Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Update on Charlottesville Race Threats

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by

James A. Bacon
in ,

Last week, I urged people not to jump to conclusions regarding the threats of racial violence that resulted in the closure of Charlottesville public schools. Many such threats turned out to be hoaxes, perpetrated by activists seeking to raise consciousness of racism and bigotry. Let the police investigation play out, I suggested.

Well, it didn’t take long to find the perpetrator, although the motive still remains a mystery to the public. Charlottesville police have arrested a 17-year-old Albemarle County male who identifies as Portuguese.  Such an identity does not fit the stereotyped profile of either a white supremacist or a progressive activist. A second teenager was arrested over an online threat that referenced Albemarle High School.

According to the Daily Progress, Police Chief RaShall Brackney said she wouldn’t reveal the first suspect’s motive, adding only that she found it “particularly troubling” that  a person who wasn’t part of the Charlottesville school system “made such a hateful divisive threat.”

I think it’s important to know the motive. Was the 17-year-old moved by racism, or was he using racist language to stir up trouble for other reasons? Such knowledge could inform the rhetoric going forward. Right now the Charlottesville political establishment is in all-out victimhood and aggrievement mode. Is the rhetoric justified or not?

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8 responses to “Update on Charlottesville Race Threats”

  1. Acbar Avatar
    Acbar

    “All-out victimhood and aggrievement mode” — nice way of putting it.

    1. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
      Reed Fawell 3rd

      Yes, agreed. And, of course Virginia’s Governor, a man with his own special record, and Virginia’s Senator Kaine, a man with his own special agenda, have already weighted in on these pending legal matters as of several days ago.

  2. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    “Right now the Charlottesville political establishment is in all-out victimhood and aggrievement mode. ”

    I have never attended the University of Virginia but I have relatives who have and I am the parent of a graduate. For several years now, I help out on a weekly newsprogram as a commentator on WTJU, the university radio station. I have been in contact with them several times weekly for some time now. I have yet to see evidence of the sense of “all-out victimhood . . . ” and so on. Where does this come from? Fox News? The Blaze? Hannity? It’s just another stupid saying like “social justice warrior.”

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      Ditto Peter…. it feels like folks on the right are moving further to the right these days.

  3. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
    Reed Fawell 3rd

    Peter says: I have yet to see evidence of the sense of “all-out victimhood . . . ” and so on. Where does this come from? Fox News? The Blaze? Hannity? It’s just another stupid saying like “social justice warrior.

    In my case, it comes directly from listening to UVA’s radio station WTJU. For example:

    “Our colleges and universities are surrounding these young people with academic opportunities, but they must not overlook their needs in human development as well. You are correct, we must “reform our society and culture that harms and/or ruins far too many of our children, male and female.” If the price for this is high: i.e., a delay of intellectual pursuits, then so be it: slow the academics down while developing and enhancing human skills of interaction and respect as part of what our universities teach — as part of the “living curriculum” that students experience every day in various locations on other campuses and on the UVa Grounds. Let students observe how mature, educated adults of the administration and faculty respond to complex, real-life situations.”

    This is an interesting idea. But I doubt its workable without leadership of the highest order. For it requires the renewal of an entire corporate culture. And has not the cultural collapse on the college campus occurred on the watch of the faculty now in charge? And are not these faculty the only adults on campuses who instruct college students (adolescent’s struggling to become adults)?

    The fact of this cultural collapse on the UVA grounds became vividly clear to me when listening to the WUVA interview of Ms. Eramo, the dean who handles sexual abuse complaints at UVA. I came away from that interview impressed with Dean Eramo. Then I was shocked to read the hundreds of blog comments that vilified her, most presumable from active members of the UVA community. Not only was the conduct of these UVA people atrocious, their lack of education and informed opinion was astounding.

    Listen to minute 10 through 14 of interview. It’s found at: http://vimeo.com/user20932862/review/112529177/b57f3948c3

    Here Ms. Egamo defends the right of the accused to a fair hearing.

    In response one blogger says: “Wow. Amazing “We’re trying to balance the rights of the individual accused with the rights of the complainant. That says it all. She’s got to go. She’s offensive, boorish, and clearly has little regard for discourse and genuine dialogue here.”

