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

[NiPah]

...Or, maybe I just don't want the entire internet to know where I live, did you ever consider that?

I also don't understand why you think I'd have any desire to justify my actions in your eyes. Whether or not you agree with what I did, it was a joke, in no way meant to incite hatred, and it was taken as such. What I did was in poor taste, but no more so than Sacha Baron Cohen pretending to be a functionally retarded Kazakhstani or an overly camp German fashionista or, more recently, a brutal middle-eastern dictator. It's a joke, not a dick: don't take it so hard.

I do think it's cute, though, that you seem to think you know the exact population of every area in the entirety of Britain.

Contradictory statement... either you are tlaking to just me here or the entire internet. You first sentence claims you dont want the entire internet knowing (exaggeration) and then go on to say that you have no desire to justify your actions to me when clearly your comments are being read by THE ENTIRE INTERNET!

Was it taken as such? I didnt take it as such... and no one is ever the only one who has done something. And Sacha Baron Cohen does what he does to cause tension and frustration, so poor choice of comparison there.

I think its cute (not cute, I mean something more insulting) that you forget that we are on the internet... literally, right now.

Glad to see the 100th post on this topic is of such high... caliber, I'd rate the last 5 posts you've made in this topic at about Youtube commenter quality.
I don't normally jump into conversations like this, I just wanted to let you know how poor your last couple of posts have made you look.

 

[rob_simple]

...Or, maybe I just don't want the entire internet to know where I live, did you ever consider that?

I also don't understand why you think I'd have any desire to justify my actions in your eyes. Whether or not you agree with what I did, it was a joke, in no way meant to incite hatred, and it was taken as such. What I did was in poor taste, but no more so than Sacha Baron Cohen pretending to be a functionally retarded Kazakhstani or an overly camp German fashionista or, more recently, a brutal middle-eastern dictator. It's a joke, not a dick: don't take it so hard.

I do think it's cute, though, that you seem to think you know the exact population of every area in the entirety of Britain.

Contradictory statement... either you are tlaking to just me here or the entire internet. You first sentence claims you dont want the entire internet knowing (exaggeration) and then go on to say that you have no desire to justify your actions to me when clearly your comments are being read by THE ENTIRE INTERNET!

Was it taken as such? I didnt take it as such... and no one is ever the only one who has done something. And Sacha Baron Cohen does what he does to cause tension and frustration, so poor choice of comparison there.

I think its cute (not cute, I mean something more insulting) that you forget that we are on the internet... literally, right now.

Congratulations on taking pedantry to a whole new level. I am talking specifically to you, but my statements can be seen by anyone who finds this thread; therefore divulging any specific information about myself is generally unwise. Just a tip, though: it's always a sign that you're on the losing side of an argument when you start arguing semantics.

How you choose to over-react to things is up to you, but I'm telling you that on that particular night it was taken as a joke, and it was taken by a joke by everyone who has since seen photos on Facebook. The fact you think Sacha Baron Cohen does what he does to be a nuisance instead of make comedy that millions of people enjoy shows how much you miss the point.

People like you are the reason that comedians like Frankie Boyle and Ricky Gervais are constantly having to answer for perceived slights, all because you can't distinguish between a fucking joke and cross-burning lynch-mobs.

 

[rob_simple]

snip

Glad to see the 100th post on this topic is of such high... caliber, I'd rate the last 5 posts you've made in this topic at about Youtube commenter quality.
I don't normally jump into conversations like this, I just wanted to let you know how poor your last couple of posts have made you look.

I like you, if I still had birthday parties you'd get an invite to my next one. Also, beer and cake.

 

[Kinguendo]

Congratulations on taking pedantry to a whole new level. I am talking specifically to you, but my statements can be seen by anyone who finds this thread; therefore divulging any specific information about myself is generally unwise. Just a tip, though: it's always a sign that you're on the losing side of an argument when you start arguing semantics.

How you choose to over-react to things is up to you, but I'm telling you that on that particular night it was taken as a joke, and it was taken by a joke by everyone who has since seen photos on Facebook. The fact you think Sacha Baron Cohen does what he does to be a nuisance instead of make comedy that millions of people enjoy shows how much you miss the point.

