La Voz,
I am writing to comment on the quotation attributed to me in your last issue, which concerned the recent arrest of Al DeGuzman and his alleged threates against De Anza College. I share the feelings of shock, fear, and trepidation that so many of us have experienced in recent days. I also understand the anger. However, my comments about media coverage and victimization were distorted in La Voz. I have made no critical comments about the media coverage because I believe what I have seen has been fair. I do not feel that the electronic and print media has been particularly inflammatory or racialized, even though I have not analyzed it carefully. I have expressed criticism, on numerous occasions, of the racist tropes and imagery so common in the media and popular culture, especially concerning conflicts over race, ethnicity, youth violence, terrorism, and social conflict (e.g., the recent coverage of the Wen Ho Lee case), among other issues. I am still concerned about how such events can be transformed into divisive racial discourse (e.g., the O.J. Simpson trial).
Even though I feel sorrow and sympathy for Al DeGuzman and his family, I do not regard him as primarily a victim. This would be absurd. It is obvious that individuals, (primarily men) can suffer from a multiplicity of social and personal problems and still victimize or kill other people, even those who care for them or who are not responsible for their suffering. This dreadful scenario is reenacted all too often. Al DeGuzman appears to have expressed his frustrations, pain, and rage with weapons, violent fantasies, and the anonymity of his web page. Unfortunately he is not alone in this predilection. All of us have to struggle to understand and resist the frightening climate of unpredictable violence in which we find ourselves. I just want De Anza College to be a safe and vibrant place where compassion, solidarity, and intellectual curiosity can be rekindled in our culture, which so often seems bereft of these virtues.
Rich Wood
Sociology Instructor
