From Jocelyn Greene of Scripps College,
Last weekend, the homophobic slur, "fag" was written on a Pomona student's dry erase board on four occasions over the course of four days. On Friday, there was a "Bias Incident" report emailed to all students. This email explained what had happened and offered contact information for those who felt they needed support in light of this 'incident'. While we appreciate any response from the administration, we feel that this response can not stand on its own; it implies that such an issue can and should be dealt with at the individual level rather than encouraging a community-wide response. We would like to take this issue a step further and ensure that hate crimes such as this provokes a response greater than simply an email from our administration.
As a community, we need to come together and realize that this affects all of us, not just the individual targeted; hate crimes create a less open and supportive community for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. Can we expect things to change if we continue to frame acts of hate as the problem of the target? Make this a community issue: come to the Motley THIS Wednesday (October 8) from 6-7PM for an open forum. We hope that this forum will create a necessary dialogue and will be a starting point for the change we wish to see at the Claremont Colleges.
Sponsored by the QRC, QQAMP and Family.
For more information, contact Jocelyn Greene at [email withheld]The real question is what about the incident makes it a hate crime? There wasn't any property damage and besides the annoying thing of someone writing "fag" anonymously on your door repeatedly, we don't really have a context for the supposed incident. What does Jocelyn want to accomplish? This country has an unforunate history of communities deciding to punish people without regard to the law or the authorities. We call them vigilantes.
Full disclosure: Jocelyn and I went to Milton Academy together and she and I have a long history that's probably unprintable here.
Subscribe in a reader
32 comments:
"Full disclosure: Jocelyn and I went to Milton Academy together and she and I have a long history that's probably unprintable here."
If you can't disclose it, then it's not really full disclosure is it?
That's a solid point, but it's worth mentioning that we don't get along. There are good reasons, but I don't want to make her look that bad.
It isn't a hate crime. No hate crime report was taken. The email sent by the administration listed it as a bias-related incident, ie, something that doesn't qualify as a hate crime (usually because no crime occurred - like you said, no actual damage) but that still had elements of bias. Unfortunately, it's a toss-up whether the confusion is because the administration doesn't make the distinction clear, or because the students don't want to see the distinction so they can cause a bigger response. ::shrug::
Man, just when I thought this blog was going to get interesting, you pull the unprintable card.
unprintable because you and she did the hanky panky?
It's probably better to state that you went to high school together AND don't get along. Either way, vague disclaimers do little to dispel concerns that your reading of the email might be biased.
I mean, it has to be a pretty significant history to be able to describe her asking people to discuss the 5c's tolerance policies over coffee at the Motley as "vigilantism". She never mentioned "punishment" in her email, so you're making some really bold claims in second guessing her motives.
This sounds to me like you're accusing her of going out on a vigilantly witch hunt. Maybe you aren't, but giving your mutual history (and your need to explain it) I think you need to take a step back and regain some perspective on this one.
Allow to explain what happened between us.
During the Duke lacrosse incident, I asked Jocelyn who was the head of a group called Gender Equity whether or not she was going to issue a statement or have a discussion about rape shield laws and how these poor boys were having their reputations ruined.
She started balling and accused me of sexual harassment. She did like things to other boys at our school.
Given history like that, I think it's not a fair cry to suspect her of oversensitivity. Calling something a hate crime when it so clearly isn't one, is dangerous.
With the provided context, this post becomes a lot less cryptic and a lot more informative. Thanks.
i think you should post what really happened on claremontconfessions.com
I'm a little sad that the backstory isn't more sordid, but what are you gonna do? Not just anybody gains privileged access to Charles brief n high socks show.
I'm just confused as to how this is vigilantism. It seems that she's not advocating any particular person be punished, just suggesting an open forum where the issues can be discussed and the "oppressive culture" can be changed.
Full disclosure, I think people who go to boarding schools are bad people whose parents clearly didn't want them. That or criminals.
Why not both, CitizenX?
I was the white charity case, for what it's worth.
"I was the white charity case, for what it's worth."
So what you're saying is that you were allowed to go to the boarding school based on your low economic status, as opposed to your actual merits or qualifications? Oh irony is so sweet.
No, I had higher marks than most of the other students and tutored the rich kids who got into the best schools.
I just couldn't afford it without huge amounts of financial aid.
Well, my sister went to one of your high-fallutin boarding schools and she's not a criminal. She's just a child who became expendable when my parents finally got it right.
