Shakespeare once said, “This above all: to thine own self be true…”

Stop! As much as I enjoy being pretentious as fuck, let’s try toning it down a bit, shall we? The late, great artist Michael Jackson once sang, “If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.” That’s more like it, but how do we make this change?

For those of you not keeping up with my column (you’re missing out, bro) last week I talked about how slight behaviors perpetuate a larger cultural framework that supports racism on an institutional level, and I obviously support breaking that cycle. It’s a cute thought, but how do we, as a college campus and thus a microcosm of society, begin to change the behaviors we have been enculturated to perform? We think about ourselves.

OK, it might be ironic for me to suggest that you think about yourself in order to ultimately help others, but stick with me on this one. I am going to posit that the tendency to collectivize, though an invaluable tool for organization, group protection and other measures I won’t define here, has an enormously problematic side effect: by rallying around single identities we suppress other aspects of ourselves that might be integral to our more prominent identity.

Sean, what the hell are you talking about? What does this even have to do with Mizzou? Example: When I ask the question, “Where are you from?” to the average student, I’m probably going to get one of two answers: St. Louis or Kansas City. Lies! They might be from St. Charles or Blue Springs and thus hail from a suburb, but to live in actual urban St. Louis or Kansas City denotes a different meaning. These attempts to fit in by generalizing ourselves might make it easier to communicate what chunk of Missouri you’re from, but this simplification fails to accurately answer the very question asked of you. It reminds me of one of Mark Twain’s snarky quips, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

What I hope to illustrate through this protracted example is that we are not honest about ourselves because we are not trained to think very critically about who we are and where we come from and how that affects our everyday lives. So, truthfully, who are you?

1. What is your socioeconomic class? Do you come from a rural, suburban or urban area?
2. Are you able-bodied? Do you have an invisible disability, such as a learning disability or something else?
3. What is your sexual orientation or gender expression? Do you identify as belonging to any LGBTQ group?
4. What gender do you identify with? Male, female or something beyond the binary?
5. Do you practice a religion? How prominent is that religion in the United States? Does it have any sort of stigma attached to it?
6. What is your race or ethnic identity? Is your group widely represented in mainstream culture?

So, how do you feel? Anything? No, I’m not letting you off the hook that easily. Do you go to this university? If so, you’re obligated to make these sorts of considerations. Collegiate education is not supposed to be four years of you continuing to be an ignorant asshole. Most people may have biases without knowing them, but you know what? It’s no longer an excuse. There are too many resources available at MU for you to graduate and walk back through the columns a fool.