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The problem with this article is that the author is claiming that all this outrage is over one email, and thus the reaction is disproportionate and damaging. T

The problem with this article is that the author is claiming that all this outrage is over one email, and thus the reaction is disproportionate and damaging. The outrage might be over the top for a single email, but that is not the context experienced by the students protesting. As a white guy with a good job, the Atlantic author and I share the privilege to experience race if and when we choose. From that perspective, it's easy to call this "a fight over Halloween costumes" For the women who say they were turned away from a "white girls only" party, and for many others, it's not a fight over an email about Halloween costumes. It's about having administrators who acknowledge the reality that they experience on an ongoing basis: It's worth reading another side of the story before jumping to conclusions: https://medium.com/keep-learning-keep-growing/what-s-really-going-on-at-yale-6bdbbeeb57a6 https://medium.com/keep-learning-keep-growing/what-s-really-... When you see all the context that the Atlantic author, Mr Friedersdorf, chooses to ignore, you should think about the political agenda behind a piece like this.

gambler 11y ago
I fail to see any major difference between that Medium article and quotes in the Friedersdorf's piece. It would be reasonable to speak about missed context if students protested something that was an example of a larger issue. But that's not the case. They protest something that they view as a symbol of that larger issue. Example. Symbol. Different things, but it seems people no longer can tell them apart. I mean, really, Halloween costumes? What's next? Banning toy soldiers to protest war?
gearoidoc 11y ago
It's a shame that those stories of the racial discrimination experienced at Yale haven't been the central point instead of this letter.
morgante 11y ago
In fairness, the activists have done themselves a major disservice for protesting this email. By doing so, they've made that the focal point and it's just not a very compelling argument. If protests were primarily over the party, then a lot more people would be supportive.
raimondious 11y ago
Thank you. This is the first comment I've seen on the Yale controversy that actually points out the larger context at Yale and New Haven. The school mentioned that students should think twice about wearing blackface for Halloween because there are people here who might actually do such a thing. There is a stark division of class which is invisible from most people's computer screens, but is very uncomfortable living here. Most of the people who attend Yale are highly privileged. But, if you're not part of the university, you are probably living in poverty here. Seeing this video being recontextualized by the Internet as part of this "Us vs SJWs" debate is infuriating.
- ino 11y ago
  Every time I see a comment starting with "Thank you." here, and specially on Reddit, I read it as "I now feel better because what you wrote aligns with my views, and that somehow makes them valid". It doesn't make them valid. I've also read the article and it's more than about just the email or the racism: it's also about how giving up to bullies and censorship leads to abuse and injustice.
  - raimondious 11y ago
    I was thanking them for adding important details about the context of this video, which has been overlooked in the conversation by the majority of the commenters I've seen.
norea-armozel 11y ago
I'm glad you mentioned this. I was on the fence initially and even had a bit of a spat with Popehat on Twitter over it (blocked by him now, heh). In the end, I'm getting really tired of people taking one side of an issue as the universal truth when there's much more going on. Some people may not be good at explaining things like the woman in the FIRE video, but that doesn't seem to be the entire story or even a significant part of it. Worse yet, some are taking this as a launching point to dispose of the "safe space" concept without knowing what exactly defines a "safe space." For people who don't have anything to lose (white, rich, heterosexual, and non-transgender) this is fine. But for the rest of us who depend to communicate and get support on safe spaces online and offline it's a big deal.
