Public outcry over the perceived racially insensitive nature of a campus fraternity’s Halloween decoration has prompted efforts in the ASUC Senate to increase awareness of racial and cultural issues on campus.
The senate unanimously passed a bill at its meeting Wednesday evening that recognizes “the history and presence of lynching and anti-black sentiment” in the United States, California and UC Berkeley and urges the ASUC to implement “mandatory racial sensitivity curriculum” for campus Greek organizations. The bill was drafted in response to a stuffed zombie hung Tuesday from a third-story window of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity house as a part of an annual haunted house philanthropy event.
It also requires ASUC President Connor Landgraf to write a letter with the chair of the Black Student Union to UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and the Interfraternity Council Standards Board to hold the fraternity “responsible for reckless disregard of the risk of terrorizing the campus community” even if the decoration was not intended to be malicious.
Critics said the decoration resembled a lynching, which is connected to a period of history when blacks were suppressed and terrorized. Members of the fraternity took down the zombie Tuesday afternoon and issued an open apology letter for the decoration, stating that they did not intend to offend anyone.
“I hope that as strong as you are as a community, you are as forgiving as a community,” said Student Action Senator Mihir Deo, a member of TDX, at the meeting.
Still, members of the black community condemned the ASUC for what they called its inability to protect students and said recurring senate inaction with regard to racially insensitive incidents had led to increasing marginalization of communities that are already underrepresented on campus.
“The political reality is that blacks make up (about) 3 percent of campus (undergraduates),” said Marcel Jones, a campus junior and co-chair of political affairs of the Black Student Union, at the meeting. “We already feel like we are not supposed to be here, that we are not meant to strive outside a certain segment of campus because other segments ignore our culture, our history and our struggles and create violent images like this of lynching.”
According to Destiny Iwuoma, a sophomore who works at the Black Recruitment and Retention Center on campus, incidents such as this could affect the retention of black students on campus. He noted that the TDX house is located across the street from the African American Theme Program in a Unit 1 residence hall.
“As a member of the Greek system, (I think) we’re ignorant about issues like this,” said CalSERVE senator Megan Majd. “The number of people of color within the Greek system is already so minimal.”
Jeremy Gordon covers student government. Contact him at [email protected]
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Clearly a gesture in poor taste, but it seems like the fraternity took the necessary steps to remove the offensive material.
You know what else we need to work on getting rid of? Corn and corn-based products, cotton and cotton-based products, and tobacco products. These things are all RACIST because they remind us of slavery that our ancestors went through. We have to stop wearing clothes and stop speaking English because that is how the WHITE RACISTS ENSLAVE US TODAY. The ASUC and my black brothers from BSU will stand by me on this!
We should get rid of fried chicken and 40 oz malt liquor, since those are symbols of repression, and former slaves never had such stuff in Africa anyway.
We should get rid of hip hop music, because WHITE PEOPLE listen to it. They are probably RACIST and we don’t want to listen to the same music as RACISTS. STOP sending firetrucks out in emergencies, they are RACIST.
and that is a RACIST joke. we do NOT all drink 40 oz malt liquor. Sometimes we drink grape soda.
Or is that grape drink?
Didn’t the ASUC vote that anti-semitism is protected free speech? So why are they screaming racism over this? Shouldn’t they be throwing their support behind this example of free speech.
I think all Cal students are sophisticated enough to have mutual respect to different ethnic backgrounds,we all share this campus and we don’t need to make it too politicize this. What they can do is ask the frat and the Black student union to have a dinner gathering at Zachery’s, and tell the Daily Cal to take a group picture, there will be more mutual understanding among students.
I wonder how many black males who are outraged at this, use the word faggot, or use gay as an insult. How “sensitive” to others are the people who complain?
Well, see, that’s different because Allah is against faggotry.
I’m blaaaaaaaaack. Look at me!
This makes me really sad that the members of the TDX fraternity have to put up with this crap.
They took it down right away, apologized profusely, and yet they are still paying for an innocent attempt at bringing a little Halloween spirit to their haunted house.
I’m disgusted by anyone who agrees that this was somehow a racially motivated event meant to cause anyone any harm. You should be ashamed of yourselves and I will be attending the next ASUC meeting to voice my concerns for the direction this school and the community seem to be heading in. Please join me.
They deserve what they’re getting because they apologized and surrendered to the race-baiters. If you back down against them, you’ll never win.
They deserve what they’re getting? That makes zero sense.
The point he is trying to make is that the people making these ludicrous accusations are emboldened by the fact that nobody will call them out on their nonsense. Political Correctness has silenced any voice of sanity from any organization claiming to represent either the students or the campus.
Ah I see… a very valid point!
