We recently saw rather bizarre case of a college president having to publicly apologize for saying the “all lives matter” rather than “all Black lives matter” in supporting protests over the Ferguson and New York grand jury decisions. (Ironically, I listened this weekend to protests where leaders chanted “all lives matter” in Washington). Now, Serhat Tanyolacar, a University of Iowa visiting professor and printmaking fellow, has been denounced for a piece of art designed to protest racism after the decision. Iowa officials have declared the art to be the equivalent to hate speech and ordered its removal within hours — with President Sally Mason denouncing the art and apologizing profusely. Now, however, students are calling for the artist to be fired and for a new speech-regulating committee to be established for such public forums.
The Klu Klux Klan figure is covered with newspaper clippings on racial injustice and violence. It is a powerful image that is both artistic and political speech. Tanyolacar sought to create something to “facilitate a dialogue.” He got it. The university however has abandoned any defense of the free speech expression or even tried to understand the obvious purpose of the art. The piece was placed in an area designated as a public forum. Nevertheless, Mason and her staff threw Tanyolacar and free speech under a bus. Smith has said that the school failed “to meet our goal of providing a respectful, all-inclusive, educational environment, the university apologizes.” She has demand that the school “prepare a detailed plan of action” to presumably protect against such expressions of free speech in the future.
Much like law schools supplying professional counselors after the Ferguson decision for students, Mason has ordered university-provided counseling for anyone traumatized by the art work.
I do not question the impact of such an image and I can understand why the image was disturbing for so many. While I cannot say that I share the same cultural and personal pain of African-Americans in relation to such images, I was raised with stories from my mother of how she would often go to sleep with a burning cross on a nearby hill when the local KKK would terrorize her Italian and Catholic community in Ohio. However, this artist was using this well-known image as an important statement against racism an hate. It has now become for many an image of growing speech regulation and intolerance on university campuses.
What is equally shocking is the statement of David Ryfe, director of UI’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UI, who supports viewpoint discrimination, stating “If it was up to me, and me alone. I would follow the lead of every European nation and ban this type of speech.” That is the director of a school of journalism.
We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West, particularly in France (here and here and here and here and here and here) and England ( here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Much of this trend is tied to the expansion of hate speech and non-discrimination laws. We have seen even comedians targets with such court orders under this expanding and worrisome trend. (here and here). However, it is the appearance of effective speech codes on campuses that are the most worrisome. We have even saw a professor attack demonstrators with the later support of faculty and students who have justified her actions as responding to the “terrorism” of pro-life displays.
The statue tar screen prints of newspaper clippings depicting coverage of racial tensions, riots, and killings dating to the early 1900s was a faculty member’s effort to express his own creative feelings in a place for public discussion. Nevertheless, he was forced to apologize and issued a statement that “I sincerely apologize for the pain and suffering I caused to the African American community on Friday,” he said. “I am hoping that I will be able to be forgiven for the pain I have caused with my sculpture.”
Tanyolacar is the father of a mix-raced 8-year-old boy and has faced “racism and prejudice” in his own life. He recently participated in an exhibition project called, “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot: Artists Respond” in St. Louis.
Nevertheless, students are continuing to protest and complain over the now removed art. Kayla Wheeler, a third year doctoral student in the UI Department of Religious Studies, has criticized the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for promoting the statue on social media and demanded a “social media oversight committee” to regulate such speech in the future to satisfy the sensibilities of the public. Moreover, she and others want the artist fired. Wheeler stated “If he is not fired immediately and returns to campus next semester, he should not be allowed to teach any students.”
By the way, Nic Arp, director of strategic communications for the college, who earlier attempted to defend the expression of free speech removed that defense from social media and issued his own apology “for contributing to people’s very real and understandable pain. I have learned a lot about how my own privilege and culture bias informed my own initial reaction to it.” He added:
“I’m a white person and responded to it first and foremost as a piece of art and not in the way an African American might — as a very real and scary symbol. I wanted to take personal responsibility and say, hey, I’ve learned a lot and I’m embarrassed by my own insensitivity about it.”
