Duke Deal Shields Faculty (i.e. The Group Of 88)

by Anne Blythe and Eric Ferreri - June 20th, 2007 - News & Observer

DURHAM - Duke University's settlement with exonerated lacrosse players gives legal protection to faculty members, some of whom have been under siege for speaking out in the wake of the gang-rape allegations.

Neither side would disclose the terms of the agreement, announced Monday, but Duke's faculty chairman, Paul Haagen, informed professors that one provision is that all faculty members have been released from liability related to the lacrosse case.

That news sparked another round of vitriolic messages from e-mailers and bloggers still exercised over a student newspaper ad signed in the spring of 2006 by 88 Duke professors, who decried a campus culture of racism and sexism.

The group of 88 still do not get it.

This incident of the Ad run by the group of 88 could be the source of some honest dialog about how to reduce racism and sexism in our society if they wanted. It will not be because they are the biggest racists and sexists and they deny their own motivations. They are not interested in reducing racism or sexism. They make it an issue by their actions and statements . . . even their very existence.

The problem is that institutional racism and sexism is at the heart of this group of 88 issue. It is not white racism. It is black racism. It is not male sexism. It is female sexism. Two groups whose income and jobs are dependent upon insisting our society is excessively racist and sexist are the black and women studies departments in our major universities. They were the ones running the ads.

Look at the two ads.

The second ad denies the first ad failed to respect "innocent until proven guilty" and claims "It has been broadly, and often intentionally, misread." However any honest assessment of the first ad has to take into consideration the reality of what the ad said and its context.

The ad entitled, "What Does a Social Disaster Sound Like?", included anonymous statements by students talking about racism and sexism on the Duke campus. The ad thanked "protesters making collective noise." Those protestors put up "Wanted" posters showing all the white members of Duke Lacrosse team and accusing them of rape.

The ad was clearly defending the concept that our society is a racist and sexist society and claiming the "rape" proved this hypothesis.

In reality though, claiming we are a racist and sexist society is something this group of 88 cannot stop doing. One of the quotes in their ad is a classic. "I was talking to a white woman student who was asking me 'Why do people' --and she meant black people -- 'make race such a big issue?' They don’t see race. They just don’t see it." Those for whom race is their primary focus are outraged that others are simply immune to their focus. They have stopped progress on both racism and sexism by making it their jobs to deny progress.

The group of 88 went on to say "We’re turning up the volume in a moment when some of the most vulnerable among us are being asked to quiet down while we wait. To the students speaking individually and to the protestors making collective noise, thank you for not waiting and for making yourselves heard."

You cannot thank protestors who are demanding people be punished for a crime that is not proven and later insist you weren't advocating their cause. If they are guilty of abandoning "innocent until proven guilty" your thanking them for their actions makes you equally guilty.

It is clear the goup of 88 was very embarrassed and angry when the rape allegations proved to be a total fabrication. They actually denied that was possible for many months. Their denials prove the duplicity of their current claim they never actually accused the players.

The way that these professors now hide from their own actions is indicated by their current attempts to obfuscate what they did as well as what they said.

The first ad is no longer visible . . . it used to be proudly displayed on the Duke African American web site. You can see that by checking the link where it used to be:
http://www.duke.edu/web/africanameric/listening.pdf

All you get is a statement that the page has been removed.

However you can see most of the text on the Google saved web page at:
http://listening.nfshost.com/listening.htm

The second ad is available here:
http://www.concerneddukefaculty.org/

The signatories to this second ad are listed here:
http://www.melloweb.com/concernedDuke/signatures.html

The signatories to the first ad are no where to be found.

I think the group of 88 actions are reprehensible and prove just how racist and sexist they are. Departments dedicated to racism and sexism will never admit the problems have been addressed by our society. Departments dedicated to racism and sexism will do as they did here, promote racist and sexist attacks against those they see as their enemies, whether there is any truth to the allegations or not. It is time that organizations like black studies and women studies groups, dedicated to proving what a racist and sexist society we are, be removed from society.

Unfortunately they see as their enemy the bulk of our society. That is you and me. I think it is time we shut down these racist and sexist departments to stop the evil they inflict on society. What do you think?