BSA not responsible for protest

Stephen Miller's comments regarding the protest of Bill Bennett's comments seemed to be directed at the Black Student Alliance, rather the black students that participated ("Tricky extrapolations" Oct. 26, 2005). First of all, BSA was not the host of this protest. Please do not assume that anytime there is a large number of black people gathered in one area that it must be a BSA event. Though many members showed up, the event was not endorsed by BSA. He also mentioned several times "the left" and how they were offended, etc. He has made a second generalization incorrectly that should be addressed. The students that came together for the demonstration were not of a particular group or political belief. We all joined together to stand against something we felt strongly about.

Secondly, Miller suggests that we, like many others, misinterpreted Bennett's comments. The fact is that the words came from his mouth. Simply offering an example-why did he choose this one-Bennett then followed by saying, "That would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down." That last clause suggested that it is still an option, though it may be morally reprehensible. There are other ways that Bennett could have gotten his point across in this conversation, but he did not. As we stated in our demonstration, and as I am saying now: We will not stand for racist and socially damaging comments.

Miller can receive those words however he would like, but the meaning is stated and very clear.

Finally, I wanted to address the statistics Miller mentioned at the end of his editorial. As students, specifically black students, we know the stats of what happens in our community. Many of us are actively working to reduce the numbers of negative stats and we recognize that it takes time. Needless to say, we are not intimidated by facts and we are more willing to face these facts than many of our counterparts. So Stephen Miller, since you too know the facts so well, what do you plan to do about it?

Racine Harris

Trinity '07

 

'Solution' would lead to more problems

Racism is not so overt anymore. Ten people will show up at a Klan march, but 100 may think they'd be better off without all those pesky minorities.

Martin Niemoller talks about not speaking up when they persecuted the trade unionists, social democrats and Jews, and thus having no one left to speak up for him. That's why it's so disheartening to see only black students protesting Bennett's comments, or only Kubagawa supporting her cause. The day will come for each of us when we need to stand together.

So instead of assuming, Miller, that you know why black students or the "left" are upset, you might walk up to the demonstration and ask. Maybe you'd find Bennett as offensive as they did, and join them in protesting.

Hirsh Sandesara

Trinity '06

 

Arguments are not compelling

It's hard to say if William Bennett or Stephen Miller are racists, since I don't know either of them. But I will say that Bennett didn't need to use the word "black" at all to make his point. That's what bothered me. And I will say that Miller's ideas didn't win me over. He wanted us to pay attention to the context, but the text itself?-Miller misread it. You can't let Bennett off the hook for slipping in the word "black" when he didn't have to. In the American context, that was a big mistake.

Don Byrne

AV Technician

A&S Information Science & Technology

 

Context matters, fails to change meaning

I agree with Stephen Miller that William Bennett's words were taken out of context. Many people heard the first part, and not enough the second. But, the reason I think the latter is equally important to hear is his affirming statement, "but your crime rate would go down." Why did he say that? Is it, like the presented statistics say, that black men are the largest demographic in prison? Is that because of the statistics regarding the demographic of people living in poverty? Does that have still further historical roots?

Statistics are interesting because all sides can use them to refute the other, though all are factual. What about the statistics regarding the demographic of those arrested? The truth, if there is one, is complexity. Too many factors go into these "facts" that people throw around. I say, let's throw away the facts and actually care enough to try to resolve the problem.

I would also like to challenge Miller's belief that he is not racist. Maybe it's a matter of semantics (racist vs. racism), but racism is so ingrained in our society-from imperialism to the beginnings of anthropology to something like today's prisons-that I think we're all racist by association. We may not believe it, we may not express it, but it's still there. It's, as many like to say, institutionalized.

I personally found the BSA protest amazingly awesome--yeah, I said it. The reason being that I probably would have never even known of the incident had the protest not occurred (the same can be said about the urination incident in Miho Kubagawa's column which ran next to Miller's-an interesting juxtaposition). Something said is better than nothing said at all.

