Great commentary on the situation. I also attended a small, liberal, private college and felt the same way when my peers did not understand the value of controlled outrage and protest, especially given their ability to do so. There are still many places in the world where diversity is violently unwelcome, and to live in an accepting atmosphere is a gift to be used wisely. Obies, spend more time figuring out how/why people hate and designing intelligent ways to stop it, and less time being self-righteous and self-serving in your anger.
My daughter told me she saw that same flyer in the student union. Yet, in my opinion (and my daughter's), the flyer itself is just as offensive as the comment scribbled on it. My question is: assuming that the 'vandals' scribbled on the flyer in blue marker, who put the original flyer up? I sure hope it wasn't the Students for Free Palestine.
"But our education at Oberlin is supposed to train us to balance these sorts of feelings with a more rigorous understanding of the world, and to base our political actions on this understanding rather than simply reacting to whichever emotional traumas are closest to our immediate personal experience."
Really? Do you think the only proper responses to hate are purely cognitive responses? Ridiculous.
I'm certain (as an Oberlin graduate) that in future years you'll be glad that there was a constructive response at all, in contrast to the total apathy you'll experience in the wider world.
"If our only forceful show of solidarity is to declare this college a safe space free of hatred, we simply banish hatred to unsafe spaces in parts of the world where we don’t care to tread."
Does the existence of holy places consign the rest of the world to utter profanity? Ridiculous. It is not a zero sum game. Safety doesn't get used up.
Yeah, the world might laugh out loud because Oberlin freaks out over hate speech. But if you care about each other, who gives a fuck what the world thinks? Take care of each other.
You're also thoroughly naive if you think that the privilege of being at Oberlin 'protects' you in any profound way. Whatever the rules, and God forbid it, some pathetic whacko who wants to get on TV can blow away that privilege.
BTW, an antisemite isn't going to give a crap if you're half-Jewish on your father's side or on your mother's side. Your lot is cast with us Jews (but not only with us Jews, and not at all against any other). That's important, because such a person was in your student union. (The poster itself advertises a known antisemitic group). A reaction that fixates on privilege is not considered... It's dumb.
— Dan O.
the link to the poster: http://obiemicroaggressions.tumblr.com/image/44691025817
Great commentary on the situation. I also attended a small, liberal, private college and felt the same way when my peers did not understand the value of controlled outrage and protest, especially given their ability to do so. There are still many places in the world where diversity is violently unwelcome, and to live in an accepting atmosphere is a gift to be used wisely. Obies, spend more time figuring out how/why people hate and designing intelligent ways to stop it, and less time being self-righteous and self-serving in your anger.
— Alicia N.
I'm guessing this was the flyer?
http://obiemicroaggressions.tumblr.com/image/44691025817
— Anon
My daughter told me she saw that same flyer in the student union. Yet, in my opinion (and my daughter's), the flyer itself is just as offensive as the comment scribbled on it. My question is: assuming that the 'vandals' scribbled on the flyer in blue marker, who put the original flyer up? I sure hope it wasn't the Students for Free Palestine.
http://obiemicroaggressions.tumblr.com/image/44691025817
— Obie parent
"But our education at Oberlin is supposed to train us to balance these sorts of feelings with a more rigorous understanding of the world, and to base our political actions on this understanding rather than simply reacting to whichever emotional traumas are closest to our immediate personal experience."
Really? Do you think the only proper responses to hate are purely cognitive responses? Ridiculous.
I'm certain (as an Oberlin graduate) that in future years you'll be glad that there was a constructive response at all, in contrast to the total apathy you'll experience in the wider world.
"If our only forceful show of solidarity is to declare this college a safe space free of hatred, we simply banish hatred to unsafe spaces in parts of the world where we don’t care to tread."
Does the existence of holy places consign the rest of the world to utter profanity? Ridiculous. It is not a zero sum game. Safety doesn't get used up.
Yeah, the world might laugh out loud because Oberlin freaks out over hate speech. But if you care about each other, who gives a fuck what the world thinks? Take care of each other.
You're also thoroughly naive if you think that the privilege of being at Oberlin 'protects' you in any profound way. Whatever the rules, and God forbid it, some pathetic whacko who wants to get on TV can blow away that privilege.
BTW, an antisemite isn't going to give a crap if you're half-Jewish on your father's side or on your mother's side. Your lot is cast with us Jews (but not only with us Jews, and not at all against any other). That's important, because such a person was in your student union. (The poster itself advertises a known antisemitic group). A reaction that fixates on privilege is not considered... It's dumb.
— Dan O.
the link to the poster: http://obiemicroaggressions.tumblr.com/image/44691025817
— Anonymous
well, it looks like Oberlin Microaggressions deleted the poster from their main page. pretty anti-Semitic of them...
http://obiemicroaggressions.tumblr.com/image/44691025817
click on 'link to the poster'
— Link to the poster
ahhhhh they keep removing it. click on the link "Anon" above
— Anonymous