We have been following how universities across the country have seen an increase in claims of “micro aggressions” and impermissible “cultural appropriation” (here and here). Now that tension has become physical at San Francisco State University after student Bonita Tindle reportedly attacked a white student named Cory Goldstein for wearing dreadlocks. The claim seems to capture the race to bottom on campuses where an ever widening array of words or symbols are declared racially or culturally insensitive. However, this was so bizarre, I checked to confirm that it was not an early April Fool’s joke. Yet, various news organizations are reporting it and a YouTube video shows the attack.
The incident occurred at SFSU’s Cesar Chavez Student Center and on the clip below Goldstein asks
“You’re saying I can’t have a hairstyle because of your culture? Why?”
Tindle responds “Because it’s my culture.”
After arguing further, Goldstein is heard to say: “You know what, girl, you have no right to tell me what I can and cannot wear.” When he then tries to walk away, Tindle grabs Goldstein’s arm and a minor scuffle ensues. This would be far more compelling a case of battery than the recent flap over the Trump campaign manager video. In this case, Tindle is shown grabbing the camera or cellphone of the witness.
Here is the videotape:
Goldstein posted an Facebook statement that he was not going to file criminal charges but “I did file a formal campus police report and I decided to let the education system deal with her”.
Here is his later statement:
Now this would seem to be an easy case. A student is attacked for his appearance and then a second student is attacked for filming the attack. Yet, here is the university statement:
“We are aware of the video made of an incident which occurred on campus yesterday afternoon. University police were called to the scene of the incident when it occurred. The two individuals involved in the incident are not San Francisco State University employees. Further, no criminal charges have been pressed at this time to the University’s knowledge.
San Francisco State University promotes the rights of the campus community to engage in free speech, but does not condone behavior that impedes the safety or well-being of others. We are taking the matter seriously and will promptly and thoroughly investigate this incident through applicable University channels, including our campus student conduct procedures.”
Whether either of these individuals are employees or whether criminal charges were filed is irrelevant. If they are students or use school facilities, the university has an obligation to act. Some have already objected that the response would have been different if a black student was harassed over wearing dreadlocks and then assaulted. I have searched to find a more direct response of the university, such as suspending Tindle pending the completion of the investigation. I could find nothing.
By the way, I am not sure such culture is being appropriated here in Tindle’s mind. Kouros sculptures from Ancient Greece show men with dreadlocks as did ancient Christian Ascetics and pre-Columbian Aztec priests. They also appear in ancient Hindu pictures as well as the Sufi followers of Islam.
I do not want to see criminal charges against Tindle for such an incident even though it would meet the definition of battery. I have long been critical of the criminalization of such incidents which can be addressed at the university level. However, this does not mean that I do not view this as extremely serious. Universities are supposed to be forums for free speech as well as places for experimentation and exposure for students to a broader array of ideas and groups. This type of intolerance and physical harassment denies a basic and essential element of the educational environment.
Heavy.com reports that ” Tindle has deleted her LinkedIn page. She described herself on that site as a “Cinematographer, Photographer, Editor, Journalist, Media Specialist.” The Golden Gate Xpress, an independent news site for the school, reports that Tindle is a photography student at SFSU and is a “media intern for Associated Students, Inc.” It is a bit unnerving to see an aspiring journalist in such a physical confrontation. Notably, her roommate said that she was not surprised at all by the video given Tindle’s “passion, and social justice, and black power, and everything.”
Goldstein is described as an aspiring DJ who goes by the moniker Soulr and works at a tea shop and as a counselor at a Jewish Community Center.
The university will only say that it is continuing to investigate the matter. That is certainly appropriate and I do not expect a resolution. I am surprised that we have not seen a more direct condemnation of the actions shown on the video and the suspension of the attacker (and possible barring from campus) pending a final outcome of the investigation.
She should be expelled.
She is nothing short of a bully.
She knew exactly what she was doing, which was evident in her expression; both facial and physical demeanor, when she came to the realization, and hence, that her actions were being recorded.
Further, her ignorance was clearly displayed when she failed to demonstrate any knowledge pertaining to the origins of the fashion she was trying to usurp as part of “her culture.”
