Comments on: Blood at the Root

By: Daniel Korn

Daniel Korn — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 10:37:13 +0000

Some statistics about reading in the US (one of the most intellectually developed countries in history)

1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
70 percent of books published do not earn back their advance.
70 percent of the books published do not make a profit.
(Source: Jerold Jenkins, http://www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)

“That these nooses have surfaced, specifically, at our academic and civil institutions is most disconcerting, and further, begs the question — haven’t we learned anything?”

Those of us who read have, but we are a subset of the population.

“Do those perpetrating these acts, and perhaps more importantly, those who have witnessed it, know anything about the noose and its historical implications?”

That would have required reading, an act the perpetrators of the above crimes may or may not have been capable of.

“That we are witnessing the reappearance of the noose in our day is shameful. It’s a warning of what happens when we don’t assert the values of pluralism.”

It is also a reminder that there is not one set of values in the United States. We live in regional bubbles, and we are shocked at the constant discovery of unfamiliar strangers in what we thought was shared and homogeneous home.

By: Andrew Gradman

Andrew Gradman — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:50:13 +0000

I was only aware of the Teachers College incident, which was down the street from where I have class. It was a real affront to the community. I can’t believe that people like that still exist. It makes you lose your faith in progress.

By: Adam Levick

Adam Levick — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:18:23 +0000

In all due respect to how painful it must be for African Americans to see such an ugly symbol, a college prankster placing a noose outside of a professor’s office has no more relevance to the ugly racist lynchings of the past than a swastika scrawled on kid’s locker in a public high school has to the horrors of Nazi Germany.

One of the reasons I read this blog (and AJC’s former publication: Commentary) is due to its in-depth analysis - w/ context, proportion, and empirical evidence - on the moral issues facing the Jewish community and the world at large, and I really think that by elevating isolated incidents to the level of more systemic and widespread problems you lower yourselves to the banalities of the mainstream media.

By: Tana

Tana — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 01:25:13 +0000

It’s astonishing that, at the beginning of the 21st Century, in a country with the most resources and with free basic education for all, there are still human beings who are so ruled by their fear, which is fed by ignorance which feeds back the fear, that the result is these vile, cowardly displays.
There is progress; we are, in the main, becoming civilized, and yet there are still those who cannot let go of their terror of those whose humanity they share, but whose characteristics of race or religion or sexual orientation differ. Unfortunately many of these fearful creatures are in our government and our religious insitutions–not the majority, but enough to wage false wars and to proscribe behaviors not because they are wrong, but because they are different. It’s difficult to understand how, especially when there are still plenty of people alive and of good minds to remember World War II and the civil rights movement, that the message of tolerance that is the core of our country had not reached yet into all the corners of the land.
Mohandas Ghandi was asked “What do you think of Western Civilization?” The Mohatma replied, “I think it would be a good idea.”

By: David

David — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:09:47 +0000

The most recent othering has been against immigrants, all the old stuff of being different and not fitting in and undermining America and not knowing their place (which is hidden in the garden or the kitchen). And the supporters of anti-immigrant organizations are– surprise, surprise — the same people who speak the language of racism, anti-semitism and hate. So the battle has just begun, again.

By: Ann Tourk

Ann Tourk — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:46:42 +0000

For those who may not know or remember the events in Billings, this site tells the story.

http://www.pbs.org/niot/about/niot1.html

By: rightstuff18

rightstuff18 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:09:39 +0000

When you say collective action should be taken but you hit upon what is a complex psychological phenomenon.
Some are quick to say a swastika on a door or a noose is a teenager who is just having fun or someone who has bad taste. They say it’s someone who needs attention. They say that drawing attention to it not only is an act of hyper-sensitivity but actually encourages more acts of that fashion.
Either it is a defense mechanism or those who feel that way may be stuck in the malaise of their own naivete.
Concrete responses are needed. Expectations must be higher and you have to wonder what specifically is promting the nooses.
At a time when a Jew may become attorney general, and woman and an African American are vying for the White House, perhaps we will see the unfortunate awakening of an underlying bastion of intolerance that has remained somewhat dormant or at least not brazenly demonstrated. Hopefully it’s not the case. Lastly, we must not think that as long as there’s no noose or cross on my lawn or no swastika on my house, it doesn’t matter. It should be considered a plague on all our houses.

By: tigerlily718

tigerlily718 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:50:16 +0000

Your points above are well taken. In addition to the noose representing, as you note, “a shameful and frightening part of our country’s past,” it is also a sad reminder of the present state of the country. It’s both ironic and completely symptomatic of the American inability to transcend prejudice that the noose (one of many, we must sadly acknowledge — I’m sure this is merely one that received more press) appeared at a university campus.