    That was a polite comment. Others ranged down to this: “Eramo do the world a favor and kill yourself. With folks like this who needs to worry about Jihadi John and ISIS?”

    These sorts of comments go on and on and on.

    Finally, a blogger comes to Ms. Eramo’s defense. “I’m sorry, but I think most of the commenters condemning Ms. Eramo are not giving fair consideration of her responsibility as a University official to weigh and balance the interests of both the accuser and the accused. Both are students to whom the University owes a responsibility to be fair.”

    Finally too the University organizes of group of people familiar with Ms. Emago’s fine work to speak on the Dean’s behalf. That is positive. So is UVA’s willingness to expose this to day light.

    But the entire event, including lack of understanding of the interviewer and overwhelming majority of follow on commenters demonstrate an ignorance that empowers the idea of throwing out the window principles of Jurisprudence painfully built over the last 700 to protect the individual rights of a free people. And a rule of law that is the envy of the world.

    This is a sampling of what UVA leaders are up against, assuming they have the wisdom to know what they are dealing with, much less how to fix it.

    This will require the wiles, wisdom, political savvy, and persuasive powers of Abe Lincoln. And it will also require the toughness, smarts, and single minded focus of an Admiral Earnest King to change a severely dysfunctional corporate culture. One who’s job as a college and university is to preserve, enhance and further enlighten our culture but one that over the past few decades has severely damaged and retarded that culture instead. Hence for example colleges and university are now the primary breeding ground of the Hook-culture, a culture that rises on campus and largely disapates over student graduate or otherwise leave campus. See Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus, Jan 1, 2008 by Kathleen A. Bogle.

    Of course academia has scholars who appreciate and understand the great genius of Lincoln. Few if any have a clue about the genius of King. Indeed King’s genius likely is so alien to their cloistered world, they’ll likely scoff at such a suggestion and go into a rant. …”

    See Reed Fawell 3rd | December 15, 2014 at 4:02 pm comment to https://www.baconsrebellion.com/facing-the-problems-at-uva-a-wake-up-call/

    Fortunately, a federal jury awarded $3 million in damages to UVA’s associate dean after finding that a Rolling Stone magazine article sullied her reputation by alleging that she was indifferent to allegations of a gang rape on campus, according to Washington Post. Here, the atmosphere at UVa contributed much to the problem.

  4. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Reed,
    Just to be clear, I work on a volunteer basis for WTJU which is owned by UVA. You also refer to WUVA which is a student-run, non-profit. I think it is fine for students to voice their opinions vigorously. Whether they are civil is a subjective matter. I went to college from 1970 to 1974 in the Boston area and you can bit things were a bit less “civil” there. People didn’t tell college administrators they wished they would die, they actually set off real bombs in dean’s offices. That happened at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy a short walk from my undergraduate dorm.

    As far as Rolling Stone, The WaPo (not less) reviewed the story and dunked it. Eramo sued and won. I would say the system won in the case.

    1. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
      Reed Fawell 3rd

      Peter, as to your general conclusion, I disagree. I don’t think anybody or any system or any generation “won” the Jackie affair put in train by the Obama Administration’s twisting of the meaning and intent of the Title IX regulations. Just like I don’t think anyone “won” the political manipulations of the events in Charlottesville during the spring and summer of 2017 put in train by the crass political warfare begun by C’ville leftist ideologues started in spring of 2016. These events are no more “won” than the equally corrupt performance art of the Russia Collusion affair. The harm done by these events will be with this nation for generations to come.

      Query: Why does the UVA administration need a radio station?

  5. Peter Galuszka Avatar
    Peter Galuszka

    Reed,
    WTJU is owned and/or operated by the UVA Rector and Board of Visitors. It gets lots of grant funding and does really great programming, especially for music of all types.
    As far as Jackie, the Eramo verdict has set up some important new legal precedents for libel law.I think the system did work because a bogus story was exposed as a fraud. And, the instrument that did the most to expose the fraud was The WashingtonPost which is under constant attack by conservatives for its supposedly liberal views. How ironic! Fake news!

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