It is my hope that we use opportunities such as this to try and understand where these things come from rather than brush them off to the side as mere realities of our society.

Kevin Fang

Trinity '07

 

Bennett's comments inappropriate

In response to Stephen Miller's column, "Tricky extrapolations," all I can say is that I am sorry that there are individuals in the world who cannot grasp or conceive what it means to be a minority.

Yes, William Bennett chose some poor words when he referred to having black babies aborted. Whether you are pro-life or not, abortion is a topic that is highly controversial and should never be joked about. Bennett knew exactly what he was talking about when he mentioned black babies. It is a sad statistic about the number of black males incarcerated in the United States. It is also sad how no one stops to look at the socioeconomic situations of all the black males in jail to see if maybe, just maybe, these individuals were misrepresented in court or did not receive fair treatment. While socioeconomic situations do not justify guilty actions, they do make it hard to come to the conclusion that all black males in jail should be there.

Miller should be happy that the Black Student Alliance came together and reacted the way it did to show our disgust on this matter. The protest was a peaceful one, was open to anyone who wanted to come and did not disrupt daily activities at Duke. The reason that students attended the protest was to show that such hurtful comments would not be tolerated in any way, shape or form. Had Bennett used any other racial group, such as Asian, Jewish, Muslim, etc., I would hope that those respective groups would gather and do the same.

And finally, Stephen Miller, you are not a racist. You are an individual who needs to be educated on the situation of minorities in this country. It is not fair to walk down a street and have people think you are a threat. It is not fair to walk on a plane and think that you are a terrorist because of your appearance. It is also not fair to deem members of a protest McCarthyist because they come together to show their concern. Words hurt. People feel.

Andrew George

Trinity '08

 

Column lacked taste

I was extremely disheartened by the editorial published within The Chronicle titled "Tricky extrapolations." To be sure, I disagreed with fellow black students when they insisted that blacks were misrepresented within The Chronicle, yet after reading this article, I realized that their views were not to be questioned, but instead my own.

I found Stephen Miller's statements to be extremely vicious, and it is shocking to realize that such ignorance exists on the Duke campus. The Black Student Alliance is accused of being leftists for simply recognizing the racist comment of a conservative radio host. It was not necessary for the organization to "paint" Bennett as a racist, for he did that himself when he insisted that exterminating black babies was a method of crime reduction. Whether the comment was made to prove a listener wrong is not the issue; the issue is the inability of students to empathize with the black community on campus, as seen in Miller's tasteless editorial.

Rather than recognizing the hatred attached to Bennett's comments, Miller would rather "paint" Bennett as the lovable conservative whose comments have served in presenting "racial paranoia." Rather than be ashamed of BSA for protesting, I find myself exceedingly proud of the organization.

To correct Miller, what history has proven, in addition to the importance of the truth, is the inability of conservative white Americans to recognize the deplorable conditions that the African-American population lives in. Moreover, history has shown the many obstacles that blacks have overcome when deterred by racist individuals, whether it be the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963, or the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. just five years later. Bennett's comments, as well as Miller's, are just one more obstacle that the black community will overcome.

Although only "12 percent of black students in the eighth grade are at or above a proficient reading level," there are a great deal of intelligent black students on this campus who will join me in recognizing your ignorance, Stephen, as well as that of Bennett.

Sean Hill

Trinity '09

 

BSA responded sensibly

The critical responses to William Bennett's remarks by the Black Student Alliance and its supporters were not misguided, slanderous or shameful as Stephen Miller claims. Rather, it was the outrage and anger of a group feeling marginalized and stereotyped. Miller and other critics of BSA must understand why Bennett's words and statements like his are in fact harmful, despite their hypothetical nature. Bennett's words perpetuate a harmful stereotype that criminality is inherently African-American.

