Two students make a racist video, in blackface. Will they get kicked out?

[NiPah]

I don't think they should be kicked out. It's goofy and stupid and all, but it's not worth destroying their chances at getting a degree. They should just apologise, it's the proper thing to do.

Why isn't it worth destroying it? They're a pair of racists, why do we need to waste time getting those sorts degrees?

Thats an amazing overreaction to what is at worst distasteful racist comedy, the punishment should fit the crime and in this case you're calling for such an absurd abuse of power I find it almost as distasteful as the original video.
You should really reevaluate what you feel is justified punishment when it comes to this type of stuff, remember the lynch mob attitude is never a good thing.

 

[Not Matt]

Found something that looks like a reupload but dunno, seems longer (I haven't wantched all of it yet)

this is what goes as hate speech now? really? I would have called this two shit-head teenagers with zero respect for any other culture and no idea of what might happen if you uplode stupid shit to the internet. to all you who were offended by this, i see your point and i agree with you, these girls are racist. but, give it time. thanks to the nice man that shows up after five minutes these girls will never ever get a real job (then again , judging by their intellect in this video i would say they didn't have much chance already) and because it is technically a review, he can use the footage all he wants legally. this video will hang over those girls for a very long time (the moral of my post is: use the internet responsibly) sorry for falling off topic by the way.

and for those who don't think this video is offensive. go away.

 

[370999]

Throwing people out of university because of dat views? Seems silly to me. People should fail their course if their coursework isn't up to standard. Whatever they do in their private time isn't relevant at all. And saying it is relevant seems really silly, as what does it matter to me obtaining a degree due to my competence if I hold private views that are reprehinsible to society at large.

 

[RubyT]

The baffling thing is just how stupid this video is. What kind of attention-seeking brat posts such a thing on Youtube?

I haven't seen the whole vid and couldn't, for the life of me. But it didn't seem to be really racist. They are "satirical" of a certain type of male black stereotype.

They didn't seem to violate any laws though. So I don't get how they could be kicked out of school?

If they were wearing kilts and fake red beards and pretend to be drunk Scottish dudes, there'd be no controversy.

 

[Suicidejim]

Meh, they were clearly insensitive idiots, but that has nothing to do with their academic standing. Didn't see a great deal of actual hatred, just misplaced humour, so give them a slap on the wrist and a stern talking to and let them learn from it.

 

[Lucane]

Then there's also the double standards. If two black people made such a video being jokingly racist towards whites, they would get jack-all attention - in fact, you would even see a few people AGREEING with them.
But the kind of mind-blowing attention two white people get for making a racist video against black people? It appears that cultural guilt and history still play a strong role when handing down judgement.

If you show me a video of a couple black students in white face doing similar remarks I'd be upset as well(I'm black by the way though taking my word for it is at your discretion) Telling a joke only works if the audience thinks you're telling a joke [examples: L.o.L. ... oh wait your serious? What was said wasn't a joke but the person thought it was. (Joke)then (Bad punchline) Joke teller:That was a joke... Listener: That was terrible/ not funny.]

I haven't and I'm not planning to watch the video but if it's half as bad as posting about it would make it seem then being foolish enough to even record it let alone upload it to the internet should be grounds for expelling them they aren't barred from applying to other schools though if they are aloud to stay there the school could be considered as not seeing any issues with the material.

 

[ms_sunlight]

Meh. This crap goes on all the time. The blog Sociological Images has a running archive [http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/10/20/individual-racism-alive-and-well/] of this sort of thing.

Do I think they should be expelled for it? Probably not. If I knew them, would I no longer wish to be friends? Yeah, I would not want to associate with these bigots. Nice one ladies, guess what's going to come up every time someone does a search on you before offering you a job in future!

 

[Lucane]

Is it stupid? Yes.

Is it in poor taste? Yes.

But freedom of speech is freedom of speech.

I don't see how this is any different or more inflammatory than Khallid Muhammad's "Kill Em All" speech.

Freedom of speech isn't for the meaning of the words but words themselves and in the combinations of them you can say (Assassinate, Canada, Pope, Chicken) with no legal issues however if you say the the 1st and 3rd word the right(wrong) way together then might start seeing a lot more security/surveillance around you how ever a new reporter repeating what you said won't be in trouble if they are talking about what you said unless they slip and say something like "I agree X should be Q"

 

[Arqus_Zed]

Huh.

So, two silly white women painting their face black and acting like "homeboys" is an outrage for which they should be kicked out of school.

Yet when two black guys dress themselves up as a couple of white women, it's funny enough to make a movie about it.

Dammit USA...

 

[Vigormortis]

I look at it this way:

Making the video and maybe watching it once before deleting it -> acting silly and goofy, if a tad racist.

Making the video, saving it, and showing a few friends -> acting stupid and irresponsible, but forgivable.

