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don  ·  4595 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Ask Hubski: Moral Dilemma--Free Speech vs. Racism
I think you are focusing too much on the words he used. Inflammatory words, yes, but responding to just the phrasing he used is missing the point. If you wanted to do that, one could argue that he was describing their behavior as animal-like rather than putting them closer to hyenas than civilized humans on the evolutionary scale. Devil's advocate and whatnot.

If you take a step back from using the word "pack," what he's really trying to get at is the dichotomy between the large mobs of young black guys who are committing often brutal crimes and the refusal of media to say that they are black. Is it necessary to say they are black? If they really are targeting white people just for the hell of it, then yes, I say it is completely fair to say they are black. But these stories get a lot less press than one black guy who ends up dead in a fight in Florida.

Imagine if white mobs ran through a state fair and beat up mostly black people. Would the media be all over that? Yes! Look at the Trayvon case. People get shot all the time! The only reason it's being reported so heavily is because everyone wants to know if it was racially motivated. I've honestly tried to keep my distance from the case, so I don't know what evidence exists that it was racially motivated.

Anyway, the question is: why would the media refuse to say that the mobs are young black guys? Thoughts?

As far as the Freedom of Speech stuff, I think he is well within his right to say those things. He didn't say anything that incites violence to go back out and start fighting the mobs. What he said falls under "social commentary," if a less savory and rational subset of social commentary. As far as his position at the University, I thought institutes of higher education were supposed to push the envelope and embrace controversial viewpoints. He didn't have to use the word "pack," and I'm not sure what Obama has to do with any of this. He should probably get chewed out by someone, but at this point, I don't see this as being worthy of getting sacked or anything like that.