Breaking news: white boy does something racially insensitive and is knocked right on his ass.
Gabriel Keith, an assistant editor at the City College Times at Minneapolis Community & Technical College, used a drawstring from a hooded sweatshirt to make a noose, from which he hung a message about making deadlines in late October.
The tactic did not go over well in a newsroom that included several black students. Keith took the noose down five minutes later, but the ensuing hubbub led to his firing from the paper and a dispute between the editor-in-chief and the adviser.
Long story short: everyone involved knows that this college newspaper editor was not trying to make a racist statement; however, his offensive and poorly executed attempt to be funny and the apparently poor handling of the event afterwards meant that at the very least, he needed to be replaced by someone with a clue. Anyone who has ever spent five minutes in a campus newspaper office can probably imagine how this whole thing went down. And really, how can you not have sympathy for the guy? Expecting a journalism upperclassman to be aware of all the major symbols in modern American history is like expecting him to remember the names of all 50 freaking states. That’s like, a lot, and he’ll never even use half of it, so whats the big deal?
I was in the middle of learning to fix a heat stage when my friend came in to talk about this terribly critical event; mostly he wanted to complain that the thought police were on their way when a man can’t use a noose to convince his subordinates to do their work on time. I was just surprised that every guy in the room needed to have why a noose could be interpreted as a racist symbol explained to them. I made several compelling arguments about why this newspaper editor was in the wrong, including: “well, duh” (this one didn’t work as well as I think it should have) and “a newspaper editor, off all fucking people, should know better than to use such a heavily laden symbol for something so stupid, especially since the noose has no special relationship to making people work more effectively so he could have just as easily picked something else” which I think they found a little harder to argue with. I mean, really, pretend you’re a person who has no negative noose-related associations, then pretend you’ve just seen one hanging over your boss’ desk. My first thought? WTF? My second? Maybe I need a new boss, if this one is threatening to kill me in an elaborate and antiquated manner for missing a deadline. Perhaps I’d like to work with someone with better management skills. See? Even if you remove the racist imagery all together, Gabriel Keith is still a dumbass.
Then I actually read the article. Now, the version I linked to is similar to the version I read this morning, but it replaces a few paragraphs with more recent information. In the version I read, two assistant editors (or they may have been section editors, I forget which) said that they’d been there when Keith and his friend had made the noose, and they told them it was a bad idea to hang it up. In fact, other suggestions were made and dismissed in favor of the noose.
The two assistant editors were black women, by the way.
So now those of us who have spent some time in the campus journalism school really know how this all went down, don’t we? There’s always that One Guy. They’re everywhere, and most of them never get beaten with the clue-by-four they so richly deserve, so you can imagine how surprised these guys are when someone finally calls them on their bullshit. How much do you want to bet that the two guys making the noose were too busy giggling over how funny it was to heed their prudish colleagues warnings? And now they’re paying for it, cause no one can just take a joke. It’s a harsh world, I know, and let’s pause and feel sorry for poor Gabe. OK, that should be enough of that. I’m sure he’ll do OK once all the furor dies down; you don’t reach 2623 that clueless without some kind of safety net.
So I went back to my friend and said, hey, I read the article and while it is overkill that this campus incident has made national news, the editor in question was pretty fucking stupid, doubly so because he’d been warned by his two coworkers that hanging the noose was a terrible idea. Now, I know what I’ve been thinking when I’ve told guys “I don’t think this is a good idea.” And I have been told by others, “I don’t think this is a good idea.” We all know what “I don’t think this is a good idea” means; it means: dude, fucking stop it, this is an awful idea. No, seriously, fucking stop it right now because you’re going to get in trouble. The person saying this is nearly always right.
My friend, however, considered this a terribly cryptic, almost useless warning. What, he said, are we supposed to read women’s minds?
White male privilege in a nutshell, ladies and gentlemen.
seroj, I don’t limit my comments about racism in America to refer to only to white/European-Americans. (I also don’t really limit it to racism either. There are plenty of other kinds of bigotry.)
All people, of any cultural background, are capable of bigotry.
So would you rather deal with somebody who realizes they aren’t as pure as they should be, but is trying to recognize the existence of their prejudices, is willing to learn, and is actively trying to correct them?
Or would it be better to deal with somebody who pretends they couldn’t possibly be bigoted, but acts bigoted just the same, and is also unconcerned about acknowledging and addressing their problem?
Take your pick…
“I guess you must be the leader of the angry lynch mob.”
