Posted on 12/17/2002 9:19:36 PM PST by kattracks
A terrible racial incident took place at Trent Lott's alma mater last month. But you won't hear about it from Dan Rather or Time magazine or The Washington Post or the NAACP.
That's because what happened at the University of Mississippi in the early morning hours of Nov. 6 has all the markings of a fake hate crime: An apparent racial hoax committed by black students against black students, but blamed on whites -- until the suspects were nabbed last week.
Three black freshmen were accused by the college of scrawling racist graffiti on the doors of two other black students in the Kincannon residence hall on the Oxford campus. Among the hateful epithets: "F-----g N----r" and "F-----g Hoe N----r." Also left on walls and doors spanning three floors of the dorm: A tree with a noose and hanging stick figure and vulgar references to genitalia drawn in blue window chalk.
The financial damage was estimated at roughly $600. But the cultural and psychological damage caused by such crude and twisted acts of Tawana Brawleyism is inestimable. The element of racial animus cloaks the hate crime hoax with a false sense of legitimacy. It's a manipulative attempt to exploit old tensions and deflect suspicion from the actual perpetrators.
At the time the racist vandalism appeared, Ole Miss was commemorating the 40th anniversary of desegregation of its classrooms. Local and national observers immediately assumed the vandals were white.
Black students organized a "Say No to Racism" march and demanded more protection against white-on-black harassment. They blasted the school's president for not apologizing quickly enough for the racial slurs. The school's "Minority Affairs" director demanded that the university establish "programs and procedures" to ensure racial sensitivity and prevent hate crimes. The "Institute for Racial Reconciliation" and the "Committee On Sensitivity and Respect" convened meetings. Activists called for criminally prosecuting the perpetrators under state felony laws or federal hate crime statutes.
But now that the race of the suspects has been revealed, some are seeking to minimize the crime as a "prank." The college will not be bringing criminal charges against the trio. Instead, each suspect faces charges involving five violations of the student code of conduct -- not only for the racially explosive vandalism, but also for allegedly making false and misleading statements to investigators.
That's right. It wasn't enough for these accused sickos to adopt racial terror tactics, destroy property, cast false suspicion on others, and cast doubt on all bona fide victims of such perfidy. They apparently tried to lie their way out of it, too.
The Daily Mississippian student newspaper noted that an "irritated Chancellor Robert Khayat said the entire situation was 'regrettable,' but it taught the university community that no members 'should engage in abusive behavior' and 'before we jump to conclusions and start condemning groups of people, we should know what happened.'"
All well and good, but why allow a double standard of justice to prevail? If the attackers had been white, they faced possible federal prison time. Because the suspects are black, the most serious consequence they face is expulsion. Welcome to equal treatment under the law, 2002-style.
Where is the uproar over the hoaxers' callous use of lynching imagery and flagrant exploitation of the N-word -- at Ole Miss of all places? And where is the national press on this matter? Fake hate crimes are an abhorrently common phenomenon on modern college campuses, where race-consciousness reigns in such a poisonous way that it would make integrationists weep. "Students of color" are herded into separate dorms, separate departments, and separate graduation ceremonies.
Segregation is back all right. But while the media elite's crack reporters are busy rummaging through the dustbins of old history in an effort to paint all conservatives as racially insensitive relics, they continue to ignore one of the outrageous race scandals of the 21st century: how the young beneficiaries of the civil rights movement are squandering and desecrating its legacy of equal respect and justice for all.
©2002 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
... and to provide jobs for stupid, lazy malcontents with worthless "Minority Studies" degrees.
-ccm
If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)
Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.
I disagree, this is a hate crime against whites. It hightens tentions between the races that may cause fights to break out.
Throw the book at these B@st@rds!
Sounds appropriate to me.
I have always been of the opinion that the false accusation of any crime should carry the identical punishment as the crime itself.
Too reasonable?
Oh... it's the old “See No Evil” shtick.
Spike Lee calls Trent Lott a card-carrying member of the KKK and gets away with it.
Robert Byrd was a KKK member and nobody in the black community, the media or black politicians bring it up.
Black students charged in Kincannon racial incident
Web Exclusive
by Laura Houston
DM Campus News Editor
December 14, 2002
Three black freshmen students confessed to writing the Nov. 6 racial slurs in Kincannon Hall, a prank that drew national scrutiny as Ole Miss celebrated 40 years of desegregation.
The University Police Deparment has been investigating the incidents and announced their findings Wednesday. Five charges, including flagrant disrespect of a member of the university community, harassment and disorderly conduct, vandalism, disregard for university authority and abuse of the university judicial system, have been pressed against each student.
While the charges are criminal misdemeanors, the university customarily does not involve law enforcement authorities when a student commits such acts unless a police officers witnesses it taking place or a victim presses charges.
