Column -- It's worth the discomfort to talk about race, class

Tonight's forum about the ways we talk about race and class when discussing Iowa City's troubled southeast side is sure to be messy and uncomfortable.

Face it, we have a hard time talking about those issues in the best of times - unless, of course, you're posting anonymously on the Internet.

All kinds of people are emboldened to weigh in when they're safely hidden behind a screen name. Of course, reasoned, informed and transparent opinions can be a different story. That's part of tonight's discussion: “Words Matter: Online Postings in the Iowa City Press-Citizen” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the University Capitol Centre's Room 2520D.

It's the first of three events organized by The University of Iowa Project on Rhetoric of Inquiry. The series, “Media, Space and Race: The Case of Iowa City's ‘Southeast Side,'” will continue in March and April.

Already, some people are grumbling: What do race and class have to do with anything? What do academics know about the neighborhood? Why put “Southeast Side” in quotes?

Some have decided, without hearing what panelists have to say, that the series will be one long lecture about the right and wrong words to use - a lesson in euphemism.

But euphemism is where we're at, glossing over complicated issues by talking about “those people,” and “the Southeast Side” - see how the quotation marks work?

Talking about language is a matter of being more precise, not less - about looking at the difference between what we say, what we mean and what actually is going on.

There's no arguing some unacceptable stuff is happening in some areas south of Highway 6. No magic words will change that fact.

But how we talk about complicated neighborhood issues directly affects our ability to talk about solutions. Looking at our language is an important, if awkward, step toward addressing them.

Besides, this community already is talking about race and class as they relate to problems on Iowa City's southeast side. We're just doing a terrible job of it.

There never will be a perfect way to start this conversation, or a perfect person to moderate it. There are sure to be misunderstandings, disagreements and hurt feelings as we bring the conversation into the open. We'll have to learn as we go.

But we'd better bring conversations about race and class into the light if we want them to make any sense. The way out is through more voices, more talking, more listening. Not less.

Jennifer Hemmingsen's column appears on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Contact the writer at (319) 339-3154 or jennifer.hemmingsen@gazcomm.com