On Some Symbols

Change doesn’t happen on its own. Without wind or rain, the footprints of astronauts will remain for an eternity on the surface of the moon; without outside force objects at rest will stay at rest. Our lives are subject to the same laws. We always seem to be making “progress”, but only because people apply force, because individuals open their eyes and decide to change. Even more stagnating than those who hate are those who deny that the hate exists.

In recent weeks small nooses have been hung around Columbia University and at other schools around the country. Some journalists and citizens of these communities have described the acts as “practical jokes” or “pranks”. The language is all wrong; these are not pranks. This is not the same as scribbling graffiti or egging someone’s house. After 50 years of “Civil Rights” and “Affirmative Action” and “Slavery Retributions” and whatever other buzzwords members of the left-leaning white middle-class use to convince ourselves that racism no longer exists in our communities, the noose is indicative of something entirely different. No liberal agenda or Ivy League backdrop can change the fact that the symbol of the noose is forever tied to hatred and violence and “strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees”.

I am fascinated by symbols and images. It amazes me that, because of the complexity of human culture and our incredible capacity for abstract thought, a single image can have the same meaning for an entire society. It is this ability that allows us to create art and music and poetry and everything else that makes us entirely human. While the meanings of these images may be fluid over time, they will always have a memory and a history that is carried with each use.

The passage of time and our own silence will never change the meaning of a noose hung from a tree or doorframe. Nazi iconography on Walmart t-shirts or swastikas on handbags are not harmless "accidents". Denying that these are express threats of hate and violence is also denying that something is seriously wrong in our schools, court system and culture. Police action and political change are needed to end the institutionalized racism that DOES still exist, but we can also progress simply by replacing the language and imagery we surround ourselves with.

Yesterday JJ took a square of silk from his pocket and said “I want to show you this beautiful image on this scarf I found”. It was an abstract geometric shape, depicting nothing, having no concrete meaning-but it was beautiful, and as we ran our fingers over the fabric we both felt the same thing.