Making the video, saving it, converting it to a useable format, and finally uploading it to Youtube (and choosing not to remove it later) -> inexcusably stupid and an arguable example of intended racism.

Look, you can argue till you're blue in the face that they "made a mistake" and are "sorry" for it, but the fact remains they intentionally made the video and uploaded it to Youtube for the whole world to see. If they were truly "embarrassed" about it, or honestly felt it was unintentionally offensive, they either wouldn't have uploaded it or would have removed it long before Youtube did.

. . . . . . . . . .

As for them being expelled, it's not our call. That's up to the school. And, while the school and any related affiliates were not mentioned in the video, the fact that the girls are enrolled there is enough to have the school associated with the content of the video.

It's one of the dumber aspects of PR, but that's how it is. As such, while I'm not entirely sure whether I think they should be expelled or not, I won't hold it against the school if they decide to do so.

 

[The_Echo]

The video feels like a poor attempt at a stereotype-based skit. (Bearing in mind I could really only stand about a minute of it. Perhaps it gets worse, I dunno.)

Wasn't even funny. I'm not sure why they were laughing their asses off.

I don't think they should be kicked out of school. If the backlash in the real world is equivalent to the backlash on the Internet, they may leave of their own accord.

 

[Whitbane]

Hunh. This is what passes for Racism now? A... I'm not sure what to call it, a rant? It makes me sad that people get so up in arms about something as insignificant as this.

<-- White Lightnings face right now.

This. Honestly, people need to grow thicker skin. It's a goddamn video by two people that you'll never meet. Added by the fact that they're teenagers and it's just a ploy for attention. Anyone calling for expulsion is an idiot.

 

[Scow2]

I'd be more offended by the video if I haven't seen people who act like it.

They are parodying a legitimate (sub)culture that has defined itself by the color of its skin (Not every black person is part of that culture, but only black people can be of that culture because of the circumstances of its formation/evolution, which is largely a result of ages of discrimination, and attempts of rectification of that discrimination and lingering resentment)

Parodying Inner-city African-American culture isn't hate speech any more than dressing up as a white Mid-west American from the Appalachian mountain range-area and cracking jokes about marriage to in-laws, love of NASCAR, speaking with a godawful drawl, and boasting how many rusty cars you have up on cinderblocks is racist toward white Appalachian/Midwestern Americans... which can be sparked by doing something as putting a hat on sideways, or accidentally affecting an accent similar to that associated with the culture, and then letting it get out of hand.

 

[DoPo]

Huh.

So, two silly white women painting their face black and acting like "homeboys" is an outrage for which they should be kicked out of school.

Yet when two black guys dress themselves up as a couple of white women, it's funny enough to make a movie about it.

Dammit USA...

Or if a white man dresses up like a white woman, or if a black man dresses up like a black woman, etc.

Let's be honest - the girls were just shit at making that video...I dunno "evoke any emotion they thought it should", I suppose is the best way to put it. It was just dumb. And I do believe I either have to be compensated for watching it or they should be punished for as the ones responsible for that.

I haven't seen the whole vid and couldn't, for the life of me. But it didn't seem to be really racist. They are "satirical" of a certain type of male black stereotype.

I haven't and I'm not planning to watch the video but if it's half as bad as posting about it would make it seem then being foolish enough to even record it let alone upload it to the internet should be grounds for expelling them they aren't barred from applying to other schools though if they are aloud to stay there the school could be considered as not seeing any issues with the material.

The video feels like a poor attempt at a stereotype-based skit. (Bearing in mind I could really only stand about a minute of it. Perhaps it gets worse, I dunno.)

You didn't really miss much by not watching (the whole of) the video. You're better that way, really. For the two of you who saw the beginning, the rest of it is just...more of the same. On one hand, it stays at the same level of "offensiveness" (dunno, is that the best word to describe what it is?), so it's not bad, however, it's also a couple of more minutes of the same, so it does get worse, in the sense of "Oh, gosh, I have to listen to this even more?"

 

[Furbyz]

Huh.

So, two silly white women painting their face black and acting like "homeboys" is an outrage for which they should be kicked out of school.

Yet when two black guys dress themselves up as a couple of white women, it's funny enough to make a movie about it.

Dammit USA...

I was about to say that no one in the US liked White Chicks of the very few that actually went to see it, but then I looked up box office records for it.

White Chicks made 113 million dollars world wide. And it won an award...for Comedy. It was a BET comedy award, but STILL!

I...I...my world view has crumbled. I (We) live in a world where White Chicks made money, and people actually thought it was funny.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

It's in poor taste, but the same goes to wearing a Jimmy Saville outfit for a costume party. Something which I find hilarious!
It may be a tad insensitive to someone else's culture but I wouldn't say it's worth being kicked out of University for.

But let's be honest here: