The Mary Sue: I actually really feel for Brian Grasso on an individual level.
The Duke freshman became the center of a minor controversy recently when he and several other incoming students announced on a closed Facebook page for the Class of 2019 that they would be boycotting Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel memoir, Fun Home. The book was chosen as this year’s “Common Experience” reading; incoming freshman are supposed to spend Orientation Week discussing it in groups.
Now, Grasso has written a piece for The Washington Post entitled “I’m a Duke freshman. Here’s why I refused to read Fun Home.”
3 comments:
This article is slightly frustrating to me for a few reasons. First and most importantly, I feel that the author has not made up his mind on what it is he would like to say. He jumps around between "Yes, I agree that white Christians must feel threatened at a liberal university," and "Well you're white and you're the only type of person who could get his article published so is this really about diversity?" and "LGBTQ+ members of the community are the real marginalized people here, so stop whining." It is definitely a confusing article that seems to have more emotion than structure, and I feel like the author isn't exactly sure of what he wants to argue. I do, however, agree with him in some ways that it is not all black and white. I fully understand how religious people can feel marginalized and threatened in a world that is becoming more secular by the day, and where a graphic novel including homosexual content is considered great material for a Common Experience. If I were being subjected to reading something that I found immoral, I would probably feel the need to backlash a little bit too. However, there is a better response to this feeling, and that is to embrace the things you do not believe in instead of shunning them. The student in question states that he has, in the past, embraced reading materials that go against his beliefs, so I wonder why he has to publicly appose the one being assigned to him now, especially for the reason of "genuine diversity." It all seems a little backwards, but I would really have enjoyed hearing a single opinion from the author.
I honestly don't know how to feel about these Duke freshmen. I firmly believe in doing what you want and if you're uncomfortable with something you don't have to do it, but it seems like a waste of your education to deny a really good book just because of hypothetical pornographic content. People can choose to be as ignorant as they'd like, but you would assume that if you're in college you should be learning and understanding about different people and different experiences other than your own. I almost feel sorry for the very religious people in very secular universities, because they are denying themselves so many opportunities to make friends and learn because they refuse to see anything other than the vision of the world that they choose to see. Sometimes I have to remind myself that there are just some people who will refuse to change, and that though I wish everyone could be kind and understanding to everyone I know some people will remain close minded forever. On another note: Fun Home is an awesome graphic novel and a perfect choice for a freshman summer reading. Duke made a great choice in choosing a book that is so relevant to young adults right now. The fact that people are requiring a book like this to be read makes me more happy than I am mad about a small group of individuals protesting it.
A big part of college and your adolescence is pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. That being said, there is that line that if you are extremely uncomfortable with something, you should be able to abstain from it. However, this story should not be as big as it is. In all honesty, people are going to feel uncomfortable with a wide variety of things, Fun Home is no different. I agree with the author of the article in saying that Brian Grasso should not have had this much exposure with the topic. Carolyn Cox is right about another point; the anti-Fun Home article is bringing attention to the wrong group of people. If every time everyone was made uncomfortable with something it went directly on the front page of a major news website, then nothing would get done and we would all go insane. Grasso's issues with the text, valid or not, should have been brought up with the Duke administration instead of being published by the Washington Post. I get it. You wanted to explain your side, Brian. Not all of us have that privilege. I'm really sick of Christians acting like we are a marginalized population. Now, I can't speak for the Christians at Duke (which, by the way, if Christians are apparently outcasts at Duke, how do you know that as an incoming freshman?), but we are generally a privileged bunch. People do not picket our places of worship. There is no "Kill the Christians" campaign. I can listen to a lot of complaining, but when the privileged realize that the center of the attention is not on them, and then demand the spotlight back, I makes me want to smash my head into a wall.
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