All criminals are not African Americans, and all African Americans are not criminals and do not deserve to be portrayed as such. The more often that stereotypes such as this are said, the more comfortable individuals become with them, regardless of which group is targeted.

Racism exists not only in the forms of radical groups and their actions but also in casual hypotheticals and jokes that spout the same ideology. The only way to defeat the racism driving these stereotypes is to speak out against them and against those who perpetuate them. No matter how many times Bennett asserts that his recommendation to abort all black babies to reduce crime is hypothetical and morally reprehensible, it is racist in that it perpetuates a harmful and hurtful stereotype. Therefore, we condemn Bennett's remarks and support BSA's efforts to dispel the stereotypes that those remarks convey.

Jeff Leibach

Trinity '06

President, FCJL

Statistics belie full story

As a staunch advocate of academic freedom, I'm not bothered by the content of Stephen Miller's column, nor am I at issue with the numbers that he presented ("Tricky extrapolations" Oct. 26, 2005). When, William Bennett made a highly controversial statement in which he suggested that aborting all black babies would decrease the crime rate, he then attempted to lessen the severity of his statement by adding that it would be an "impossible, ridiculous, and morally reprehensible thing to do." No matter what the statistics suggest, Bennett committed a most grievous error in stating his opinions. Even though he conceded to the fact that a means could not justify the ends, he assumed that the majority of black children grow up to be criminals.

The truth of the matter is if you aborted children of any race, the crime rate would ultimately decrease. One must understand that blacks go to jail in disproportionate numbers for committing crimes of equal magnitude to other races. In an address to Congress, The National Legislative and Law Enforcement Response to Cocaine Committee reported that, "...it takes 100 times more cocaine in powder form than cocaine in crack form to receive a mandatory minimum sentence (MMS), despite the fact that the two drugs are almost identical, both in terms of chemistry and physiological effects. As it happens, crack is predominantly used by blacks, while powder is more often used by whites. In several cases, DEA agents have actually exploited this distinction and forced dealers to cook powder cocaine into crack in order to ensure a lengthy MMS."

Making accusations and suggesting that "racial paranoia" was a factor in this situation is not only balderdash but rather scary as we find ourselves 140 years after institutionalized slavery was constitutionally abolished. The Black Student Alliance exercised its right to protest harmful statements and should not be "ashamed" of any of its actions here. There is simply no such thing as benign racism. And if the world is to last until the year 3000, it must be accepted that no group has a monopoly on crime, racism or ignorance.

Doha Mekki

Trinity '07

 

Statistics result of biased system

I was disappointed in the editorial by Stephen Miller about William Bennett's racist comments. This is not a black issue or a minority issue but a matter of prejudice still remaining in this country, as evident through such comments.

Yes, Miller is correct in saying that the comments were preceded by an irrational comment. But what Miller misses is that Bennett assumes that blacks are more likely to commit crimes than whites. That's the real racism in Bennett's remarks, that he assumes that. In fact, reports from crime victims show that blacks commit proportionally about the same percentage of crimes as their percentage of the population.

Miller goes on to make another poor assumption with his use of statistics about the black community. Other statistics suggest that all through the justice system blacks are systematically more likely to be screwed:

A° Police may be more likely to suspect blacks of a crime than whites.

A° Police may expend more effort capturing black perpetrators than white.

A° District Attorneys are more likely to charge a black than a white for the same crime.

A° Whites are statistically offered better deals than blacks to forgo a trial.

A° Blacks, frequently being poorer, are more likely to have a public defender or other poor lawyer who does not represent them as well.

A° Blacks, once convicted, are more likely to be given a longer sentence than whites.

Etc., etc.

Not to mention that society often makes irrational decisions about laws. For example, there are tougher penalties for crack cocaine possession (predominantly used and sold by blacks) than possession of the same amount of powdered cocaine (predominantly used by whites).

Miller's conclusions about blacks are laughable to anyone with even a smidgen of knowledge about our "justice" system.

