Dr. Ben Carson is learning the perils of rising in the polls in a presidential election. This week, the National Enquirer produced an article detailing what it says is a pattern of malpractice by Carson, including leaving a sponge in the head of a patient. Some of the harshest commentary however have come from liberal African Americans. Much like some of the criticism faced by Clarence Thomas, Carson has been attacked as being a type of traitor to the black community despite the fact that he is a hugely successful doctor and mentor for many. University of Pennsylvania Professor Anthea Butler however took that criticism to a new low in calling Carson a “coon.” While such a racial slur would normally be followed by demands for terminations from a white professor, the response to the slur has been at best muted.
The Butler incident raises again the question of a double standard in controversies at the University of California and Boston University, where there have been criticism of a double standard, even in the face of criminal conduct. Just yesterday we discussed a case at the University of London involving Bahar Mustafa.
Butler said that Ben Carson should win the “coon of the year” after the 2016 hopeful supported allowing Confederate flags at NASCAR events. Carson had stated a principled position in favor of free speech despite his own obvious dislike for the imagery. Many free rights advocates, including myself, have argued for the right to display such symbols. Carson said “Swastikas are a symbol of hate for some people too … and yet they still exist in our museums and places like that . . . If it’s a majority of people in that area who want it to fly, I certainly wouldn’t take it down.”
There are strong arguments for protecting this right, but Professor Butler by writing “If only there was a ‘coon of the year’ award …”
The response from the head of her department indicates that this is not going to be viewed as an issue for her colleagues or the school. Professor Justin McDaniel told the Washington Examiner that “She is a valued colleague and faculty member, but I have no comment on the tweet, because I have not seen it nor know the context of the comment.” Fair enough. However, there is a legitimate question of how the school would have responded to a white professor calling a leading African-American a “coon” or other slur. Would that public comment be treated as a private affair? Indeed, racially insensitive comments on social commentary by a Duke University professor led to calls for his termination.
McDaniel is not the only one defending Butler. Over at Mediaite, they are insisting that Butler never actually referred to Carson as a “coon.” While I have added “reportedly” to the title, the defense seems to go nowhere beyond suggesting that people are racists if they interpret a tweet on Carson as receiving an award of “Coon of the Year” as referring to Carson as “Coon of the Year.”
“Now, if you want to interpret Professor Butler’s tweet that way, you’re welcome to do so, but to state that interpretation as fact is just plain wrong. In fact, maybe you’re the racist for reading that tweet and assuming that she meant Ben Carson is a “coon.” There’s another much more relevant interpretation to be made.”
However, Tommy Christopher never gets around to actually explaining the misinterpretations by presumptive racists. It is simply noted that the tweet was in response to Ben Carson’s remarks on NASCAR and the Confederate flag — as has been widely reported. Christopher then goes into an aside on an actual Coon of the Year competition in Maine. Others have suggested that Butler was referring to how “whites” would refer to him. I fail to see how that is a defense. She would still be saying that Carson qualifies as a “coon”, which was obviously slur created for whites for blacks. It is saying that he meets that definition. You end up in the same place. It is like saying that a black leader is an Uncle Tom or “house n****r” — the point is that he qualifies as the type of subservient slave-like character referenced by racist whites. For those who have long been critical of the increasing list of “microaggressions” being sanctioned on campuses, this would seem a macroaggression under the prevailing logic.
This is not the first controversy for Butler who is also a regular on MSNBC as a commentator. In 2013, she tweeted in commentary on the Zimmerman case that
God ain’t good all of the time. In fact, sometimes, God is not for us. As a black woman in a nation that has taken too many pains to remind me that I am not a white man, and am not capable of taking care of my reproductive rights, or my voting rights, I know that this American god ain’t my god. As a matter of fact, I think he’s a white racist god with a problem. More importantly, he is carrying a gun and stalking young black men.
Once again, I have long maintained that academics, including Professor Butler, deserve free speech and academic protections for expressing controversial thoughts. The problem is not that there is a clearly undefined and unevenly applied standard for academics with regard to racially sensitive or controversial comments.