I think, if anyone intended to be racist, it will be obviously racist. why try to keep people guessing, right?
This is ridiculous. I’m disgusted at the spinelessness demonstrated by our ASUC, that they would cave so readily to the crying of a few. Is this what the Senate has come to? It seems to me that it is now just a puppet organization, controlled by overly sensitive minority fingers.
Where was the ASUC when the BSU invited Farrakhan to speak? Where was the condemnation? Who are they to cry vicitm now? The hanging victim wasn’t even black. He could have been Leo Frank, the Jewish man lynched in Georgia for a crime a black man committed. The BSU would never complain about that one.
Is anyone really surprised over this flap? This is EXACTLY what happens when you allow Affirmative Action and Political Correctness to take over an institution. Affirmative Action aka “diversity” is used an excuse to allow obviously unqualified people (such as anyone dumb enough to equate a Halloween display with some type of racist threat) into an environment where they can’t make the grade. Political Correctness makes the situation worse by trying to redirect attention everywhere to avoid the real problem, i.e. a low-IQ, emotionally disturbed person (Salih Muhammad aka “Anti-Racist”) who sees stuff that isn’t there. Time to use a bit of common sense and stop catering to these morons. Salih needs to see a shrink to work out his anti-white racial issues and leave the rest of us alone.
Why wasn’t a resolution passed demanding racial sensitivity classes for the BSU after they invited the black ahte group Nation of Islam to speak of campus? Are black students expected to be as sensitive towards Jews and Jews are towards blacks? Doesn’t seem like it.
“Are black students expected to be as sensitive towards Jews and Jews are towards blacks?”
Of course not. Welcome to Political Correctness.
Berkeley is full of racist pricks and chinks
‘implement “mandatory racial sensitivity curriculum” for campus Greek organizations’
Did I read this correctly? The ASUC senators, some of whom are in the Greek system, wants to impose sensitivity training for Greeks? Why not include members of the Black Student Union, SJP, and Cal basketball team? Why not all students, faculty, service sector employees and administrators? Why pick on Greeks?
You are right. Everyone should have to take a racial sensitivity class in their first semester at Cal.
How about taking a class about learning to handle college life as a grown adult instead of being a f*cking crybaby?
fuck, you mean take a course that teaches people to get butthurt over every little thing. how about a class where we learn to laugh at ourselves?
How long are people going to grovel at the feet of the race-baiters? When will they stand up and say ‘No, enough is enough. A hanging zombie is not racist or intimidating, and if you believe it is, that’s your problem, not anybody else’s.”
Your attitude is insensitive. Try to step into the shoes of underrepresented minorities who already feel they are unwelcome on campus.
“Your attitude is insensitive.”
So is accusing others of things without evidence to back it up.
If you are underrepresented, that’s not the schools fault. The application process is pretty damn simple. You either make the cut or you don’t. Letting people in based on the percentage represented at this school waters down the selection process and isn’t fair to the rest of us who got in based on our (WHOA GET THIS) ACADEMICS.
I’m a pretty liberal guy, but this is ridiculous. This whole court is out of order.
When has the BSU shown sensitivity to any one else?
I am sorry, but thinking a zombie mask is a black person is just sad. The fact that there are Cal students who would associate this with a lynching of a black person speaks to the fact that not all Cal students are intelligent. That the ASUC is calling for action just shows that the ASUC senators are too weak to actually stand up for sanity, and instead are willing to throw fraternities under the bus because they know fraternities are much more rational in their thinking, and won’t terrorize the ASUC meetings.
Obviously we have no control over some unhinged person with psychiatric issues, but what really makes this ludicrous is when faculty and student groups actually take the person seriously. This is the classic problem with political correctness – instead of basing decisions on what a reasonably informed, normally adjusted person would perceive, the fringe elements wind up effectively dictating what is permitted, and what is not.
As an African American student I am embarrassed for some of the other African Americans students who turned a harmless Halloween decoration into a racial controversy. So here what I want everyone here of all races to look at. This women sums up everything just nicely. http://youtu.be/HN-qLH7sAUo
I also saw them baking a cake in their kitchen. As as someone of Jewish decent, I’m demanding they turn off that oven as it only serves as a reminder of the Nazis exterminating Jews in WWII Germany!!!
Yeah, I am an idiot. All anti-racists are idiots.
You are NO ANTI-RACIST. You are a RACIST, and you’re right that you’re an IDIOT.
Would the same people who tell us burning an American flag is free speech also tell us burning a cross in Harlem is free speech?
I never thought lighting a fire was speech.