Tadina Ross

Trinity '08

 

Racial insensitivity persists in America

After the meeting between The Chronicle and BSA Oct. 20, I was hopeful that this year's Chronicle was going to be more racially sensitive than previous years. That is why, I felt especially disappointed after reading Stephen Miller's column.

Miller's commentary proves just why many people are so angry at William Bennett's comments. Even when put in the original context, Bennett's comments are still racist because they correlate criminal mindedness with being black and do not recognize the real reason for the correlation between black people and crime: the socioeconomic disparity between blacks and the rest of the country.

This leads to Miller's comments about "the real problems" facing the black community (like they are not America's problems). He lists a series of statistics that reflect problems facing the black communityA±for example, "12 percent of black students in the eighth grade are at or above a proficient reading level,"-and then he stops as if he has made a point but fails to explore the reason why these statistics are so. It can be taken to mean he thinks the statistics are the way they are not because black people are on the wrong end of a socioeconomic disparity in this country but because black people are somehow pre-disposed to these problems. I'm not sure if this was his intention, but next time Miller decides to define problems maybe he should look a little closer at the causes of the problems.

Also, it is worthwhile to note that the causes of the socioeconomic disparity in America are the after-effects of the long history of slavery and institutionalized racism and the current effects of ignorance about this history and subtle racism. When people like Bennett and Miller make statements without thinking about their social implications, it just shows how much ignorance and racial insensitivity still exist in America. And this is not the Man is keeping the black man down; this is the Man putting the black man down in the first place and then denying his responsibility to help him back up.

Osagie Ighile

Trinity '09

 

Comments on abortion insensitive

The problem with William Bennett's statement was that it was insensitive, even put into the context that Stephen Miller explained. Using the example that aborting black babies would reduce the crime rate is implying that the majority of crimes are committed by blacks because of something in their nature.

What Bennett's example fails to address is the reason behind why so many blacks are in jail. What about racist law enforcement, or the fact that crime rate is proportional to education level? Blacks as a whole in this country do not have the same educational opportunities as whites. Would Bennett ever give the example, even as a "far-fetched extrapolation" that aborting all white babies who could potentially grow up to be racist law enforcement would reduce the number of blacks in jail?

I think that blacks in this country are tired of people always viewing our problems as totally our fault. While obviously we have to take some responsibility for our actions, it is important not to forget the history of this country that shaped many of the unfortunate circumstances plaguing our people today.

Olivia Singelmann

Trinity '08

 

U.S. has history of mistreating black people

Stephen Miller accused members of the Black Student Alliance of being "misguided and slanderous" in their "assault on William Bennett." Miller claims that Bennett's comments were "excise[d]...from their immediate context." My response to this would be that those members of the black community who condemned the comments made by Bennett did in fact take the time to read and re-read the entire exchange between Bennett and his caller. Despite Miller's sweeping generalizations that "BSA, like countless of others" disregarded the context in which Bennett's comments were played out is ridiculous.

Bennett's statement that aborting all black babies "would be an impossible, ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do" does not excuse or even justify his hateful words. In an attempt to answer the caller's question, Bennett focuses on a demographic of people that have a long history of being raped, lynched, murdered, falsely accused and denied any kind of equal protection under the law. And I'm supposed to brush off Bennett's comments as an "absurd, hypothetical" point?

Try looking at one of the thousands black people who were sterilized by doctors at the Wake Forest Medical School between the 1920s and 1970s, and tell them that Bennett's comments were "absurd." The truth of the matter is, we live in a society where the lives of black people have been destroyed in the name of science, medicine and anything else that can be used to justify the subjugation of a group of people.

Therefore, while it is easy for Miller to throw out statistics of "the real problems facing the black community," (which he places out of context), he conveniently or ignorantly disregards the tens of thousands of black lives that were disrupted because someone thought that sterilizing black women would be the answer to the growing number of black children born out of wedlock. Did you ever stop to think of that?

