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I Must Object: A rebuttal to Brown University’s letter on racism in the United States
City Journal ^ | June 5, 2020 | Glenn Loury

Posted on 06/06/2020 6:35:34 AM PDT by karpov

Last week, in the aftermath of the national fury that has erupted, and continues, over the apparent killing by a Minneapolis police officer of a black man, George Floyd, while he was being taken into custody, a letter appeared in my inbox from Christina H. Paxson, president of Brown University, where I teach. The letter, sent to thousands of students, staff, and faculty, was cosigned by many of Brown’s senior administrators and deans.

“We write to you today as leaders of this university,” the letter begins, “to express first deep sadness, but also anger, regarding the racist incidents that continue to cut short the lives of black people every day.” It continues:

The sadness comes from knowing that this is not a mere moment for our country. This is historical, lasting and persistent. Structures of power, deep-rooted histories of oppression, as well as prejudice, outright bigotry and hate, directly and personally affect the lives of millions of people in this nation every minute and every hour. Black people continue to live in fear for themselves, their children and their communities, at times in fear of the very systems and structures that are supposed to be in place to ensure safety and justice.

I found the letter deeply disturbing, and was moved to compose the following response, which I shared with a colleague. I’m happy now to share it as well with City Journal’s readership.

(Excerpt) Read more at city-journal.org ...


TOPICS: Education
KEYWORDS: brown; racism

1 posted on 06/06/2020 6:35:34 AM PDT by karpov
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To: karpov

Mr. Loury needs to familiarize himself with readability in writing... I recommend How to Write, Speak and Think More Effectively by Rudolph Flesch.


2 posted on 06/06/2020 6:47:05 AM PDT by Nellie Wilkerson
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To: Nellie Wilkerson

Mr Loury needs to familiarize himself with Unemployment Insurance.

Non-Conformity ain’t what it used to be.


3 posted on 06/06/2020 7:13:43 AM PDT by ReaganGeneration2
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To: karpov
Excellent rebuttal by Mr. Loury!

Concise, refreshingly honest, and totally on-topic.

Regards,

4 posted on 06/06/2020 7:14:29 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: ReaganGeneration2

Loury is tenured and black and thus has much more job security than a white un-tenured faculty member would. I’m glad he is using his security to speak truth to power, as they say.


5 posted on 06/06/2020 7:19:51 AM PDT by karpov
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To: karpov

What democrats have done to Blacks in their cities is criminal and racist. dems keep them down and poor. Then, every election, dems say “Whitey done this to you! Vote democrat and we’ll take money from Whitey and give it to you.” After the election, Blacks are sent back to their poverty and misery.

They want jobs. dems want them to be miserable and jobless. Why dems hate Trump - he brought back jobs for Blacks.


6 posted on 06/06/2020 7:21:37 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Never forget Justine Damond, murdered by a NON-WHITE, NON-CHRISTIAN cop. (Oh, and no riots))
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To: karpov

The Ivys have been spouting their leftist propaganda garbage since the 1960s.

If they really cared they would have liquidated their endowments and given every dollar to poor black people in their community.

They would prefer to lecture the rest of us—classic sociopath con game.


7 posted on 06/06/2020 7:26:21 AM PDT by cgbg (New poll: post elderly voters like Biden's experience as Wilson's VP fighting the Spanish Flu.)
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To: Nellie Wilkerson
Mr. Lowry is a bit pedantic and his screed is cumbersome. However, I think he felt compelled to push out a reply in a hurry before the Brown faculty "leader's" letter of self loathing took root in the psyche of community.

It took a lot of guts, even for a tenured professor, to rebut this sniveling, groveling tome of the Social Justice Warriors infesting the higher levels of academia.

8 posted on 06/06/2020 7:31:26 AM PDT by Thommas
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To: karpov
...racist incidents that continue to cut short the lives of...

Couple of questions for you there prof.

One, if this is an ongoing problem - as indicated by your characterization of this as "incidents that continue" - then where was all your care and concern last month? The month before that? Last year? What have you been doing all along to address this problem that "continues" to be a problem? Or could it be that you're just jumping on the current bandwagon?

Two, why is it that only "racist" incidents that cut short lives concern you so much? Gosh, murder sounds pretty serious. But by your omission it seems murders for money, power, etc. apparently don't seem to concern you too much. Again I would ask where your care and concern for these issues has been over the past few months or years. However, apparently if it is something deemed "racist" then it gets your attention? So apparently only issues regarding certain races merit your umbrage. Hmm, making decisions based on race and treating races unequally... Gosh, I'm sure there's a name for that kind of behavior...oh yeah, racist. So apparently you're a racist there prof? Check.

9 posted on 06/06/2020 8:03:19 AM PDT by ThunderSleeps
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To: ReaganGeneration2

I suspect Loury has tenure, thus virtually can’t be fired.

I had to endure a similar sanctimonious diatribe in a recent online department meeting where I work. There was no opportunity to respond and while I respect the high level company officer’s opinion, her white guilt is not something I share.

I have a short list of personal hero’s, men and women of great intellectual skill regardless of skin color.

While my circle of close friends is very small and mostly white, my extended circle of friends is completely colorblind.

Maybe that’s cause liberals seem to see everything through the prism of race while conservatives see the character not the skin color.


10 posted on 06/06/2020 2:15:14 PM PDT by cyclotic (The most dangerous people are the ones that feel the most helpless)
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