- Zelphyr 11y ago
  In the end, I'm getting really tired of people taking one side of an issue as the universal truth when there's much more going on. This is what I find missing in most discourse anymore. It's like nobody has a feel for nuance anymore so every issue is black or white and couldn't possibly be anything else.
- McDoku 11y ago
  The Breakfast Club. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Breakfast_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Breakfast_Club
thatswrong0 11y ago
From that article: > made it seem like Yale students are only rallying because of an email sent by Professor Erika Christakis, which suggested that people should feel free to wear culturally insensitive costumes on Halloween. Having read that email, if that's all they chose to understand from the email, then I don't trust this as a source one damn bit.
tedunangst 11y ago
I don't see how that really explains the exchange with the student. "By sending out that email, that goes against your position as master. ... You should not sleep at night! You are disgusting!" Regardless of what's happening elsewhere, this student's primary concern does appear to be the email.
mhuffman 11y ago
I understand your point of view, but let's be honest here -- college campuses have become so PC that they have knee-jerk reactions to even Jerry freaking Seinfeld [1]. People have become too sensitive to everything -- everything. When everyone feels that they are being victimized constantly how do you move forward? How does anyone accomplish anything? Did someone look at you this morning? Might have been a micro-aggression. Did someone say hello, but you detected a "tone" in their voice? Fucking sexism! Perhaps these students might focus more on moving our country forward as they take the reins rather than being apoplectic over incidents that no one, including them, will remember in five years. There are very large racial issues in the US, but these are not them. I read the medium.com article and feel that it has an equally political agenda behind it. Both are people yelling "look over here!", but neither with realistic solutions to those problems. [1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/08/jerry-seinfeld-college-politically-correct-racism-sexism_n_7534978.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/08/jerry-seinfeld-coll...
- caseydurfee 11y ago
  This is argument from anecdote. "everyone feels that they are being victimized constantly" is a pretty bold claim. You offer no concrete evidence to support this. Instead you link to Jerry Seinfeld also claiming, without providing evidence, that colleges are too politically correct. Is there too much sensitivity? I'm not saying there isn't. But you've offered nothing to support that claim other than a lazy "you know those PC college kids, amirite?" Well, no, I don't. I've heard some things I think are pretty silly, but how prevalent are they actually? Frankly, if this thread is anything to go on, anti-PC people spend plenty of time whining about how they're constantly victimized by political correctness, and I wonder how much of it is just projection. You've taken this one incident (which, in the context of the "No Black Girls" parties and other details Fridersdorf deliberately left out, isn't even convincing on its own) and blown it out into "everyone feels that they are being victimized constantly." It's lazy and does nobody any good. Try going a week without using the words "always" or "never" unless you're referring to an actual tautology.
  - mhuffman 11y ago
    > This is argument from anecdote So? Just because you can play logical fallacy bingo with someone's point of view, does not mean that they can't express it. That was my opinion, not a formal debate argument entry in a PC convincing contest.

