Stop telling black people they have no right to their feelings.
I wonder if he would have been suspended for saying say “Girls in _____ sorority are not hot”. They’re a group and they would have been insulted. I believe the behavior boorish and think the boy ought to have been given an opportunity to publicly apologize or face other repercussions. I think the punishment they gave is way out of line for the infraction.
I have a right to my feelings, too. I feel that any woman who puts too much credence into whether some random guy finds her (or women who look like her) “hot” needs to gain some self-esteem that isn’t dependent on the opinions of others. She’s not magically more “worthy” if indeed all of a sudden he finds her hot. Women are not just worthy if men find them hot. And the way to combat that is to not get so upset if Random Guy Who Ain’t A Prize Anyway thinks you aren’t hot.
“Victory” isn’t in “making” this guy suddenly appreciate the beauty of black women. “Victory” is in not caring what he says and not letting it affect your day, because a random man’s opinion of your hotness is of no concern to you, any more than his opinion of whether you ordered a latte or a cappuccino this morning at the coffee shop.
Is that how you want to teach your daughter? That if a guy doesn’t find her hot – and says so – she’d better pout and shame him until he does? Or would you rather teach her - he’s a boor, he’s not worth going after anyway, he’s not worth your time and effort, ignore him and move on?
Part of the problem with the new political correctness is that it assumes we all have to take one another’s opinions seriously. So this guy doesn’t find black women attractive. I don’t find red-headed guys attractive. Other people don’t find heavy people, or people with tattoos, or people who dress preppy or goth or chew with their mouths open, attractive. So? It’s just a big SO WHAT unless you’re trying to get the attention of that particular guy, in which case I guess if you’re a black woman and you have your eye on him tough luck. But isn’t that life? No one’s obligated to find me attractive either if they don’t want to; I don’t have a “right” to be considered attractive by that hot guy in the bar I’d like to pick up. (Well theoretically of course, but you know what I mean.)
On an individual level he’s a boor. On an anonymous internet site, addressing ALL black women everywhere to be found on the planet - he’s a racist.
If I had a son who is considering attending Colorado College at $63K+/year I would tell him to look elsewhere. Hopefully this thread will come up on top of many Internet searches and their target demographics will be well aware of this situation.
It was a joke–plain and simple. Not a good joke but too easy for the guy to pass up. On the internet no less.
Nobody was hurt or threatened. People just need to get a life and quit thinking that everything is directed to them.
The suspension was overkill.
Seems like almost everyone has racial preferences in dating/attraction:
http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/race-attraction-2009-2014/
@tiger1307: I am a lawyer who will quite likely be filing a bad faith case soon, so I’m going to have to respectfully disagree about it being a cause of action. You’re right that parties are generally free to breach. but there are other remedies besides expectation damages. In this case, however, the college is not saying it’s breaking the contract, the college is saying it is sticking to it by issuing a suspension. That’s a situation ripe for declaratory relief.
@cobrat: You’re probably right about the motivation, with a heavy emphasis on “safe campus,” with all the new meaning that term has. I still don’t see any way to fit into Disruption, however.
@fallenchemist; This is a school that specifically states it will punish you for booing at a sporting event. I would not at all be surprised if they want to ban satire (but only when its against the viewpoints they prefer, of course).
@Pizzagirl: I’m not sure you’re right on this one. There’s a fundamental difference between your examples, which are opinions, and this student’s statement, which purports to be a statement of fact. Not that this should make a difference when it comes to sanction.
@Demosthenes49, with the following…
If there is a racist thread running on YikYak involving Colorado College students, can a school suspend a student who participates on the thread?
“There’s a fundamental difference between your examples, which are opinions, and this student’s statement, which purports to be a statement of fact. Not that this should make a difference when it comes to sanction.”
It was made theoretically anonymously using a public venue. It had no influence and all were free to interpret his statement as they wished. Some could view at boorish, some as a joke, some might even agree. I don’t see his statement as any different than an opinion. If he were a teacher making that statement to a class or someone with authority suggesting it as public policy I would agree with you. I can say “that cloud looks like a cow” but that does not make it a statement of fact.
The punishment does seem very out of proportion. It seems like a lame, boorish joke more than anything. Someone revealed his identity to the university even though he had posted anonymously. Maybe it was someone who just didn’t like him. Who knows. How far could this go? Would the school suspend someone if a fellow student came forward and said a fellow student made a remark in a private setting that they were offended by?
He said he made the one post; he also said he did not make the other, hateful ones. Does anyone if there is a way to actually figure out who made posts on an anonymous site? If not, and that is the basis for the suspension, seems like he may have a valid reason for the appeal. If there are others who will affirm he made those posts, then he would be exposed as a liar.
It is a rhetorical device too, “I hate Englishmen” does not oblige me to hate every one of them at all times. No doubt he does indeed find SOME black women to be “hot”, although I agree with pizzagirl, why should they care?
Nobody said that and nobody is saying that. But hurt feelings are no reason to take such actions against the person that hurt your feelings. Do you remotely realize how dangerous that path is? There will be very few people left at the school if hurt feelings are the basis for getting someone suspended. Humans hurt other humans feelings all the time and it will never stop, no matter what kind of fairy tale world we hope for. It is an absurd standard that is shocking it has gotten this far, and it only has out of fear and misplaced guilt.
What this student is expressing is not racism, no matter how much you scream it is. There is, as they say, no accounting for taste. Besides, as we all know, some of the most famous racists in history were very much turned on by black women. One has nothing to do with the other. Just because I don’t get turned on by obese women doesn’t mean I don’t hire them, or don’t like them otherwise, or don’t rent apartments to them. It’s the same thing. It is elementary logic. Just use “X” where X can equal those two general descriptions (black women or obese women) and many other categories of people. I don’t get turned on by men either. Doesn’t make me a homophobe. Really so very simple.
The punishment does seem a bit harsh. A lot of schools won’t give two years for rape.
The significance of the punishment makes me think that there may be more to the story. Perhaps this student has been involved in multiple incidents with the administration, and this was just the straw that broke the camel’s back?
I have to vehemently disagree with this one. Common sense plays a role always. Any judgement of beauty is by long standing norms known to be an opinion. I refer back to my post quoting Franklin and Hume, and of course the ubiquitous “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. We are not so infantile that a person over the age of about 10 cannot understand that such a statement about black women is merely the opinion of the person making it. We are not required to add IMO to everything we post that is clearly opinion. It’s nice when we do, but it is virtually always understood based on context, and a statement about attractiveness is beyond anyone thinking it can be a fact agreed to by all just because I said it. Absurd, Alice in Wonderland stuff.
FIRE, the organization taking on the case of this student has a strong record of winning their cases. This is not a a highway billboard lawyer…need money, want a structured settlement, Hurry call Larry Curly and Moe for a group discount… trying to make a 60% contingency and a name for themselves.