Rukayya Furo

Trinity '06

 

Remarks were racist

The point is not that William Bennett's quote was wrongfully "excised" from its context. It is that he used a racially charged remark to further an argument. A statement that correlates blackness to crime perpetuates the notion that similar remarks are acceptable to use, so long as you qualify them afterwards. His need to qualify such a statement is indicative of its racial implications. It was offensive, and yes-gasp-racist. Racist remarks, even if they are made "in good taste," should not be tolerated. And some advice: excising statistics from their context is not an intelligent thing to do either.

Jessica Palacios

Trinity '07

 

Criticisms not well-founded

Stephen Miller's argument that William Bennett's remark was taken out of context-and that Bennett had solely been giving a deliberately extreme example-is faulty, at best. Its context is, or should be, completely irrelevant. The reason why the "race-baiting left" is so angry is because Bennett-intentionally or not-implies that black people are the sole contributors to high crime rates. While some might see this as being ridiculously-interpreted, it is certainly plausible that people would unconsciously make that correlation-which is quite hurtful to a minority group that has consistently dealt with discrimination.

I also find Miller's critique of the Black Student Alliance's protest in response to this comment to be quite unfair. BSA's role on campus is to create solidarity amongst African Americans and take whatever measures necessary to address issues of the black community. Contrary to Miller's allegation that BSA "falsely labeled Bennett as a racist," this organization simply protested against what members of this organization, and many people all across the nation, have found reprehensible. To call for a retraction of its "accusations" is entirely out of line-not to mention it undermines the point of exercising the freedom and right to protest.

Furthermore, Miller errs in using statistics to demonstrate the "real problems facing the black community." His reliance on these statistics conveniently ignores the bias behind these "facts." The reality that black people have been, and still are, heavily discriminated against is the reason why we have these statistics in the first place. To argue differently is to say that, for example, black people are inherently more criminal or dumber than the rest of the population. Due to the nature of these problematic statistics and the ignorance of many people in regards to why they exist, this happens to be a problem that the entire community faces, not just black people.

Tiffany Graddick

Trinity '07

 

 

 

The remarks made by William Bennett did not elicit my response because I perceived that he proposed the aborting of all black babies as a solution to crime, but because of the presuppositions embedded within his statement. Regardless of the context in which Bennettâ_sA,A's statement was framed or prefaced, his conscious decision to highlight black Americans as the demographic whose elimination would reduce crime is rife with prejudiced undertones. Though I agree that Bennett was not endorsing the extermination of black children, what he was doing was perpetuating negative stereotypes that are constantly reinforced in the media and entertainment industry, which associate black Americans with criminality.

The disproportionate number of black men in jail, the high rate of black children born out of wedlock, and the seemingly low reading proficiency levels of black schoolchildren are not, as Stephen Miller designates, âsA,Aºreal problems facing the black community.âsA,A1 They are real problems facing the American community. What Miller fails to conceptualize is that what he perceives as black issues are inextricably linked to American society as a whole. The three concerns raised by Miller are direct social, political, and economic consequences of an atmosphere in which the judicial, legislative, educational, and law enforcement systems are dominated by white Americans. According to a study conducted by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, African-Americans constitute only 15 percent of the national drug users, but comprise about 33 percent of all those arrested on drug charges and 57 percent of those convicted on drug charges. Disproportionate statistics such as these demonstrate that BennettâsA,A's association of black Americans with crime has permeated into the ideologies of those within the structures of power in this country. There are those like Miller who are quick to give âsA,AºadviceâsA,A1 on what is wrong with the black community, but how many of these analysts reflect on the underlying causes of these problems or are truly dedicated to involving themselves to the rectification of these issues? If Mr. Miller was listening to the protest, he would have repeatedly heard the chant, âsA,AºBlack issues are American issues.â_sA,A1 Clearly, he missed the point.

