bill Madison and his column "Crackers In My Soup" (DP 2/18/92) -- perhaps the most racist column, including John Shu, in recent history. For those of you who didn't already know, "cracker" is the derogatory black slang term for white people. Why not call the column "Honkeys In My Horn"? Sadly, I am white, and unfortunately -- for Madison's sake -- I can't get a hold of any of those sun tan pills that C. Thomas Howell overdosed on in the movie "Soul Man." Yes, I am a prime candidate for "The Man." I'm the man whose mother's grandparents came to this country from Sicily and suffered prejudice, racism and hardships because they were Sicilian -- not Italian and not in the mob, thank you. I'm also the man whose father's grandparents lived on a small Cherokee reservation and were forced there because of another "Man" a long time ago. Because of this, I hate The Man, too; but The Man who lived a hundred years ago and has long since died, and not me and others like me who are pale and burn instead of tan. Yes, let's talk of separate ethnic social levels. Let's talk of the all-black and all-Latino -- or, hell, the all-Italian -- fraternities which continue to exist, despite Penn's crusade against racism, on this campus. Let's talk of the Latino parties which charge more if you're not in a Latino organization. I believe Spike Lee has the best term for this type of prejudice: Thinly Veiled Racism. You should know, Madison -- you practice it yourself. You are openly antagonistic against tanless people -- maybe because tatoos show up better on our skin? -- and it seems that the only white you like is a dead one. I don't know which crowd you hung out with, but it wasn't mine, because if I met you I would probably have gotten along with you. The only way our two cultures -- the darker, better one, and the one lacking in melanoma -- can get along is if we can put aside past differences -- slavery, Indian reservations, the mafia -- and accept each other as we are today. CHARLES WELLS College '94