Blutengel – Reich mir die Hand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sStExSxmPuE
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/27/ucsd-noose-perpetrator-su_n_479645.html
In 2010, UCSD Noose Perpetrator Suspended, Tension Mounts
That’s suitable punishment for committing such a racist act. The fraternity members who encouraged this should also be suspended too.
Sorry to burst your bubble but the 2010 incidents at UCSD were manufactured outrages as well.
Internalized racism explains the 2010 incident.
So the article you posted has nothing to do with what we’re talking about right? And the punishment you suggested would not be required in this specific case right?
If you are a Cal student, I’m embarrassed.
You DO realize that the person who “found” the noose @ UCSD was the same person who LEFT it there to be found in the first place, right? It’s becoming more and more clear that most of these accusations of “hate crimes” are totally fabricated by people with an agenda to push, usually some minority student who wants out of school because he/she is failing but needs to manufacture some excuse to save face.
Your racism against minority students is disgusting. Spend more time denouncing racism rather than defending racists.
I noticed you couldn’t deal with the fact that the person who just happened to “leave” the noose in the UCSD library wasn’t even white to begin with. Typical brainwashed ignorant follower of Calypso Louie Farrakhan, anti-semite and black bigot extraordinaire.
Look up internalized racism.
Look up “hate crimes hoaxes”.
What you call a hate crime hoax is actually internalized racism.
Hate to burst your bubble, but the person who left the noose @ UCSD was a “woman of color”, NOT a racist white male. Not that you would ever let facts get in the way, you disingenuous piece of lying human excrement.
People of color can be brainwashed into committing racist actions. This is known as internalized racism. Look it up if haven’t heard of it.
Or maybe she set it there so lying assholes like you can perpetuate this idea that it’s the white man vs. the rest of the world. Get the fuck out of here. If you are a Cal student you bring nothing but shame and disrespect to this school.
Once again, you provide a link to the loopy HuffPost because they, like you, chose not to admit that the noose planted at that UCSD library was NOT placed there by any white person, but a “woman of color” who just happened to “forget” it so she and her friends could “rediscover” it later. Another pathetic race hoaxer just like you.
The Huffington Post always provides a progressive outlook on news stories. They didn’t talk about the internalized racism because that came out after the article was published.
It’s a much better news source than Fox News or the sexist Rush Limbaugh.
[The Huffington Post always provides a progressive outlook on news stories.]
You mean they leave out facts that don’t support the spin they are peddling, correct?
California Republican Party Registration Dips Below 30 Percent
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/02/california-republican-party_n_2066628.html
Del Beccaro cited research by the Pacific Research Institute that
found 4.4 million people left California, compared with 3.5 million who
migrated into the state between 1992 and 2008.
California Democratic Party spokesman Tenoch Flores called the
migration theory creative but said GOP policies, including stances on
immigration reform and gay marriage, are to blame for the party’s
decline in California.
John Burton, chairman of the California Democratic Party, called the
numbers “an indication of how totally out-of-touch the Republican Party
is with voters in California, and how intelligent Californians are
compared with some of the rest of the country.”
The late surge in Democratic and independent voters could aid Gov. Jerry
Brown’s Proposition 30 on the Nov. ballot, which would help close the
state budget deficit by temporarily raising the state sales tax and
income taxes on those making more than $250,000. Young voters are more
likely to support it in part because it would temporarily halt college
tuition hikes.
Eventually, the shifting partisan landscape could help Democrats win
supermajorities in the Senate and Assembly, where a two-thirds vote
threshold is needed to pass tax increases.
A very progressive news source indeed. They tell it like it is when it comes to idiotic Republican stances on taxes, social issues, the environment, and just about any other topic that comes to mind.
When there’s a Democratic supermajority in the Senate and the Assembly, California will be back on a good path.
And this has what to do with phony claims of racism?
He knew it had nothing to do with racism but just wanted to get some attention.
As one of the few black men at Cal, I was frightened and intimidated by the white boys’ lynching of a person of color. These white frat boys are disgusting racists who should be expelled.
SHAME ON Theta Delta Chi, a fraternity filled with racists who enjoy terrorizing black men and women.
How dare you claim that TDX is filled with white men who are racists? They clearly didn’t know what they were doing. The person who hung the decoration is undocumented, gay, underrepresented, an APARTMENT MATE (as said in the meeting with PUBLIC MINUTES) of a co-author( all of the co-authors were CalServe btw) and campaigned for CALSERVE last spring. 1/2 of the house is men from underrepresented communities. How DARE you accuse them of being racist. They were trying to celebrate Halloween. Could they have put more thought into it? YES. How hypocritical of CalSERVE to cast out one of their own in this. How dare CalSERVE for saying that TDX is filled with racists. That is racist in itself. White frat boys? Please, EDUCATE yourself on WHO is actually on this campus. It’s not a “lynching of a poor black man”. It was a hanging zombie. Racism will continue to exist as long as people interpret things to be racist. That’s it.