The students responsible for Nov. 6 acts want to write The Daily Mississippian a letter to the editor, expressing a public apology, said University Communications Director Jeff Alford Thursday, adding that the charged students "are very remorseful, they are scared and embarrassed and ashamed. They realize clearly what kind of harm they've caused, and they're upset about it."
When regular classes resume in January, the University Judicial Board will convene to hear testimony in the cases of the three students and decide whether to assign verbal reprimand, community service, restitution, suspension or expulsion to the students.The Judicial Board is composed of eight faculty members and eight students, advised by Dean of Students Sparky Reardon.
"It makes the university look bad unjustly, and it sours the hard work that the administration, the faculty and the students have made to making this more and more of a unified campus," Associated Student Body President Drew Snyder said. "If they find them guilty, my hope is that the punishment is extremely harsh."
The intangible damages wrought materialized in the number of students, faculty and staff attending meetings that gathered in the incident's wake, including an update gathering in Paris-Yates Chapel and a rally in front of the Student Union since the investigation began last month.
"This incident caused a great deal of hurt and anger and fear among many members of the university community, black and white," Alford said. "We can learn a lot about each other. We can learn about not making assumptions, and we can learn how hurtful our words can be."
There is speculation that a fourth student drew vulgar images and words, but investigators have not linked him to the racially insensitive actions of the other three.
Two black freshmen students awoke Nov. 6 to discover "F----- N-----," "F----- Hoe N-----," a tree and a noose on their residence hall doors along with images and references to genitalia scrawled in blue window chalk on the elevator, wall and doors of three other students.
The physical damages spanned the residence hall's fourth, fifth and sixth floors, amounting to roughly $600, Alford said. When they were initially discovered, the racial slurs lured national and statewide media attention in the midst of Ole Miss' observation of 40 years of desegregation.
The three students charged in the incident will be responsible for paying the costs of repair.
An irritated Chancellor Robert Khayat said the entire situation was "regrettable," but it taught the university community that no members "should engage in abusive behavior" and "before we jump to conclusions and start to condemning groups of people, we should know what happened."
Black students organized a "Say No to Racism" march and demanded more protection against white-on-black harassment.
This kind of behavior is going to bring to an end the white position of 'tolerance' and 'see,hear,speak no evil' toward the present day racial intolerance of many of America's blacks. The days of 21st century blacks as a protected minority, especially in universities, is going to end. We conservatives have to make sure that the dialogue is not stifled as it has been until now. I see it as one of the unintended consequences of the attacks on Trent Lott.
The fact that young blacks can use the vilest symbols of racial hatred as a mere joke on their own kind is evidence that racism is no longer truly pervasive or threatening. In order to find this kind of chain yanking in-your-face prank funny they must have considered their targets to be uptight, paranoid stuffed shirts. They knew that there would be a big knee jerk reaction.
If the kind of racism that those symbols represent existed to any great degree today, the kind that was once directed at blacks by people who were willing to kill to express that hatred, they would not have found any humor in it at all. In fact if that kind of racism still existed they would be well aware that such a prank might make them the direct target of it. But it is doubtful they would have thought of it at all. If the oppressin were there there would be a solidarity of the oppressed.
These boys are malcontents in the 1st degree and their actions were hateful to both blacks and whites in their hopes to see anger and passion aroused in everyone around them. It's a shame that public stocks are no longer in vogue so that both black and white students could jeer them and pelt them with rotten tomatos in the school commons.
But let's not compound their foolishness by calling it a 'hate' crime. There are foul thoughts enough to go around and sooner or later what you are thinking may be 'found out' and called a crime. (We know the real reason you listen to Rush Limbaugh!) ; )
Now there's a compliment I can handle. I can wear my Mr. Spock ears with pride now. LOL
Thank you!
Today's generation of college students has no personal memory of the kind of racist behavior that they were emulating.
That is exactly right. The whole idea is a caricature to them today kept alive by politically correct NEA teachers and race hustlers like Je$$e Jack$on and Tawana Sharpton.
These kids have problems but like any kid who is let down by having their needs ignored, in this case a need for discipline and lessons in personal responsibility, they acted out against the bogus authority that let them down. They took it out on their peers who have bought into the race hustlers propaganda that preaches against personal responsibility. Without thinking it out I'm sure.
Like a younger sibling doing what he knows will most inflame the older in order to get him in trouble thinking that what he is doing is not that bad because the older one obviously acts irrationally to the baiting. The delinquent's mindset. I know it well. ;^)
Tagging things probably isn't considered all that bad amongst the whole group but they knew the 'racial' thing would get them. And they considered the 'racial' thing funny because it is such a big emotional trigger that to them is only founded in old folks stories and movies. The Je$$e stuff is hype and they know it just as well as we do. They've never actually seen it because it rarely ever happens anymore.
There will probably be more and more of these kinds of incidents by younger and younger kids because of the reaction it gets from adults.
FReegards, TigersEye
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.