If you think that living in West Virginia, "fly over country" if you will, means immunity to nonsense intersectionality and progressivism, you'd be mistaken. Since the events surrounding George Floyd's killing and the following excuses for Burning Looting Murderers to take over cities and establish CHAZ's and CHOP's and the like, little Morgantown, WV has become another cancerous nodule in the progressive disease ravaging our country. There are no small towns to flee to, no peaceful suburban communities to hide in, no rural respites to the Cultural Revolution.
West Virginia University was presented with a petition or petitions (I cannot find the actual words of this first petition, presumably because it would become perfectly clear how petty and childish the BLM protesters are being, with instances of racism being described, e.g. "A white man looked at me funny" or something like that). The letter was signed, according to wvnews.com, "by the black students, faculty, staff, alumni and community allies of WVU," have "demands" which run the gamut from holding the administration accountable for lynching to the reinstatement of the Office of Multicultural Programs, essentially the propaganda office of the diversity office, which is sort of like the secret police of the communist parties - only true die-hard progressives need apply. After all, you've got to really believe this junk if you're going to impose it on others.
Anyway, the gist of the first set of demands is give more money to black studies, put more black people into positions on campus, etc. I'll only mention one specific demand: mandatory, required diversity and anti-racism training for students. Of course, we've already become used to this with Title IX info-ganda and Clery Act presentations and such, which require you to answer the questions "correctly" in order to proceed. It is important to remember that this is mandatory training. If you want to continue your education at this university, you must complete the training. You cannot complete the training unless you select the "correct" answers. What is sure to follow with this suggested mandatory BLM training is much the same. I would expect nothing less but the following kinds of questions:
Q. "If you deny you are a racist, that just means you are a racist in denial." True or False
Q. "Everyone has racist tendencies." True or False
Q. "My unconscious biases have harmed those around me, especially those of the black community." True or False
Q. "I am guilty of perpetuating systemic racism by not acknowledging the racist founding of America." True or False
Now, of course, it wouldn't necessarily be that obvious, but you get my point. These are Cultural Revolutionary guilt confessions! These are the self-criticism sessions of the Soviet Union! How long before they become the Struggle Sessions of Mao, you ask? It has already begun. When a group of whites bow before blacks, you know it has begun. When a black man demands a white woman bend the knee and she dutifully does it it has begun. Why would anyone in America want someone to bow before them? As sickening as this is, it is only the beginning. There are yet more demands, and these demands are the focus of this article.
The "5 Steps" to address racism, were demanded in a petition (here is a link to the letter with the 5 steps.) I present them with my thoughts on each.
1.) Prohibit Confederate flags and symbols on all public spaces of the University.
Beyond the 1st ammendment implications, why just Confederate flags? Why not the thin blue line flag? Why not all hate symbols? They mention swastikas, do Jew Lives Not Matter? Why not all words which offend? Why not art which offends? No doubt, if this is accepted, it will be incorporated into the student conduct code under terms of "disruption," and we will hear about how we don't have the right to "cry fire" in a crowded theater (No one ever asks whether there actually is a fire or not in these hypotheticals.) But in the world we live in now, every word or image which triggers has the ability to disrupt. Indeed, often these words and images are intended to disrupt, at least to challenge the minds of those who hear or see them. Even the most despicable symbols of hate remind us of those things which they truly represent when talked about openly, preventing us from attributing to our colleagues and neighbors evil they had no part in, such as the holocaust or slavery. Images of fetuses with full features offend; they remind the viewer that abortion is murder, which is challenging if you live under the illusion that only a lump of cells exist in your girlfriend's womb. Seeing those symbols in differing contexts also helps us re-evaluate our relationships to those symbols. But of course, it is the response of those who would see all symbols deemed "hate" banned that results in disruption. This reminds me of the recent story of the man who beat the crap out of some clerk because he had allegedly said the n-word. It isn't surprising that the man was angry (he was black, by the way) but what was surprising was his reason, or lack thereof. According to the New York Post, the man who recorded the attack, the brother of the assailant, said,
And, yes, we made a petty joke and asked the guy was the shirt too little when he could’ve asked me. He was just being funny,” Quay said. “And just the fact of the remark that he said that we all heard. And just, what else were we supposed to do? In this age and time, he didn’t know what else to do. That was just his instinct.In this age and time, he didn't know what else to do. It was just his instinct. He asked for it, folks. What else was he supposed to do? Walk away? Call out the individual? Report him to his manager? No, in this age and time, there's just no other reasonable response but to sucker punch him and attack him while he is on the floor. When someone has the Confederate flag bumper sticker, when someone says "All Lives Matter", how else will these thugs deal with it? We either have the threat of violence or the threat of being made an example to the Party.
2.) Disarm University Police. Having officers work under the campus name who carry firearms does not create a welcoming and inclusive space, especially for Black, Indiginous, and people of color (BIPOC) students and visitors.
Well, I've learned a new acronym. Let's remind everyone why police even exist. Firstly, as night watchmen, volunteers (and conscripts) were put into service as preventative measures against crime. Later, centralized and publicly funded policing became the norm. In the south, these night watchmen were slave hunting, and following the Civil War, they were enforcing Jim Crow laws. But that's not why you have police officers. I want to be very clear about that; policing is not racist because police were racist. There was policing in the North that had nothing to do with slaves. And since the North won, and since centralized policing generally only became ubiquitous in the United States after the late 1800's, it has nothing to do with racism. The reason for the centralized police force is because the old system of volunteers and private security was not effective. When cities grew, they required more structured and professional police services.
