To the editor:

I am a recovering racist. I’m working my way through the steps, but I have to take it one day at a time. If you also struggle with understanding your cultural advantage (or disadvantage,) please join the “program.” My name is Anna, and I am a privileged white person.

Do all Americans have the same opportunities? I pulled myself up from my bootstraps and worked hard to get to where I am today, no doubt. But my boots were lighter than others, more comfortable, and my parents taught me how to lace up. In this analogy we can imagine how some people might not have quality boots, they might have to pull on oversized boots, without socks, etc. Who could possibly know how difficult (or easy) it is for another person to walk (or run) without stepping into their boots?

There is no suitable adjective in the English language to describe the recent social media post that presently haunts our community. Party Chairman Mark Bowman emphasized a desire for open discussion, among other things. Therefore, there are a few points I’d like to submit in the spirit of respectful debate.

I think there are more or less two different schools of thought when it comes to social inequality: 1) people are products of their environment; and, 2) individuals control their own destiny regardless of environmental factors.

The Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences determined, “there is no evidence that the groups we commonly call ‘races’ have distinct, unifying genetic identities.” And later summarized, “In the biological and social sciences, the consensus is clear: race is a social construct, not a biological attribute.” Hmmm, so if we are more or less biologically equal why is there such enormous social inequality amongst human beings?

Well, the elite scholars at Harvard were able to figure that one out, “The few differences that do exist reflect differences in environments and external factors, not core biology.” They even suggest that the term “race” be replaced with “ancestry.”

(<a href="https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/science-genetics-reshaping-race-debate-21st-century/">https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/science-genetics-reshaping-race-debate-21st-century/</a>)

It was clear that the social media post in question believed it to be Black People, the very victims, are somehow collectively at fault for the inequality that bleeds America. Overt racism from my neighbors never fails to astound and disappoint me. However, in this specific case, it came from a significant community figurehead and not just a disturbed degenerate. Perhaps it’s too much to expect that the two could be mutually exclusive.

I struggled to read the post; I kind of still hope that it was maybe just a really bad joke. I refuse to believe that this is a reflection of our amazing community, or even the collective perspective of the Republican Party. I happen to still have a little faith in humanity. Instead, I will assume that this was the isolated opinion of a particularly misguided individual who was accidentally given authority to speak for the GOP.

Thus, my advice to the Brown County Republican Party is to cut out the cancer and heal. Get rid of the festering infection(s), become strong and healthy again. Learn from mistakes made. Try to understand the experiences of others. Empathize with realities beyond your own backyard. Then, you might be able to survive future generations of free thinkers. Or, risk withering away along with these primitive perspectives.

Empirical data has proved that “race” is a socially constructed concept. Who is to blame for modern day racism? Everyone, myself included. We are all guilty of perpetuating socially constructed stigmas. So lets “sponsor” one another, shall we? Let’s stick to the steps and take it one day at a time.
<p style="text-align: right"><strong>Anna Hofstetter, Brown County</strong></p>