School of Hard Knocks Closed Due to Accusations of Bias
In case you didn’t know, this week was “National Coming Out Week”, leading up to “National Coming Out Day”, which falls on October 11 of every year. To commemorate National Coming Out Week, the University’s LGBTQA held a celebration in the EMU amphitheater on Tuesday, part of which was a balloon arch floating across the street in front of Collier House.
Unfortunately for the LGBTQA, some asshole decided to climb up the lamppost where the balloons were tied and cut them free, sending somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 balloons drifting off into the sky. No matter how you want to slice it, that was a pretty dick move.
I found the LGBTQA’s response to the incident to be pretty disappointing. Throwing around unfounded and unprovable charges of homophobia and bias seems to have been the first and only thing in their playbook:
LGBTESSP Program Assistant Cat McGraw, who stayed in the amphitheater for most of the morning and early-afternoon, said because of the nature of the climate on campus, she would consider the incident an act of bias.
[…]
McGraw said she believes the timing of the act was deliberate because other University organizations have had balloon arches in the same place. She said the person clearly ruined the arch to make a statement.
I have to disagree with Ms. McGraw, here. The only thing that’s “clear” is that someone felt like cutting loose 300 balloons. Maybe that person was motivated by fear and disgust of gay people, maybe not. Unless she has supernatural powers, I’m reasonably sure Ms. McGraw has no idea whether a “statement” was intended or not.
[Homecoming Weekend Committee Member Amber] Garrison said that given the nature of the campus’ history, she believes this was an act of intolerance.
“It was hard for me not to believe it was a hate crime or an act of bias.”
First off, calling this a “hate crime” is patently absurd in any case. Secondly, no other possible explanation besides “bias” comes to mind? Not drugs or alcohol? Not stupid college kids acting like stupid college kids? Not just indiscriminate vandalism?
The predilection to denounce outright and in the strongest terms accomplishes little, I think, except to reinforce and perpetuate a victim mentality. It betrays a mindset that imagines the whole world to be engaged in a pernicious conspiracy and that every setback is the result of hatred and bias. In actuality, it might’ve be as simple as someone being an asshole.
The same dynamic is in play in the 2008 election. We’ve been assured, time and time again, that the only reason Barack Obama could possibly lose the election is because of racism. Criticism of Obama is routinely cast as being “racially tinged“, even when race has nothing to do with the matter at hand. “Racist subtexts” are found everywhere, and “coded racism” seems to be all over the place.
While wallowing in such paranoia might rally the faithful, it does little to draw support from third parties, who’re implicitly being told that if they engage in criticism of such-and-such candidate they’re motivated by racial prejudice. The same thing applies to gay rights. I’m a strong supporter of equality for homosexuals under the law, but I’m consistently turned off by the siege mentality of the LGBTQA.
Bad things happen to lots of people every day and most of the time those bad things aren’t motivated by bias or phobia. The person who wrecked the balloon arch might’ve been a homophobe. He could just as well have been high or drunk. Neither Cat McGraw or Amber Garrison — nor anyone else except for the person who did it — actually know what was going through his head.
Unfortunately, they chose to act like victims of persecution instead of standing up, saying “fuck you”, and getting on with life.