As for Carson, I find the backlash against successful African-Americans like him or Clarence Thomas to be astonishing. One can easily disagree with Thomas’ opinions, but he has one of the most genuine and moving life stories of anyone in Washington. If he were liberal, his rise from abject poverty to the highest court would be celebrated as the triumph of true American values. The same can be said about Carson who has achieved a remarkable amount in his lifetime. African Americans should be celebrated regardless of their political views by the black community and society at large. The harsh and intolerant response to conservative blacks on campuses in not just unfair it is distinctly anti-intellectual. Yet, this intolerance is becoming a badge of pride for some who believe that they have license to insult and degrade those who dare hold views different from their own. Carson’s comment about the confederate flag shows considerable principle in overcoming the powerfully negative imagery for his community. It is Professor Butler who reduced this substantive debate to the level of racial slurs and personal insults.
Martin Luther King said “the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Carson stood for free speech rights. It is not clear what Professor Butler stands for in casting racial slurs in response.
Karen needs to find herself a smart advocate – one who is capable of overseeing the transactions on her bank account that she knows has been made vulnerable by a crime. A smart advocate would know to carefully monitor her bank account that has received new ‘special handling’ instructions. A smart advocate would also realize one can appeal the 30 day rule and successfully handle the consequences of financial fraud and bank ineptitude without exposing lax personal oversight.
Please excuse the interruption of the post’s topic. Please carry on your discussion of African American women’s hair.
This Professor’s hair is in it’s natural state, she is older so it’s turned gray/white, she is of African heritage so it is curly/ kinky. Why is her hair an “odd choice” to white people? Why should she have to put harsh chemicals in her hair to make it more presentable to white people?
Donald Trump wasn’t born with that hair. Not an apt comparison.
Annie
Again, any comments about the odd appearance of her hairstyle is simply the expression of an observation. Plain and simple. Any association of comments about her unkempt appearance, based upon her hairstyle, alone, are not racist. I do vaguely recall you, Annie, posting a photo of Donald Trump, on a previous thread, which poked fun at his notoriously odd choice of hairstyle. Do you remember that? I do. Perhaps you were just a little short on humanity that particular day.
also I am embarrassed to say I have not figure out this wordpress avatar/name thing. how sad is that?
As an old white guy, let me say that I have a lot of sympathy for old white guys. Old white gals too. We had the world by the balls for the better part of a thousand years.
We got to kill Indians, enslave Africans, colonize most of the planet and take what we want, subjugate the women..and then we wrote the freaking history books. We controlled the language, the schools, the media, the known world. And it was good. As that all slips away, we see children being taught African American history and women’s history. We say “to each his own” and some woman wants to know why.
It was a good run. But it’s ending. And we should actually go gentle into that good night. Let someone else have a shot at it. Maybe they will be able to fix all the horrible sh*I we have done.
on her ethnic hair?
Poodles are ethnic? I also make comments on the marmot that Rand Paul has on his head and the …..I don’t know what the heck it is that Frank Luntz is wearing.
I’m amused across all ethnic lines.
http://i.i.cbsi.com/cnwk.1d/i/tim/2012/07/19/ctm_0719_LUNTZ_480x360.jpg
DBQ,
If she truly called him a coon, then how are you any better by engaging in attacks on her ethnic hair? Truly childish, that is what pimply faced teenagers do to each other on social media.
Just so I understand this correctly. When WE say things others don’t like then we are victims of the PC culture. When THEY say something WE don’t like, they are race baiting or reverse discriminating or just plain uppity. Did I get that right?
When we start stooping to insults about a person’s physical characteristics they were born with, we’ve lost a little of our humanity.
So calling Dr Carson a coon, isn’t an insult about physical characteristics? Or is it that because she is a black person herself she is exempt?
Sorry, her race card is all played out.
It’s pretty ignorant insulting her for her hair, why not stick to insults about her personality? When we start stooping to insults about a person’s physical characteristics they were born with, we’ve lost a little of our humanity.
The same is true of Lincoln. Their greatness lies in their ability to recognize reality and CHANGE their views to correspond to real events rather than ideology.