How can an undocumented gay man act with such malice against the black community? It’s not surprising when you see who he’s friends with. He must have been brainwashed by the racist whites in the fraternity.
“The number of people of color within the Greek system is already so minimal,” said CalSERVE senator Megan Majd. I’m very aware of WHO is actually on this campus. Look around you because YOU must be unaware. How many black men or black women do you see on campus? CLOSE TO NONE. Berkeley is a racist university for not accepting more black men and black women and that racism is passed on to the insensitive students who put up a lynching to try to frighten the rest of the black men and black women away from UCB because they believe we don’t belong. Well, that’s UNACCEPTABLE, and I support Salih Muhammad, Destiny Iwuoma, Marcel Jones, and Megan Majd in denouncing this racism and punishing this fraternity.
They didnt put up a lynching….they put up a zombie which was misinterpreted and then they apologized and took it down by not knowing the impacts. I don’t think he was brainwashed…if anything he was brainwashed by choosing to campaign for calserve last year.
CalSERVE did the right thing by denouncing this racism. If campaigning for a group that stands up for the underrepresented who are always being discriminated against is being brainwashed, then that’s good brainwashing. Putting up a racist lynching shows he received bad brainwashing from the fraternity.
once again, it was a zombie for halloween. your brainwashing yourself thinking its a lynching. its okay though, im sure you think inviting louis farrakhan and his anti-semitic statements to campus isnt racist at all, as racism for you is just picking and choosing events that are racist just to you.
You white men will try to cover up the truth by saying it’s a zombie. But everyone knows that it was meant to be a lynching. I don’t agree with everything Louis Farrakhan has said about Jews and gays, but I agree with everything he has said about the evils of the white man.
you can’t choose to like one thing over another. he’s either racist or he’s not. choose one. he hates jews and gays. that’s racist and sexist.
and I’m a black man you idiot. I don’t identify with you all in this.
That’s fine with me. I’m sure most black men and black women at Cal (the few of us that the racist UC administration accepted) stand with me on this.
You know what I see in that picture? A FUCKING HALLOWEEN DECORATION. YOU MORON.
I don’t give a shit if you’re white or black, man or woman, senior or child, immigrant or not, you have made the conscious choice to be a roaring asshole about something STUPID.
A hanging figure reminds many people of the lynching of black men wrongly accused of raping white women. Placing the figure there in front of Unit 1′s African American Theme Program is insensitive and racist and meant to scare away the few black students at Cal.
No, most of the brothers and sisters on the Cal campus are doing a facepalm and saying “n-gger please!” as they are reading your whack.
Don’t you even think or use that RACIST UGLY word.
I concentrate on the positive aspects of his message like how black men and black women are getting burned by white men. You don’t always agree with everything famous people say.
So much for being “anti-racist”, you hypocritical asshole.
You are racist, Stan, for not denouncing this lynching bigotry. I DENOUNCE Farrakhan’s homophobic and anti-Semitic beliefs, but I SUPPORT his messages of black empowerment.
I just wish the ASUC senate could see that the only person who supports what they did is Anti-Racist. I would love to see the embarrassed and shamed look on their faces.
The ASUC senate is sensible to side with an anti-racist rather than people who actively encourage racism, use the n-word, and enjoy scaring away black students.
well, if you think inviting louis farrakhan, an anti-semite who preaches violence is not racist, then i think you are DEFINITELY educated. you can’t just pick and choose events to be outraged about. you cannot say that this was racist and louis farrakhan invited to campus on ASUC funds was not. and once again, it wasnt intended racism, jeez.
Louis Farrakhan is an inspiration to many in the black community. Whites of course feel scared and threatened whenever they see an inspiring black leader.
And you get scared and piss in your pants whenever you see a Halloween decoration. Your point?
My point? Fight racism and insensitivity to minimize black men and black women’s exit from Cal because of this racist, bigoted incident.
Of course he is. Nothing like blaming the Jews for the fact that your own people are lazy, stupid, ignorant and unemployable.
You are A FUCKING RACIST. People like you make black men and black women feel they do not belong at Cal. FUCK YOU.
Affirmative Action admits don’t belong at Cal, and I suspect you’re one of them, as you’re clearly not smart enough to get in on your own merits.
Affirmative Action was outlawed by racists, so I’m not an Affirmative Action admit. You just admitted your ignorance of local laws! Maybe you don’t belong at Cal.
[Affirmative Action was outlawed by racists, so I'm not an Affirmative Action admit.]
