Since you stole my post, I’ll agree with yours 100% 
Everybody loses in this situation.
The total perspective vortex should do it. (Actually the point of view gun would be better, but I’m not going to admit to having seenthe hitchhiker’s movie.) I have one of each, and I’d volunteer it for the task, except, as you might gather from this thread, I’m being evil this week.
General reference to students, from a teacher. Don’t read anything into it that isn’t there.
Then you served in places that had a much better climate. I was surrounded by guys that thought like the kid with the shirt, and they naturally assumed I felt the same way as them because I looked like them.
“So, Sean, when you going to have kids? Because the world needs more smart white guys contributing to the gene pool.” :eek:
Cover his body with mercurachrome and dump him in the middle of a Klan rally.
I believe the correct term is Academic-Americans.
If the military accepts him (not very likely), I predict he will receive some “unofficial” attitude adjustments from his own squad or company unless he changes his tune. Ya know, “he fell down the stairs - a lot. Nah, I didn’t see it” 
I like the “I’m not racsist, I just don’t like black people.” Did he just give up trying to think of a justification?
Not only is the kid a racist, but he’s stupid as a brick, too? Great, just what the world needs.
Where exactly do you think most racists come from? It isn’t usually the high end of the IQ scale.
What are you talking about? He had a justification. He just doesn’t like people who think they’re better than everyone else. And black folk are all like that. If those black people just knew their place and didn’t act all uppity, he wouldn’t have a problem with them. So, really, it’s their fault.
I honestly don’t think he had the mental wherewithal to rationalize his hate to that extent. I think this kid simply takes up space and oxygen, and will probably never do much of anything worthwhile on this earth, like so very, very many others.
You’re not totally wrong, I just can’t feel sad about it. But it’s not as if the kid didn’t know what the shirt meant, or why people were upset about it. He even understands how he’s supposed to respond to being called a racist. I don’t think the beating is going to matter. He’ll either realize he’s an idiot at some point, or he won’t. People looking the other way at this stupidity probably wouldn’t help either.
At some point, and I’m not saying I know where and when it is, I think you stop being “misguided” and start being “an asshole.”
If you mean “any other white kids who wear shirts like that to school will probably get a beatdown also,” I can only say that even though it’s wrong, I kind of hope that’s true.
I’m not convinced this is true. He was wearing a shirt making fun of murdering black people and dragging their corpses behind a car. I’m not sure that getting punched will increase his hatred of black people.
Daniel
Where do you even GET such a shirt? Holy crap, what self-respecting shirt printer would even MAKE such a thing?
Enjoy,
Steven
So, a sizeable plurality of posters this SDMB thread have no problem with the concept of one-man vigilanteism - provided the crime is an ignorant speech / expression issue?
We’re all still opposed to frontier justice in capital cases and sex crimes though, right?
What does “no problem” mean? Most everyone here has said that the head-puncher should face appropriate punishment.
What does “opposed” mean? I say that folks who dispense frontier justice in such cases should face appropriate punishment.
There was a case a few years ago in which a guy was exposing himself to a bunch of Catholic schoolgirls, and they chased him down the street, tackled him, and roughed him up pretty bad (no permanent injuries, if I recall correctly). I had a real hard time being angry at those girls.
If your version of frontier justice involves murdering people, though, then yeah: I oppose it. There’s a big difference between knocking an asshole in the head and putting a bullet in the asshole’s head.
But in all cases, I’ll not oppose appropriate punishment for vigilantes, even if sometimes I’m happy about their vigilantism.
Daniel
I disagree completely.
I oppose punishing people in the courts for their thoughts and the words, and i’m equally opposed to people taking things into their own hands like this. While i must admit to sharing some of the OP’s visceral sense of satisfaction, i think the guy did the wrong thing, and he deserves whatever punishment is normally meted out for assault. And, as others have observed, beating up racists is unlikely to do anything to stem or counter racism.
This Year’s Model proclaimed that the “fighting words” exception to freedom of speech applies in this case. I’m wondering if TYM or anyone else actually has any evidence to support this assertion, or if it’s just wishful thinking. I’d love to hear from one or more of the SDMB lawyers on this issue, because in my (layman’s) understanding, the “fighting words” exception is usually only valid when it involves a direct threat of imminent action.
That’s what I’m getting after a read of this thread. What’s next? Do you smack somebody upside the head because they are wearing a shirt whose message is pro-life or pro-choice? How about those which promote GLBT rights, or someone with a fundie shirt? Heck, I’ve got a shirt with a picture of the electric chair on it, and above the chair is the word ‘Justice’ and below the chair is the phrase ‘Regular or Extra Crispy?’ If you’re against capital punishment, does that mean you can assault me?
Last time I checked, I wan’t compelled to agree with your logic or your expressions of same, but I was compelled to respect your right to have and hold that logic as well as espouse it. Unless I preserve those rights for you, my own Constitution protection is equally endangered.
You may wish to go back and see if you can find a question mark in my post. I’d also like to hear from the lawyers about it. I’ve heard it referred to, and I have no idea if it’s real or not.