Academia, Bizarre

UPenn Professor Under Fire For Reportedly Calling Ben Carson A “Coon”

butlerDr. 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 …”

Anthea-Butler-Coon-Of-The-Year

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

harvard

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.

UnknownAs 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.

239 thoughts on “UPenn Professor Under Fire For Reportedly Calling Ben Carson A “Coon””

  1. bam bam

    Sorry. I thought you were a friend of Nick. He says Hillary is a lesbian. Total lie. It is the stuff of ten year olds. Like midget. And discussing your bowel movements.

    1. Mike – first person who acquainted me with the Hillary is a lesbian meme was Dick Morris when he called in to a DC talk show. He let the cat out of the bag. He later backtracked on the story but there is serious bad blood between Bill and Hillary and it is a marriage of convenience.

  2. Hey, everyone, check out the comment at 1:15 pm.

    News Flash–

    It is now verboten to use the term “lesbian” when referring to a gay woman. I must’ve missed that memo. .

  3. Lisa N

    Yes, Democrats were terrible racists. Most particularly Southern Democrats. Since you are obviously a student of history, you know all those Southern Democrats switched to Republicans once LBJ passed the Civil Rights and Voting Rights bills and now, you know -2015 – the year in which we live, finds their positions flipped.

    Today almost all Democrats call themselves progressives and favor healthcare, food stamps, voting rights, choice, support for struggling Americans, investment in the country, Medicare, Social Security, separation of church and state, unions.

    I’m not sure what Republicans are FOR. But there is no end to what they are against. And first thing on that list is the black man in the White House.

    1. Mike – the Republican are against a particular black man in the White House. However, if Condi Rice ran for President she would be elected by the Republicans in a heartbeat.

  5. I guess Lisa is really counting on no one knowing anything about how the two parties MOSTLY flipped after the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts passed. Or the Southern Strategy. Yep, nothing much happened after 1964-65 so, you know, Orval Faubus was a Democrat and Lincoln was a Republican and that’s that.

    Dum and dummer.

  9. Maybe Lisa N can explain why the Confederate Flag isn’t a white pride statement…

  10. Sorry. Lisa N’s humanitarian credentials are found on the comment at 12:31 am

  13. So sayeth Lisa N, a great humanitarian. If you doubt that, see her comment at 1:03 am.

  15. http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/ben-carson-i-got-held-up-once-at-popeyes-but-i-told-the-gunman-to-rob-an-employee-instead/

    Ben Carson: I got held up once at Popeye’s — but I told the gunman to rob an employee, instead

    Ben Carson has been bragging all week that he would charge head-on at gunmen, if he ever encountered one — and now he says he actually has been faced with that threat.

    The Republican presidential candidate said Thursday morning that he had a gun drawn on him while visiting a Baltimore fried chicken restaurant, reported The Hill.

    “Guy comes in, put the gun in my ribs,” Carson said.

    Carson said twice this week that the victims in last week’s Oregon community college shooting should have tried to tackle the gunman and would not “just stand there and let him shoot me.”

    That’s exactly how Army veteran Chris Mintz got shot seven times and wounded during the massacre — although Carson admits he had never heard of him until a reporter asked.

    So what happened when Carson allegedly faced just such a threat? He directed the gunman’s attention to an employee of the fast food restaurant.

    “I just said, ‘I believe that you want the guy behind the counter,’” Carson said.
    ****************
    And this guy wants to be President?

  16. Randy Jet –
    Here’s some exact dates on history, though I doubt you can absorb it.
    Democrats fought to expand slavery while Republicans fought to end it.

    Democrats passed those discriminatory Black Codes and Jim Crow laws.

    Democrats supported and passed the Missouri Compromise to protect slavery.

    Democrats supported and passed the Kansas Nebraska Act to expand slavery.

    Democrats supported and backed the Dred Scott Decision.

    Democrats opposed educating blacks and murdered black teachers.

    Democrats fought against anti-lynching laws.

    Democrat Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, was a well-known and proud and accomplished “Kleagle” in the Ku Klux Klan.

