James Comey not getting a warm reception at Howard

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Uncle Wig wrote:
[quote=$tevie]
[quote=Lemon Drop]You know how you get your message out? You disrupt a high profile speaker. It works. I support the action and the message 100%.

How much does a 15 minute delay cost James Comey?

What did it accomplish exactly, aside from a brief blip on the news cycle. Are you saying that faculty and students at Howard University didn't know about racism until these brave souls came along?
It accomplished the further erosion and dilution of the BLM message. What's being paid attention to is the childish behavior of those students.
I'm just going to quote a smart black person here:

"If ignorance suddenly turns you into the sort of person who leaves 4 inches worth of a comment on a Facebook thread where you police tone, demand emotional labor, and refuse to do your own research—just stop. Your anti-Black biases are making you perceive our responses as aggressive thanks to racist tropes like the Angry Black Woman. There is nothing gentle about racism, and our responses to it don’t warrant subtlety or kindness in return."

[gabester]

Uncle Wig wrote:
[quote=$tevie]
[quote=Lemon Drop]You know how you get your message out? You disrupt a high profile speaker. It works. I support the action and the message 100%.

How much does a 15 minute delay cost James Comey?

What did it accomplish exactly, aside from a brief blip on the news cycle. Are you saying that faculty and students at Howard University didn't know about racism until these brave souls came along?
It accomplished the further erosion and dilution of the BLM message. What's being paid attention to is the childish behavior of those students.
I've been thinking about this... I generally agree with the notion that you win an argument by having a better message.

But there are times when "shouting down" the other side's message may be the only available option. I won't go full-on Godwin's law; if someone is proposing to silence you by squeezing off your air supply so you can't shout them down, that's the very definition of a reflexive situation in which rational arguments are have been taken off the table.

In the United States of America, that table has consistently been kept free of the voice of black/african Americans when it comes to institutionalized oppression (which affects many other communities.)

One thing I do not understand about BLM and other recent "counterculture" movements (antifa) is the dislike of journalism in general and photography/video in particular. I suppose this may be due to concerns within the organization that members may be singled out by law enforcement for prosecution, but it conveys an undemocratic "follow our message not our actions" meme which I do find nearly as concerning as the idea that you can win an argument by shouting down the other side.

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1. James Comey gave his speech and the audience listened. There was never any intention that he would leave. He was not "shouted down", that is not even the truth of what happened.

2. Do not mingle/confuse BLM and antifa. That is wrong. Speak about each specifically and with examples.

3. If you think the media is fair to BLM, you really don't understand much.

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For anyone interested, the students leaders involved in the protest have written an eloquent statement about why they did it:

https://twitter.com/HUResist/status/911281020393181184

[$tevie]

I read it. I suppose their sentiments were in the right place. Their anger seems to be more toward Howard University than toward Comey and maybe it will get them noticed by the administration. I still think that in terms of a national dialogue it will be smoke that blows away without leaving a trace. Yelling at old white men in a university environment has been going on for generations and while satisfying it isn't the most effective means of changing things.

I really dislike Shannon Barber's holier than thou attitude. Maybe they need to try to understand that stereotyping people isn't a good way to try to get them to stop stereotyping you. Lecturing to me is the best way to make me tune you out.

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They are very definitely aiming the protest at Comey and the anti-black policies of the FBI while he ran it. And at their university for openly supporting that anti-black behavior. It's very hypocritical for a historically black university to get cozy with government officials who perpetuate racist oppression. Students objected as soon as it was announced that Comey was going to be on campus, just as they've objected to other officials in the past (including Nancy Pelosi)

Also protesting at convocation is something of a Howard tradition. This one was really relatively tame and the media coverage was pathetic as usual, the emphasis on the protest and "rude" behavior by Angry Black People, and not the message.

That is the fault of pathetic media, not of the students who simply want their voices heard.

[vision63]

I don't know if Howard University qualifies for that criticism. This is the Harvard of HBCU in the heart of the beast that is American Govt. This is a university that dispenses Govt officials by the bushel basket (think Kamala Harris etc.). I'm not sure of its motives as I've not explored why Comey was offered his position, but it certainly doesn't fall outside of the boundaries of what great universities do.

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vision63 wrote:
I don't know if Howard University qualifies for that criticism. This is the Harvard of HBCU in the heart of the beast that is American Govt. This is a university that dispenses Govt officials by the bushel basket (think Kamala Harris etc.). I'm not sure of its motives as I've not explored why Comey was offered his position, but it certainly doesn't fall outside of the boundaries of what great universities do.

Protesting the anti-black policies of an institution known for them (the FBI) is what great students do. Had Comey taken a role at a university that is not an HBCU, I would have expected the same reaction.