Condi, Watermelons, and Selective Outrage

HEY, DANNY GLOVER!

HARRY BELAFONTE!

JESSE JACKSON!

AL SHARPTON!

GET OUTRAGED!

YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED! ORGANIZE A PROTEST! QUICK!

At least call a news conference.

(Crickets chirping)

Here's more racist drivel directed toward a conservative African American, and it's being disseminated on a college campus.

From the Seattle Times:

Bellevue Community College President Jean Floten apologized Wednesday at an emotional open-campus meeting called after students complained about what they said was a racially offensive math question used on a practice test.

...The hour-and-a-half meeting, attended by more than 150 people, opened an important dialog, but more needs to be done, said Chelsey Richardson, one of the students who brought the issue to college officials.

When she felt her concerns weren't taken seriously, Richardson went to the media and to the Rev. Wayne Perryman, a Mercer Island civil-rights activist. Perryman sent out an e-mail to friends across the country, some of whom belong to conservative and civil-rights groups. Those friends forwarded the e-mail, creating a snowball effect. The college has since received hundreds of e-mails, said Bob Adams, spokesman for BCC.

I bet Al Gore sometimes kicks himself for taking "the initiative in creating the Internet."

An e-mail can be heard 'round the world.

...Richardson, 25, said she found the question on a practice test for a math final she was studying for in March. The question read, "Condoleezza holds a watermelon just over the edge of the roof of the 300-foot Federal Building, and tosses it up with a velocity of 20 feet per second." The question went on to ask when the watermelon will hit the ground, based on a formula provided. The question propagates a racial stereotype and denigrates Secretary of State Rice, said Perryman. While Rice's last name wasn't mentioned, the reference was clear, he said.

Way to blow that whistle, Chelsey! Good job!

...The college declined to release the name of the teacher who wrote the question. Floten said the teacher has apologized and requested cultural-sensitivity training.

Oh, come on.

The only reason that teacher apologized is because he/she was caught. That request for cultural-sensitivity training is a joke.

This teacher isn't about to change his/her stripes. If a teacher would go so far as to put a question like that on a practice test, that individual will not suddenly transform into a tolerant, fair, decent person, fit to teach at a community college.

This is a PR move by Bellevue. It's damage control.

Insincere apologies are worthless. I can't stand them.

The test question was originally written with the name of a comedian, Gallagher, whose signature shtick was to smash a variety of objects, often watermelons. Later, the question was rewritten, and the name was changed to Condoleezza, Floten said.

The teacher went out of his/her way to change the question! The only possible motive was to take a swipe at the Secretary of State.

I think in addition to cultural-sensitivity training, the teacher could use an anger management class. Maybe a time-out is also in order.

In an e-mail to students, faculty and staff, Floten said she took "personal ownership that this act of institutional racism could happen despite a collegewide initiative pursued over many years to establish a safe and tolerant place for all to learn."

What does Floten mean by "personal ownership"?

I guess as the president, she holds herself accountable for the incident. It's great that she's not passing the buck, but how does she intend to hold the teacher accountable?

A slap on the wrist seems inadequate.

Why aren't activists like Glover, Belafonte, and Sharpton demanding more?

Why isn't the NAACP having a fit?

Why isn't Jesse Jackson organizing a boycott?

Why?

BECAUSE CONDI IS CONSERVATIVE.