It is always so lame when these kids who go to college for middle-class job training try to be “outrageous.” Try art school parties: we’d work for hours, even days, in preparation to be offensive on every possible level. Crip or Blood head rags? Shit - imagine how much though and effort went into a “tranny Nazi Jesus” costume.
If this is what the lucky sperm club considers their wild oats, should I be concerned for a future where the world’s problems will be in the hands of people with such low creativity?
I’m not a lawyer, I’m a professional student affairs administrator (well, I was before grad school). But if the school has a code of conduct and the students violated, that might be a viable basis for separation. I’m not sure if the school would be wiling to undergo the scrutiny, etc. from their legal counsel about whether it was possible or advisable to do it. It’s a public school as well, so I imagine there are a host of issues that wouldn’t exist if it was a private institution.
Dob, I don’t know if the kids are racists, but they are certainly insensitive and ignorant (stupid too, for leaving a trail of photographic evidence). I think that’s the threshold that’s been crossed. I personally don’t care if they are Klan members, have 100 Black friends, or are members of the campus racial unity club - the problem is the actions they took to attend the party and make costumes. A kid who stumbles in the party dressed normally, thinks “this is fucked!” and leaves doesn’t fit that category.
The campus is overwhelmingly White and there are very few Black students there. That’s a challenging issue in of itself. When you have shenanigans like this going on as well, what do current students, prospective students, and parents think? What do community members who support the university with tax dollars think?
I’m pretty sure I do, and I’m pretty sure one definition is prejudice against a particular class of people based on race.
Violence is not a necessary component of racism. Participation by some of the race in question does not negate racism.
Some white kids dress “black” to emulate the culture. That is not racism. These kids had a Martin Luther King party at which they all dressed black – and outrageously sterotypically ghetto black, with baggy clothes, 'fros, and mouth metal – ate fried chicken and drank malt liquior. No doubt dessert was a nice slice of watermelon. This wasn’t just “a party;” this was a party mocking blacks, by exaggerated dress and stereotypical food, held to “commemorate” the national holiday of America’s greatest black hero.
To hear anyone try to defend this as not racist amazes me – I mean, it so clearly is. Inarguably is. It’s no less racist than putting on blackface and cakewalking around singing “Mammy.” And this had squat to do with the liberal bent of the Boards; I’m a card-carrying Republican.
People do play with stereotypes. When I was in college, the school NAACP branch sponsored during black history month a (I kid you not) spades tournament. I never have figured out if they were being would-be ironic (my guess) or just really, really obtuse.
Will I get my ass handed to me if I say “So what”? Yeah, not the most tasteful of parties but were they trying to intimidate black people with their theme or were they, themselves poking fun at the stereotypes? If I were to throw a WWII theme party on Memorial Day and where people dressed 1940’s style, would people over 60 have a titty attack about it? If, on Columbus Day, they had a party where the goers slicked back their hair, ate lasgna and had to make an offer that couldn’t be refused before they were let in-- would there be an uproar?
Reactions like this are what make very real outrage over really damaging racism impotent.
The photos on The Smoking Gun show what looks to be a lame, lightly-attended house party, with some feeble attempts to mock “ghetto” culture. Bandanas, fourties of Budweiser, cans of Keystone Light, and KFC? There’s no urban-style clothing. If someone didn’t say it was a blackface party, I don’t think they’d know.
The timing of the party and spirit of which it was held, though, is … sad. Still, why should a lame house party held by about 10 or 15 people make national news? There’s far worse injustices that are deserving of “outrage” than this.
I remember being in school and going to some of those theme parties. I was invited to a “Ghetto Party” and a “White Trash” party. I attended the white trash party.
Like 90% of the theme parties, I’ve attended in life, it was lame and I left after 30 minutes and a beer. I didn’t wear a costume so I went elsewhere that evening. It was indeed a bunch of middle class kids who were trying too hard to be edgy and it felt that way.
The only party that I’ve been to that was lamer was a porno party.
Well, that is the name of a popular card game, so I think they were being obtuse. It’s kind of like euchre, which a lot of people have never heard of. Same basic game.
My friend had a “White Trash 4th of July” party, but since we are all white I guess it wasn’t terribly offensive to anyone. I think this party was more offensive, but sadly, I don’t think these kids thought anything was wrong with it.
I agree with Hippy Hollow. They did cross the thresholds of insensitivity and stupidity. But if those thresholds are legislated, they shouldn’t be. How will stupidity ever be eliminated from the gene pool if we keep insisting on saving stupid people from themselves?
Like I said above, bigotry is undone by its own stupidity. Like a fire, it will go out if you’ll just stop providing it fuel and oxygen. Giving all this attention to it just emboldens racists who are all delighted by our outrage.
All prohibition sactions result in the same thing — driving the prohibited drug or ideology underground where it is more difficult to monitor and more insidiously distributed.
Spades = card game like hearts, very popular in the African-American community. If you’re at a party expect to see a spades table and a dominoes (bones) table as well.
Isn’t Spades the official card game of Harlem? Or is it Queens? It’s a card game. That’s what it’s called. It’s popular in a geographical area with a large black population. So the NAACP sponsored a Spades tournament. Calm down. Would you get upset if the German culture association sponsored a Euchre tournament?
Expulsion is way over the top, IMO. Regardless of whether you want to call it racist or not, the party is offensive and stupid. And IIRC a bunch of Auburn students got in trouble a few years back for a similar thing (except theirs was worse), so the lack of originality is also appalling. But public ridicule is enough punishment. Glad their photos are circulating the internets.
Judging from the pics, the party looked kind of dead. Most of the shots were of individual idiots standing around with slack expressions. No one actually looked like they were partying. Just lameness all around.
Personally, I think the situation has already been resolved in the best possible way- by national exposure.
“Feel free to be a bigoted asshole- this is America, it’s your right to do so. Just remember that if you do, we’re all going to laugh at you. Not with you, at you.”
And the “Official Loser of the Thread Award” goes to…carnivorousplant, for a stupid comparison of a college party to Nazi Germany, invoking Godwin’s Law!
I think this is a rare moment where we’re more or less agreeing on an issue!
I’m not necessarily in favor of hate speech codes or booting these kids out of school (villa and Oak have the reasons why that might not even be possible covered). I’m actually not terribly concerned about these kids.
I am worried about the faculty and staff members who already have to fight against perceptions and historical legacies of racism at Tarleton State, who are looking for talented, high-achieving students of all races to attend their school having to respond to this nonsense. I’m worried about students and parents who already have to be concerned with all of the problems inherent in having a kid go to college having to additionally worry if their kid will be safe (not just physically, but mentally).
I’m worried that some talented kid is going to have the extra burden of debating his or her worth with kids who think like the partiers, get involved in every campus activity to decry racism, and flunk out because he or she is spending too little time on his or her studies. And the community loses a potential role model and/or mentor, or at least that person’s progress is significantly delayed.
The fact that this sort of stupidity seems to have a foothold on college campuses over the last 15 years or so, and it happens EVERY year, it seems, makes me think that the disincentive for not showing one’s ass in this manner is not powerful enough.
Yummm.