People like you are the reason that comedians like Frankie Boyle and Ricky Gervais are constantly having to answer for perceived slights, all because you can't distinguish between a fucking joke and cross-burning lynch-mobs.

Yet making contradictory statements within the same comment isnt? Yeah, okay(!) Semantics was hardly my point, you read the comment so you had to know that. Its intellectually dishonest to make that claim, when you know my actual point and its pretty hard not to know it given that it was the first thing I said.

No, Sacha Baron Cohen has ALWAYS done it for that reason. That is why he does it, people also laugh at it.

"People like you..." Heh, always a good start to a sentence.

And isnt that nice, a fine display of how you are totally tolerant and not at all prejudiced... Someone disagrees with the same person you disagree with on 1 issue and you like them? If my words only served to draw your own actions out that prove my point then fine.

 

[Kinguendo]

Glad to see the 100th post on this topic is of such high... caliber, I'd rate the last 5 posts you've made in this topic at about Youtube commenter quality.
I don't normally jump into conversations like this, I just wanted to let you know how poor your last couple of posts have made you look.

Something that could have, and probably should have, been sent in a private message as your comment has no actual relevence to the topic. But no, you are right. MY comments are low in merit, of course. Why wouldnt they be? I mean, you disagree with them after all... so they must be.

captcha: nose bleed

Yeah captcha, me too buddy. Me too.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

I went out for Halloween in blackface one year. It was funny, people agreed, society didn't crumble, and we all moved on with our lives.

Bit stupid to put a video like that up on the internets, but it's far from the worst thing in the world.

Let me guess, you dont live near many black people? And yeah, I dont mean to be that guy but if I saw you I would have swung for you. My own cousin did it once and I just barely stopped myself from knocking some sense into him.

Now I'm going to see if I can get you to stop detracting from the OP for about 5 seconds

Depends on how its done. See, I'm black,from Canada, and have a lot of white friends. We talk about social race issues all the time. I don't get offended whenever my friends use the n-word in conversation because unlike most other black people (and people of other ethnic backgrounds who) see the context in the way they use it as not racist.

You can do a blackface Halloween costume around black people without being looked at as a racist though. You're giving very little credit to black people if you think that every single black person agrees with the likes of Al Sharpton, Dr Cornel West or Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Now I know how offensive the blackface can be (obviously being black), but I'm not going to say that violence is a reaction that anyone should take. That's immature. That's the kind of thinking that needs to stop.

Now in this specific case, putting the video up on YouTube was stupid. But I would not want these two girls to get kick out of school over it. That's overreacting and I think that Western society has become way too PC in cases like this. The girls have also apologized so any anger and want for punishment at this point is just not needed.

And you saying that you would swing at a person for wearing blackface is a bit telling. We're in 2012 for crying out loud. Most people, black people included, look at the KKK as a joke. Most people wouldn't strike at a person in a KKK outfit on sight. It would be just as wrong to hit someone in blackface.

Condoning violence over petty stuff like this doesn't make you look like a better person. It makes you look like you're trying way too hard to be a better person than they are.

 

[NiPah]

Glad to see the 100th post on this topic is of such high... caliber, I'd rate the last 5 posts you've made in this topic at about Youtube commenter quality.
I don't normally jump into conversations like this, I just wanted to let you know how poor your last couple of posts have made you look.

Something that could have, and probably should have, been sent in a private message as your comment has no actual relevence to the topic. But no, you are right. MY comments are low in merit, of course. Why wouldnt they be? I mean, you disagree with them after all... so they must be.

captcha: nose bleed

Yeah captcha, me too buddy. Me too.

I felt it was pertinent to the topic at hand, when a topic degrades to such a point you're nitpicking the diction of the above post (incorrectly I may add) to be intentionally pedantic you've crossed into the Youtube zone. I'm not even sure if I disagree with your opinions on the original topic, you're just needlessly baiting arguments not on the merits of their opinion but in their word choice.

Also don't write witty responses to what your captcha was, it's annoying.

 

[rob_simple]

snip

I find it hilariously ironic that you just chastised the person I sent a friendly reply to for making pointless comments when your entire last reply to me --hell, probably your last three or four-- had absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand; instead serving only to re-affirm some sort of air of superiority you seem to think you hold over myself and other members of this board.

