Political Cartoon Prompts Racist Accusations against Student Paper

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• I opted not to publish a comment that was posted here, because I'm uncomfortable with posts that make personal attacks instead of engaging directly with ideas. There are a lot of emotions going on this thread, and I'd rather it not escalate in an unproductive direction.

• You only date white women, is that because you hate asians? Its very common.Self Loathing, its like when Jews pretend they are catholics. I know a korean model who says she hates Koreans, she wants to move to France & become a french person & never see another member of her race. If you were half black, your color would dictate your race, not your preference at what race you wish you could be.You are Asian. White people might date you , but you're never going to be able to change your race,only water down your background so you can fit in. Well, Ward Connerly did it, so I guess if you marry a blond enough woman, you can pretend you're not asian anymore. You're not a racist, because you wish to be all white, instead of half asian. It makes you pathetic. A few blacks tried to 'pass' as white too, after being born light of a rape or a mixed relationship.

• All right, since there are now 12 parts to this ongoing discussion, maybe it would help to take a step back and review what was said. Throughout this history of comments, I believe there are many of us saying the same message, but in different ways. However, I am not sure why there are multiple misunderstandings, if any. Perhaps there is a collision of rhetorics happening here?

• "The Black Student Union (member of a facebook group called N*ggas that Pledge) trashed the Alligator for the use of the word. Why? He obviously doesn't find it all that offensive. UF and the BSU have invited rappers such as Kayne West, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg to play at the O'Connel Center every year, artists who use that word in their music. Why is it that they don't find it offensive then? "

  It's like Hitler,Hilter was a murderer, he got lots of white people to kill minorities. They went right along for the ride, a whole generation. If you're so quick to forget, it's no wonder you're doomed to repeat this.So many of the bigots in Florida are proud of their hatred legacy. None of you are fighting them, are you? It's okay to celebrate the murder of 100 millions blacks in legal Terrorist groups like the KKK & the Neo Nazis, but it's not okay for blacks to be angry about it. White supremacists say, blacks deserve no respect because we don't understand rap music. They are angry, that irritates us. We liked them quiet & running scared, not loud & intimdating.
  "Overnight white Americans purged racism & murder from their cultures & now everything left is black peoples fault. 400 years of slavery & 100 years of segregation & we are perfect now." You really think you can purge that much evil in such a short time? The fascists where blind to the evil of their behaviours too.
  I'm sure you'd make the same sweeping generalizations of your people, as you're making about mine. But my opinion doesn't rule the world, while yours always has. Keeping up your ancestors hard work!

• "Explain Eminem then."

  Whew! I've no idea.

  But words mean more than their dictionary definitions. The context and relationship between the speakers do change the significance of words.

• Explain Eminem then. He is white and raps with a black vernacular all of the time and received a huge backlash from both black and white communities. Is he an example of this double standard?

  Speaking as a minority, racism and discrimination are perpetuated by previous generations of hate teaching future generations of hate to do likewise (along with other factors) which is something our society attempts to not do anymore. However, such a change may be possible long after any of our lifetimes.

• I currently attend UF, and I've been in the middle of this debate since the cartoon was published. Personally, I think that this was something that needed to be said. I don't understand why it's socially acceptable for someone who is black to use the n-word.

  People here are up in arms over Marlette's cartoon. The Black Student Union (member of a facebook group called N*ggas that Pledge) trashed the Alligator for the use of the word. Why? He obviously doesn't find it all that offensive. UF and the BSU have invited rappers such as Kayne West, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg to play at the O'Connel Center every year, artists who use that word in their music. Why is it that they don't find it offensive then?

  I think that there is a very big double standard in this country. There is no doubt that racism and discrimination still exist, however I think that the dualism exhibited by things such as the acceptable use of the n-word by rappers and comics fuels, if not creates a lot of this racism and discrimination.

• Bobby, slightly complicating the issue is that the cartoon depicted one black person using a variant of the term to another black person. That's not quite the same thing as a white guy walking up to a black guy and using the word out of the blue.

  On the other hand, the First Amendment doesn't promise that those who decide to use their freedom of speech will be isolated from all possible consequences.

• Dennis, Is "power" not an assigned concept complicated by social mores and the First Amendment? I am thinking that freedom of speech entitles all of us to use and define terms in whatever context, but our culture's social mores dictate whether or not such use is acceptable. Hopefully that clarifies my earlier point using Dr. Preston's example.

• Japanese and Korean cultures not compatible? Wow. My mother is half-Japanese and half-Korean. I am all Korean, but I fail to identify with my culture since I view myself as Caucasian, which is where my female preferences lie as well. Does that make me racist? No.