Regardless, yet, according to her logic, if his hair style is part of “her culture” alone, then higher education, groceries stores, clothing, books and indoor plumbing are not part of “her culture.” She should quickly find her way back to her original homeland where she can freely express her cultural and hair identity without bother or prejudice.
However, and in reality, what we have here is a girl who believes she is entitled to what she deems fit and is wishing to test the boundaries of that entitlement.
Unfortunately for her, the majority in our current society sees a woman who was raised poorly, with low values, few morals, lacking manners and self-discipline, having no understanding of the right each individual has to their personal boundaries in “THIS culture.” In the common tongue she is what many of her age and in her demographic would consider a (bleep!)
I do think it was nice of the guy not to press charges against her.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
The very idea of cultural appropriation that has been cultivated among some who view themselves as bringing enlightenment of grievances to the fore is unacceptable. Period. We live in the western world. In the western world we are all part of the same culture. This idea that people of different ethnicities have different cultures is offensive to anyone who is educated at all. Encouraging irrational resentment is unehealthy for all but particularly for the minority population encouraged to nurture these invented grievances and to take unjustifiable actions like we see in this instance. If you carry the moronic logic of this to it’s conclusion then should all nonwhite people not be allowed to wear western clothing? Should they not be allowed to use instruments that are historically european? Of course not, It’s idiotic and does nothing to make life better for anyone.
I would advocate filing criminal charges against the woman since she was clearly the aggressor and thinks she is part of the thought police. She needs to get a close up and personal view of what real police are for in a civilized society. Thus the only remedy for changing her views that she has the right to tell others what to wear is a criminal charge against her. Absent that she will continue to hold such views since there will be no consequences for her actions.
KCF
Note that the same moron, choosing to denigrate you, also chose @ 9:50 am to openly wonder why this young male– who was obviously and indisputably the victim of an unprovoked racist assault and attack–didn’t use the precious opportunity to get the perpetrator’s telephone number so that he could have JUMPED ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO APPROPRIATE HER CULTURE. After all, he added, she was pretty and cute. Yeah. Not. A real legal scholar you’re tangling with there. I’m sure that he also wonders why female rape victims don’t attempt to obtain the telephone numbers of their rapists. You know, so that they could continue dating them. Especially, the cute ones.
Nice distraction, professor. You keep posting these micro-aggression non-stories as examples of how stupid liberals have become in their quest to, well, whatever the point is you are trying to make.
Meanwhile, three states have gone about passing laws to legalize christian bigotry and LGBT discrimination in general. And there are more states considering doing the same.
I get that you like poking fun at the silly liberals and their overreach, but maybe consider a couple of actual civil liberties cases along the way.
And for all of thee who wear the green once a year and aren’t Irish
anois a bhfuil tú ag caitheamh an glas ar mo lá naoimh , beware mo bata is ar láimh.
In short, quit appropriating my heritage. That is unless you be a buying the rye.
The Democratic Party is a far cry from when it was the party of my grandparents. Liberals are becoming increasingly non compassionate, intolerant, even hateful of anyone they disagree with. Whatever has happened to this party?
If a black girl was bullied and physically prevented from leaving the stairwell because she straightened her hair, and whites claimed that was “their culture”, this would have been cut and dry.
It IS cut and dry racism. It is utterly and completely wrong. I wish he would file charges against these two bullies so that they, and others like them, will learn their lesson. You are not allowed to be racist if you are black or Latino.
Once again, the university is showing a double standard in how it treats racism against whites.
This is the result of the race baiters and politicians applying the race card interminably and in many cases unfairly. Well, congratulations, race relations are worse than before. Students are less safe on campus, and free speech is becoming a thing of the past in academia. This is another example of why I formed a negative opinion of Liberalism. Time and again, their efforts make a situation worse. I cannot think of a single liberal run city that is better off than it was before – Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit have all become bombed out shells. Flint was run exclusively by Liberals (although the governor of the state was Republican) and they decided to poison their own residents with water that caught on fire at times, it was so polluted. Liberal bastion California has some of the worst potholed streets in the nation, several bankrupt cities, staggering unemployment, business flight, gang violence, human trafficking, and overburdened benefit systems. “Feeling good” about your vote just isn’t enough. You have to actually research the outcome of your decisions, and adjust accordingly. There is no adjustment in policy.