I say this very reticently, but I think Charles and I would probably agree that lower-income students at expensive schools often are far more worthy than their peers. Schools operate somewhat as businesses, and if people aren't going to pay in money, they're certainly going to have to pay in academic vigor.
But what do I know? I think all schools should just be full of only minorities. Unqualified minorities. If white people don't like it, they can just cry themselves to sleep on their piles of money and slaughtered Native Americans.
CITX said- "I think all schools should just be full of only minorities. Unqualified minorities. If white people don't like it, they can just cry themselves to sleep on their piles of money and slaughtered Native Americans."
Dude, I was just starting to like you. Tell me that was sarcasm and your not a member of the Weather Underground?
elGuapo
I was kidding, of course. There's no such thing as an unqualified minority.
#1-CitX -you're killin' me! Thanks. I'm relieved. ElGuapo
#2
Making writing FAG on a whiteboard a hate crime is like a woman suing the company she works for because she overheard two men in the coffee room say to each other, "I like woman with big tits."
Diluting and ruining the fundamental reason they exist.
Dragging a Black man behind a truck thru town because he's Black = Hate Crime
Football players getting threatened with suspension for being overheard saying a girl is a slut, or writing FAG on a whiteboard= Poor Judgement
5Cs Stop the servile pandering
elGuapo
Is there any antigay speech or action that you can't excuse, Charles? I'm thinking of the fact that you claimed, two days after it happened, that the attack on the Claremont Colleges' Queer Resource Center "didn't happen":
http://www.claremontconservative.com/2008/02/pomona-gay-attack-that-didnt-happen.html
More recently, you have claimed that the individual who let off the fire extinguisher is personally known to you--but you won't disclose his identity. Why are you protecting him? Is it because you think there's nothing he needs to apologize for?
I don't recognize the concept of an anti-gay crime. There are only crimes, after all.
As for the person, I'm not disclosing his identity because he asked me not to as he feared that he would be socially ostracized or harmed.
Gaaaah Charles, why do you do this.
No, there isn't a separate distinction for anti-gay crimes. But it's worth noting that the cause for the crime was homosexuality.
Did I just say that homosexuality causes crime? I need more sleep.
Whatever, I think the main point is that, even though it's not a hate crime, we might want to ask why somebody thought it was a good idea to write "fag" on somebody's dry erase board. Cavalierly trying to hurt people's feelings isn't as cool as bloggers make it look.
Also, "fag"? What are they, 10?
So you are saying that the risk of social ostracism and "harm" to the perpetrator of the QRC fire extinguisher incident outweigh the positive benefits of publicly explaining what happened, and of apologizing openly to the GLBT community of the Claremont Colleges for the incident.
Apparently the Presidents of CMC and Pomona both agree with you.
No, I'm saying that the person perceived those harms and that they only way I could get them to tell me what really happened was to keep their anonymity. Also, it wasn't an attack or even carelessness on the part of the LGBT. They dispensed the fire extinguisher in the kitchen, adjacent to it.
So you cajoled a confession on condition of guaranteed anonymity? Since when did you become father confessor to antigay attackers?
You are incorrect in suggesting the fire extinguisher was let off in the kitchen. It was set off in the large room of the QRC and was a huge mess to clean up.
I've got one thing to say:
"sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me!"
Get over it!
elGuapo
It's called journalism to protect your sources.
You're absolutely wrong on the contents of fire extinguisher being in the QRC. At most it seeped through the door.
El Guapo said:
"Making writing FAG on a whiteboard a hate crime is like a woman suing the company she works for because she overheard two men in the coffee room say to each other, "I like woman with big tits."
Repeatedly writing "Fag" on the whiteboard of a queer student was a personal attack. Do you really not see the significance of the distinction?
Sorry, Charlie (OK, CitizenX, I need more sleep too), but the mess was in the living room of Walton Commons, which is the area used for QRC. The building attendants who spent the better part of five hours cleaning it up can attest to that. Although I think you're right that they entered via the kitchen (I think that's where the card reader is.)
O what a tangled web! Charles, are you sure the right man "confessed" to you?
You also made up the part (a few weeks ago) when you said it was a Pomona senior last year who set off the fire extinguisher. It was a CMC senior.
Anonymous,
No, I think Charles is right on that part. Pomona senior.
Pomona student swiped card to open door. Several students entered...
They also stole the QRC flag and were parading around the 5Cs with it. I witnessed it.
Post a Comment