Everyone at MSU is talking about a racist Instagram post that has gone viral involving an MSU freshman. It happened in Midland, Mich., and the picture was taken at the cross-town rival football game between Midland High and Dow High.
Midland High happens to be my alma mater, and I know some of the people involved.
Midland is home to Dow Chemical Company and is in its own very safe and conservative bubble. Last year, it was put in the spotlight when someone from our Planet Fitness was discriminated against for being transgender. As a very liberal person, it can be frustrating to come from a conservative city where many people have very different ideals from my own.
However, I never would have wanted to grow up anywhere else. I could walk around at night and feel completely safe. I went to some of the best schools in the state. Midland has been seen in a bad light, but as a whole, the people of Midland are not prejudiced.
If you don’t know what happened recently, an MSU freshman named Reyna Muck who went to Midland High posted a picture with a student in a gorilla costume. The caption read: “got a pic with Dow’s kicker ;).”
Dow’s kicker is Ashton Brooks, a woman athlete who is breaking records in the Saginaw Valley League.
Midland Public Schools had released a statement regarding the issue condemning Ms. Muck’s actions and praising Ms. Brooks on her attitude and character.
MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon sent out an email to the student body on October 27 addressing the Instagram photo, and the post has gone viral. It has gotten national attention, written about in USA Today, Huffington Post (by another Midland High alumni and MSU student) and by a writer for New York Daily News.
People from MSU and all over the nation have been calling for Ms. Muck’s expulsion. She is no longer a member of her sorority.
Racism in any form is despicable and wrong, and people who are racist deserve to be punished. What many people don’t realize is that incidences like this are daily occurrences. Racism is still a very real problem in America; anyone who says otherwise either doesn’t pay attention or is too uncomfortable to talk about it.
Talking about racism makes some, often white, people very uncomfortable, but that’s all the more reason to talk about it. Black Lives Matter is an important movement. Many refuse to support it because they think it means that Black lives are more valued than others, which is completely wrong. The movement is acknowledging that the Black community is targeted and discriminated against more than white people, which is an uncomfortable truth.
If you are white, chances are, you are not afraid when you get pulled over by the police. This is very real for the Black community, among many other microaggressions. Being Black, or another identity of Color, in our society is something that white people cannot relate with. You can have the best intentions, fight for the end of racism and support Black Lives Matter, which numerous white people, including myself, do. But, you will never know what it is like to be Black in America. White people need to acknowledge the inequality in our society and ask the Black community what they can do to help instead of deciding for themselves how they should do it.
In the instance of Reyna Muck, a racist and downright mean post deserves punishment. But to the many people who are telling her to commit suicide – you are making it worse. That is despicable in its own right. Hate does not distinguish hate. Everyone should look at this situation and learn from it. Spread love and positivity and help to lessen the hate and negativity that we see every day.