>>> spies_ at hotmail.com 03/28/01 11:09AM >>>
DP Said: Not to stick up for the Brown paper (I've never read the thing), but didn't its editors offer those opposed to Horowitz's screed op-ed space to counter his bullshit? If so, why didn't they seize the opening (however small)?
---------------------------------------
There were a number of op-eds in the Brown Herald before and after the ad ran that were on both sides of the issue.
------------------------------------------
DP said:
I'm sure the ad misrepresents all sorts of things (a Horowitz specialty), but is the "basic concept of reparations" really "gaining diverse support around the country"? Somehow I don't get that impression. Poll numbers, quotes and the like would be helpful.
--------------------------------------------
It is true that reparations are gaining support around the country. Randall Robinson's book on the subject is a bestseller. Many talk shows are discussing the issue. I don't have any polls or scientific evidence, just anectdotal evidence, but I am not a suspiscious of the BRC's claim here as you are for the reasons I mentioned above.
------------------------------------------
DP said:
True, black students (indeed most students, regardless of color) don't have Horowitz's money to buy ads. But again, did they spurn an offer to publish a rebuttal? And does this lack of financial means justify that clumsy, self-defeating tactic of grabbing every paper in sight?
--------------------------------------------
Not to speak for the student coalition at Brown, but from what I've read, this wasn't a "clumsy" act by random black students. That is indeed what the media is trying to portray, and its a view that faculty and students at Brown are trying to dispel.
The action was very concerted and was planned by a coaliton of a number of student groups on the Brown campus representing many different races and political persuasions. They put forward demands on the Brown paper that the paper did not meet, and the stealing the papers was in reaction to that. I don't condone the action, and have written here that I feel it was foolish, but I don't want to perpetuate the myth that it was the act of a bunch of crazy black hooligans that the media is putting forth.
All in all, I believe that the actions against Horowitz are sad if for no other reason than they put Horowitz back into fashion, which is what he wants. But I also think they are sad in that they have illuminated just how comfortable a space white supremacists like Horowitz and his supporters have in the current political climate. By framing the left and, more importantly, the political agenda of communities of color around issues like affirmative action and reparations for slavery, the right can further divide working class whites and communities of color. Horowitz and his libertarian backers know where to best fan the flames of white racism, and its around these issues and its on the University campus. And the response, both by the left and the media, have been to uphold not only stereotypes of the left as intolerant of free speech and dissenting political views, but also stereotypes of people of color who defend affirmative action or reparations as "extremists."
David Hill UNITE _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com