Responsibility of Offended Parties to Voice Concerns
Responsibility Of Offended Parties To Voice Concerns
I do not speak for anyone but myself right now, nor do I as of yet know how the storm in a teapot over the postering war will end, but I must point out a rather glaring peculiarity in Joaquin S. Terrones '97 letter of May 6 ["PKT/TEP Rivalry Posters Offensive"].
He states: "As if it were my responsibility as part of the offended parties (being both Latino and queer, a spic and a faggot) to do something about it." Last time I checked, I was still in the United States of America, where the burden of proof lies on the accuser.
As the MIT Harassment Guide states: "People who are offended by matters of speech or expression should consider speaking up promptly and in a civil fashion Š people who learn they have offended others by their manner of expression should consider immediately stopping the offense and apologizing." This is precisely what happened.
From the letter and conversation I infer that Terrones believes it is the duty of the name-caller to make every effort to learn what offends another. Please forgive those of us who come to MIT to learn other things, like science or engineering.
Omri Schwarz '97
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