As much as I've enjoyed watching you get your panties in a bunch, I'm going to leave it here, because it's obvious you are more interested in trying to appear clever than actually discussing the topic at hand.

Before I leave you though, I offer a parting gift, so you can see the Halloween costume that upset you so much.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

snip

snip

I find it hilariously ironic that you just chastised the person I sent a friendly reply to for making pointless comments when your entire last reply to me --hell, probably your last three or four-- had absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand; instead serving only to re-affirm some sort of air of superiority you seem to think you hold over myself and other members of this board.

As much as I've enjoyed watching you get your panties in a bunch, I'm going to leave it here, because it's obvious you are more interested in trying to appear clever than actually discussing the topic at hand.

Before I leave you though, I offer a parting gift, so you can see the Halloween costume that upset you so much.

See, as a black person, I find the above photo hilarious. No harm was even remotely meant.

 

[TheEndlessGrey]

While YouTube's definition of Hate Speech specifically covers racist content and insulting generalizations as reasons for content removal, and I'm sure they defined Hate Speech as such to avoid having to come up with a more nuanced policy that would be a pain in the ass for the customer service types, from a legal perspective they usually have to threaten or encourage violence to void the protection of free speech.

The video has disappeared from every link I tried and I don't care enough to hunt it down, but I'm pretty sure if they had encouraged violence it would have been a major point of discussion over the last few days. So while YouTube is completely justified in taking it down, and the University could expel them if their policies for student conduct prohibit such behavior and specify expulsion as the consequence, everyone who just up and decided that they should be expelled immediately needs to get off the high horse and reflect for a while upon what it would be like to live in a society where the knee jerk reaction of the masses has a life changing impact upon the few. I never paid enough attention in my literature classes, but I'm pretty sure the answer lies somewhere near the corner of Poetic Irony and Hypocrisy.

 

[Kinguendo]

I find it hilariously ironic that you just chastised the person I sent a friendly reply to for making pointless comments when your entire last reply to me --hell, probably your last three or four-- had absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand; instead serving only to re-affirm some sort of air of superiority you seem to think you hold over myself and other members of this board.

As much as I've enjoyed watching you get your panties in a bunch, I'm going to leave it here, because it's obvious you are more interested in trying to appear clever than actually discussing the topic at hand.

Before I leave you though, I offer a parting gift, so you can see the Halloween costume that upset you so much.

I tried to progress with the discussion by attempting to garner facts and figures... you blocked that attempt by refusing to just mention the city you live in so that I could check the stats. I continued to try and get the same piece of information out of you since my first comment so to say I strayed further from the point just is not the case, as I have continually tried to get something out of you that will give me the tiny bit of information I needed to check the population statsistics of that city. You have been arguing with anecdotal evidence the entire time and the person who is trying to use facts, aka me, is getting bombarded by people who dont seem to grasp the basic concepts of debate.

Also, your workmanship is shoddy at best that paint (it looks like paint) is applied very sloppily. And it doesnt matter how many people agree with you, unless you dress up as a specific person who is black. For example, Nelson Mandela. If you can do the voice and look vaguely similar to him then that would be a costume. But dressing as "a black person" for Halloween... because what? They are inately scary?

Even if you didnt think about it that doesnt mean there was nothing wrong with what you did, even if people agree with you it doesnt mean there isnt something wrong with what you did.

 

[Aglynugga]

Social Justice Warriors to the rescue!
"Quick extra-abled-non-descriptive-entity, there's cis people making offensive comments, better get out there and fucking cry some more."

 

[chadachada123]

That gif is golden, and your expression priceless.

Also, your workmanship is shoddy at best that paint (it looks like paint) is applied very sloppily. And it doesnt matter how many people agree with you, unless you dress up as a specific person who is black. For example, Nelson Mandela. If you can do the voice and look vaguely similar to him then that would be a costume. But dressing as "a black person" for Halloween... because what? They are inately scary?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he specifically say that he was dressing in black face? As in, he was dressing specifically as the racial stereotype?

It would really be no different from dressing as a hillbilly or some other generic, obviously negative caricature/stereotype, assuming that is the case.

It is Halloween after all.

