What’s wrong with young adults? Why do they do such stupid things? Is it peer pressure or that omnipresent sense of invincibility that leads incredibly stupid behavior?
University of Oklahoma President David Boren is to be commended for acting swiftly and without equivocation. He shut the SAE house down and immediately severed all ties between the fraternity and the University. Students have 24 hours to get their belongs out and moved.
I am curious why he cannot throw the offenders out of school.
According to the Washington Post:
By early Monday, the fraternity had a strong statement apologizing “for the unacceptable and racist behavior of the individuals in the video, and we are disgusted that any member would act in such a way,” and announcing that the national headquarters had closed the chapter at the University of Oklahoma, all the members were suspended and those responsible could have membership permanently revoked.
The University of Oklahoma’s president, David Boren, also reacted swiftly with a statement Sunday night. At a rally on campus Monday, he announced:
“To those who have misused their free speech in such a reprehensible way, I have a message for you. You are disgraceful. You have violated all that we stand for. …
“Effective immediately, all ties and affiliations between this University and the local SAE chapter are hereby severed. I direct that the house be closed and that members will remove their personal belongings from the house by midnight tomorrow. …
“All of us will redouble our efforts to create the strongest sense of family and community. We vow that we will be an example to the entire country of how to deal with this issue.”
It’s good to know that there are decent people out there who will unequivocally denounce unacceptable, bad behavior. Perhaps these young men will have learned a serious lesson about life and playing well with others.
Here is the SAE reed that must be memorized and recited by all members:
It looks like someone fell a little short of this goal, doesn’t it?
Sadly, what many people refuse to believe is that racism is alive and well in not just Oklahoma but the entire United States. If you don’t think so, ask any African American or an person of color-they will tell you a different story. I still recall Arthur Ash’s comment about race when someone ask him if having AIDS was the worst thing that ever happened to him. His response was, “No, the worst thing that ever happened to me was being born black.” If you have watched the film “9500 Liberty”, you can see racism at it finest. That period in Prince William County’s history has to be one of its lowest points. We were as close as we have ever been to being a Fascist County led by people, some of whom are still being reelected to office.
Up until the last sentence, I totally agree. @ George
I will have to withhold comment on the last sentence. Not sure I would call it Fascist. That’s just one of those words I don’t like to throw around. However, what I see on the horizon is fairly bad. I find tea party mentality just as dangerous.
@Moon-howler
You don’t want to throw “fascist” around..but you don’t mind connecting “tea Party” with a report on racism in an article that doesn’t concern the Tea Party.
Nice going at conflating two unrelated subjects.
Where did I do that? I think the tea party has been very destructive to this country. I make no secret of that.
@Moon-howler
This article is about racist fraternity brothers.
George was commenting about racism.
And then he described efforts to control illegal immigration as fascistic…..where you chimed as saying that while you wouldn’t use fascist…you see danger ahead, including the tea party.
That puts the tea party in bed with the fascistic racists.
I just said I wouldn’t use the term fascist. I would have never used fascists to describe the SAE members. They were kids doing something stupid. Ever checked out the 100 or so verses of From Rugby Road to Vinegar Hill, a unofficial song of UVA? I don’t know if it is racist or not. It is extremely misogynistic. I find it as offensive as the little chant done by the good old boys of SAE. Again, stupid. College young adults often don’t have very adult behavior.
I do think the tea party is dangerous. I cite as a small example, taking the situation to brinksmanship over the debt ceiling. What did we get as an unintended consequence? Sequestration. Sequestration has really hurt the economy in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads. I also think sending a letter to the Iran government was stupid and very ill-advised and yes, dangerous.
Glad the university acted so decisively to kick these bigots off campus.
@Starry
Two have been expelled already.
I rather believe that the liberal Democratic Party is dangerous and destructive.
I am not sure what you consider the liberal Democratic Party.
The fact that officers in the Ferguson Police Department were virulent bigots should also not go unnoticed.
I think many municipalities have the same problem. Ever dealt with DC cops? some of them are just as bad. even the black cops.
I also am going to venture to say that many people in the federal government have the same problem. I have seen a lot of email generating from that source that is totally objectionable.
On the other hand, the SAE kids are just stupid kids. The lines are often blurred for them. Not excusing their behavior but I understand it, if that makes sense. Ferguson Municpality? Those are adults and should at least be smart enough n ot to voice their bigotry in ways that could bite them in the ass. They define systemic bigotry. I believe the most offensive to me was the one about Michele Obama.
Anyone who sends emails as undeniably racist/hateful as the ones I saw from the 3 Ferguson cops should be fired (as did happen).
Any kids taking any meaningful role in chanting the racist chants should be expelled (as did happen).
I’m coming around leftwards on this issue. Black people want whites to admit there’s racist people out there sometimes trying to do them harm. It’s tempting to believe it’s not a real issue. But it is.
Black people want whites to admit this stuff is real. Well, it is. The evidence is in the news. How widespread it is can be debated. The pros and cons of related policies like Affirmative Action can be debated. But let’s admit that this stuff is real, that there is some historical racist legacy still alive in the US, and move together from there.
The whole shebang now. Blue Dogs are almost extinct. The Scoop Jacksons are becoming a distant memory, if a memory at all.
I am glad they are there to protect us from the Party of No.
Interesting. When he was on the Hill, David Boren was known to some as a “conservative Democrat.”
The young do stupid things. They believe they are immortal.
A young man from VT was lost at sea over the weekend. He was on a cruise. People don’t just become lost at sea on luxury cruises. What a loss. He was a senior and had already accepted a job.
I think way too much attention is being placed on racism. Words really don’t make racism. Actions and deeds make racism. Words just clarify. I know plenty of people in my life who have used words that perhaps aren’t politically correct but who I would bet my last nickel weren’t racists.
Then there are people who would slice their own throats before dropping the N word but who have racism coursing through their veins. Go figure.
The kids should be expelled because they broke the rules. Period. Let’s not make it more than it really is: very poor judgement and rudeness.
There is a blurred line between some of the words used by these young toads and words used by all sorts of people, thinking they have a right to use such words.
Black students need to make sure they set a good example and eliminate certain words from their own vocabularies. Like I said…blurred lines.
You missed the passing of the baton. The Dems are now the Party of No.
I guess it all depends on the definition of NO.
I’m all about forgiveness, and I wouldn’t ordinarily support someone paying severe consequences for one stupid act they did on one drunken Saturday night, but in this case, these boys need severe punishment.
We have a nice family living next door with three little kids. The eleven year old girl is like a little lady. She’s a girl scout, and she likes Ariana Grande. Her older brother is into sports, and he’s taking Spanish in school. When the two of them are together, they’re like a comedy routine. They’re very funny to watch. They came over to watch the final episode of Sam & Cat and then the premier episode of K.C. Undercover. In the summer we’ll fire up the grill and pass chorizos, grilled chicken and margaritas over the fence. The kids will come up on the deck and tell some jokes, and their little sister will twerk and try to make people laugh.
I can’t imagine how bad their parents feel when they see this video, and I’m sure the two older kids have seen or will see this video, and I can’t imagine how they feel. I would never want kids and their parents to have to see anything like this again so whatever it takes to rehabilitate those boys to bring them to repentance should be undertaken.
I think they should be expelled. They broke the rules. However, the shock value is a little…oh I don’t know…fake.
“I think way too much attention is being placed on racism. Words really don’t make racism.”
There’s a point where words and chants are racism.
I like the kid Parker Rice’s statement, the one that his lawyer father presumably helped him to work up. He took responsibility and didn’t cast himself as a victim. He deserves his expulsion, but from this point on I wish him the best of luck.
You take your punishment like a man (or woman) and people will respect you for it, that’s what I’ve taught my grandson. The world of sports is full of examples. Ray Lewis earned people’s respect. Kobe Bryant admitted to something like rape happening, and is a beloved guy. Compared to either of those guys, Parker Rice’s sins are small.
I actually do look forward to some investigative reporting about exactly what the hell was going on on that bus.
Meanwhile some of the right wing is morally adrift as usual, wanting to make this a discussion about rap music. Ni****, please.
I am not part of the right wing. I think we need demand that certain words not be used publically. No one has a right to certain words. If a word is rude, it is rude for everyone.
Let’s put it in terms everyone can understand. I don’t have the right to go dropping the C word on people and in songs simply because I am female. Its a rude word regardless of who is saying it and should not be used.
I don’t agree. I think any word in the English language is okay in context, among consenting adults. And that no one should fear words. Which is of course different from open hate speech.
What are you disagreeing with? Obviously consenting adults can whisper whatever words they choose in each others ears. I am speaking of public speech, not private conversations.
I don’t care what people say to each other in a private setting or in their own homes.
Public speech should have a much higher standard than private conversation.
But it doesn’t.
Beyond loss of civility, and increasing vulgarity – which don’t especially bother me – we accept dishonesty in speech as part of life.
And there’s a lack of intellectual integrity in political discourse, and issue discourse, at all levels of society.
And we stopped, some ti me ago, holding anyone accountable for public dishonesty.
There’s no high standard at all to public discourse in America.
I think all words are neutral. They are the vehicle for conveying a message and a message can be offensive with or without these banned words because context is what gives words power.
Banning words and taking offense at words is easier than conveying why someone’s expression was disturbing or harmful. What happens, though, is that hurtful remarks are expressed using code words that are allowed because they generally are non-offensive but in context are hurtful. The speaker gets a pass by slyly claiming the words were innocent of racism even though the total expression dripped with racism.
We need more comedy of the variety: “is this racist” to illustrate the difference between using racist or offensive words to defang them and usage of code words to express racist or offensive opinions.