Nick Shungu

 

Contrary to popular opinion, I am strongly against the assertion that ?Bennett?s comments were racially and culturally insensitive.? (Woldermariam October 27th 2005) Woldemariam tries to suggest that? abortion- and race-based hypothetical[s]? are ?morally reprehensible.? To support this claim, Woldemariam cites various instances of black oppression as medical subjects. If anything, this evidence supports Bennett?s argument; Bennett is arguing how absurd and ?morally reprehensible? the ends based hypothetical is. The fact that these hypothetical atrocities actually occurred is simply a reification of the reprehensible hypothetical, which makes the real-life examples themselves reprehensible. Therefore, rather than hypothetical examples trivializing the plight of African-Americans in Bennett?s remarks, it is magnifying out the absurdity of the potential for mistreatment of African-Americans. As Miller correctly points out, Bennett ?was careful to emphasize?that he was not in any way advocating this radical premise.? It is ridiculous to say something like ?It doesn?t matter what Bennett said before or after?his words spoke for themselves? (Erin James Oct. 27). James, essentially is arguing that context should be COMPLETELY ignored. This bites into all of the harms that Miller points out in his article. He explicitly says how ? any opponent of the left is fair game? and how ?as soon as the opportunity presents itself you will be decried a racist?? James and defenders of her argument are willing to sacrifice context, and correspondingly, the laws of logic, for the mere purpose of jumping to a conclusion that cries racism. How is anyone supposed to construct any argument using James? logic? In academic literature, to disprove fallacious argumentation, it is the norm for the inaccurate argument to be presented first (whether it be in hypothetical form or not), and then consequently, refuted. However, that inaccurate argument cannot even be posited since what is said ?before or after? doesn?t matter, as James suggests, and therefore, cannot be refuted. At that point, there is absolutely no way to dismantle inaccurate, and possibly, morally reprehensible arguments?a worse consequence than anything that could have stemmed for the words of Miller or Bennett.

-Josh Parker

Trinity ?09

 

Miller:

Your argument that William BennettâsA,A's remark was taken out of contextâsA,Arand that Bennett had solely been giving a deliberately extreme exampleâsA,Aris faulty, at best. Its context is, or should be, completely irrelevant. The reason why the âsA,Aºrace-baiting leftâsA,A1 is so angry is because BennettâsA,Arintentionally or notâsA,Arimplies that black people are the sole contributors to high crime rates. While some might see this as being ridiculously-interpreted, it is certainly plausible that people would unconsciously make that correlationâsA,Arwhich is quite hurtful to a minority group that has consistently dealt with discrimination.

I also find your critique of the Black Student AllianceâsA,A's protest in response to this comment to be quite unfair. BSAâsA,A's role on campus is to create solidarity amongst African-Americans and take whatever measures necessary to address issues of the black community. Contrary to your allegation that BSA has âsA,Aºfalsely labeled Bennett as a racist,âsA,A1 this organization simply protested against what members of this organization, and many people all across the nation, have found reprehensible. To call for a retraction of its âsA,AºaccusationsâsA,A1 is entirely out of lineâ_sA,Arnot to mention it undermines the point of exercising the freedom and right to protest.

Furthermore, your use of statistics to demonstrate the âsA,Aºreal problems facing the black communityâsA,A1 errs in two important and egregious ways: first, your reliance on these statistics conveniently ignores the bias behind these âsA,AºfactsâsA,A1âsA,Arwhich I would argue completely changes oneâsA,A's interpretation of them. The reality that black people have been, and still are, heavily discriminated against is the reason why we have these statistics in the first place. To argue differently is to say that, for example, black people are inherently more criminal or dumber than the rest of the population. Secondly, because of the nature of these problematic statistics and the ignorance of many people in regards to why they exist, this happens to be a problem that the entire community faces, not just black people, as you wrote in your piece.

No, you might not be a racist, Stephen Miller. However, a poor columnist might be a more-fitting description.

Tiffany Graddick