 

[Kinguendo]

Now I'm going to see if I can get you to stop detracting from the OP for about 5 seconds

Depends on how its done. See, I'm black,from Canada, and have a lot of white friends. We talk about social race issues all the time. I don't get offended whenever my friends use the n-word in conversation because unlike most other black people (and people of other ethnic backgrounds who) see the context in the way they use it as not racist.

You can do a blackface Halloween costume around black people without being looked at as a racist though. You're giving very little credit to black people if you think that every single black person agrees with the likes of Al Sharpton, Dr Cornel West or Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Now I know how offensive the blackface can be (obviously being black), but I'm not going to say that violence is a reaction that anyone should take. That's immature. That's the kind of thinking that needs to stop.

Now in this specific case, putting the video up on YouTube was stupid. But I would not want these two girls to get kick out of school over it. That's overreacting and I think that Western society has become way too PC in cases like this. The girls have also apologized so any anger and want for punishment at this point is just not needed.

And you saying that you would swing at a person for wearing blackface is a bit telling. We're in 2012 for crying out loud. Most people, black people included, look at the KKK as a joke. Most people wouldn't strike at a person in a KKK outfit on sight. It would be just as wrong to hit someone in blackface.

Condoning violence over petty stuff like this doesn't make you look like a better person. It makes you look like you're trying way too hard to be a better person than they are.

So going as "a black person" for Halloween is a-okay? Dont know why I am asking you, simply being black gives you absolutely no authority on the issue. You could be as ignorant as anyone else on this issue, so please stop saying "As a black person". Thats trickery and either you knew that and expected me to just fold OR you didnt know that and you are not quite as enlightened on equality as perhaps you could be. Obviously it isnt a black and white issue, there are always shades of grey. However, going as a generic black person for Halloween is just incredibly ignorant. Going as a specific person for Halloween who happens to be black would be fine, but going as a black person for Halloween says there is something scary about black people. Why couldnt he go out as himself and just say "I am a white guy" for Halloween?

I dont desire punishment be brought upon them, but they do need to learn something from this. And simply apologising isnt an example that they have, its why things like sensitivity training exists. So that you dont have to throw people in prison for being stupid, but they still lose some time as a result of something they did and will grow as a person as a result. Just saying "Sorry" and walking away solves nothing, its just apathy to even the simplest confrontation... that being confronting someone when they do something wrong. That is the easiest time to confront someone, you are right to do so, you know that the community will support you and its beneficial to everyone. There are no downsides to that kind of confrontation, yet we should just accept their apology and ask for nothing more? If that is the case then I am entirely unsurprised that people walk all over Liberals, a group of which I am a part of.

And yes, violence isnt nice. Sometimes it is necessary and other times something hits a nerve. These apply to me, obviously there are other reasons people commit acts of violence. And I didnt condone violence, I said I would have... not whether that was good or bad or whether others should also engage in it. And thats not even necessarily true, I have a very quick burnout time on my anger. If I was more than 3 seconds away from him or he kept away from me for about 3 seconds, I would have calmed down again. Also, is violence immature? Sure, children engage in violence but the worst acts of violence are committed by adults.

 

[Kinguendo]

snip

Its Halloween... so its supposed to be scary. Now he may not have seen it like that, but that is the direct implication of his costume that he chose to wear on that day.

 

[Kinguendo]

Glad to see the 100th post on this topic is of such high... caliber, I'd rate the last 5 posts you've made in this topic at about Youtube commenter quality.
I don't normally jump into conversations like this, I just wanted to let you know how poor your last couple of posts have made you look.

Something that could have, and probably should have, been sent in a private message as your comment has no actual relevence to the topic. But no, you are right. MY comments are low in merit, of course. Why wouldnt they be? I mean, you disagree with them after all... so they must be.

captcha: nose bleed

Yeah captcha, me too buddy. Me too.

I felt it was pertinent to the topic at hand, when a topic degrades to such a point you're nitpicking the diction of the above post (incorrectly I may add) to be intentionally pedantic you've crossed into the Youtube zone. I'm not even sure if I disagree with your opinions on the original topic, you're just needlessly baiting arguments not on the merits of their opinion but in their word choice.

Also don't write witty responses to what your captcha was, it's annoying.

Yeah, that wasnt even the main point of my argument... you claimed to have read 5 of my comments. You should know that.

