A Step Back on Tolerance

    Bob Somerby's been advocating a bit of withholding judgment until facts are in, and presents 2 pretty compelling instances. 1 was a piece of tape over the face of black professors' photos, the 2nd was a noose hanging at Duke.

    In the first case, there's been activism taping over the college's seal (covering up a founding family's slave holder past), an obviously relevant detail that wasn't always reported, though it was noted the photos weren't vandalized (e.g. scratched, broken, et al). One of the taped over black professors notes:

    KENNEDY (11/27/15): Last Thursday, on my way to teach contracts, I received an email from a student who alerted me to the defacement. I saw the taped photos, including my own, right before class. Since then I have been asked repeatedly how I feel about having been targeted by what some deem to be a racial hate crime. Questioners often seem to assume that I should feel deeply alarmed and hurt. I don’t.

    The identity and motives of the person or people behind the taping have not been determined.
    Perhaps the defacer is part of the law school community. But maybe not. Perhaps the defacer is white. But maybe not. Perhaps the taping is meant to convey anti-black contempt or hatred for the African-American professors. But maybe it was meant to protest the perceived marginalization of black professors, or was a hoax meant to look like a racial insult in order to provoke a crisis, or was a rebuke to those who have recently been taping over the law school’s seal, which memorializes a family of slaveholders from colonial times. Some observers, bristling with certainty, insist that the message conveyed by the taping of the photographs is obvious. To me it is puzzling.

    Assuming that it was a racist gesture, there is a need to calibrate carefully its significance.
    On a campus containing thousands of students, faculty members and staff, one should not be surprised or unglued by an instance or even a number of instances of racism. The question is whether those episodes are characteristic or outliers.

    The 2nd case of the Duke noose was a foreign student doing selfies with friends to invite others to "hang out" together and forgot to take down the noose - extended apology here - not that that apology & explanation has gotten everywhere the initial scandal did.

    Obviously these 2 cases do not exculpate the numerous racist beatings & murders, including the scandalous long hidden video of the police murder in Chicago, but they're a reminder as tensions escalate that not every perceived slight is an actual slight, and that we need to separate the real affronts and attacks from those with less proof. We may suspect things, and not all are disproved as readily as the noose instance, but like the wise Harvard prof notes, there's a need to calibrate carefully the significance, and extrapolating that, to carefully calibrate our response.

    Add to this the litany of GOP slurs and slander on the campaign trail, we know that they love to find a tiny mistake from the other side and use it to excuse all their behavior. They'll do this anyway, but no need to give them more ammo than they already have. And in any case, falsely accusing people of actions or intent is seldom a good idea or strategy.

    Comments

    There was a great take down of Randall Kennedy's article by a black Harvard Law student on "Melissa Harris-Perry" last Sunday. Kennedy's position on the issue is of no surprise, he has made a career being the black contrarian. The late law professor DerrIck Bell did an analysis of Kennedy back in the 1990s. Black law students have expressed their displeasure about some aspects of life at HLS (Harvard Law School). These expressions are part and parcel of free speech on a college campus. Campuses are supposed to be places where such discussions can occur.

    The true discussion is about how minority students view heir treatment at HLS. The tape incident was just an starting point. The discussion at Princeton about the racist Woodrow Wilson is another circumstance that includes how minority students view their treatment on campus. For Professor Kennedy, Wilson' racism is likely no big deal. Fortunately for the students, they are free to express themselves and are under no obligation to wear the blindfold that Kennedy puts on.

    Edited to add: a link to the MHP segment with the HLS student discussing the university seal and Professor Kennedy.

     


    Perhaps Somersby can read this HLS student's reaction to the incident

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/derecka-purnell/harvard-laws-black-tears-_...


    Sigh, so Kennedy's an Uncle Tom - shoulda guessed.

    Which part of his statement do you disagree with, or like in the article, is it just that it comforts white folks, not that it's particularly wrong?

    As for Derecka Purnell & her black tape as metaphor, an interesting climb, but I'm simply trying to understand whether the black tape was originally intended as a counter to taping over the seal (which countering such a political statement with another political statement might not be considered so much hate crime as tit-for-tat, whether their stance is the wrong side of the history) or whether it was intended to personally & ethnically slur black professors. I.e. you cross out our Harvard characters, we'll cross out yours?

    Is there another article dismissing the innocence of the Duke event, or does that one stand?