That brings us to the second step to anarchy, disarming the police. The reason given is that firearms do not create "a welcoming and inclusive space." To those who keep track of such things, this is the first of three direct logical fallacies in this petition. The very purpose of policing is to maintain order so that all can enjoy liberty in peace. It is by policing that we maintain welcoming and inclusive spaces.
As an aside, one of the reasons given for not allowing constitutional or concealed carry on WVU's campus is that police have firearms, and they are trained. If campus police aren't going to be there to intervene in a shooting incident, and students are forbidden from carrying, I guess we wait until we die or Morgantown police arrive on scene, which ever comes first. Or both.
Back to the issue at hand; with police disarmed, policing becomes more dangerous for the officers. A request for backup isn't a means to self defense. The police officers will be less inclined to intervene when calls come in about violent acts, robberies, rapes, etc. and when other crimes turn violent, police officers will be put in undue danger. That means policing will suffer, and communities will suffer, especially communities more affected by violent crime ... you guessed it, the BIPOC's. I leave the ramifications as an exercise for the reader.
3.) Require yearly bias and sensitivity training, as well as bi-annual town halls with the campus police so students and faculty can voice any issues, complaints, and queries.
Again, this is the beginning of the Struggle Sessions and the bi-annual town halls are where the mob ridicules the police officers for their racist institution. I won't belabor this point.
4.) Re-route a portion of the policing budget to aid in the mental and social welfare of students, particularly to the Carruth Center and the WVU Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Where else would the money go but to the psychiatric department and the intersectionality department? That way, the few not-yet-indoctrinated students who feel cognitive dissonance at the BLM propaganda can be discovered and shipped over to the intersectionalists to be re-educated. Perhaps I'm being a little cynical here, but really, if they really cared about the mental health of students they wouldn't condone or persist in the constant victimhood narrative. A Psychology Today article talks about the problems with taking on the victimhood mantle. It says about these "victims",
In courts, during sentencing, it is common, even de rigeur, for felons to proclaim that their history of victimization contributed to their harmful, illegal actions. In our culture of victimhood, victims can be excused for victimizing others, taking away the rights, freedoms and autonomy of others, in service to their victimization.
In this age and time, he didn't know what else to do. It was just his instinct. He was a victim. Does it make sense now? This is the second fallacy: giving money to the diversity office directly promotes victimhood mentality which ultimately harms those whose minds have been corrupted by it, which will result in demands by BLM, et al. for separate white and black areas on campus, which is of course racist.
5.) Foster a working relationship with the Morgantown Police Department for any calls needing armed backup, as well as sporting and entertainment event backup.
In this final point, the demanders acknowledge that good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns. But they expect that the tax payers of Morgantown foot the bill for increased police calls to the city departments when they should be focused on the city, not the university. Like many large organizations in relatively small towns, the ebb and flow of the city goes with the university schedule. When this relationship is symbiotic, it is healthy and good. Sports teams bring fans, and fans bring money to local establishments and accommodations. Local accommodations and establishments provide support for sports-goers who otherwise would be unable (or unwilling) to come in for games. International and Intranational students come in and pay tuition, and the city provides additional housing and activities. This is a win-win.
When the relationship becomes parasitic, it is no longer healthy. It should not be down to the university's irrational fear of police with guns that Morgantown is required to pick up the slack, so to speak. More than that, I'm sure that most crime in Morgantown is related to campus anyway. And don't get me started on the drunk riotous behavior during sports events - it is not grandma who is burning her couch in the middle of the road, after all.
Other wonderful excerpts from this letter include,
We are writing to urge you to rectify the white supremacist ideologies, ideologies that stem from the all white Board of Governors and the lack of black professors and leadership,
This attributing to others words they did not say, actions they didn't commit, and responsibility for ideologies they neither invented nor espoused needs to end.
Affirmative action in colleges have resulted in fewer black college graduates because of the social pressure to allow a black student into a university because of their skin. Sure, they get in to more colleges, but that doesn't translate into better outcomes, rather it results in worse outcomes. What do you think the same policies will do to black professors? Do you think that you solve the problem by bringing in a professor for his skin, or bringing in a professor for her research and teaching abilities? And here is the third fallacy: by treating people according to the color of their skin, you are perpetuating the racism that you fight against. Does the CHAZ and it's black exclusionary zones remind you more of MLK or Jim Crow?
You can read the letter for yourself and find many more contradictions and problems (like lauding the University of Minnesota's divestment of the city police department, and at the same time saying we should defund the university police and rely more on the city police, for another example.)
All I can hope for, is that intelligent, thoughtful minds prevail amidst the mob and that the supporters of Burn Loot Murder acquiesce to five demands of the everyday citizen of small towns everywhere:
1.) Stop Burning, Looting, and Murdering and divest and deny support for any organization or arm of BLM that engages in such acts before any dialogue continues.
2.) Stop punishing or demanding punishment on the sons for the sins of the fathers.
3.) Quit retroactively applying your modern morality to men and women who lived in a time where they were making achievable steps towards ending the evils of slavery.
4.) Take responsibility for your own actions and your own hate toward police and non-black people.
5.) Quit trying to destroy or cancel or deplatform or get fired people whom you disagree with and stop associating yourself with progressive left wing identity politics.
If the "demands" stop, the dialogue can begin, and this is something I am truly hopeful for. Otherwise, the ramifications of promoting black inferiority through affirmative actions, demolishing our community policing, indoctrinating our students with intersectionality, and inculcating our campus to vie for victimhood status, will result in academia the comrades would be proud of.
-gcm