That’s nice Randy. And I do agree with you in the ability to change positions based on new information. Do you hold that same view for current politicians like Trump, Fiorina, Reagan etc etc etc? Or when THEY change their views it is branded as flip flopping?
Except even AFTER the war and up until his assassination, Lincoln was still espousing the same views and was trying to expatriate…..remove the Negro (their term in those days) to Africa. Just pointing out reality. Sorry it hurts.
That may be so BamBam, but she can’t help the kind of hair God gave her. I think it’s interesting actually. If she brushed it out it would be even more kinky. My daughter, the attorney, has naturally curly hair, we found out pretty quickly when she was a child that it’s best to wash, condition, comb and let dry naturally. Brushing it out when dry made it extremely frizzy, not brushing it out allowed it to dry in beautiful ringlets. White women often don’t understand how to deal with curly or kinky hair.
People are commenting about her hair, not because she is black and not because blacks have curly hair, but because it appears, from her photo that she posted of herself, as though she couldn’t be bothered to brush it
Aaaaand…..because it looks like she slapped a dead poodle on top of her head.
😀
The gist of this thread has a great deal to do with why I have little to say on threads these days. What is there to say? Not that anyone has noticed 🙂 The usual misinterpretation of Carson’s words, vis a vis the Oregon victims, is a prime example. He. Said. No. Such. Thing. What he did say was that he’d try to block a killer and ask others to step up…much as I would hope I would do, given my training and experience…but we don’t know for sure until it happens and Carson did not say otherwise…he was speaking for himself, period. Just as I would. Or you very likely would.
Just the fact Dr Carson’s “race” is an issue is discouraging. We seem to insist on race-definition and yes, it does appear to me that any one of a darker hue is vilified if they step of their designated “reservation” by the progressives. How dare they be different…just as different as the lighter hues usually are? I can’t explain it…and neither can the progressives….especially those who think their own darker hue makes them expert…not to be questioned. We all should be questioned, you, me, everyone, always. We have the right to speak out and the same right to be criticized for it, but “race” has nothing to do with it…except for those who choose to make it so.
Ari, Too bad the troops at Ft Hood did not use Carson’s advice when they were being shot down. I guess they deserve the same kind of criticism? Of course, he never served a day giving anything back to his country.
People are commenting about her hair, not because she is black and not because blacks have curly hair, but because it appears, from her photo that she posted of herself, as though she couldn’t be bothered to brush it. When one chooses to post a photo of oneself, for the world to see, along with despicable, racist comments about a talented surgeon–who has saved countless lives–get ready for a reaction. Given the horrendous reviews posted by students critiquing her teaching abilities, posted on Rate My Professor, her choice of hairstyle is the least of her flaws.
Randyjet, I’m looking forward to a President Sanders. Bring on some form of Universal Healthcare!
I do agree that trying to placate insurance companies is a dead end. THAT is why a single payer system is the way to go. FEEL the Bern!
Olly:
“That is terrible and of course predictable. Unfortunately, your reasoned and logical comment won’t have any impact because that would require an objective mind read the comment.”
So true.
And I’m not the only one this has happened to. The receptionist at my doctor’s office told me that several patients in their practice are in exactly the same boat as me. My insurance company had such a backlog of cancelled policies going through the petition for reinstatement process that it took them more than 30 days just to get to me and tell me I never had a case. Again, the 30 days with no exceptions for cause is a gift Obamacare gives the insurance companies.
We all know how common identity theft is today. This could have catastrophic consequences for those on individual policies, whose premiums are not deducted from paychecks.
Karen I cannot speak to your situation and will not try. But if you hate liberalism so much, I hope you will stand on your principles and refuse Medicare when you get old enough.
I spent 3 hours driving yesterday for a total of 3 1/2 hours of work before I had to pick up my son from school.
All because of Obamacare and the government “helping” me.
Liberalism has burned me so badly that I will forever disdain such politics. I’ve paid attention to the havoc it wrecks, and how its followers absolutely refuse to research the outcomes of their actions. And when you try to present the outcomes, they refuse to listen or change their approach. They are content will feeling like they’re helping, and clearly do not care if they actually harm people.