gambler 11y ago

I fail to see any major difference between that Medium article and quotes in the Friedersdorf's piece. It would be reasonable to speak about missed context if students protested something that was an example of a larger issue. But that's not the case. They protest something that they view as a symbol of that larger issue. Example. Symbol. Different things, but it seems people no longer can tell them apart. I mean, really, Halloween costumes? What's next? Banning toy soldiers to protest war?

gearoidoc 11y ago

It's a shame that those stories of the racial discrimination experienced at Yale haven't been the central point instead of this letter.

morgante 11y ago

In fairness, the activists have done themselves a major disservice for protesting this email. By doing so, they've made that the focal point and it's just not a very compelling argument. If protests were primarily over the party, then a lot more people would be supportive.

raimondious 11y ago

Thank you. This is the first comment I've seen on the Yale controversy that actually points out the larger context at Yale and New Haven. The school mentioned that students should think twice about wearing blackface for Halloween because there are people here who might actually do such a thing. There is a stark division of class which is invisible from most people's computer screens, but is very uncomfortable living here. Most of the people who attend Yale are highly privileged. But, if you're not part of the university, you are probably living in poverty here. Seeing this video being recontextualized by the Internet as part of this "Us vs SJWs" debate is infuriating.

ino 11y ago
Every time I see a comment starting with "Thank you." here, and specially on Reddit, I read it as "I now feel better because what you wrote aligns with my views, and that somehow makes them valid". It doesn't make them valid. I've also read the article and it's more than about just the email or the racism: it's also about how giving up to bullies and censorship leads to abuse and injustice.
- raimondious 11y ago
  I was thanking them for adding important details about the context of this video, which has been overlooked in the conversation by the majority of the commenters I've seen.

norea-armozel 11y ago

I'm glad you mentioned this. I was on the fence initially and even had a bit of a spat with Popehat on Twitter over it (blocked by him now, heh). In the end, I'm getting really tired of people taking one side of an issue as the universal truth when there's much more going on. Some people may not be good at explaining things like the woman in the FIRE video, but that doesn't seem to be the entire story or even a significant part of it. Worse yet, some are taking this as a launching point to dispose of the "safe space" concept without knowing what exactly defines a "safe space." For people who don't have anything to lose (white, rich, heterosexual, and non-transgender) this is fine. But for the rest of us who depend to communicate and get support on safe spaces online and offline it's a big deal.

Zelphyr 11y ago
In the end, I'm getting really tired of people taking one side of an issue as the universal truth when there's much more going on. This is what I find missing in most discourse anymore. It's like nobody has a feel for nuance anymore so every issue is black or white and couldn't possibly be anything else.
McDoku 11y ago
The Breakfast Club. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Breakfast_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Breakfast_Club

thatswrong0 11y ago

From that article: > made it seem like Yale students are only rallying because of an email sent by Professor Erika Christakis, which suggested that people should feel free to wear culturally insensitive costumes on Halloween. Having read that email, if that's all they chose to understand from the email, then I don't trust this as a source one damn bit.

tedunangst 11y ago

I don't see how that really explains the exchange with the student. "By sending out that email, that goes against your position as master. ... You should not sleep at night! You are disgusting!" Regardless of what's happening elsewhere, this student's primary concern does appear to be the email.

mhuffman 11y ago

I understand your point of view, but let's be honest here -- college campuses have become so PC that they have knee-jerk reactions to even Jerry freaking Seinfeld [1]. People have become too sensitive to everything -- everything. When everyone feels that they are being victimized constantly how do you move forward? How does anyone accomplish anything? Did someone look at you this morning? Might have been a micro-aggression. Did someone say hello, but you detected a "tone" in their voice? Fucking sexism! Perhaps these students might focus more on moving our country forward as they take the reins rather than being apoplectic over incidents that no one, including them, will remember in five years. There are very large racial issues in the US, but these are not them. I read the medium.com article and feel that it has an equally political agenda behind it. Both are people yelling "look over here!", but neither with realistic solutions to those problems. [1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/08/jerry-seinfeld-college-politically-correct-racism-sexism_n_7534978.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/08/jerry-seinfeld-coll...

caseydurfee 11y ago
This is argument from anecdote. "everyone feels that they are being victimized constantly" is a pretty bold claim. You offer no concrete evidence to support this. Instead you link to Jerry Seinfeld also claiming, without providing evidence, that colleges are too politically correct. Is there too much sensitivity? I'm not saying there isn't. But you've offered nothing to support that claim other than a lazy "you know those PC college kids, amirite?" Well, no, I don't. I've heard some things I think are pretty silly, but how prevalent are they actually? Frankly, if this thread is anything to go on, anti-PC people spend plenty of time whining about how they're constantly victimized by political correctness, and I wonder how much of it is just projection. You've taken this one incident (which, in the context of the "No Black Girls" parties and other details Fridersdorf deliberately left out, isn't even convincing on its own) and blown it out into "everyone feels that they are being victimized constantly." It's lazy and does nobody any good. Try going a week without using the words "always" or "never" unless you're referring to an actual tautology.
- mhuffman 11y ago
  > This is argument from anecdote So? Just because you can play logical fallacy bingo with someone's point of view, does not mean that they can't express it. That was my opinion, not a formal debate argument entry in a PC convincing contest.