To: BIRT Team
Petition to Change the Definition of a Bias Incident
A committee of students, faculty, and administration is currently meeting to create a Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT). This group was originally convened to address issues of systemic oppression at Carleton, such as the racist tweet by a Carleton student last year. We are concerned that the committee has moved dangerously far from its original intent.
The team defines a bias incident as “a behavior or act that harms, or carries the potential to harm, an individual or group, based on perceived or actual characteristics of identity.” Under this definition, saying “White people can’t dance” or “Men are stupid” are incidents of bias: “Reverse racism” would be included under this definition. In the same way that racism is conditional on power—a black person saying “White people are stupid” is prejudiced, not racist—this committee should use a definition conditional on power.*
We strongly recommend the BIRT Working Group develop a definition that is conditional upon a legacy of systemic oppression.
Note: We understand that BIRT is a work in progress. It is really amazing that it is happening, and we respect the incredible work being done. So thank you to those who have contributed to this project; we made this petition because we truly care and believe in BIRT.
*For more about definitions of oppression based on power, check out this article on reverse racism. Note that the same concepts apply to other types of oppression: http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/reverse-racism-doesnt-exist/
The team defines a bias incident as “a behavior or act that harms, or carries the potential to harm, an individual or group, based on perceived or actual characteristics of identity.” Under this definition, saying “White people can’t dance” or “Men are stupid” are incidents of bias: “Reverse racism” would be included under this definition. In the same way that racism is conditional on power—a black person saying “White people are stupid” is prejudiced, not racist—this committee should use a definition conditional on power.*
We strongly recommend the BIRT Working Group develop a definition that is conditional upon a legacy of systemic oppression.
Note: We understand that BIRT is a work in progress. It is really amazing that it is happening, and we respect the incredible work being done. So thank you to those who have contributed to this project; we made this petition because we truly care and believe in BIRT.
*For more about definitions of oppression based on power, check out this article on reverse racism. Note that the same concepts apply to other types of oppression: http://www.dailydot.com/opinion/reverse-racism-doesnt-exist/
Why is this important?
We are afraid that Carleton's Bias Incident Response Team is not focused enough on the issues it was convened to deal with: systemic oppression. The current definition could be used against "reverse racism," which we don't think should be covered. We strongly recommend the BIRT Working Group develop a definition that is conditional upon a legacy of systemic oppression.