I will confess that I have a “bias” in favor of free speech that shades my view of this incident. Public forums come with all types of speech: good, bad, valuable or valueless. Bad speech is combatted with good speech — not pre-speech approvals or firing artists. Some of us have growing concern over the level of speech regulation that is occurring on our campuses, which were once bastions of free speech.
Source: KCRG
HR Depts. of today.
Bailers–I’d like to think you’re right, but the purpose of the NORK-POW-style self-denouncements is to install this type of “thought” as the default in everyone who passes thru a college.
This is a preview of the HR depts of tomorrow.
Special snowflakes that were never raised to have critical thinking skills, or accept critical comments, are going to find life is pretty rough once they get out of college.
leej, BINGO!
This case is too easy.
Suppose that the art work had been installed by a hypothetical White Students’ Council, on a fraternity’s front lawn, as a comment on something-or-other.
That would be a free-speech case. This is an “are you f’n kidding me?” case.
leejcaroll, I was trying to figure out what the tone of those statements reminded me of. You nailed it.
Thought you might have the insie scoop on Anonymous finding the Chief of Police and the Ferguson Police Officer found not guilty all belonging to the KKK. This needs to be investigated and made public. ~
Appalling. The responses by Arp and the artist are, to me, eerily reminiscent of what hostages, like those of ISIS, N. Korea, etc are forced to say.
ChipS, Great quote. The leftists avoid these college Constitutional posts like the plague. Some leftists even feign revulsion.
h/t Evi L. Bloggerlady for that quote
“If you try to ignore that fact.…you then get into the most awful totalitarianism of all, because it’s a left totalitarianism. …If we get a left-wing totalitarianism, that means the end of all of us, because we’ll have nothing but scrambled minds trying to overcome the incredible shock that the destruction of human liberty came from the left and not the right.”
–Norman Mailer, 1979
I believe that they still have a Federal Courthouse near that school. Perhaps some folks need to exercise their right of free speech to petition their government for redress of grievances and seek a declaratory judgment and injunction against the perps who are “state actors” within the meaning of Title 42 United States Code, Section 1983 and the conspiracy statute, Section 1985. Also seek damages, actual and punitive, and attorney fees. One cannot sue the sovereign state but you can sue the state officials running the so called college. Someone should put on the black armband and see if they get fired or suspended. The precedent of the Tinker case would be more on target. Citizens of Iowa need to throw up and then throw the perps out of their jobs running that school.
Hotsie Totsie, I smell a Nazi.
–Curley, Three Stooges
Left is the new right.
The Education Industry, from kindergarten to graduate school, HATE the Constitution. They have become the enemy within. The examples are frighteningly high in number. I encourage everyone to bookmark and support http://www.thefire.org to see just how this pernicious enemy is trying to destroy our Constitutional rights. And we are paying many of them w/ our hard earned tax dollars.
Of course a black armband might meet the criteria of offensive art-speech in Iowa in the year 2014. But Jeso, the guy did not say: Burn the bitch down! Of course that is protected speech. Its all in the eye of the Holder. Sorry, beholder.
Another instance of knee jerk reactions by politically correct dimwits.
If they had taken a moment to actually examine the art work, look at and read the articles from which it was constructed, they would have understood the subtle message that the artist was trying to convey. I(I guess subtle is beyond the ken of our young people anymore) They might even have realized that he was representing their views.
Dumbsh*ts can’t see the forest for the trees.
If this is the level of intellectual caliber from our colleges…..we are doomed as a society.
I think that the Tinkers need to make a tour to Iowa. Does anyone recall the case of Tinker v. Bd of Education of Des Moine,IA ? Last year some of the Tinkers were doing a nationwide tour to promote free speech.
Iowa! Iowa! That’s where the tall corn grows!
And grows…..
All lives do matter! She should never have apologized.
I see nothing wrong with the sculpture. It portrays the message that racism is still alive and documents racism of the past. Neither white nor black students or passers by should ignore that ugly reality. Art as speech is legitimate. We can’t go through life being insulated from its ugliness.
Reblogged this on SpeakOutUSA!.