    Democrat Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia, personally filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for 14 straight hours to keep it from passage ….. other staunch opponents and uber-racist/disgraceful participants included Sam Ervin, Albert Gore, Sr.,and none other than LBJ and JFK.

    Democrats passed the Repeal Act of 1894 that overturned civil right laws enacted by Republicans.

    Democrats declared that they would rather vote for a “yellow dog” than vote for a Republican, because the Republican Party was known as the party for blacks.

    Democrat President Woodrow Wilson, reintroduced segregation throughout the federal government immediately upon taking office in 1913.

    Democrat President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first appointment to the Supreme Court was a life member of the Ku Klux Klan, Sen. Hugo Black, Democrat of Alabama.

    Democrat President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s choice for vice president in 1944 was Harry Truman, who had joined the Ku Klux Klan in Kansas City in 1922.

    Democrat President Franklin D. Roosevelt resisted Republican efforts to pass a federal law against lynching.

    Democrat President Franklin D. Roosevelt opposed integration of the armed forces.

    Democrats supported and backed Judge John Ferguson in the case of Plessy v Ferguson.

    Democrats supported the School Board of Topeka Kansas in the case of Brown v The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas.

    Democrat public safety commissioner Eugene “Bull” Connor, in Birmingham, Ala., unleashed vicious dogs and turned fire hoses on black civil rights demonstrators.
    Democrats were who Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the other protesters were fighting.

    Democrat Georgia Governor Lester Maddox “brandished an ax hammer to prevent blacks from patronizing his restaurant.

    Democrat Governor George Wallace stood in front of the Alabama schoolhouse in 1963, declaring there would be segregation forever.

    Democrat Arkansas Governor Faubus tried to prevent desegregation of Little Rock public schools.

    Democrat Senator John F. Kennedy voted against the 1957 Civil rights Act.

    Democrat President John F. Kennedy opposed the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King.

    Democrat President John F. Kennedy, had Dr. King wiretapped and investigated by the FBI.

    Lincoln and King were murdered by Democrats.

    January 26, 1922
    House passes bill authored by U.S. Rep. Leonidas Dyer (R-MO) making lynching a federal crime; Senate Democrats block it with filibuster

    June 2, 1924
    Republican President Calvin Coolidge signs bill passed by Republican Congress granting U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans

    October 3, 1924
    Republicans denounce three-time Democrat presidential nominee William Jennings Bryan for defending the Ku Klux Klan at 1924 Democratic National Convention

    June 12, 1929
    First Lady Lou Hoover invites wife of U.S. Rep. Oscar De Priest (R-IL), an African-American, to tea at the White House, sparking protests by Democrats across the country

    August 17, 1937
    Republicans organize opposition to former Ku Klux Klansman and Democrat U.S. Senator Hugo Black, appointed to U.S. Supreme Court by FDR; his Klan background was hidden until after confirmation

    June 24, 1940
    Republican Party platform calls for integration of the armed forces; for the balance of his terms in office, FDR refuses to order it

    September 30, 1953
    Earl Warren, California’s three-term Republican Governor and 1948 Republican vice presidential nominee, nominated to be Chief Justice; wrote landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education

    November 25, 1955
    Eisenhower administration bans racial segregation of interstate bus travel

    March 12, 1956
    Ninety-seven Democrats in Congress condemn Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, and pledge to continue segregation

    June 5, 1956
    Republican federal judge Frank Johnson rules in favor of Rosa Parks in decision striking down “blacks in the back of the bus” law

    November 6, 1956
    African-American civil rights leaders Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy vote for Republican Dwight Eisenhower for President

    September 9, 1957
    President Dwight Eisenhower signs Republican Party’s 1957 Civil Rights Act

    September 24, 1957
    Sparking criticism from Democrats such as Senators John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, President Dwight Eisenhower deploys the 82nd Airborne Division to Little Rock, AR to force Democrat Governor Orval Faubus to integrate public schools

    May 6, 1960
    President Dwight Eisenhower signs Republicans’ Civil Rights Act of 1960, overcoming 125-hour, around-the-clock filibuster by 18 Senate Democrats

