On offense against offensiveness

Wednesday afternoon, king-sized snowflakes fell from the Bloomington sky. Standing in the snow by the Sample Gates were 20 or so Hispanic students and their supporters, holding up signs and protesting in silence. The \nsnowflakes were big, but not as big as the chip on the collective shoulder of the IU Hispanic community.\nIt really is amazing how quickly a protest can be organized after reading something inflammatory. Someone, somewhere, read the IDS on Tuesday, scanned our letters page, and saw this:\n"... a large majority of Latinos who come into this country are coming illegally. If Latinos wish to participate in political functions such as elections, they should be held responsible for doing so -- not us having to accommodate them."\nThe writer of stated opinion is, of course, entitled to it. The people who gathered Wednesday with signs and friends are also entitled to do so. Then, the normal discourse of disagreement. \nWhat makes this incident stand out among the many other protests that happen in Bloomington? Well, one point of particular interest to me is that the impetus for the demonstration came straight off one of our pages. It demonstrates the reach in the community a newspaper can have. The opinion may not have been ours, but it was still in our paper.\nThat issue is small, however, compared to the one I discussed with La Casa director Lillian Casillas Wednesday. She said all the requisite things a diversity advocate should say when dealing with a situation like this. She talked about the impact Hispanics have had on the country, their economic power and their internal diversity; Hispanics are more than Mexican -- American Hispanics come from almost every Spanish-speaking country in the world.\nAll this came as no surprise to me, and hopefully, comes as no surprise to you. But there is one thing that Lillian and I discussed that we couldn't seem to answer -- the dearth of minorities in prominence, or anywhere, in the Bloomington area. \nThere may not be an answer for that one. Nationally, the population percentages of Asian, Hispanic, and black/African-Americans are measured to be about 13 percent. Here at IU, there are more international students on campus than African-American students. The Hispanic population hovers around three percent, with the Asian number slightly higher. \nBloomington, whether we want to admit it or not, is a white town.\nThat's not to say it isn't a welcoming town. I mean, the Dalai Lama's brother lives here. Bloomington is certainly a beacon of welcome in what is perceived as a slightly intolerant state. One has to realize, however, that despite the best laid intentions, when one group of people so dominates the population, their views, customs and traditions will become the norm for the group as a whole. Bloomington is full of white people, therefore, the news, the commerce and the lifestyle will have a white tinge to it. The white tinge all by itself isn't a bad thing. When people get complacent and stop paying attention, that's when bad things happen. At the IDS, I can count on two hands the number of regular staffers of color we have. Our lack of diversity is sad, but just short of importing people from other places, there isn't much that can be done about it.\nWhich is why we have to work with what we have, and constantly pay attention to the needs of the small groups, the disenfranchised, and the minorities.\nAnd those small groups need to stay vigilant as well. When people pay attention to each other, they learn. When learning happens, ignorance dies.