This is a hate crime pure and simple.
Since Bonita Tinde was offended by Cory Goldstein’ cultural insenitive wearing of dreadlocks, then shouldn’t Mr. Goldstein also be offended by Ms. Tinde’s wearing of Western/European style clothes. If she was true to her believes, then should be wearing the traditional style garments of her African tribe.
You just gotta love how blind and duplicitous liberals always label these attacks as “lone wolf” incidents. The ole he or she was mentally ill excuse, where the perpetrator doesn’t represent an alarming trend unfolding before our very own eyes, is the expected drivel. We’ve become immune to its insanity. We see and experience examples of it as Muslims, around the world, DAILY, plant and detonate bombs, or wildly open fire, attacking anyone on everyone in sight, in the name of Allah, and, as expected, succeed in shutting down cities, restricting travel and instilling fear and paranoia in all of those unfortunate enough to have to come into contact with them. No pattern there, of course. Just a bunch of mentally ill, disenfranchised lone wolf terrorists, who, as we are scolded, time and time again, don’t represent Islam. Banish the thought. No connection to Islam. It’s no different in this case, as Doglover @12:08 pm, excuses away this incident as being committed by some mentally ill individual. No connection to the BLM movement and the poison spread by its dangerous and subversive rhetoric. None. Never are incidents, such as this one, considered a part of an expected result when organizations, such as the BLM, are allowed to run amuck. Imagine, if you will, that some young, white individual had assaulted a young, black female, on campus–which was, of course, captured on tape–and the attack involved comments and warnings about how she should stop acting so white, how she should stop appropriating the white man’s culture by wearing her hair blond and straight. Imagine that. Now, imagine the ensuing hell–the protests, the anger, the demonstrations, the call for the young man’s arrest or, even, death. Yeah. Imagine that. Somehow, as expected, the Left would paint that particular situation as anything but a singular event, involving a mentally ill student–it would be cast as an example of widespread and institutional racism, which needed to be crushed in a forceful and demonstrative manner. Bring on the Black Panthers. When the situation, however, is reversed, this black woman is, of course, painted and portrayed as simply mentally ill. Well, if she is so mentally ill, where are the calls to have her removed from campus, as she obviously represents a danger to the students on that campus? Crickets. Right. Mentally ill like a fox.
More evidence of “Black Entitlement Syndrome”, brought on by the Obama administration’s constant flow of “Black Only” Justice statements. Blacks now feel they are “entitled” to do anything they want in arena of “Social Justice”.
The woman who attacked the young man is mentally disturbed. She needs help. There is no issue there, just free-floating anger that needs to be constrained.
Black women spend billions of dollars trying to have white women’s hair.
People on the internet are reporting that she is a webcam model. Caution, it will take you to NSFW and adult content, however, google “hornnyy-princess”
That is what is being said., I have no idea if it is true or not. She may be able to engineer this into a money-making publicity stunt! That’s America for you today, folks!
Hey Dave from IL, I’ll betcha a gladiatorial match-up between your “authoritarian Trump supporters” and the assorted anti-American leftist would be a bloodbath. With the “authoritarians” left standing. Roman salute!!!
Bring on CW2 any time folks, it’s long overdue.
My sister and brother-in-law are graduates of SFSU.
Perhaps there was an assault, but I’m more concerned that dude didn’t use the opportunity to get her phone number. What’s the deal with him? It was his lucky day that he got her attention. She’s pretty cute, and perhaps he should have jumped on the opportunity to appropriate her culture.
After all, it’s not who wins or loses the game. It’s how one scores after it’s all said and done that counts.
Cultural appropriation apparently only goes one way. Perhaps the attacker should check out the fact that Vikings were wearing dread locks or their version of it when the rampaged the through Europe!
Interesting that no one screams cultural appropriation when Hamilton portrays all of the founding fathers as black! (I don’t really care but….)
Stupid Goldstein is a wigger. I’m not surprised he annoys people. He annoyed me.
However, that’s no reason for him to suffer a criminal offensive touching. Prosecutor should charge he whether he presses charges or not. I see assault, battery, and criminal confinement. I also think she should have a ‘Hate crime enhancement” for the racial angle.
Plus he may be Jewish so she has REALLY crossed the line. LOL