So you got in on a Stupidity Scholarship instead – same difference. You lack the mental capacity to make it as a Cal student.
Whites don’t feel scared or threatened. They just feel sad that so many of the inspiring black leaders are not helping black people. Blacks should have overcome their handicaps long ago just like Asians did, but they followed the wrong role models.
“Blacks should have overcome their handicaps long ago”
WHY ARE YOU SPOUTING MORE RACIST NONSENSE? STOP MAKING BIGOTED RACIST DISGUSTING COMMENTS LIKE THAT.
Because I hope that at some point the black community will listen. The main thing holding back the black community is the black community. Too many people in the black community follow a culture that hates education, and looks to the criminal as a role model.
WE ARE STILL BEING HANDICAPPED TODAY BY RACIST WHITE DRUG LAWS AND RACISM IN COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE RATES AND THE WORKPLACE. WE STILL HAVE LOTS OF HANDICAPS THAT WHITE PEOPLE LIKE YOU LIKE TO IGNORE.
You’re so funny when you shout – proof positive you’re losing the argument.
Nonsense. I shout when I’m angry. That has nothing to do with losing the argument.
[Nonsense. I shout when I'm angry.]
I bet you’re ALWAYS angry about something.
“How can an undocumented gay man act with such malice against the black community?”
STFU already and go see a psychiatrist.
Why don’t you since you are defending racism?
Undocumented gay CalSERVE sympathizer? If so, he’s getting what he deserves.
Your homophobia and hate against undocumented students is DISGUSTING. Take your Republican self back to Arizona or Texas where that kind of attitude is acceptable.
I think one reason you think there are so few black men at Cal is because all the smart black men at Cal avoid you.
“I think one reason you think there are so few black men at Cal is because all the smart black men at Cal avoid you.”
Slam dunk.
You prefer attacking me rather than addressing how there are ALMOST NO BLACK MEN at Cal. Look up the stats for proof if don’t believe what your eyes are telling you.
I often address why there are no black men at Cal. It is because they do not value education or themselves. Their community has too often put them in the middle of a war zone. The black man’s worst enemy is not white people, but the other black men they grow up around. There is a group dynamic that makes too many of them achieve the lowest amount of success that they can achieve.
You are an idiot. Even Lupe Fiasco would argue that it is your own culture that perpetuates it’s downfall. Black men, white men, black women, asian women, etc. are all welcome at Cal. The only thing they require is a higher then average academic profile.
“Public outcry over the perceived racially insensitive nature of a campus fraternity’s Halloween decoration”
Jesus freaking Christ, since when does the hand-wringing and caterwauling of the usual handful of perpetually offended thin-skinned losers constitute “public outcry”?
Stan, why do you support a group of racist white frat guys who get thrills from terrorizing the black community?
I see no evidence of “a group of racist white frat guys who get thrills from terrorizing the black community”. I see PLENTY of evidence that a manipulative kook posting under the name of “Anti-Racist” is trying to spread division and hysteria in the Daily Cal. Go change your diaper and get a life.
You are WRONG in your support of these racist white frat guys. Change YOUR diaper.
Even for an idiot, you’re pretty damned stupid.
Yeah, I’m an idiot. Only idiot anti-racists like me make idiotic comments like I do.
Racists like you are IGNORANT IDIOTS. STOP BOTHERING ME.
Why don’t you stop bothering the rest of us with your hysterical overblown claims of racist intent behind Halloween decorations?
The ASUC sided with me because they are protectors of minorities. Why don’t you STOP bothering me with your unwillingness to protest against racists?
I can’t believe you are actually a Cal student. How does someone at Cal not recognize a zombie mask?
WRONG. The existence of a zombie mask is irrelevant. What matters is that the figure was hanging like a lynched black man and frightened me and other members of the black community.
Not everyone is the black community is a sniveling little bedwetter like you. Grow up and get a life.
I will never be silent when people are racist and trying to scare away all black students from Cal. You grow up and get a life.
Let me guess: you’re an Affirmative Action admittee who is bombing out of college and on academic probation. You can’t bear to go back home and admit that you’re a failure, so you’re looking for some excuse for bailing. Concocting some story that an “atmosphere of racism” in Berkeley would give you that excuse to drop out, win sympathy points, and position yourself as some type of minority activist, capitalizing on the fact that most liberals/progressives are more interested in a story line that is in concordance with their world view rather than investigate the actual facts. You’re merely another race hoaxer along the lines of Crystal Mangum (Duke Lacrosse) and Tawana “Shitface” Bradley. Sorry, we don’t buy it.
I’m doing VERY WELL at Cal. Maybe your fictional story is an autobiography of your life?
Ah, of course a comment like this comes out of a Southern Californian mouth.
