What’s equally disturbing as these incidents are some of the comments on this article targeted to military personnel.
I don’t think one incident is a big deal. Likely just a stupid prank. If it happens repeatedly, then it’s something to be concerned about.
Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria’s response is what leadership looks like (scroll to end):
^^I don’t think using the N word is ever “just a stupid prank.”
@simba
I’m assuming you’re not a part of any minority groups.
But guess what? Words hurt too. Sorry that minorities have feelings.
No it is not ok.
^:)^ ^:)^ ^:)^ =D> =D> to Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria’s forceful and articulate response. True leadership that should be emulated. Not too hard to do when you are on the right side - the only side - of this issue.
I’m Jewish. I don’t flip out or overreact every time I see a swastika.
@simba9 is it cool if your fellow military students put a swastika on your dorm door?
I wouldn’t be cool with it but I guess feelings vary.
@OHMomof2, I was in the Air Force, and nobody I knew would have done something like that. Every so often I’d hear someone say something along the lines of, “My landlord Jewed me,” or Jews would be going to hell because they don’t accept Christ as their savior. When I reminded or informed the person that I was Jewish, they’d get very embarrassed and apologize. They were saying things out of ignorance, not out of hatred. How people treated me was more important than what people said, and nobody ever treated me differently once they learned I was Jewish.
The military doesn’t exactly attract a lot of deep thinkers, so you’re going to hear stupid opinions on pretty much every topic. No race, ethnicity or religion was immune from being the target of a stupid opinion. It doesn’t mean the institution as a whole has a major problem. While not perfect, the US military is one of the best integrated organizations in the country.
^except it wasn’t a racist sentence like “another lazy negro” that the affected student could correct directly to the person who said it thoughtlessly and stupidly. And it would not excuse what was said in any way, that the speaker was thoughtless and stupid. (Being stupid and thoughtless isn’t an excuse. I don’t believe you think it’d fly in our Armed Forces.)
Here, it was a slur, written deliberately where the African American cadets lived. It was not something that comes out of the mouth of someone ignorant and thoughtless while chatting. It was premeditated and it was a threat.
In addition, you say “nobody ever treated me differently once they learned I was Jewish”… can you see the difference with what happened here? That is pretty much the OPPOSITE of what happened.
Have you listened to the Lt. Gal’s response?
Sorry, but I still think it was a stupid prank and that people are over-reacting. Honestly, these days you can’t even be sure that the supposed victims didn’t do it themselves just to rile everyone up.
My thinking is that you can’t afford to minimize things like this - these are not minor issues. Clearly Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria was quick and forceful in his response. He doesn’t seem to me to be the type of individual that over-reacts. We need more like him in Washington.
I believe you also have to nip anti-semitism in the bud. One would have to have their head in the sand to not notice the increase in public displays of anti-semitism in the last 2 years. For someone as mainstream and politically connected as Valerie Plame to feel comfortable tweeting out an article on Rosh Hashanah written by an anti-semite and calling it “thoughtful,” you know there is a problem. Although I am no fan, I thought Alan Dershowitz’s published response to her was right on target. The fallout just cost her a board seat.
^I will reiterate–no one living in this country can possibly be so dense that they “don’t know” that using that slur isn’t deeply, unforgiveably offensive.
And to say that the A-A cadets might have done it themselves? That too is deeply offensive.
The military takes this very seriously. The cadets will likely be expelled, assuming they can identify who did it.
I expect they will be expelled if discovered. In any event, anyone who actually makes it into the military and continuously exhibits racist behavior isn’t going to last long, if only because their fellow soldiers, sailors and airman won’t put up with it.
Silveria’s speech is eloquent and forceful. It has gone viral. In the climate in this country right now, with a divisive president, this video reminds us of how the country should be.
We’ve had several racist incidents here at UMich this year. The most recent was Black students getting the n-word graffitied on their dorm room doors.
I’d pay money to Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria to come and give these students a piece of his mind.
Kids who do these “pranks” assume (arrogantly or naively) that others share their worldview or humor. Even if it is just a joke or a harmless insult, is it right for the institution’s leaders to laugh along? Why should African American students acquiesce to the humor/worldview simply because the prank was well-intentioned, good natured? To borrow the words of Silveria, treating these violations as normal pranking is a horrible idea.
If this was not a threat (of course it was!), the question we should be asking is why the perpetrator(s) were so cocky as to think their “prank” was funny. Who did they think would join in the laughter? Who were they trying to entertain with this prank? Does it ever stop being funny, like when the prank is done repeatedly to the same kid or multiple kids?
It could easily have been some drunk kids with impaired faculties doing this on the spur of the moment, and they simply thought it was funny. Writing on a whiteboard doesn’t take a lot of though or effort. Let’s stop treating it like it’s a cross burning.