 

[Dimitriov]

Now I'm going to see if I can get you to stop detracting from the OP for about 5 seconds

Depends on how its done. See, I'm black,from Canada, and have a lot of white friends. We talk about social race issues all the time. I don't get offended whenever my friends use the n-word in conversation because unlike most other black people (and people of other ethnic backgrounds who) see the context in the way they use it as not racist.

You can do a blackface Halloween costume around black people without being looked at as a racist though. You're giving very little credit to black people if you think that every single black person agrees with the likes of Al Sharpton, Dr Cornel West or Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Now I know how offensive the blackface can be (obviously being black), but I'm not going to say that violence is a reaction that anyone should take. That's immature. That's the kind of thinking that needs to stop.

Now in this specific case, putting the video up on YouTube was stupid. But I would not want these two girls to get kick out of school over it. That's overreacting and I think that Western society has become way too PC in cases like this. The girls have also apologized so any anger and want for punishment at this point is just not needed.

And you saying that you would swing at a person for wearing blackface is a bit telling. We're in 2012 for crying out loud. Most people, black people included, look at the KKK as a joke. Most people wouldn't strike at a person in a KKK outfit on sight. It would be just as wrong to hit someone in blackface.

Condoning violence over petty stuff like this doesn't make you look like a better person. It makes you look like you're trying way too hard to be a better person than they are.

So going as "a black person" for Halloween is a-okay? Dont know why I am asking you, simply being black gives you absolutely no authority on the issue. You could be as ignorant as anyone else on this issue, so please stop saying "As a black person". Thats trickery and either you knew that and expected me to just fold OR you didnt know that and you are not quite as enlightened on equality as perhaps you could be. Obviously it isnt a black and white issue, there are always shades of grey. However, going as a generic black person for Halloween is just incredibly ignorant. Going as a specific person for Halloween who happens to be black would be fine, but going as a black person for Halloween says there is something scary about black people. Why couldnt he go out as himself and just say "I am a white guy" for Halloween?

I dont desire punishment be brought upon them, but they do need to learn something from this. And simply apologising isnt an example that they have, its why things like sensitivity training exists. So that you dont have to throw people in prison for being stupid, but they still lose some time as a result of something they did and will grow as a person as a result. Just saying "Sorry" and walking away solves nothing, its just apathy to even the simplest confrontation... that being confronting someone when they do something wrong. That is the easiest time to confront someone, you are right to do so, you know that the community will support you and its beneficial to everyone. There are no downsides to that kind of confrontation, yet we should just accept their apology and ask for nothing more? If that is the case then I am entirely unsurprised that people walk all over Liberals, a group of which I am a part of.

And yes, violence isnt nice. Sometimes it is necessary and other times something hits a nerve. These apply to me, obviously there are other reasons people commit acts of violence. And I didnt condone violence, I said I would have... not whether that was good or bad or whether others should also engage in it. And thats not even necessarily true, I have a very quick burnout time on my anger. If I was more than 3 seconds away from him or he kept away from me for about 3 seconds, I would have calmed down again. Also, is violence immature? Sure, children engage in violence but the worst acts of violence are committed by adults.

I just have to say that if I knew you in real life... I'd probably want to kill myself. You might well have the biggest stick up your ass of any person I have ever heard

Seriously dude lighten up.

 

[lunavixen]

I didn't see the video, but based on what MammothBlade posted on Page 1 (the girls apology) it seems this issue was more an error in judgement than an attempt to cause problems, they shouldn't be expelled for that, everyone has lapses in judgement. They can clearly see that what they did was wrong and they are trying to be genuinely repentant about the video, shouldn't that be enough? I think so.

 

[chadachada123]

snip

Its Halloween... so its supposed to be scary. Now he may not have seen it like that, but that is the direct implication of his costume that he chose to wear on that day.

Because teenagers TOTALLY go as scary things on Halloween these days...[/sarcasm]


Maybe that's the case where you come from, but here, and in the media, Halloween for older teens and young adults is for either doing something offensive, for playing along for a younger sibling, or to see how elaborate you can get. Very rarely is it about actually donning a scary costume.

 

[Twilight_guy]

Depends on University policy If they can kick them for any reason, and it becomes an issue, then there gone. if they have to have one of a set number of reasons, probably not, unless the university can find another reason to do so.