Lol and how is that not prejudiced — making prejudicial comments based on someone’s geographical location. You “anti-racists” sure are hypocrites.
I bet you didn’t know this, but once you graduate from Cal, you’re free to move out of Berkeley.
We don’t need to scare away black people. We made admissions based on qualifications rather than color of skin, and that took care of the black people at Cal. Deed done.
“that took care of the black people at Cal.” What do you mean by that?
Again, what a load of shit. I can’t believe the tacit acceptance of racism at Cal. I am a white student that is appalled by these indefensible actions of the Greek community and the horrible nonsense I’m reading on these pages. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Are you male or female, and what’s your major? I’m wondering how there can be another idiot like anti-racist.
“I am a white student that is appalled by these indefensible actions of
the Greek community and the horrible nonsense I’m reading on these
pages.”
No, you’re merely another one of Salih Mohammad’s sock puppets. Nice try but no cigar.
Who are you? I want to know who you are because I would like to meet you and discuss these things with you face to face to understand I’m not dealing with a troll. Nobody in their right mind can actually believe the stuff that is coming out of your mouth.
Tell me anti-racist — when did lynchings happen off the side of a house. A lynching is from a tree. Find me a picture of a person lynched on the side of a house. You just want to have a white guy to blame your failures on.
A hanging figure looks like a lynched figure. The location doesn’t matter.
I bet EVERYTHING looks like the Bogeyman to you.
Everything does look like the bogeyman to anti-racists like me because Im an idiot.
“A hanging figure looks like a lynched figure. The location doesn’t matter.”
With all due respect, I think you’re stretching the imagery a bit much now. If the figure had dark hands and face I’d agree with you, but you can’t say any effigy is a symbol of a lynched Black man. What about Muslims hanging effigies of George Bush or Milosevic? What about pirate-theme parties where effigies of sailors hang from the masts? When did all hangings come to represent lynchings of Black men?
since when were zombies lynched? i’ve never seen a damn zombie lynched in my life. and your claim that someone who is anti-racist is probably someone who supports affirmative action and supports it for their own gain is so fallacious. if anti-racist = pro affirmative action, does that mean that someone who is anti affirmative action = racist?
Then the figure hanging from the Beta house would have freaked you out too, even though it was a skeleton.
jews in the holocaust looked like skeletons. oh no! the BSU will defend them because they love jews so much.
Detroit looks worse than Tikrit, Iraq and Chicago is more violent than Fallujah…
At least everyone, black and white, are terrorized there.
The school and ASUC are all taking this way out of proportion. To make these accusations: (1) Students should actually demonstrate intent to be racist, and (2) in the unlikelihood that they are racist, they must be shown as being dumb enough to commit these activities. It is just so unlikely that both of these events occurred.
This is just way overblown, and I do not believe Berkeley undergrads are overtly racist or dumb. Naive and overconfident yes, but dumb and racist, come on! The school should stand up for these guys instead of “lynching” them in the face of public scrutiny.
Who could look at a picture of a hanging figure and not think of a lynching of a poor black man?
You white men treat the black man with disrespect and disdain all the time. You enslaved us in the 1800s, lynched us in the 1900s for even DARING to look at your white women, and terrorize us today with that NASTY hanging figure.
And so was Saddam Hussein, woohoo.
Why are you comparing the lynching of the poor black man to the lynching of Saddam Hussein? There seem to be lots of racists at Cal who feel as threatened of the black man as Iraqis were of Saddam Hussein.
“Why are you comparing the lynching of the poor black man to the lynching of Saddam Hussein?”
Why are you comparing the lynching of some black man with some frat guys hanging a dummy for a Halloween decoration?
That’s what I see when I see a hanging figure.
The same way that all of us associate the mental image of a horse’s ass with your face?
6thgrader, that’s a very ignorant, racist comment.
[6thgrader, that's a very ignorant, racist comment.]
This from the same asshole who calls white people “racists” because they decorate their places for Halloween. Get a life.
Racist? What’s racist about it? It’s juvenile, sure, but it looks as though the poster was aware of that.
FYI, Anti-Racist, thinking that it’s always all about you is a symptom of Narcissistic Personality Disorder…
dude, this statement is offensive to horses
“That’s what I see when I see a hanging figure.”
You apparently see a lot of things that others don’t. Do you also hear voices?
Um, I could look at a picture of a hanging figure and not think of a lynching of a poor black man.
That’s because I know that hanging is a form of capital punishment which long predates the arrival of Africans on American shores. And also because I realize that not everything in the world is about me.
White mobs and their lynching of black men makes a hanging figure and a black man’s figure inseparable.
