The NYT reports that after a video was posted on YouTube that appeared to show members of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon at University of Oklahoma singing a racist chant, the organization’s board decided “with no mental reservation whatsoever that this chapter needed to be closed immediately.” The video shows a group of young white people in formal wear riding a bus and singing a chant laden with antiblack slurs and at least one reference to lynching. A grinning young man wearing a tuxedo and standing in the aisle of the bus pumps his fist in the air as he chants, while a young woman seated nearby claps. The chant vows that African-Americans will “never” be allowed to join the campus chapter.
The nine-second video was uploaded to YouTube on Sunday by a student group, the Unheard Movement, that first identified the people in it as members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, although the group did not indicate how it obtained the video or when it was filmed. University president, David Boren, said in an emailed statement that the administration was also investigating the video. “I have just been informed of the video, which purports to show students to show students engaging in a racist chant. We are investigating to determine if the video involved OU students. If O.U. students are involved, this behavior will not be tolerated and will be addressed very quickly,” said Boren. “This behavior is reprehensible and contrary to all of our values.” Students marched on the campus of the University of Oklahoma on Monday to protest the video.
(Score: 1) by Arik on Thursday March 12 2015, @02:08PM
Actually, in the US today, he will be called 'mixed' as well, until and unless he is perceived to have 'made it' at which point he becomes black. See e.g. Barack Obama 'the mixed candidate' became 'the black president.'
What you are saying was true in the US a few decades ago though. This cultural perception of race can be extremely fluid.
But I think my point stands. This cultural perception of race is quite simply incorrect, and the flexibility and cultural relativity of the categories should demonstrate that pretty clearly. The word 'race' attributes an objective biological reality to these cultural categories that does not exist in any case.
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 2) by JNCF on Saturday March 14 2015, @05:18PM
Eh, we're getting into definitions of words now. People certainly use the word "race" in the way I described (or something close to it). They also use it in the sense that you mean. It's confusing, but hey, that's human language for you. You can not like a definition that a word has, but it doesn't stop it form having that definition.