The Equality Act is a step closer to becoming law, how policies aimed at curbing child poverty affect abortion rates, and Jake Meador weighs in on the Ryan Anderson-Amazon controversy
I found the article about Ms. Kanoute and Smith College to be quite fascinating, thank you for sharing it. I have thought a lot recently about how there appears to be an almost schizophrenic level of paranoia about the supposed racial motivations of some actions by authority figures that persists in the mind of some. When I compare Ms. Kanoute's story to other similar tales, there seems to be a distinct lack of any facts or fact patterns that would support her story. I have no doubt that Ms. Kanoute suffered emotional trauma but I find it fair to point out that most likely that psychological distress was wholly self-manufactured. There seems to be a dramatic amount of exaggeration from being approached about her presence in a restricted area, regardless I should say, of her knowledge regarding that area being restricted beforehand, and her "being at Smith, and my existence overall as a woman of color," as Ms. Kanoute is quoted as saying. Ms. Kanoute's behavior also seems to be predatory, what with her Facebook posts targeting specific employees, several of whom were not even close to being involved in the incident. Ms. Kanoute seems to have deliberately avoided any official channel for resolving her dispute and instead she took the public square, a notoriously less productive space to talk about sensitive issues. What I find especially troubling is that Ms. Kanoute seems to have totally thrown the concept of "good faith" out the window. No doubt she did so because she believes the entire school to be founded on white supremacy, and thus is unfit for any engagement beyond public lambasting, except for of course, her direct funding of the university with thousands and thousands of tuition dollars. I can't imagine how workers and administrators on that campus might be and indeed are cowed when faced with prospects such as these.
It is no wonder that Ms. Blair refused mediation: a key foundation of mediation is the shared conviction that both sides are operating in good faith, and I must say, Ms. Kanoute couldn't have done more to stamp out that shared conviction unless she was actively trying to. It seems obvious now why the university administration offered a segregated dorm, as it is mentioned in the beginning of the article. What do parents do when two children are fighting incessantly with each other? Conscientious parents separate them. Unfortunately, this tactic will probably not work out all that well, as instead the separated students will have lost many opportunities for growth and communication and the distinct spaces will mostly likely create positive feedback loops and echo-chambers for their respective inhabitants.
The A.C.L.U's racial justice director's comments are particularly frustrating to read. He moves the goal posts and says that "subconscious bias is difficult to prove," nicely avoiding the issue of facts in this case entirely and in only one sentence. What an outstanding rhetorical move. The racial justice director goes on to say, "It’s troubling that people are more offended by being called racist than by the actual racism in our society ... Allegations of being racist, even getting direct mailers in their mailbox, is not on par with the consequences of actual racism.” Racism can be very vicious, but when the only supposed consequence of supposed racism is someone being asked to leave an empty place kindly, and without force, malice, or threats, the consequences of the allegations of racism that Ms. Blair experienced, being near-death threats, hostility from students, and as others have experienced, potential job loss, tend to weigh more, significantly so.
I found the article about Ms. Kanoute and Smith College to be quite fascinating, thank you for sharing it. I have thought a lot recently about how there appears to be an almost schizophrenic level of paranoia about the supposed racial motivations of some actions by authority figures that persists in the mind of some. When I compare Ms. Kanoute's story to other similar tales, there seems to be a distinct lack of any facts or fact patterns that would support her story. I have no doubt that Ms. Kanoute suffered emotional trauma but I find it fair to point out that most likely that psychological distress was wholly self-manufactured. There seems to be a dramatic amount of exaggeration from being approached about her presence in a restricted area, regardless I should say, of her knowledge regarding that area being restricted beforehand, and her "being at Smith, and my existence overall as a woman of color," as Ms. Kanoute is quoted as saying. Ms. Kanoute's behavior also seems to be predatory, what with her Facebook posts targeting specific employees, several of whom were not even close to being involved in the incident. Ms. Kanoute seems to have deliberately avoided any official channel for resolving her dispute and instead she took the public square, a notoriously less productive space to talk about sensitive issues. What I find especially troubling is that Ms. Kanoute seems to have totally thrown the concept of "good faith" out the window. No doubt she did so because she believes the entire school to be founded on white supremacy, and thus is unfit for any engagement beyond public lambasting, except for of course, her direct funding of the university with thousands and thousands of tuition dollars. I can't imagine how workers and administrators on that campus might be and indeed are cowed when faced with prospects such as these.
It is no wonder that Ms. Blair refused mediation: a key foundation of mediation is the shared conviction that both sides are operating in good faith, and I must say, Ms. Kanoute couldn't have done more to stamp out that shared conviction unless she was actively trying to. It seems obvious now why the university administration offered a segregated dorm, as it is mentioned in the beginning of the article. What do parents do when two children are fighting incessantly with each other? Conscientious parents separate them. Unfortunately, this tactic will probably not work out all that well, as instead the separated students will have lost many opportunities for growth and communication and the distinct spaces will mostly likely create positive feedback loops and echo-chambers for their respective inhabitants.
The A.C.L.U's racial justice director's comments are particularly frustrating to read. He moves the goal posts and says that "subconscious bias is difficult to prove," nicely avoiding the issue of facts in this case entirely and in only one sentence. What an outstanding rhetorical move. The racial justice director goes on to say, "It’s troubling that people are more offended by being called racist than by the actual racism in our society ... Allegations of being racist, even getting direct mailers in their mailbox, is not on par with the consequences of actual racism.” Racism can be very vicious, but when the only supposed consequence of supposed racism is someone being asked to leave an empty place kindly, and without force, malice, or threats, the consequences of the allegations of racism that Ms. Blair experienced, being near-death threats, hostility from students, and as others have experienced, potential job loss, tend to weigh more, significantly so.