     


    The student's response was about treatment at HLS. The black tape was not the source of her problem.


    Seems the black tape was the source of her inspiration - apparently she made it to the hall early despite no classes & posting to Facebook by 8:31am. Amazing timing, justice served.


    Randall Kennedy is also an Emeritus Trustee of Princeton University.......ergo....there may be a fondness there for the blathering destroyer of post WWI world peace and US racial tolerance Woodrow Wilson, the apparent icon and embodiment of all that Princeton stands for.

    Randall also wrote a book called "Ni@@er" with one Amazon reviewer saying the wishy-washy Kennedy seemed to argue against the word meaning anything (as to hate), when it was used in the commission of a crime.

    Another reviewer said they expected some kind of conclusion for the short book but they said there was none.


    Well, Albert Einstein did his later research at Princeton, ergo it's possible that his big interest in unified field theory as well as his push to create the Atomic Bomb were influenced by Woodrow Wilson's racism. I'll put some tape over my copy of "Relativity for Dummies" just in case.


    The atomic bomb did 'clear up' Wilson's failures at Versailles. It ended WW2.

    Although by that point 50 million or more had died.


    Law School professor Charles J. Ogletree, whose portrait was among those vandalized, said he was still waiting to learn more about the incident before making too strong of a judgement.

    “We’re just trying to figure out what happened and try to figure why someone targeted black faculty,” Ogletree said.


    That sill does not address the core of the problems the students mention.


    It addresses the core of my post, which is why I wrote it.

    If you want to address the core of the students' problems, write a blog.


    Your post was about the black tape at HLS and not following reactions/overreactions. The only student and faculty reaction so far has been a series of meetings. The source of the reaction to the black tape by minority students has been to note the sense that they don't feel welcome.The actual reaction to the black tape has been muted. An investigation is underway. Meetings between students and faculty are in progress to address core issues that concern the students. Those concerns will persist no matter the outcome of the investigation of the black tape incident.When the black tape was removed from the professors' portraits, they were replaced by sticky notes from other students and professors offering words of encouragement.

    http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/11/a-national-wave-hits-harvard/

    Harvard Law Schools seems to be attempting to attack the actual issue that raises concerns for the students by aiming for more diversity and creating a more welcoming environment. To be honest, the black tape is no longer the focus of student and faculty. Many students appear hopeful that the future atmosphere will be better.

    The discussion of the black tape cannot be accomplished without discussing the core of the black students' problems with the institution, just like the tape on the seals has to be included in the discussion of the tape on the portraits.


    I'm not really discussing the tape - I'm discussing the tendency to overreact before facts are in. I think I said that already.

    The Harvard discussions are focused on other issues so you got your wish.


    The Harvard discussions jumped to those other issues largely because of jumping to conclusions, or accepting the framework as delivered that morning (so as not to see another president have to resign, say).

    I think the Tawana Brawley case hurt blacks' pursuit of justice badly over the last 15 years. If the current bout of campus administration shaming starts popping up with extortionary hoaxes, there's going to be blowback, and considering the bad state of police violent abuse against blacks - both innocent passerbys and guilty black suspects - that's the issue I'm more concerned about.


     

    Wow. The Harvard discussions "jumped" to issues that were already on the minds of the Harvard Law Schools students. The issues had been brought up before. Regarding the seal issue, it is probable that there were.  white and Latino law professors at Harvard who favored discussion about the seals. Only black professors were chosen for taping. Randall Kennedy picture was taped and he really didn't care about the seals. Race was the sole basis for the taping.

    I haven't heard Tawana Brawley's name in years. You are not the the US so you may not realize that Al Sharpton is often the go to guy when families lose a loved one to police homicide. Sharpton was a major factor in curtailing Stop and Frisk in NYC.

    Regarding hoaxes, the argument seems eerily like arguments about rape. The hoax involved in the University of Virginia case does not mean that omen should not come forward. Women should not feel shamed because of the actions of one woman. Blacks and other minorities should not be silent about racial discrimination because of isolated hoaxes. 

    The rape hoax in the Duke Lacrosse situation was the production of a local white prosecutor. When the story of a stripper at an athletic dorm party came out, black activists waited for more details. There were no mass protests. The prosecutor led the fake charge all on his own.