    May 2, 1963
    Republicans condemn Democrat sheriff of Birmingham, AL for arresting over 2,000 African-American schoolchildren marching for their civil rights

    September 29, 1963
    Gov. George Wallace (D-AL) defies order by U.S. District Judge Frank Johnson, appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower, to integrate Tuskegee High School

    June 9, 1964
    Republicans condemn 14-hour filibuster against 1964 Civil Rights Act by U.S. Senator and former Ku Klux Klansman Robert Byrd (D-WV)

    June 10, 1964
    Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) criticizes Democrat filibuster against 1964 Civil Rights Act, calls on Democrats to stop opposing racial equality. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was introduced and approved by a staggering majority of Republicans in the Senate. The Act was opposed by most southern Democrat senators, several of whom were proud segregationists—one of them being Al Gore Sr. Democrat President Lyndon B. Johnson relied on Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen, the Republican leader from Illinois, to get the Act passed.

    August 4, 1965
    Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen (R-IL) overcomes Democrat attempts to block 1965 Voting Rights Act; 94% of Senate Republicans vote for landmark civil right legislation, while 27% of Democrats oppose. Voting Rights Act of 1965, abolishing literacy tests and other measures devised by Democrats to prevent African-Americans from voting, signed into law; higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats vote in favor
    – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
    Democrats opposed and/or filibustered:
    The Emancipation Proclamation
    The 13th Amendment
    The 14th Amendment
    The 15th Amendment
    The Reconstruction Act of 1867
    The Civil Rights of 1866
    The Enforcement Act of 1870
    The Forced Act of 1871
    The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871
    The Civil Rights Act of 1875
    The Freeman Bureau
    The Civil Rights Act of 1957
    The Civil Rights Act of 1960
    The United States Civil Rights Commission

    “I think one man is just as good as another so long as he’s not a ni**er or a Chinaman. Uncle Will says that the Lord made a White man from dust, a ni**er from mud, then He threw up what was left and it came down a Chinaman. He does hate Chinese and Japs. So do I. It is race prejudice, I guess. But I am strongly of the opinion Negroes ought to be in Africa, Yellow men in Asia and White men in Europe and America.”

    -Democrat Harry Truman (1911) in a letter to his future wife Bess
    ——————————————————————————————
    “I am a former Kleagle of the Ku Klux Klan in Raleigh County and the adjoining counties of the state …. The Klan is needed today as never before and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia …. It is necessary that the order be promoted immediately and in every state of the Union. Will you please inform me as to the possibilities of rebuilding the Klan in the Realm of W. Va …. I hope that you will find it convenient to answer my letter in regards to future possibilities.”

    — Former Klansman and US Senator (D) Robert Byrd (1946)
    —————————————————————————————–
    “These laws [segregation] are still constitutional and I promise you that until they are removed from the ordinance books of Birmingham and the statute books of Alabama, they will be enforced in Birmingham to the utmost of my ability and by all lawful means.”

    — Democrat Bull Connor (1957), Commissioner of Public Safety for Birmingham, Alabama
    —————————————————————————————-
    LBJ explained his real motives to two governors aboard Air Force One as chronicled in Ronald Kessler’s “Inside The White House”: “[If we pass a voter-rights bill] I’ll have those ni**ers voting Democratic for the next 200 years!”

    — Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson (1964)

  17. Spike Lee famously criticized Tyler Perry’s work a while back, comparing it to Amos ‘n’ Andy and referring to it as “coonery and buffoonery”. Tyler Perry told Spike to go “straight to hell.” I think they made up since then. Much has been written about the taking or reclaiming of language by women and minorities, and I am hardly in a position to know about it. But my understanding is that the insults are intended to be amplified by the use of a pejorative previously claimed by others. Was she over the line? Very much so. Should she be fired? Not even a little.

    But let’s get back to the hair. It’s so much more on point.

  19. Max,
    “Much to do about nothing”…. This guy was a brain surgeon? What is a “real” black person? He wants to be the President of the US? Dear God.

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