Do you have the same reaction when you see a sailing ship? Because, as you no doubt know, black people were brought as slaves to this continent on sailing ships. So white slavers and their exploitation of black people should, by your logic, make the sight of a ship with sails and the practice of slavery inseparable as well. I hope you’re spending just as much time down at the ports of Oakland and San Francisco heaping invective on sailors as you are doing on here, yammering about a complete non-issue.
Sailing ships don’t look like slave ships so they don’t bother me at all. I’m already in the U.S. so I can’t be captured by the white men who are already enslaving and jailing the black men here with their War on Drugs and three strikes laws.
“Sailing ships don’t look like slave ships”
Oh really? I guess I missed the part about nuclear powered slave carriers in the 17th century.
Thank you for proving my point.
Thank you for proving my point.
And what point was that, other than you’re a fucking ignoramus who doesn’t even know what type of SHIPS were used for the slave trade? You clearly must be one of Calypso Louie’s disciples given the nonsensical crap you’re spewing here.
Then what do they look like?
White mobs? Black lynching victim? The lynch mobs in Crown Heights were not white and the lynching victim, Yankel Rosenbaum, was not black. Blacks should take a look at their own shameful behavior for a change.
You are NOT a black man. When you say shit like “the poor black man” we all know you’re fucking TROLLING. Why don’t you take your white self elsewhere?
A black man who was lynched in the 1800s and 1900s is a poor, abused black man. That’s the accurate way to put it. Take YOUR white self elsewhere.
And a black man who shits in his pants because he sees Halloween decorations is a pussy-assed punk, you know what I’m saying?
Stereotyping black men like that is racist and ignorant.
You have done a far more destructive job in perpetuating the negative stereotype of minority students on the Cal campus than any of the trolls jerking your chain here, loser.
You are the loser and have shown YOUR NASTY SIDE by not calling out the racists on this forum.
I”m not saying all black people are pussies for being afraid of a zombie. I’m saying you are a pussie for being afraid. Now give me your laptop or i’ll hurt you — oh wait, that’s what black people say to white people. Nevermind.
Now you’re making sexist comments. You are a very ignorant person.
stereotyping “white racist frat guys” is equally racist. wake up.
this comment is misogynistic, and also patriarchal. critiquing racism should not be seen as cowardly, or as you put it, make someone a “pussy-assed punk”. that statement is basically telling people who are triggered by racist images to “get over it”.
sorry if the history of killing african americans in our country and the pain that it still causes is inconvenient to your life.
and anyways, you are really intent on defending racism, when this really shouldn’t be inconveniencing your life in any way. what consequences do you face as a result of this situation? the only thing i see come out of this is that tdx brothers and others in the greek community may have to actually take time out of their day to think about the issues people of color deal with every day.
["this comment is misogynistic, and also patriarchal. critiquing racism should not be seen as cowardly"]
There’s no “racism” in Halloween decorations, and the only cowardly behavior here is the idiot wetting his panties over them. But nice try pretending that you’re somehow morally and/or intellectually superior to the rest of us. You clearly have no clue.
Dude, you’re TOTALLY WHITE! You’re just posing trying to fuck up real black people. I’m born and raised Berkeley and would love to take your ass to Southside and show you what’s up.
And I would be happy to watch. Nunya and I are usually on opposite sides of the issue bet he’s dead right in calling you out.
Unlike the racist stereotypes of black men, I am a pacifist and don’t like fighting.
You mean you like stealing without using a weapon?
Now this nonsense about who’s black enough to be in the black community and who’s acting too white. There is too much internalized racism at Cal.
Most of us don’t associate hanging with the lynching of a black man. We see people of all races being hung around the world. Most of the history I learned related to hanging had white men being hung in the old west or other white men being hung during various wars in Europe.
Lynching has happened so much in the United States against black men that a hanging figure and the lynching of a black man are inseparable. That’s what has angered many in the black community.
When was the last time a black man was lynched in Berkeley, idiot?
“Who could look at a picture of a hanging figure and not think of a lynching of a poor black man?”
Any normal, well-adjusted human being who doesn’t spend all of his or her waking hours shaking in terror over some evil white racist bogeyman hiding around every corner. Once again, I submit that you need to seek professional psychiatric help, given that you’re clearly dysfunctional and emotionally disturbed.
Your support of these racists shows YOU need to see a psychiatrist because you are unwilling to fight racism.
I conserve my efforts to fight REAL problems, not the figments of some mentally unbalanced student’s imagination.
What REAL problems do you fight? What’s more important than fighting racism? Do you think racism doesn’t exist in America?
“What’s more important than fighting racism?”
How about getting you the treatment from a qualified mental health professional that you so desperately need, fruitcake?
