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By Pamela sf Kong I'm Tired of Talk about Race and Racism Me, I get sick of all this talk about race and racism. Don't we have anything better to do besides talk about how we don't get along, what we aren't doing for each other, what we should be doing? Isn't there something that's nicer, simpler on which to converse, debate, discuss, ponder, pontificate? Aren't we sick of tired of, bored with, annoyed with, numbed by all this babble, mumble jumble about the color of our faces, the whiteness, blackness, yellowness, brownness of our actions? I guess not. Let us say for the moment that Los Angeles is a funny place. It's one of the most diverse places in the country, and it's also one of the most segregated. Sure, you see a blend of cultures in a lot of places, but if you get down to residential neighborhoods, there ain't much blending there. See, maybe it's labeling, but you know where the money is and who to whom the money belongs. I don't have to spell out what I think I see and what I think everyone knows do I? Let's not talk too much about the L.A. riots, so let's give mention to those neighborhoods that have the buckos to hire their own security guards and patrol cars. I think of Bel Aire and Pacific Palisades and Brentwood. And I know they're not the only places, but I'm sadly and mostly Westside exposed. And maybe speaking only of the Westside isn't saying everything, but it's certainly saying something, because I have ideas and some knowledge too of who lives on those other SIDES. Race is a big thing in L.A. isn't it? Because L.A. is minority majority? Is heading in that direction? But political representation tells a different story. What about UCLA? Does the administration properly represent the population? Of course not -- and I am faced with all these contradictions for which I must attempt to account. But cannot. Because all I think is hegemony, and power isn't very colourFUL. Everyone talks about kids and how there's that one point in our lives where race doesn't mean anything. But there isn't one point in my life I can recall having such a pure moment. Maybe I grew up with too many adults in my life, or watching too much television, or hanging out in an enclave. Maybe I saw too much diversity and it mattered. We try not to let race matter. We try to pretend that it's not an issue. We try to take race out of the equation, and we cannot. The history of L.A., of California of the U.S. is a history of race and racism. The really funny thing is that race has no biological validity. The really sad thing is that it is a social reality. Do I think people can get along, can break barriers, build bridges, make peace, find balance? Yeah, I think people can. Do I think racism will ever go away? No. Quite sadly I don't. I believe that there are too many advantages in maintaining a hierarchical racial structure for race to ever be taken out of the picture. We need race as much as we say we hate it. We need to keep seeing differences to explain the way people are treated, to explain the unequal distribution of wealth and power, to not see our brothers and sisters of color struck down by our friendly enforcers of justice. (Yeah, you know it still happens.) And let me throw this into the pot. How do you not see that guy who works in the back of the kitchen of your favorite restaurant who makes two bucks an hour or who hangs out in front of the U-HAUL trying to make a "dollar and fifteen cents"? And I'm not a pessimist. I am a firm believer in social change and betterment. I try to call a spade when I see a spade. But I know we have a long way to go, and even longer if we think that we ourselves who sit in these institutions of higher learning are liberal and free minded. We have to see and stop explaining contradictions that serve our privileges. We have account for our own racisms, prejudices and beliefs. We have to be responsible for how and what we think or think we think. Sometimes we spend so much time on our high horses, we forget to unpack our own "knapsacks" and you can't make balance or build a sturdy bridge if you have a big ol' ugly knapsack. (Pamela sf Kong is a Senior majoring in Asian American Studies.)