    The bad state of affairs between blacks and police exists because of real events like e cover-up in Chicago. Police unions routinely fight to keep bad cops on the force. Baltimore paid out $400 million for police abuse cases according to the Baltimore Sun. Chicago has paid out $500 million  for police abuse. Chicago is shutting down schools because they don't have enough money. Perhaps paying out half a billion dollars is a reason that they don't have money. Police abuse is my concern. There is another case of police homicide in Chicago that occurred before the MacDonald murder. Ronald Johnson was shot in the back During a police chase. It is unclear if he was armed. Chicago police and the local prosecutor have been dragging their feet in releasing dashcam video in the case. I think the police and prosecutor are lying scum hiding evidence in the case. That is my opinion without viewing the tape. The Chicago PD and prosecutor are not worthy of trust.

    I reject the "hoax" hypothesis when it says that we have to question a woman in detail before we  believe that she was raped. Bill Cosby benefitted from that nonsense. I reject the "hoax" hypothesis when it comes to charges of racism. Harvard is dealing with real issues not focusing on the isolated tape incident.

    Tawana Brawley?


    Sorry, but the standard is still innocent before proven guilty, even tho like the preference for plea bargains, most cases don't go to trial, so we judge based on available evidence. That goes for rapes, racist abuse and police actions, though obviously if there are conspiracies to cover up evidence, whether by police or activists, we can't treat it as innocent.

    Legal standards differ from public standards

    I can label Donald Trump a bigot and a racist personally. I can label Ben Carson an .Islamophobe.

    In the case of the Harvard students, the first black student on the scene stopped a professor from removing evidence and suggested calling the police. Police were brought in to analyze the case. Students voiced opinions that this was a racist act. There were no demonstrations, just discussions to address issues that black students felt were important. Would you prefer that no discussions regarding the issues occur? 

     I can say that Dylan Roof , the man who killed nine people in Charleston, is a murderer. He has not been to trial, but I can state my opinion. You could opine that O.J. Simpson is a murder even thought he was not guilty in a court of law.


    I can say that if the campus didn't treat it that way, there would have been protests demanding resignations. The photos were posted up as a hate crime within minutes - spread quickly to overseas press. Hardly time for an investigation. As someone posited, "who would risk expulsion from the great Harvard over that?" Whatever Al Sharpton does, to many he'll always be a fraud.

    You not only can say it, you did say it. You offered an opinion. 

    Regarding the spread of the photos, welcome to the Internet age.

    Sharpton has been criticized by hardcore rap stars for pointing out misogynistic lyrics He has been criticized by elements of Black Lives Matter. Sharpton being labeled a fraud is something he calls Wednesday.


    Sure, rap lyrics are the same as falsely accusing several people of rape and putting them through a year of tabloids and costly trials. LOLZ. What other people call Wednesday, Sharpton calls Payday.

    The simple fact is that someone would post the photos via Twitter, Facebook, or elsewhere The photos were going to go viral. If the photos weren't published, a police report would have been published. That would have been picked up as well. Once details of black Harvard Law professors photos being taped over, the story was going viral. For young people, it was essentially reflex for details of the black tape incident to wind up on social media. The new norm.

     


    I re-read this three times.

    With all of the racist crap dealt out by just the repubs over the last fiew months; with all the domestic terrorism perpetrated in this country (as well as the terrorism perpetrated around the globe); with all the issues surrounding refugees in Europe as well as refugees coming into our country from our southern borders; with all the violence on our streets perpetrated by gangs...I lose interest in ivy league students who own the present as well as the future.

    I guess it is all a question of priorities?

    Hullabaloo?


    Places like Princeton are where the next generation of George W. Bushes and Ted Cruzes are incubated.

    Nothing wrong with students there giving them a dose of reality on their home turf.

    About the hollowness of the 'exalted' white heritage of the places.

    Reality has a liberal bias, and they hate to face it, whether it is in past or present tense.


    I was thinking of doing another blog on Southern textbooks.

    Hell, the crap I was fed in Eden public schools?

    I hope those students the best!

    Attack the hidden racists.

    Find them and publish.

    Wilson was a racist prick just like most of our Founding Fathers.

    But please; please do not erase Thomas?

    We are what we are.

    We were what we were.

    Hell, over the last 500 years; we look better than Europe or India or...anywhere else.

    ha


    "Southern schools better keep your head

    Don't forget what your textbooks said

    Southern change gonna come at last

    Thomas Jefferson's ass is grass..."

    Time to read "East of Eden" again.

    Thou willst, thou shallst, thou mayest.


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