I’m talkin’ about The Man that says if a bride wears a white wedding
dress, she looks like a virgin, but if a bride wears a black wedding
dress, she looks like a hooker. I’m talking about the same Man that owns
a company called Black & Decker. Now I don’t know what’s wrong with
that, I’m just mad that they used the word ‘black’ without my
permission.
no actually, it’s not about intent, but impact. think back to pre-civil rights movement. many whites dehumanized and mistreated blacks without malicious intent, but rather because that was the social norm at the time. it doesn’t make it any less harmful to people of color.
that being said, i think that ignorance is not an excuse for racially insensitive behavior. racist actions taken in ignorance is still racist actions.ignorance is why the greek community needs to learn racial sensitivity. most people don’t know that during the time when lynchings were prevalent in the U.S., about 1 black person was lynched a week. and this is different from pirates being lynched, because the only “crime” black people committed was existing, or speaking against a white person. they were killed for the color of their skin. so lynchings ARE specific to the black community.
many of us saw that image, and immediately thought of a lynching of a black person. i have never seen a zombie lynched in my life. it doesn’t even make sense to hang a zombie, since you would have to get near enough it to restrain it, and tie a noose, and hang it. you would have to put time and effort into lynching the figure, with the intent of torturing it and having it suffer. if you’ve ever seen a zombie film, zombies get their heads bashed in, or are shot, but never hung. i dare any one of you to refute any of my comments. as a non-black person of color, i stand in solidarity with the black community in opposing ignorant but still racist actions, whether or not that was their intent.
i refute your statement, also as a non-black person of color. some people off themselves in the midst of a zombie apocalypse by hanging. also, some may hang a zombie on the perimeter of the house so the zombie smell acts as a repellent to other roaming zombies. i guess TDX should hang a pirate next time. but that would be offensive to pirates. i’m afraid seeing a zombie with its head bashed in might be offensive to me because it will remind me of vincent chin.
to hold the fraternity “responsible for reckless disregard of the risk of terrorizing the campus community”
“Terrorizing”? Are you serious?
Was it in poor taste? Yes.
Was any student on campus actually fearful of being lynched (ie actually ‘terrorized’) because of it?
Get real.
I am a black man at Cal, and I was genuinely fearful of being lynched by the white men at Theta Delta Chi. The black man knows that the white man is always plotting to enslave him again.
Look at how few black men are at Cal. The white man wants to make that number be 0 because he believes the black man doesn’t belong.
That’s obviously what happened here with the terror-inducing lynching.
“I am a black man at Cal, and I was genuinely fearful of being lynched by
the white men at Theta Delta Chi. The black man knows that the white
man is always plotting to enslave him again.”
Thanks for making that clear. You’re either a troll or need to see a shrink.
You need to see a shrink for defending these racists for putting up a lynched person to frighten the black community.
Yep, you’re one of those Farrakhan supporters. Nation of Islam = magnet for the most ignorant, uneducated, paranoid black people on the planet.
Blah blah blah blah blah! Everyone is racist but me!
Seek medical help immediately.
Why don’t you? I’m not the one defending racist behavior.
no one else sees it as racist
I can’t even say it was in poor taste. It was a zombie mask. The fact that the fraternity brothers didn’t think about it being a black person or resembling a lynching of a black person speaks to the fact that there wasn’t any racist intent or poor taste.
Being insensitive to the few members of the black community at Cal is racist. Intent is not needed for someone to be racist.
Just like, as you prove, logic is not necessary to post on the DC forums.
Now you are making it sound like the black members of the community are a bunch of scared children. There has never ever been anything in your life that would make you think about lynchings or fear them. That is there is nothing outside of a classroom or lecture that was trying to instill racist feelings in blacks. I know that this will go right over your head just like everyone else’s comments, but the only racism that is holding you back is your own. You are never going to go anywhere in life if you are going to live in a past that you never actually lived during.
I can’t believe the amount of race privilege I’m reading here: “there has never ever been anything in your life that would make you think about lynchings or fear them” How the fuck do you know, son?
LOL when was the last person to be lynched in California
In California there have been about 40 lynchings. Two of those were lynchings of black men.
There are only two lynchings of black men but i’m so insecure that I feel scared anyway. That’s the life of an anti-racist!
I know because you are going to Cal, and there hasn’t been a lynching of a black man in the US during your life time. You have no life experience to cause you to think of a hanging body as being that of a lynched black man. If you are a California resident, then we all know that you haven’t run into lynching, because only two black men have ever been lynched in the state. That is another reason why anyone at the Theta Delta Chi wouldn’t have ever had the idea of hanging a lynched black man as a Halloween decoration. The real world is going to suck for you, because adults will just laugh at you.