The editorial condemning the Writing on the Wall Project was actually proof of its importance. As the editorial stated, we don't live in a perfect world - the sad truth is that discrimination and intolerance are still very prevalent and very real threats everywhere and to the Gainesville community. An even sadder truth is that while some will experience intolerance, there will always be some that never will.
And while they are lucky, to them the threat isn't real, and that's completely understandable. But that's why people must speak up and share their experiences - because they may be able to prevent the creation of a future victim.
If you find the wall offensive, simply walk away - a luxury not afforded to victims of discrimination. You complain about the waste of space, of money and the harm to the environment. I say that I've seen bigger wastes, and I bet the staff cleaned up after themselves. The editorial said it wasn't needed and that we're a politically correct choir. I say each brick in the 280-square-foot wall proves otherwise.
No, the wall did not cure intolerance and prejudice, but at least it tried. In today's world, every person, every symbolic gesture, no matter how meaningless it may seem to some, is a step in the right direction - no matter how small. There are many who saw the project for its merits, and I guarantee that should UF choose to host the project next year, there will be more than one brick with new material, new slurs and new expressions of old evil.
The students who painted the bricks did not invent the offenses they displayed but had them hatefully thrown at them. The wall's purpose is not to victimize, vie for pity or spread the hate that is painted on its bricks - it's merely an attempt to show that prejudice exists and is not to be tolerated.
And the sooner you realize this, the better. Only when equality and respect completely conquer intolerance and hate will the wall you find so disgusting and wasteful truly be unnecessary.
