There will never be a nigger at SAE
There will never be a nigger at SAE
You can hang him from a tree
But he’ll never sign with me
There will never be a nigger at SAE
-Unknown asshole.
Whats funny is that I can write that. I can say that. I can say it if I mean it, and I can say it just to quote what some other asshole said.
I’m not going to get into a discussion of whether I approve of it or not. (I don’t, but that’s all I’ll say about it). You have the right to be racist. I want that freedom. But, somewhere along the way, we decided that eliminating bad thoughts is more important than freedom.
Like it or not, these kids were expressing a political and social opinion. I do not care if you agree with it or not. They have a First Amendment right to freedom of association – that means they can be in a private club that says “no niggers allowed.” I can’t say that I would want to belong to such a club, but the KKK and the American Nazi Party not only have a right to exist, but serve a valuable function — even if that function is only to serve as a negative example.
Further, they have a right to express themselves — even with views that you might find abhorrent. That’s what freedom is.
Now lets think back to college. You said dumb shit in college. You probably said dumb shit yesterday. So a couple of kids got hopped up on everclear and fried okra and sang a really stupid racist song.
So.
Fucking.
What?
In a rush to punish these bad thoughts, Oklahoma University expelled two of the kids who sang the song.
That’s counterproductive for two reasons: First, it violates the First Amendment. See, e.g., Papish v. Bd. of Curators, 410 U.S. 667 (1973); Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169 (1972). A public university can not expel a student on the basis of speech it doesn’t like.
Second, it is counterproductive. Do you really think that anyone is closer to racial harmony after such a disgusting display of abuse of power? I really don’t give a shit if some over-privileged victim studies major is offended by the use of the word “nigger” or the lynching imagery in the song. I do give a shit that someone’s First Amendment rights got trampled on in the name of rushing to punish their thoughtcrime.
It really makes champions of the “politically correct” seem quite impotent. Think about it. Are their views really so flimsy and weak that they can not survive when placed into a jar with “There will never be a nigger in SAE?”
That’s what it looks like to me.