Right…because I figure some beneficiary of white privilege deserved the punishment he already got by being fired. So in your mind that translates into my wanting to hunt him down and kill him (along with my “mob”). That’s quite a projection, don’t you think?
And I LOVE your use of the phrase “lynch mob” in a discussion of Gabriel Keith’s transgression, where you and others claim he couldn’t/didn’t know what a noose was or that a noose was connected to lynching. Very clever Reichwing attempt at re-framing. “But, but, Mr. Keith is THE REAL VICTIM HERE!!!” (But not as clever as seroj’s painting of me as THE REAL RACIST…)
“Pick-up a bell and start doing something POSITIVE to make this world a better place,…”
Must be nice not to have to pollute your “beautiful mind” with all that reality.
Talking about the fact of racism in America? Not important in LALED’s world…
Holding a bell and ringing it in front of holiday shoppers? LALED considers that A Bold Strike Against The Injustices Of The World…
As Mr. Spock would say: “Fascinating…”
I guess I would least like to deal with someone who is an actual racist, the kind who actually lynches people. That would be my last choice.
But a close second would be dealing with people who make blanket statements that all white people are racists, or that all men are part of a patriarchy and hate women. Everyone is guilty and must somehow atone to prove his innocence (apparently, by blogging and accusing others of these very crimes). This is such a Stalinist way to look at things that I loathe it deeply.
Or not. We can go with the all whites are racists, all are gynophobes. Then, I wouldn’t have to listen to you at all, you racist woman hater.
“Or not. We can go with the all whites are racists, all are gynophobes. Then, I wouldn’t have to listen to you at all, you racist woman hater.”
Whatever floats your boat…
Mike, have you read ANY of my previous posts before you started typing? What have you done besides posting to help end the ‘pervasive existence of racism in America’. I agree with you on one point, it does exist. Here’s something to think about,…
Ready? You may want to write this down! Here goes,…
YOUR INACTION in the face of these realizations is only adding to the problem. So again, please STOP POSTING, turn in your moral outrage and turn off your computer, and go do something positive to make this world a better place.
“YOUR INACTION in the face of these realizations is only adding to the problem. So again, please STOP POSTING, turn in your moral outrage and turn off your computer, and go do something positive to make this world a better place.”
You go first…
BTW, how is that bridge you live under? Is it everything a troll could desire?…
Hey Mike, I did go first you CAN read as well as type, I hope.
“Hey Mike, I did go first you CAN read as well as type, I hope.”
…but LALED, you said: “YOUR INACTION in the face of these realizations is only adding to the problem. So again, please STOP POSTING, turn in your moral outrage and turn off your computer, and go do something positive to make this world a better place.”
So when I said “you first”, I expected you’d follow your own advice. (God knows I will. That’s some really good damn advice!…)
But then I see you posting here again, which means your computer must still be on, and that means, by your own standards, you aren’t doing “something positive to make this world a better place.”
I think I need some inspiration to take that last step. Can you PLEASE go first so I can be emboldened by your example? Please!?!?!…
Hey Mike, I’ve done quite a bit of volunteer work (read my previous post, which BTW, I only mention because it was my response to being attacked by others like you with the same kind of ‘angry-mob’ mentality for being ‘white, privileged, rascist, etc’).
How about you? Where does all your moral authority come from? What have you done to make the world a better place? I REALLY WANT TO KNOW. Thus far, the only thing I know about you is that you can type and form basic thoughts and sentences.
“How about you?” Oh, I don’t want to talk about boring old me…
“Where does all your moral authority come from?” Jesus – but I know if I ever run low I can also buy it at WalMart…
“What have you done to make the world a better place?” Well, I’ve never invaded any foreign countries on bogus evidence they contained Weapons of Mass Destruction. I’ve never fought to get huge tax cuts for the wealthiest top 1% of America’s citizens. And I never proposed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as exclusively between one (adult) man and one (adult) woman, to keep all the LGBT’s from marrying…
“I REALLY WANT TO KNOW.” Okay! I get that you’re excited!…
“Thus far, the only thing I know about you is that you can type and form basic thoughts and sentences.”
That’s all my wife knew about me either. But we’ve been married for 20-years now…
Ready, shoot, aim,…. is that about right, Mike?
“Ready, shoot, aim,…. is that about right, Mike?”
