MikeJ
2001
I thought he was the black son of a multimillionaire? I don’t know how the calculus of racial versus class privilege is supposed to work out, but he probably had some experience with racism. Would probably sting even more if otherwise he was treated as one of the elite.
Nope, which is what makes this line of argument pure none sense.
Although Tin Wisdom points is a good one. Some people are compassionate and are willing to risk what they have and discomfort to help others.
Nesrie
2003
I don’t think that most of us can agree that being in a position of privilege means you can’t protest. I also know that the richest black man or woman in the world is still going to experience racism… I mean the rich can certainly campaign for hiring taxes on themselves right? You can march for equal rights for women and blacks as a white man right? How is this all that different?
From the Daily Missourian
His letter referenced incidents of black students being called racist slurs, the sudden removal of graduate student health insurance subsidies in August, MU’s cancellation of Planned Parenthood contracts and the swastika drawn with human feces found in an MU residence hall on Oct. 24.
Jonathan Butler being a privileged rich kid is really just icing on the cake.
I’d suggest people read their specific complaints, read their demands and then watch video of the “protests,” including the incident when the former president’s car “hit one of the protesters” (spoilers: it didn’t). After doing so, ask yourself if you really believe that this incident belongs in this thread and not the identity politics one.
Pyperkub
2006
It is entirely possible to be both.
Tortilla
2007
Exactly. I’m really uncomfortable with focusing on one rich kid in all this Missouri mess. It was obviously a side show, so shifting the focus to this one individual and then tearing him down seems like an attempt to rationalize away ignoring the more serious issues.
Murbella
2008
If the rich kid hunger striking was a side show, what is the main show?
Someone getting called the N word, potentially not even on campus, potentially not even by students?
A swastika being drawn out of feces? Check THIS out if you think it is easy to find out who did it.
Militant protesters disrupting an event and jumping in front of a car?
“Unreported situations that are serious but we cannot give you any specifics on?”
I think we’re back to the main cause behind this being that their attempt to check the privilege of the white, cisgender, heterosexual male president failed.
How the the fact that the US still is dealing with a long history of slavery and institutionalized racism, and that we are still dealing with the consequences of what are fore fathers did.
The entire football team going on strike and threatening millions of dollars of University revenue? The fact that the situation was so tense that it wasn’t just the black players on the team but the white players and the team coach (aka the highest paid public employee in the state) who joined in with the strike threat. That’s a big deal, and shows that regardless of how opaque the causes to outsiders, the situation to those involved was pretty fricking serious.
Nesrie
2011
Yeah something has been brewing there for awhile now. Anyone whose not white or has a cultural link different from the established norm runs into these problems now and then. To have the university and the teams responding like this… it’s been at the boiling point for awhile now.
To be fair, how would the coach and white players NOT join in? They’d look horrible.
Nesrie
2013
The same way any minority stands in the face of the majority. It’s never easy, whether the cause is just or not.
Honestly, if I had actually read the list of demands, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to. Some of them were too ridiculous for me. So cheers to them for that.
Nesrie
2015
True, but these aren’t middle-aged individuals working jobs. Many of these students still have some growing up to do, and they probably should have let their emotions calm done a bit before drafting anything.
Yes, that is a nice comment, but how exactly does it apply to this situation?
You might as well go to Microsoft and ask for Satya Nadella to resign because the “US still is dealing with a long history of slavery and institutionalized racism, and that we are still dealing with the consequences of what are fore fathers did.”
Some growing up to do?
Every narrative i’ve seen paints this as crazed social justice warrior outrage. Their list of demands fits this idea perfectly, as does their general behavior.
And HEREis the president violently running down some innocent protesters not interrupting the parade at all. The police then violent broke up the “peaceful protest.” So much for those complaints, right?
I must admit to having trouble understanding why i’m the only one that cares that even though racism is so pervasive at this campus, there are barely any specific examples of it.
We need to remember the lessons the republicans are learning now. If you invite crazy people in to your party, they will eventually bite the hand that feeds them.
Also if you watch interviews with Jonathan Butler, he completely believes he is one of the oppressed and downtrodden. Luckily for him, after he cries himself to sleep, he can have his butler wash his pillow.
Also is there actually any evidence there was a feces swastika? You’d think if someone drew a huge swastika made of feces in a dorm restroom, there would be pictures and evidence, but i can’t find any. I can’t imagine it would be easy, or quick, to clean something like this up. Given questions about certain central figures in this incident, it is a concern whether this is another hoax.
I’m not sure what happened? I realize that you are arguing the weaker side Murbella, but let’s stay on topic, okay? These tangents of, “oh he is rich so I guess he doesn’t matter” and now “Nadella… I have no clue but he ain’t American, so there!” is rather odd, and comically, but hardly part of the general discussions.
Moving on, the list is pretty weak sauce, but the rich kid meant nothing to the argument. Football is what turned this battle into a winning battle for the college students.
On a tanget worthy of Murbella, I wonder how long before other football teams realize that this could be there ticket to getting paid for their labor? Seriously, a team going on strike can cost a university more money than paying them would.
CraigM
2019
Northwestern tried something like this recently, with the football players talking of unionizing. Initially the administration seemed to support the move, but then changed their mind. It ultimately went nowhere.
Nesrie
2020
I probably shouldn’t engage with you because you’re all over the place and just trying to label one side of the argument in order to dismiss their complaints entirely. I’ve experienced racism most my life Murbella. What examples would you accept from me? Am I supposed to document every incident that has ever occurred so that someone on a message board can decide I have enough evidence to present my case?
Racism isn’t new; it’s not going away, and it’s not as rare as people want to believe it is. So the question is, what’s so special about this campus? At the couple of college campuses I went to, I wouldn’t say my experience with racism was so bad that I believed I needed to participate in demonstration or protest to fix it (but i did experience it). Then again, I felt were I went to school and were I’ve worked those in charge have been responsive to any issues I’ve brought up. To me, this rallying suggests there is a problem at this campus, either because racism is a notable issue there , sounds like it might be, and/or because those in charge aren’t responsive.
3 incidents did not lead to this. This has been brewing for some time now, and it just hit a boiling point. You don’t wake up with this kind of response overnight. And just because they haven’t formulated their demands or thoughts together, doesn’t mean the issue isn’t real. Occupy Wall Street was another example of primarily young people organizing but not really having an end game. That doesn’t mean some of their issues weren’t valid.
