I am not insensitive. I just don't care.
I was talking to a friend of mine, discussing a great many subjects, when he told me I was insensitive. I just can't understand the plight of the black man, he said, because I am not black.
I listened politely and then told him he was full of crap. I told him I thought he was too sensitive. He listened politely and told me I was full of crap. So goes my attempt to tackle the delicate cultural sensitivity issue.
Here is my take on cultural differences: I don't give a damn. Hell, I probably couldn't even define culture. Lord knows I have none.
Why do I have to be sensitive to other cultures? If I become more sensitive to other cultures, will it make me a better, more rounded person? Will it make me more money when I get out of college? Will it allow me to understand and appreciate people better and therefore allow for a clearer understanding of the human condition? Will it provide a startling insight into problems others face? Will it provide all the answers I have searched for, lo! these many years? Will it allow me to raise my children in a kinder, gentler, more humane world?
Or will it just be a big pain in my ass?
As far as understanding the plight of the black man, I grant the point. However, I should point out that we are all victims. Most of us just don't get dragged down by it.
Everybody, at one point or another in this life, is screwed over. What can I say? Life isn't fair. The key is to get screwed over less than the other guy (or girl).
But back to my original point: I refuse to be any more sensitive. People are much too sensitive as it is. My brother once told me that he would not let his children trick-or-treat because he believes Halloween to be a pagan holiday. That, my friends, is too damn sensitive.
Not to mention that influence of the sensitivity police is downright dangerous.
I saw a report on the CBS news that showed how the U.S. Navy has become more sensitive in the training of its recruits, a further wussification of the already wussified U.S. military.
I love the Navy. It was, and is, a big part of who I am. It absolutely kills me to watch it wither away in this new era of sensitivity.
You see, they don't yell at the recruits or force them to do exercise as punishment anymore. Boot camp has become a very touchy-feely experience.
They actually interviewed recruits who said that it was not as bad as they expected, and things seemed pretty cool there. What the hell is going on?
Gone are the days when the chief or your shipmates tell you that, if you don't shape up, they will take you behind the paint locker and whip your ass.
That's great in the peacetime Navy. But what happens when the ordinance starts flying? Can we really expect people who have never heard a word in anger to adequately respond to a shot fired in anger?
I was told for my entire Navy career that people fight like they train. If the training consists of nothing but an extended feel-good-about-yourself, let's-hold-hands seminar, how will our military fight? More importantly, how many people will die because of these ill-thought-out training regimens?
So pardon me if I don't offer up the requisite amount of sensitivity toward the plight of the poor Frontier Fiesta victims. I guess, in the big scheme of things, I just don't give a damn.
Thomas is a senior journalism major who plans to open the It's a Pain in the Ass Institute.