Hey, if that works for you, go with it. Just stay the hell away from me…
Here is some relevant 80s punk for a punkass blog
I’m sorry
For something I didn’t do
Lynched somebody
But I don’t know who
You blame me for slavery
A hundred years before I was born
Guilty of being white
I’m a convict
Of a racist crime
I’ve only served
19 years of my time
Guilty of being white
“That’s all my wife knew about me either. But we’ve been married for 20-years now…”
I don’t mean this as a cheapshot, but I had you pegged as a 19 or 20 year old, tops. It’s your incessant use of terms like Reichwing, your rants rather than replies, and your lines of reasoning that only a college student (pre-adult) ever really believe. The Reichwing stuff, especially, makes you sound like a walking Godwin’s Law live action doll.
Anyway, congrats on 20 years of marriage.
Hey James, get those lyrics from some Neo-Nazi Skinhead site? Or are they just the kind of lyrics Stormfront readers would appreciate?…
“The Reichwing stuff, especially, makes you sound like a walking Godwin’s Law live action doll.”
I have a low tolerance for racial bigotry, a low tolerance for what passes as the Republican party these days, and a low tolerance for trolling on the blogs where I “live”.
If that makes me sound like a living Godwin’s Law violation, so be it…
The truth is: In the 47-years I’ve spent on this earth, living in these United States, I have never been more disgusted and sicked to be connected with the country of my birth.
You guys can pretend that everything is sweetness and light (“Why, there’s no racism here”, “God made George Bush our president to help us in our time of need”, “Americans do not and would never torture”, “The ones running away are the terrorists, so we shoot them”, etc., etc., etc.) – but, goddamit, I’m going to speak my mind, and call bullshit.
I’ve spent most of my life watching our glacial progress toward building the kind of world most of us were taught the US was already. Most of us learned quickly that we didn’t actually live in that world, and while we love to talk about peace, freedom, and equality, America does very little to actually make those ideas into reality. (And lately has done almost nothing.)
So when some punkass (no offense Marc!) comes onto a blog I read regularly and tries to diminish the importance of the thoughtless actions of some idiot who figured a noose would be a good way to display “a message about making deadlines in late October” to Black editors he worked with – well, yes, I DO TEND TO GET UPSET…
Hey Mike, either switch to decaf or get back on your meds, willya?
“Hey Mike, either switch to decaf or get back on your meds, willya?”
Thanks for the tip! I’ll discuss it with my parole officer.
Now, just admit you were wrong, crawl back under that bridge, and let the rest of us carry on a conversation…
Errr, you mean ‘carry on with your rant’, dontcha Mike? A conversation is an exchange of ideas. Ideas do not live in your little world, they have no room to grow.
“Ideas do not live in your little world, they have no room to grow.”
Doesn’t it get awfully boring staring in that mirror all the time?…
“Thanks for telling me how I should behave, how I should think, what I should say, etc. Hey, maybe you can get a job with the right-wing conservative nut-jobs trying to run our country. I hear they’re looking for a girl with your conviction.”
Shorter learnalittleeveryday:
“Being an arrogant privileged asshole means I caaaannn’t heeeeeeeear yoooooooou. And don’t wanna.”
Sheesh, where’d all the troglodytes come from?
Keith’s behavior was hopeless on so many accounts:
Ethics and professional conduct: Keith’s choice and act was ethical misconduct worthy of firing even if there were no racist bits thrown in; threatening your employs with death is never a “joke” any sane boss would play. He clearly wasn’t up to the job.
Competence: it was Keith’s job to know current events well enough to know such things as what a noose is currently used to convey. If he didn’t, as he claims he didn’t, he’s incompetent for the job.
That’s two reasons already why he’s unfit for the position without even getting to racism on his part.
Keith’s choice and act was racist: He had clear warning at least twice over that there was a problem with what he was choosing to do. He didn’t give enough of a damn to stop and listen and figure out what was wrong with what he was doing. Choosing not to listen and learn isn’t something that happens to you through no volition of you’re own; it’s something you choose to do.
So again, for all the “I didn’t know so THERE” wingnuts; yeah, you’re racist, and half-drowning in the arrogance of privilege besides. Quite guarding your own ignorance as though it’s some kind of virtue; it is, in fact, the opposite.
FYI – Everyone talks about the two Black women in the room who told Keith to take the noose down. The fact is that one was a man. Does the fact that so many people assumed that the guy’s name “Senah” was a female name and didn’t recognize it as a male African name mean that you are all guilty of racism against Africans? It’s pretty much the same argument so many of you have made against Keith. A racist for not knowing.
Oh, shit, my mistake then. I could have sworn the article said they were both women, but if I was wrong than that really, really sucks for me. Sorry, Senah.